When and How to Use Low Range in Your Offroader. You may have noticed off-road vehicles like Ford Broncos and Toyota Tacomas crawling over boulders or churning through mud and wondered, “How the heck is that possible?”
For starters, those cars can distribute power to all four wheels, providing additional traction. Second, they’re frequently outfitted with “low range,” a driving mode that helps them to navigate huge obstacles while off-road.
WHAT IS LOW RANGE?
Low range, sometimes known as low gear, is a setting for rough terrain, such as huge rocks or deep muck, that allows for sluggish travel while maintaining high power.
When you change a car from high range (the default) to low range, you are putting it in a gear position that transmits greater torque to the wheels at a lower speed. Torque is the twisting force produced when you use a wrench to tighten a bolt or rotate a pencil in a manual sharpener.
Low range can be useful while rock crawling, descending steep grades, walking through muck, or any other activity that requires a slow, careful pace without sacrificing power.
It can be tempting to tackle an obstacle with force and speed. However, this strategy may increase the likelihood of damage to your car, including the transmission and body panels. Low range lets you to overcome barriers using power rather than velocity and is not intended for high speeds. Instead, low gearing is designed for speeds between 10 and 15 mph.
When deciding on the appropriate speed, remember the old proverb “as slow as possible, as fast as necessary”. Walking the obstacle first allows you to see any potential risks up close before attempting the challenging stretch from behind the wheel.
How to Engage Low Range
A transfer case is one of several automotive components (together with the transmission) that transfer power from the engine to the wheels.
Low range can be activated electronically using a dial or button, as in the Ford F-150 Raptor, or manually with a gear lever, as in some Jeeps. In either case, before you operate that dial or lever, you should bring the vehicle to a complete stop and shift into neutral. When using a gear lever to manually move the gears in the transfer case, keep in mind that you may need to exert some force.
When low range is activated, you should see an indicator on the dashboard display, usually a light. Take the vehicle out of neutral and back into drive, and you’ll be all set.
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Do not be concerned if low range fails to fully engage and the vehicle does not move when you press the accelerator. Simply follow the technique in reverse. Put the vehicle back in high gear, move ahead or backward a few feet, and try again. Remember to put the transmission in neutral before attempting to change to low range.
Once you’ve passed the tough section of the trail, you can keep your vehicle in low range, although it’s not required. When in low range, your speed is limited, but you’ll probably want to travel faster on the smoother sections of the route.
