I must admit, I did not have the slightest clue as to what real off-roading was all about prior to my week with the Jeep. To me, the definition meant driving through muddy fields, pot-holed parking lots, or crawling over parking barriers. Boy was my definition wrong. I could not have experienced the full thrill of driving wayward from the straight and narrow until receiving an introductory lesson from Willie Joubert, one of the owners of the "Off Road Academy" located in West Vancouver, B.C. Willie's facility consists of a 10 acre plot of land on which he has strategically set up obstacles and barriers to teach people about their (new/old) vehicles and how their 4x4s perform under "natural" circumstances. Willie's goal in educating class-takers is to show them the limitations of their vehicles in a safe and supervised environment. I thought to myself, how hard could it be to drive in the bushes over some rocks and bumps? As it turns out, it's harder than it looks.
As I entered the course, I was instructed to put the Jeep in 4-Low, a 4:1 bull low gear that comes as part of the Rubicon's standard Rock-Traction HD Part Time 4WD System. In this gear I immediately felt the full wrath of 235 lb-ft of torque. I never thought I would be able to launch the Jeep on a really steep rocky and muddy incline, in second gear, while nearly at idle, but nevertheless Willie showed me how. Wow! Of course in order to grip in such conditions the Rubicon had help from its MT/R LT 246/75R16 BSW tires and 16x8 "MOAB" Cast Aluminum wheels. These puppies dig in with pit bull tenacity. The tires and wheels work together with traction control, making the Jeep seem unstoppable.
I must admit, I did not have the slightest clue as to what real off-roading was all about prior to my week with the Jeep. To me, the definition meant driving through muddy fields, pot-holed parking lots, or crawling over parking barriers. Boy was my definition wrong. I could not have experienced the full thrill of driving wayward from the straight and narrow until receiving an introductory lesson from Willie Joubert, one of the owners of the "Off Road Academy" located in West Vancouver, B.C. Willie's facility consists of a 10 acre plot of land on which he has strategically set up obstacles and barriers to teach people about their (new/old) vehicles and how their 4x4s perform under "natural" circumstances. Willie's goal in educating class-takers is to show them the limitations of their vehicles in a safe and supervised environment. I thought to myself, how hard could it be to drive in the bushes over some rocks and bumps? As it turns out, it's harder than it looks. 
As I entered the course, I was instructed to put the Jeep in 4-Low, a 4:1 bull low gear that comes as part of the Rubicon's standard Rock-Traction HD Part Time 4WD System. In this gear I immediately felt the full wrath of 235 lb-ft of torque. I never thought I would be able to launch the Jeep on a really steep rocky and muddy incline, in second gear, while nearly at idle, but nevertheless Willie showed me how. Wow! Of course in order to grip in such conditions the Rubicon had help from its MT/R LT 246/75R16 BSW tires and 16x8 "MOAB" Cast Aluminum wheels. These puppies dig in with pit bull tenacity. The tires and wheels work together with traction control, making the Jeep seem unstoppable.