2009 DODGE RAM 3500 DIESEL wheel

normally full of debris from previous vehicles getting
stuck. As a good practice before entering any mud
hole, get out and determine how deep it is, if there are
any hidden obstacles and if the vehicle can be safely
recovered if stuck.
•
Sand– Soft sand is very difficult to travel through
with full tire pressure. When crossing soft sandy spots
in a trail maintain your vehicle’s momentum and do
not stop. The key to driving in soft sand using the
appropriate tire pressure, accelerating slowly, avoid-
ing abrupt maneuvers and maintaining the vehicle’s
momentum. If you are going to be driving on large soft
sandy areas or dunes, reduce your tire pressure to a
minimum of 15 psi (103 kPa) to allow for a greater tire
surface area. Reduced tire pressure will drastically
improve your traction and handling, while driving on
the soft sand, but you must return the tires to normal air pressure before driving on pavement or other hard
surfaces. Be sure you have a way to air the tires back
up prior to reducing the pressure.
CAUTION!
Reduced tire pressures may cause tire unseating and
total loss of air pressure. To reduce the risk of tire
unseating, while at a reduced tire pressure, reduce
your speed and avoid sharp turns or abrupt maneu-
vers.Crossing Obstacles (Rocks And Other High
Points)While driving off road, you will encounter many types of
terrain. These varying types of terrain bring different
types of obstacles. Before proceeding review the path
ahead to determine the correct approach and your ability
to safely recover the vehicle if something goes wrong.
Keeping a firm grip on the steering wheel, bring the
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CAUTION!
Winching or rocking the vehicle off hard objects
increases the risk of underbody damage.Hill ClimbingHill climbing requires good judgment and a good under-
standing of your abilities and your vehicle’s limitations.
Hills can cause serious problems. Some are just too steep
to climb and should not be attempted. You should always
feel confident with the vehicle and your abilities. You
should always climb hills straight up and down. Never
attempt to climb a hill on an angle.•
Before Climbing A Steep Hill– As you approach a
hill consider its grade or steepness. Determine if it is
too steep. Look to see what the traction is on the hill
side trail. Is the trail straight up and down? What is on
top and the other side? Are there ruts, rocks, branches
or other obstacles on the path? Can you safely recover the vehicle if something goes wrong? If everything
looks good and you feel confident, then change trans-
mission into a lower gear, shift the transfer case into 4L
(Low) and proceed with caution. You should use first
gear and 4L (Low Range) for very steep hills.
•
Driving Up Hill
– Once you have determined your
ability to proceed and have shifted into the appropri-
ate gear, line your vehicle up for the straightest
possible run. Accelerate with an easy constant throttle
and apply more power as you start up the hill. Do not
race forward into a steep grade, the abrupt change of
grade could cause you to lose control. If the front end
begins to bounce, ease off the throttle slightly to bring
all four tires back on the ground. As you approach the
crest of the hill ease off the throttle and slowly proceed
over the top. If the wheels start to slip as you approach
the crest of a hill, ease off the accelerator and maintain
headway by turning the steering wheel no more than
a14turn quickly back and forth. This will provide a
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freshbite into the surface and will usually provide
enough traction to complete the climb. If you do not
make it to the top, place the vehicle in REVERSE and
back straight down the grade using engine resistance
along with the vehicle brakes.
WARNING!
Never attempt to climb a hill at an angle or turn
around on a steep grade. Driving across an incline
increases the risk of a roll over, which may result in
severe injury.•
Driving Down Hill – Before driving down a steep hill
you need to determine if it is too steep for a safe
descent. What is the surface traction? Is the grade too
steep to maintain a slow controlled descent? Are there
obstacles? Is it a straight descent? Is there plenty of
distance at the base of the hill to regain control if the
vehicle descends too fast? If you feel confident in your ability to proceed then make sure you are in 4L (Low
Range) with the transmission in 1st gear (manually
select 1st gear on automatic transmissions) and pro-
ceed with caution. Allow engine braking to control the
descent and apply your brakes if necessary, but do not
allow the tires to lock.
WARNING!
Do not descend a steep grade in NEUTRAL. Use
vehicle brakes in conjunction with engine braking.
Descending a grade too fast could cause you to lose
control and be seriously injured.•
Driving Across An Incline
– If at all possible avoid
driving across an incline. If it is necessary, know your
vehicle’s abilities. Driving across an incline places
more weight on the down hill wheels, which increases
the possibilities of a down hill slide or rollover. Make
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Vehicle RecoveryIf you drive off-road, you may encounter a situation
where you will need to recover your vehicle. Vehicle
recovery should always be given consideration before
attempting a questionable obstacle. You should never go
off-road driving without the ability to recover your
vehicle from a situation. Having another vehicle with
you usually works best for most situations. The first
thing to do is assess the situation. Why are you stuck?
Are you hung up on something? Would it be easier to go
forward or to go backward? Can you still move the
vehicle? Is there an anchor point to winch to? Are you
alone or do you have another vehicle to help? Is there
high risk of vehicle damage during the recovery process?
Answering these questions will help you determine the
best method of recovery. If you can still move the vehicle
slightly and the only issue is slick ground, then rock
cycling your vehicle would be the first choice. If you have
ample room, an additional vehicle and there is low risk ofvehicle impingement on the surroundings, then using a
tow strap to the vehicle tow hooks would be fast and
easy. If the vehicle is severely hung up or in a situation
where great care needs to be taken during the recovery,
then nothing can do the job better than a winch. If you are
severely hung up on something you should jack the
vehicle up and stack something under the wheels to
allow the vehicle to roll off the object without causing
further damage. This should be tried before attempting
any recovery method.
CAUTION!
Pulling the vehicle off an obstacle, without first
clearing the object, may result in additional under-
body damage.•
Rock Cycling Your Vehicle
– Rock cycling your ve-
hicle is one of the easiest, fastest and most commonly
used methods. This simply involves shifting your
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vehicle from DRIVE to REVERSE, while applying
throttle after each shift. During this process, for addi-
tional traction, try turning your steering wheel quickly
back and forth no more than a
14turn. If you are stuck
in mud, sand, or snow try spinning your tires during
this process to clean the debris from the tread and
improve the traction. You want to create a rocking
motion with the vehicle. This helps build vehicle
momentum, which hopefully gets you out. Remember
to ease off and on the accelerator before and after the
shift. If after a few rock cycles your vehicle is not free,
stop and try another method of recovery. Continuous
rock cycling will only cause unnecessary damage to
your vehicle and the environment.
CAUTION!
Damage can occur when spinning your tires at an
excessive high speed. Do not spin your tires faster
than an indicated 35 mph (56 km/h).•
Using the Tow Hooks With a Tow Strap – Tow straps
are a quick and easy way to recover your vehicle from
minor situations if you have a secondary vehicle
which is not stuck. The tow hooks on your vehicle are
designed to take the abusive force generated during
vehicle recovery. Do not use the bumper or any other
vehicle component as an attachment point. Using tow
straps requires coordination between the two drivers.
Good communication and line of sight are required for
a safe recovery. First connect the tow strap to the
correct attachment points on both vehicles. There
should be a least 20 to 30 feet between the vehicles to
allow for a safe recovery. If necessary join two tow
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•
Completely inspect the underbody of your vehicle.
Check tires, body structure, steering, suspension, and
exhaust system for damage.
•
Check threaded fasteners for looseness, particularly on
the chassis, drivetrain components, steering, and sus-
pension. Retighten them, if required, and torque to the
values specified in the Service Manual.
•
Check for accumulations of plants or brush. These
things could be a fire hazard, or they might hide
damage to fuel lines, brake hoses, axle pinion seals,
and propeller shafts.
•
After extended operation in mud, sand, water, or
similar dirty conditions, have brake drums and rotors,
brake linings, and axle yokes inspected and cleaned as
soon as possible.
•
If you experience unusual vibration after driving in
mud, slush or similar conditions, check the wheels for
packed material. Packed foreign material can cause a
wheel imbalance and cleaning the wheels will correct
the situation.
WARNING!
Abrasive material in any part of the brakes may cause
excessive wear or unpredictable braking. You might
not have full braking power when you need it to
prevent an accident. If you have been operating your
vehicle in dirty conditions, get your brakes checked
and cleaned as necessary. Failure to do so may result
is serious injury.
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LIMITED-SLIP DIFFERENTIAL – IF EQUIPPEDThe limited-slip differential provides additional traction
on snow, ice, mud, sand and gravel, particularly when
there is a difference between the traction characteristics
of the surface under the right and left rear wheels. During
normal driving and cornering, the limited-slip unit per-
forms similarly to a conventional differential. On slip-
pery surfaces, however, the differential delivers more of
the driving effort to the rear wheel having the better
traction.
The limited-slip differential is especially helpful during
slippery driving conditions. With both rear wheels on a
slippery surface, a slight application of the accelerator
will supply maximum traction. When starting with only
one rear wheel on an excessively slippery surface, slight
momentary application of the parking brake may be
necessary to gain maximum traction.
WARNING!
On vehicles equipped with a limited-slip differential
never run the engine with one rear wheel off the
ground since the vehicle may drive through the rear
wheel remaining on the ground. You could lose
control of the vehicle.
Care should be taken to avoid sudden accelerations when
both rear wheels are on a slippery surface. This could
cause both rear wheels to spin, and allow the vehicle to
slide sideways on the crowned surface of a road or in a
turn.DRIVING ON SLIPPERY SURFACESWhen driving on wet or slushy roads, it is possible for a
wedge of water to build up between the tire and road
surface. This is known as hydroplaning and may cause
partial or complete loss of vehicle control and stopping
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WARNING!
•
Driving through standing water limits your vehi-
cle’s traction capabilities. Do not exceed 5 mph
(8 km/h) when driving through standing water.
•
Driving through standing water limits your vehi-
cle’s braking capabilities, which increases stop-
ping distances. Therefore, after driving through
standing water, drive slowly and lightly press on
the brake pedal several times to dry the brakes.
•
Getting water inside your vehicle’s engine can
cause it to lock up and stall out, and leave you
stranded.
•
Failure to follow these warnings may result in
injuries that are serious or fatal to you, your
passengers, and others around you.
DRIVING OFF-ROAD — RAM TRUCK ONLYCare should be taken when attempting to climb steep
hills or driving diagonally across a hill or slope. If natural
obstacles force you to travel diagonally up or down a hill,
choose a mild angle and keep as little side tilt as possible.
Keep the vehicle moving and make turns slowly and
cautiously.
If you must back down a hill, back straight down using
REVERSE gear. Never back down in NEUTRAL, or
diagonally across the hill.
When driving over sand, mud, and other soft terrain,
shift to low gear and drive steadily. Apply the accelerator
slowly to avoid spinning the wheels.
DO NOT REDUCE the tire pressures for this type of
driving.
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