Washboard Effects

[E. J]

Anyone have something fall off, crack, break, or otherwise as a result of driving over washboard? Those I've seen in Death Valley are brutal.

Like this Wrangler I saw out there in '17. This happened between Tea Kettle Junction and Ubehebe Crater.

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[stickshifthappy]

Well..... it is a Jeep.... That would suck.

Just how brutal was the washboard, and how fast were they tracking over it ? The pics don't look horrible, they're spaced out a bit it looks like.

I've seen washboards that have maybe 8-12" between 4-6" tall ridges. Those suck.

 

[Tricky Dick]

Not yet. I wonder if that guy aired down?

 

[cbrenthus]

No way that's a Jeep. Go over to the Jeep forums and they will tell you that their SFA's never break. Must be a Bronco in disguise because the tie rods snap the second you leave the smoothest concrete

 

[Felix808]

I would bet that it was not just from the washboard road, but a lack of maintenance inspections from previous outings that had more to play in that failure

 

[fourdayoff]

12 psi, 4 hi, swaybar disconnected, rides like a Caddy. Jim.

 

[Megawatt]

I will be out at tea kettle at the end of the month. Washboards out here in the desert just plain sux! Usually driving faster on the washboards helps out by trying to stay on the top of the dirt peaks. Phots can never accurately show depth in desert pics. That is a bad washboard road in the pic. 18psi is the highest amount I run on roads like that.

I had the muffler slip joint separate at the end of the exhaust a few years ago on my old JKU. Muffler was bouncing off the desert and hanging on to the Jeep by only one of the rubber grommet hangers.

I just pulled off the muffler and threw it in the back and continued to drive to work.

 

[NORCALGXP]

I was in Death Valley two months ago but in my F150 Raptor. When it comes to wash board fast is better I do about 40 mph very smooth. Slow sucks that's what most do.

 

[[DELETED MEMBER 27901]]

No way that's a Jeep. Go over to the Jeep forums and they will tell you that their SFA's never break. Must be a Bronco in disguise because the tie rods snap the second you leave the smoothest concrete

Must not have the sasquatch package either since you can’t go off-road without it.

 

[Scott R Nelson]

The worst washboard road around here is the road from Lucky Peak Reservior to Atlanta, ID. It's over 60 miles of almost all washboard. Dropping the tire pressure to 20 psi or lower makes a huge difference. Keeping the speed around 40 mph helps a lot too.

 

[joez]

I have driven that road several times, the washboard can be really bad. One time in my f250 I started going sideways. I think this was the same road that one of the car magazines was test driving a new honda ridgeline and it lost its shocks.

 

[Gassyjack]

Drive a lot of regular gravel roads that are minor washboard compared to off roading. Bronco likes to try and get sideways if going too fast. On the other hand the best vehicle for the same washboard roads we’ve owned is our honda crv!
Way smoother, was going 65mph the other day and no problem.

 

[jzweedyk]

Lower tire pressure, go fast.

 

[AZMikeL]

I have driven that road several times, the washboard can be really bad. One time in my f250 I started going sideways. I think this was the same road that one of the car magazines was test driving a new honda ridgeline and it lost its shocks.

I always gave a disclaimer to passengers in my F-350:

"This road has a lot of washboard, so sometimes I will only be suggesting the direction of travel of the truck. Rest assured, I have YET to kill anyone."

Washboard is all about finding the right speed for your rig to float over them. Use 4WD so you can use the gas to get the front pointed in the direction you actually want to go if things get dicey. It's counter intuitive to give it gas around a curve, but that's the only way you can get a stiff-ass suspension F350 to point in the right direction.

It's closed now, but the washboard on the Navajo reservation (Road 70) to Grand falls is the most extreme I've ever seen. Has to take that at 65mph in my 67 to be tolerable. I'm pretty sure the washboards were nearly 1ft high each.

BTW, this Bronco Never gets dicey (on it's own), just mostly smooth and sure footed provided you find the right speed.

I'm always amazed how people thinks slower is better over the boards!

 

[NVCowboy]

Is it my imagination, or have side by sides made this worse? There’s roads around here I’ve been over several times in the past that have just gotten almost unbearable.

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