FJ Cruisers of Northern California

Roll over question

This may be a question of relativity, but does anyone know what the roll over point on the inclinometer gauge is for the FJ, on both side hills and inclines? I've been playing around on some hills near my house and thought I would ask before getting too aggressive, since I'm usually out alone when I'm close to home.

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Permalink Reply by Bz on July 19, 2011 at 5:27pm

It all depends on what you are doing, I know I have pegged the meter in every direction and have never rolled, I know others who have rolled well within the the range of the meter....Lots of different things come into account, rim/tire size, sidewall/tread, lift type, skids, Center of Gravity (CoG), direction of travel, and the terrain of course.... I understand that doesn't help much but, be cautious and easy in your exploration of your FJ's limits and you will be surprised on what it can do

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Permalink Reply by Back in Black (FJ4 Tahoe) on July 19, 2011 at 5:58pm

Ask Andrew, he can tell you.. Oh, too soon?

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Permalink Reply by C4B_ROCKs on July 20, 2011 at 2:44pm

lol.....

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Permalink Reply by Andrew on July 20, 2011 at 9:34pm

Hey guys be nice.

I didn't do on purpose I swear.

If it wasn't for you two guys I woulda went home that night.

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Permalink Reply by Boss73 on July 19, 2011 at 9:12pm

Trust what your feeling in your arse.. The gauge can lie.

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Permalink Reply by DWH on July 19, 2011 at 11:26pm

If you are holding onto the steering wheel and your feet are dangling out the passenger window, you may have reached your limit!

But like Boss said, you get a feel for it. My personal tilt-o-meter warning goes off pretty early. Uphill and downhill do not bother me as much, I do not like side slopes. Usually I am to freaked out to remember to look at the inclinometer, but I do not like more than 25 to 30 degrees. 35 would be really pushing it for me personally.

Test your limits and the FJs, it can be fun. A spotter is a good thing to have while you are doing it.

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Permalink Reply by BritMok on July 20, 2011 at 7:53pm

I too am okay with front/back but freakin' terrified of side tilt. Take a look at me exercising my fear glands in this clip: http://norcalfjs.com/video/mark-on-chaparral-trail. I'm pretty sure the inclinometer did not exceed 20 degreees side tilt, but I was scared the whole time. It looks very tame from outside the rig.

As Boss said, trust your arse!

Mark.

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Permalink Reply by Briman on July 20, 2011 at 1:26pm

off-camber stuff is what i hate. i almost put my jeep belly up two months ago climbing an off-camber obsticle up and to the left. my driver front was stuffed as well as my passenger rear. passenger front was at full droop. when my passenger rear decided to walk over into a foot deep hole, it really threw the balance of the rig. my internal pucker guage was maxed out right before that happened. an inclinometer is useless because i have my eyes glued to the trail.

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Permalink Reply by MoreFJland on July 20, 2011 at 9:06pm

Yep, side to side is what's scary. Even moving slow. You can lose your balance point in a heart beat. I was riding shotgun in my buddy's 84 toy pickup many years ago at the Rubicon. We were all alone (young & stupid). He had to back up to try another approach, and for some reason, backed up along the side of a hill very slowly. Next thing I know we're about to roll to the passenger side. He stopped, but you could fell the truck was still on edge. What's he do next? Climbs out the the driver door, which transfers the weight to my side, and it begins to roll again. I had to reach up to grab the steering wheel to pull myself out the driver door & hold the weight to the driver side. We had to wait awhile for someone to come by & help us out.

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Permalink Reply by Andrew on July 20, 2011 at 9:31pm

Yea Bz just easy for you to say.My truck rolled twice and I didn't do it on purpose.

I don't care what anyone else says but I wish I still had it.

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Permalink Reply by Ross Woody on July 21, 2011 at 10:06am

Quite honestly, if you are close to rolling, the last thing you will be looking at is the inclinometer. As BZ said, you will peg it long before you reach the "tipping point". Once getting close, it's really about momentum. In an uphill / down hill situation, once your uphill tires leave the ground you are screwed. I've rarely seen anyone "drive out" of an uphill lift where both tires are off the ground. The torque at the rear axle will want to continue rotating you backwards. In a down hill rear tire lift, you have to power out of it. If you stop, the force will continue rotating you forward.

For side hill, it really depends on how much stuff is loaded high up. In stock form, you can really lean over. But once you start loading the roof, you have to be more sensitive. If you feel that you are going to tip side ways, the best way out is to turn downhill and drive out of it. Most people's reflexive action is to turn up hill, which is the worst thing to do.