1993 CHEVROLET TRACKER wheel

pedal as soon as you feel the vehicle
start to slide. Quickly steer the way you
want the vehicle to go. If you start
steering quickly enough, your vehicle
will straighten out. As
it does, straighten
the front wheels.
Of course, traction is reduced when
water, snow, ice, gravel, or other
material is
on the road. For safety,
you’ll want to slow down and adjust
your driving to these conditions. It is
important to slow down
on slippery
surfaces because stopping distance
will
be longer and vehicle control more
limited. While
driving on a surface with reduced
traction,
try your best to avoid sudden
steering, acceleration, or braking
(including engine braking by shifting to
a lower gear). Any sudden changes
could cause the tires to slide.
You may
not realize the surface
is slippery until
your vehicle is skidding. Learn to
recognize warning clues
- such as
enough water, ice
or packed snow on
the. road to make a “mirrored surface’’
- and slow down when you have any
doubt. Remember: the
rear wheel anti-lock
braking system (RWAL) helps avoid
only a rear braking skid. In a braking
skid (where the front wheels are no
longer rolling), release enough pressure
on the brakes to get the front wheels
rolling again. This restores steering
control. Push the brake pedal down
steadily when you have to stop
suddenly. As long as the front wheels
are rolling, you will have steering
control. Steer the way you want to go.
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Your Driving and the Road
Driving Guidelines
... 140
This multipurpose passenger vehicle is
defined as a utility vehicle in Consumer
Information Regulations issued by the
National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration (NHTSA) of the United
States Department of Transportation.
Utility vehicles have higher ground
clearance and a narrower track to make
them capable of performing in a wide
variety of off-road applications. Specific
design characteristics give them a higher
center of gravity than ordinary cars. An
advantage
of the higher ground
clearance
is a better view of the road
allowing you to anticipate problems. They
are not designed for cornering at
the same speeds as conventional
two-wheel drive vehicles any more than
low-slung sports cars are designed to
perform satisfactorily under off-road
conditions. If at all possible, avoid sharp
turns or abrupt maneuvers. As with
other vehicles of this type, failure to
operate this vehicle correctly may result
in
loss of control or vehicle rollover.
1 Off-Road Driving with
Your Geo Four-Wheel-
Drive Vehicle
This off-road guide is for vehicles that
have four-wheel drive.
Also, see “Anti-Lock Brakes” in the
Index.
If your vehicle doesn’t have four-wheel
drive, you shouldn’t drive off-road
unless you’re on a level, solid surface.
Off-road driving can be great
fun. But it
does have some definite hazards. The
greatest of these is the terrain itself.
“Off-roading” means you’ve left the
great North American road system
behind. Traffic lanes aren’t marked.
Curves aren’t banked. There are no road
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signs. Surfaces can be slippery, rough,
uphill or downhill. In short, you’ve
gone right back to nature.
Off-road driving involves some new
skills. And that’s why
it’s very
important that you read this guide.
You’ll find many driving tips and
suggestions. These will help make your
off-road driving safer and more
enjoyable.
Before You Go Off-Roading
There are some things to do before you
go out. For example, be sure to have all
necessary maintenance and service work
done. Be sure
to read all the information
about your four-wheel drive vehicle in
this manual.
Is there enough fuel? Is the spare
tire fully inflated? Are the fluid
levels up where they should be? What
are the local laws that apply to
off-roading where you’ll be driving? If
you don’t
know, you should check with
law enforcement people in the area. Wil
you be on someone’s private land?
If so
be sure to get the necessary permission.
Loading Your Vehicle for Off-Road
Driving
There are some important things to
remember about how to load your
vehicle.
The heaviest things should be on the
load floor and forward of your rear
axle. Put heavier items as far forward
as you can.
Be sure the load is secured properly,
so driving on the off-road terrain
doesn’t
toss things around.
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Your Driving and the Road
... 144
Scanning the Terrain
Off-road driving can take you over
many different kinds of terrain. You
need to be familiar with the terrain and
its many different features. Here
are
some things to consider.
Surface Conditions. Off-roading can
take you over hard-packed dirt; gravel,
rocks, grass, sand, mud, snow or ice.
Each
of these surfaces affects the
steering, acceleration, and braking of
your vehicle in different ways.
Depending upon the kind of surface you
are
on, you may experience slipping,
sliding,
wheel spinning, delayed
acceleration, poor traction. and longer
braking distanc
Surface Obstacles. Unseen or hidden
obstacles can be hazardous.
A rock, log,
hole, rut, or bump can startle
you if
you’re not prepared for them. Often
these obstacles
are hidden by grass,
bushes, snow or even the rise and fall of
the terrain itself. Here are some things
to consider:
Is the path ahead clear?
Will the surface texture change
Does the travel take you uphill or
abruptly up ahead?
downhill? (There’s
more discussion of
these subjects later.)
change direction quickly?
Will you have to stop suddenly or When you
drive over obstacles or rough
terrain, keep
a firm grip on the steering
wheel. Ruts, troughs, or other surface
features can jerk the wheel out of your
hands if you’re not prepared.
When you drive over bumps, rocks, or
other obstacles,
your wheels can leave
the ground.
If this happens, even with
one or two wheels, you can’t control the
vehicle as well or at
all.
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Is the hill simply too rough? Steep
hills often have ruts, gullies, troughs
and exposed rocks because they are
more susceptible to
the effects of
erosion.
Driving Uphill
Once you decide you can safely drive up
the hill, you need to take some special
steps.
Use a low gear and get a firm grip on
the steering wheel.
Get a smooth start up the hill and try
to maintain your speed. Don’t use
more power than you need, because
you don’t want your wheels to start
spinning or sliding.
Try to drive straight up the hill if at
all possible. If the path twists and
turns, you might want to find another
route.
CAUTION
A
Turning or driving across
steep hills can be dangerous.
You could lose traction, slide
sideways, and possibly roll over.
You could be seriously injured or
killed. When driving
up hills,
always
try to go straight up.
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If your engine has stopped running,
you’ll need to restart
it. With the
brake pedal depressed and the
parking brake still applied, shift the
transmission
to P (Park) (or, shift to
Neutral if your vehicle has a
manual transmission) and restart the
engine. Then, shift to reverse,
release the parking brake, and
slowly back down the hill in
reverse.
As you are backing down the hill,
put your
left hand on the steering
wheel at the
12 o’clock position.
This way, you’ll be able
to tell if
your wheels are straight or turned to
the left or right as you back down. Here
are some things you
must not do
if you stall, or are about to stall, when
going up
a hill.
Never attempt to prevent a stall by
shifting into
N (Neutral) (or
depressing the clutch, if you have a
manual transmission)
to “rev-up” the
engine and regain forward
momentum. This won’t work. Your
vehicle will roll backwards very
quickly and you could go out of
control.
Instead, apply the regular brake to stop
the vehicle. Then apply the parking
brake. Shift into reverse, release the
parking brake, and slowly back down.
Never attempt to turn around if you
are about to stall when going up a
hill.
If the hill is steep enough to
stall your vehicle, it’s steep enough
to cause you to roll over if you turn
around. If you can’t make it up the
hill, you must back down the hill.
Q: Suppose, after stalling, I try to
back down the hill and decide
I
just can’t do it. What should I do?
A: Set the parking brake, put your
transmission
in P (Park) (or the
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Your Driving and the Road
e
“free-wheeling. ” Your brakes will
have to do all the work and could
overheat and fade.
Avoid braking
so hard that you lock
the wheels when going downhill. If
your front wheels are locked, you
can’t steer your vehicle. If your
wheels lock up during downhill
braking, you may feel the vehicle
starting to slide sideways.
To regain
your direction, just ease off the
brakes and steer to keep the front of
the vehicle pointing straight
downhill.
Q: Am I likely to stall when going
A:
0
e
downhill?
It’s much more likely to happen
going uphill. But if
it happens going
downhill, here’s what to do.
Stop your vehicle by applying
the
regular brakes. Apply the parking
brake.
Shift to
P (Park) (or to Neutral with
the manual transmission) and, while
still braking, restart the engine.
Shift back to a low gear, release
the
parking brake, and drive straight
down.
If the engine won’t start, get out and
Driving Across an Incline
Sooner or later, an off-road trail will
probably go across
the incline of a hill.
If this happens, you have to decide
whether to try to drive across the
incline. Here are some things to
consider:
A hill that can be driven straight up
or down may be too steep to drive
across. When you go straight up or
down a hill, the length of the wheel
base (the distance from the front
wheels to the rear wheels) reduces
the likelihood the vehicle will get
help.
... 152
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tumble end over end. But when you
drive across an incline, the much
more narrow track width (the
distance between the left and right
wheels) may not prevent the vehicle
from tilting and rolling over.
Also,
driving across an incline puts more
weight
on the downhill wheels. This
could cause a downhill slide or a
rollover.
0 Surface conditions can be a problem
when
you drive across a hill. Loose
gravel, muddy spots, or even wet
grass can cause your tires to slip
sideways, downhill.
If the vehicle
slips sideways, it can hit something
that will trip it (a rock, a rut, etc.)
and roll over.
Hidden obstacles can make the
steepness
of the incline even worse.
If you drive across a rock with the
uphill wheels, or if the downhill
wheels drop into a
rut or depression,
your vehicle can tilt even more.
For reasons like these,
you need to
decide carefully whether to try
to drive
across an incline. Just because the trail
goes across
the incline doesn’t mean you
have to drive
it. The last vehicle to try it
might have rolled over.
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