1996 CHEVROLET TAHOE Owners Manual

Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Driving on Off-Road Hills
Off-road driving often takes you up, down or across a
hill. Driving safely on hills requires good judgment and
an understanding
of what your vehicle can and can’t do.
There are some hills that simply can’t be driven, no
matter how well built the vehicle.
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11 A CAUTION:
Many hills are simply too steep forany vehicle. If
you drive up them, you
will stall. If you drive
down them, you can’t control your speed. If you
drive across them, you will roll over.
You could be
seriously injured or killed. If you have any doubt
about the steepness, don’t drive the hill.
Approaching a Hill
When you approach a hill, you need to decide if it’s one
of thos’e hills that’s just too steep to climb, descend or
cross. Steepness can
be hard to judge. On a very small
hill,
for example, there may be a smooth, constant incline
with only a small change in elevation where you
can easily see all the way to the top. On a large hill, the
incline may get steeper as you near the top, but you may
not see this because the crest of the hill is hidden by
bushes, grass or shrubs.
Here are some other things to consider as you approach
a hill.
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Is there a constant incline, or does the hill get sharply
steeper in places?
Is there good traction on the hillside, or will the
surface cause tire slipping?
Is there a straight path up or down the hill so you
won’t have to make turning maneuvers?
Are there obstructions on the hill that can block your
path (boulders, trees, logs or ruts)?
What’s beyond the hill?
Is there a cliff, an
embankment, a drop-off, a fence? Get out and walk
the
hill if you don’t know. It’s the smart way to find out.\

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.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Dri-ving 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.
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A CAUTION:
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.
Ease up on your speed as you approach the top
of the hill.
Attach a flag to the vehicle to make you more visible
to approaching traffic on trails or hills.
Sound the horn as you approach the top of the hill to
let opposing traffic know you’re there.
Use your headlamps even during the day. They make
you more visible to oncoming traffic.
A CAUTION:
Driving to the top (crest) of a hill at full speed can
cause an accident. There could be a drop-off,
embankment, cliff, or even another vehicle.
You
could be seriously injured or killed. As you near
the top of a hill, slow down and stay alert.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine e.” What should I do if my vehicle stalls, or is about
A: If this happens, there are some things you should
to stall, and I can’t make it up the hill?
do, and there are some things you must not do.
First, here’s what you
should do:
Push the brake pedal to stop the vehicle and
keep it from rolling backwards. Also, apply the
parking brake.
0 If your engine is still running, shift the transmission
to REVERSE (R), release the parking brake, and
slowly back down the hill in REVERSE (R).
restart it. With the brake pedal depressed and the
parking brake still applied, shift the transmission to
PARK
(P) and restart the engine. Then, shift to
REVERSE (R), release the parking brake, and’
slowly back down the hill as straight as possible in
REVERSE (R).
0 If your engine has stopped running, you’ll need to
0 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
and maneuver as
you back down. It’s best that you
back down the hill with your wheels straight rather
than in the left
or right direction. Turning the wheel
too far
to the left or right will increase the possibility
of a rollover.
Here are some things you
must nut do if you stall, or are
about
to stall, when going up a hill.
0 Never attempt to prevent a stall by shifting into
NEUTRAL (N) 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 to
REVERSE (R), release the parking brake, and
slowly back straight down.
,e 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 straight down the hill.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Y Dppse, after stalling, I try to back down the
kill PRd decide I just can’t do it. What should
I d@7
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!!kt €he parking brake, put your transmission in
PARK (P) and turn off the engine. Leave the
V@kk and go get some help. Exit on the uphill
.ri& gild stay clear of the path the vehicle would
tf it rolled downhill. Do not shift the transfer
*n NEUTRAL (N) when you leave the vehicle.
‘t in some gear.
$1 3 the transfer case to NEUTRAL (N)
BBH CiWslj@ your vehicle to roll even if the
fFtW8ftlj58ion is
in PARK (P). This is because the
NEuTuL (N) position on the transfer case
@V@PfkkS the transmission. If you are going to
hVf3 pi4r vehicle, set the parking brake and
hi! transmission to PARK (P). But do not
§hi## €hi! transfer case to the NEUTRAL (N)
pl iOR8 Leave the transfer case in the 2 Wheel,
4 1 ah 01: 4 LOW position.
Driving Downhill
When off-roading takes you downhill, you’ll want to
consider a number
of things:
How steep is the downhill? Will I be able to maintain
vehicle control?
0 What’s the surface like? Smooth? Rough? Slippery?
Hard-packed dirt? Gravel?
Are there hidden surface obstacles? Ruts? Logs?
Boulders?
What’s at the bottom of the hill? Is there a hidden
creek bank or even
a river bottom with large rocks?
If you decide you can
go down a hill safely, then try to
keep your vehicle headed straight down, and use a low
gear. This way, engine drag can help your brakes and
they won’t have to do all the work. Descend slowly,
keeping your vehicle under control at all times.
A CAUTION:
Heavy braking when going down a hill can cause
your brakes to overheat and fade.
This could cause
loss of control and a serious accident. Apply the
brakes lightly when descending
a hill and use a low
gear
to keep vehicle speed under control.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Q: Are there some things I should not do when
driving down
a hill?
A: Yes! These are important because if you
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ignore them you could lose control and have a
serious accident.
When driving downhill, avoid turns that take you
across the incline
of the hill. A hill that’s not too
steep
to drive down may be too steep to drive across.
You could roll over if you don’t drive straight down.
Never go downhill with the transmission in
NEUTRAL
(N). This is called “free-wheeling.” Your
brakes will have to do all the work and could
overheat and fade.
Q: Am I likely to stall when going downhill?
A: It’s much more likely to happen going uphill. But if
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it happens going downhill, here’s what to do.
Stop your vehicle by applying the regular brakes.
Apply the parking brake.
Shift to PARK (P) 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 get help.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine 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:
0
0 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 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.
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.
0 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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A CAUTION:
Driving across an incline that’s too steep will
make your vehicle roll over. You could be
seriously injured or killed.
If you have any doubt
about the steepness
of the incline, don’t drive
across it. Find another route instead.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine turn downhill. This should help straighten out the
vehicle and prevent the side slipping. However, a
much better way to prevent this
is to get out and
“walk the course’’
so you know what the surface is
like before you drive it.
Stalling on an Incline
If your vehicle stalls when you’re crossing an incline, be
sure
you (and your passengers) get out on the uphill
side, even if the door there
is harder to open. If you get
out on the downhill side and the vehicle starts
to roll
over, you’ll be right
in its path.
If you have to walk down the slope, stay out of the path
the vehicle will take
if it does roll over.
Getting out on the downhill (low) side of a vehicle
stopped across an incline is dangerous.
If the
vehicle rolls over, you’could be crushed or killed.
Always get out on the uphill (high) side
of the
vehicle and stay well clear of the rollover path.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Driving in Mud, Sand, Snow or Ice
When you drive in mud, snow or sand, your wheels
won’t.get good traction.
You can’t accelerate as
quickly, turning is more difficult, and
you’ll need
longer, braking distances.
It’s best to use a low gear when you’re
in mud -- the
deeper the mud, the lower the gear. In really deep mud,
the idea is to keep your vehicle moving
so you don’t
get stuck.
When you drive
on sand, you’ll sense a change in wheel
traction. But it
will depend upon how loosely packed the
sand is. On loosely packed sand (as
on beaches or sand
dunes) your tires will tend
to sink into the sand. This has
an effect on steering, accelerating and braking.
You may
want to reduce the air pressure in your tires slightly
when’driving on sand. This will improve traction. Hard
packed snow and ice offer the worst tire traction.
On these surfaces, it’s very easy to lose control.
On wet
ice, for example, the traction is
so poor that you will
have difficulty accelerating. And if you do get moving,
poor steering and difficult braking can cause
you to slide
out
of control.
I A CAUTION:
Driving on frozen lakes, ponds or rivers can be
dangerous. Underwater springs, currents under
the ice, or sudden thaws can weaken the ice. Your
vehicle could fall through the ice and you and
your passengers could drown. Drive your vehicle
on safe surfaces only.