April 1978
DRIVING VEHICLES OVER OBSTACLES
1. A number of Equipment Improvement Recommendations (LIR's) and Suggestions have been submitted from field
users of the CGE-IHC, Faystar F5070, 6x4, Dump Truck to better the truck's ground clearance and reduce damage due to
off-road operation. Changes are recommended to obtain more underbelly clearances and to substitute flexible
components for the rigid components to reduce obstacle damage. Except in rare instances where vehicle manufacturers
cause problems, changes to the CCE-IHC dump truck or to other vehicular equipment are usually of no benefit and may
often cause other, more serious problems. Users must rely on the manufacturer's compromised design, component
availability, design clearances and your driver professionalism to prevent serious damage to the vehicle's vital underbelly
parts.
2. Professional drivers learn when and how to drive over obstacles. Get a stack of scrap wood 1x4's, 2x4's, and 4x4's,
and may be some short logs. Now then, take your stack of scrap wood and your vehicle out to a nice, big, level field
having plenty of space for you to turn around. Park the vehicle and stack up the wood, first under the lowest axle
clearance and then, later, under the highest axle clearance between the banjo and the spring seats. Now, negotiate these
stacks of wood with your truck without touching the wood. With the help of a buddy, test your judgment of various heights
of the stacks, as to whether or not your vehicle can clear the wood stack. While you are turning around, have your buddy
either do nothing or add a block of wood in the stack. Next, before you drive over it, you must guess and write down your
truck's "Go" or "No Go" ability. Then, see how good you are by going over the wood stack to "prove" or "improve" your
judgment. Repeat these exercises on uneven ground so you will be ready for judgment in the real world conditions.
3. When you have to negotiate an off-road course with obstacles, tackle only those obstacles your previous experience
tells you your truck will clear without hang-up. With the weight of your CCE dumper, no underneath component made will
take these kinds of loads without tearing up something. Obstacles that are too big to clear must be moved out of the
truck's path or a new path selected. This same heavy weight of your CCE dumper can be an advantage in those cases
where you need to move obstacles. You can move a lot of obstacles out of your path by wrapping a logging chain around
the obstacle and around the front bumper tow eye. Get everyone in the clear and get a helper in your rear mirrors to aid
in backing. Shift to direct-drive or to under-drive in your Aux Box and, using reverse in the main transmission, back up
slowly, dragging each of your obstacles out of your path. Keep an eye on your torque converter temperature gage and
warning light and never let the converter get too hot. Also, keep your tandem in lock-up and never let your rear tandem
tires spin-out. If necessary, use tire chains to keep from spinning. -In selecting a new path around obstacles, do not cut
your maneuvers too short so that damage is done on your tanks, mud flaps, or side walls and tread of the rear tandem
tires. A punctured fuel tank is just as serious in the boondocks as a punctured oil pan or a bent tie-rod.
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