Define Mild vs Medium vs Hardcore wheeling

[GI-John]

As I look through countless posts I see people talk about Mild wheeling, Medium wheeling, etc.

I'm sure that everyone has an opinion as well as an idea of what the difference is, but there is nothing set in stone.

I remember back when I first bought my Jeep (1995) when hitting the local mud pit was pretty hardcore to me, but looking back; it was just driving straight through some mud.

As I went wheeling last weekend, I thought I was doing some Medium wheeling. http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=957637

What are your interpretations of Mild, Medium, and Hardcore?

 

[5-90]

Hm. Y'ask me...

"MILD" - Primarily on-road duty with some fire trails, backroads, and the like. Possibly sees use as a work truck during the week (which, as we all know, are more heavily abused than typical pax vehicle.) Little to no risk of critical driveline component breakage.

"MEDIUM" - Still primarily on-road, but the off-road use would involve blazing trails, rather than following them. Fording up to the top of the wheelhouse, maybe crawling over some heavy obstacles. Light mud/sand work. Moderate potential for breakage of critical components.

"HARDCORE" - Trailer queen ("This is my daily driver. If I roll it, I'm screwed!") Technical crawling offroad, trails are only "trails" because that's the line everyone follows. Lots of torsional drivetrain load from make/break contact and tyre friction grip/release/grip. Fording water to or above the beltline (bottom of the windows.) You clean your rig inside and out with a hose. High potential for breaking things.

"EXTREME" - You break something important with every outing. You roll the vehicle over about one time in three - and it doesn't bother you. You carry more spare parts than you have parts in use, and you go through most of them. You've probably stitched up tyre sidewalls on the trail, and carry more tools and supplies in your rig than most people have in their garage.

How's them?

 

[Blaine B.]

I like!

 

[8Mud]

Mild is when you drive somewhere offroading, moderate is when you make it back home again, hardcore is when you don't. Extreme is when you try and explain the hand and feet prints on the headliner to your wife.

 

[Mudderoy]

Hm. Y'ask me...

"MILD" - Primarily on-road duty with some fire trails, backroads, and the like. Possibly sees use as a work truck during the week (which, as we all know, are more heavily abused than typical pax vehicle.) Little to no risk of critical driveline component breakage.

"MEDIUM" - Still primarily on-road, but the off-road use would involve blazing trails, rather than following them. Fording up to the top of the wheelhouse, maybe crawling over some heavy obstacles. Light mud/sand work. Moderate potential for breakage of critical components.

"HARDCORE" - Trailer queen ("This is my daily driver. If I roll it, I'm screwed!") Technical crawling offroad, trails are only "trails" because that's the line everyone follows. Lots of torsional drivetrain load from make/break contact and tyre friction grip/release/grip. Fording water to or above the beltline (bottom of the windows.) You clean your rig inside and out with a hose. High potential for breaking things.

"EXTREME" - You break something important with every outing. You roll the vehicle over about one time in three - and it doesn't bother you. You carry more spare parts than you have parts in use, and you go through most of them. You've probably stitched up tyre sidewalls on the trail, and carry more tools and supplies in your rig than most people have in their garage.

How's them?

Make this a sticky.

 

[Jes]

"EXTREME" - You break something important with every outing. You roll the vehicle over about one time in three - and it doesn't bother you. You carry more spare parts than you have parts in use, and you go through most of them. You've probably stitched up tyre sidewalls on the trail, and carry more tools and supplies in your rig than most people have in their garage.

I don't agree with that at all.
"Extreme" is more about running the hardest trails and NOT breaking and if you roll it all the time you need to learn how to drive. Most of the people running buggies in the rocks out West don't carry any spare parts or even a spare tire. Heck, I don't even carry a spare tire anymore.
The more crap you carry in your rig the heavier it is. Weight is bad.

 

[JohnX]

Weight is bad.

Damn it Jes...I told you not to call me fat.

 

[GrimmJeeper]

Mild is when you drive somewhere offroading, moderate is when you make it back home again, hardcore is when you don't. Extreme is when you try and explain the hand and feet prints on the headliner to your wife.

haha i love it! :yelclap:

 

[Matt S.]

Hm. Y'ask me...

"MILD" -

"MEDIUM" -

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]

[/FONT]​

"HARDCORE" -

"EXTREME" -

How's them?

Dont let anyone who doesnt wheel tell you what wheeling is.:shhh:

 

[rocknxj]

Sign me up for some medium. I just experienced two days on the Rubicon with 31's and although I left behind some paint and blood, I never had to be strapped. Here I thought it was hardcore. Depends on one's perspective, I guess.

 

[xjrbw]

http://www.4x4trails.net/forums/member.php?action=ratings

A scale of 1-10, also divides into 4 categories.

[FONT=verdana, arial, helvetica]Rating:

Graded dirt road. Dry, or less than 3" water crossing depth. Gentle grades. 2WD under all conditions except snow. No width problems, two vehicles wide.

Rating:

Dirt road. Dry, or less than 3" water crossing depth. Some ruts. Slight grades, up to 10 degrees. 2WD under most conditions. Rain or snow may make 4WD necessary. Usually one and a half to two vehicles wide.

Rating:

Dirt road. Rutted, washes, or gulches. Water crossings up to 6" depth. Passable mud. Grades up to 10 degrees. Small rocks or holes. 4WD recommended but 2WD possible under good conditions and with adequate ground clearance and skill. No width problems for any normal vehicle. Vehicle passing spots frequently available if less than two vehicles wide.

Rating:

Rutted and/or rocky road. No shelves but rocks to 9". Water crossings usually less than hub deep. Passable mud. Grades moderate, up to 15 degrees. Side hill moderate up to 15 degrees. 4WD under most conditions. No width problems, vehicle passing spots frequently available if less than two vehicles wide.

Rating:

Rutted and/or rocky road. No shelves. Rocks up to 12" and water crossings up to 12" with possible currents. Passable mud. Moderate grades to 15 degrees. 6" holes. Side hill to 20 degrees. 4WD required. No width problems.

Rating:

Quite rocky or deep ruts. Rocks to 12" and frequent. Water crossings may exceed hub depth with strong currents. Shelves to 6". Mud may require checking before proceeding. Moderate grades to 20 degrees. Sidehill may approach 30 degrees. 4WD necessary and second attempts may be required with stock vehicles. Caution may be required with wider vehicles.

Rating:

Rocks frequent and large, 12" and may exceed hub height. Holes frequent or deep (12"). Shelves to 9". Mud 8" deep and may be present on uphill sections. Grades to 25 degrees and sidehill to 30 degrees. Water crossings to 18" and may have strong currents. 1-1/2 vehicles wide. 4WD required. Driver experience helpful.

Rating:

Heavy rock and/or severe ruts. Rocks exceeding hub height frequent. Shelves to 12". Deep mud or uphill mud sections. Steep grades to 25 degrees and can be loose or rocky. Water crossings may exceed 30" in depth. Side hill to 30 degrees. One vehicle wide. Body damage possible. Experience needed. Vehicle Modifications helpful.

Rating:

Severe rock over 15". Frequent deep holes over 15". Shelves over 15". Mud bog conditions (long, deep, no form bottom). Over 30" water crossings with strong currents. Steep grades over 30 degrees. Sidehill over 30 degrees. May not be passable by stock vehicles. Experience essential. Body damage, mechanical breakdown, rollover probable. Extreme caution required.

Rating:

Severe conditions. Extreme caution recommended. Impassable by stock vehicles. Winching required. Trail building necessary. May be impassable. Impassable under anything but ideal conditions. Vehicle damage probable. Personal injury possible. Extreme caution necessary.[/FONT]

 

[vetteboy]

Are there really people that go over trails with a ruler and clinometer to decide what level it falls in?

When I started wheeling at Rausch Creek when it first opened, trail markings were minimal at best. We'd go down something and either make it through, turn around, get stuck, break, or some combination of those. No one told us what our vehicles could and couldn't do; we just went wheeling and figured it out. As we upgraded things and learned how to drive, trails got easier and things we couldn't make before became possible.

I like Jes's summary. That's the direction that the guys I wheel with have gone in the last few years.

 

[ren]

Well, according to the "diamond" rating system, I run trails somewhere between 5 & 9, with most being around 7/8. Hmm. Not bad for a DD/Beat-it -like-it-I'm-mugging-it-for-gas-money Jeep. :gee:

 

[Mosephus]

I'd have to agree with scrappy's rating system.

 

[Mudderoy]

Dont let anyone who doesnt wheel tell you what wheeling is.:shhh:

So EXTREME makes your butt hurt?

 

[GSequoia]

So EXTREME makes your butt hurt?

What happens on the lake bed stays on the lake bed.

 

[jpcherokeekid]

Mild is when you drive somewhere offroading, moderate is when you make it back home again, hardcore is when you don't. Extreme is when you try and explain the hand and feet prints on the headliner to your wife.

Basic explination with 100% truth. i like it.

 

[Ray H]

Mild is when you drive somewhere offroading, moderate is when you make it back home again, hardcore is when you don't. Extreme is when you try and explain the hand and feet prints on the headliner to your wife.

Max-Extreme is when even YOU can't explain the feet prints on the headliner unitl AFTER you watch the video on YouTube.

 

[FlexdXJ]

Hey my Jeep resembles the Daily driver sticker on the back window. Until i get a Vdub again then the sticker is coming off

 

[Cipey]

Dont let anyone who doesnt wheel tell you what wheeling is.:shhh:

is that chevy being towed behind that last hummer?

take a close look..it may just be an artifact on the pic but it looks like a strap to me:yap: :yap: :yap:

Cipey