Over the years we found ourselves driving any surfaces, from tarmac to gravel, and from mud to salt plains. Although every type of terrain offers challenges, corrugated gravel roads are among the worst to drive on. They shake and vibrate your vehicle uncontrollably, literally breaking it to pieces. For us, these roads have proven to be the biggest challenge to deal with. While you can balance out the corrugation by driving at high speeds, often, the track is so uneven making this a very dangerous undertaking. You will most likely be forced to adjust your speed to keep your vehicle in one piece.

So, what to do on challenging surfaces that are likely to lead to mechanical disaster?

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Lower tire pressure

One of the easiest ways to prevent wear and tear on your vehicle is to adjust your tire pressure. Lowering the pressure is an easy and quick solution to mitigate rough tracks’ vibrations and small impacts. The lower pressure helps our tires to act like cushions, dampening the effects of the surface you drive on.

We know not everybody brings one, but in our opinion, a compressor is essential to install in your vehicle. That way you don’t have to worry about deflating and inflating your tires at gas stations or tire repair shops. With just a tire deflation kit (or your keys and a pressure gauge), and a compressor you’re all set.

Although it might be different for everybody – factors such as tire brand and vehicle weight should be taken into account –, we use the following pressures on the different types of terrain:

• 5 bar (rear) and 2.5 bar (front) on tarmac (50 and 36 PSI respectively)
• 5 bar (rear) and 1.5 bar (front) on smooth off-road surfaces (36 and 22 PSI respectively)
• 8 (rear) and 1.2 bar (front) on uneven gravel roads and rocky surfaces (26 and 17 PSI respectively)
• 5 (rear) and 1.0 bar (Front) on loose sand – sometimes we lower it even more, but mostly we stay above these values. (22 and 14 PSI respectively)

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Adjust speed

Adjusting your speed prolongs the life of the vehicle. Rushing is never good, but rushing on rough tracks is even worse, as it will break your vehicle eventually. By driving at lower speeds you minimize the force of impact, saving not only bushes, shocks, and steering components, but also minimizing force on the entire vehicle’s structure.

There is one off-road instance where higher speeds might help you, and that is on corrugated gravel roads. There are certain scenarios where a higher speed helps you to stay on top of the corrugation, canceling out the ups and downs of the track. It makes things a lot smoother. However, staying on top of the corrugation also means you lose out on traction and steering, so it is not always recommended.

Besides that, driving at high speeds on corrugated roads with our overland vehicles can be tricky. Often, our trucks are quite top-heavy and roads aren’t as smooth as they might seem. Bumps and holes in the track can easily make you lose control, or flip the vehicle. Although we have managed to speed up and stay on top of the corrugation on some occasions, we rarely manage to safely do so and more often opt for lower speeds instead. It might be slow and annoying, but at least it’s controlled and safe.

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Right suspension

The right suspension is one of the biggest game-changers for a comfortable and smooth ride. Especially talking about the prevention of wear and tear, your suspension setup makes all the difference. While your tires are the first ‘cushion’ to dampen the effects of an uneven surface, your suspension comes next.

A good suspension setup will minimize vibrations and mitigate the impacts of the rough tracks you’re driving on. Investing in a good setup here, will therefore not only enhance comfort but also prolong the life of your vehicle and minimize problem-solving on the road.

Rafiki, our Defender 110, has been a workhorse all its life. It’s been handling anything that’s being thrown at him and more. However, he’s 24 years old and covered 460.000 km in his lifespan. Things start to wear out, and now in Africa, this is happening at a much faster rate. Up North – in the dunes or mud – everything was still okay. But in the South, corrugation wreaks havoc on a vehicle in a matter of weeks. Our bonnet killed our heating system, our roof unscrewed itself multiple times (one time we were forced to fix it whilst surrounded by elephants), and rivets have fallen out more than once. Our suspension couldn’t cope with the vibrations and impacts of these roads, and the result was visible.

We are now collaborating with Nimbus Suspensions to install custom suspensions, making wear and tear of this magnitude a thing of the past. We hope to install them soon and provide you with an update on our experiences.

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Stay on top of things

Anything component with play will start rattling, clonking, or making other noises. When everything is tight, you are fine. But as soon as the slightest play introduces itself into the system, things get worse fast. Metal starts to wear, parts get beaten at greater force, threads on bolts might get damaged, etc. Staying on top of things is vital.

To tackle this, it is important to perform regular checks on all major vehicle components. Check for wheel bearing play, loose wheels, or loose suspension bolts, check if the roof rack is still properly attached, and go over anything and everything.

You might not have the right skill set to carry out full-scale maintenance or repair anything that arises, but we are fully confident you can keep your vehicle in relatively good condition by just paying attention. Nobody knows your vehicle better than you do, and over the years you will start to get a feel of what’s right or wrong. Once you know the baseline of how your vehicle should behave and sound, you know when something’s up. Listen for abnormalities, smell for anything out of the ordinary (sweet could be a coolant leak!), and feel how every part is connected. It isn’t always clear that something is loose until you grab and shake it. Sometimes you will feel a tick or clonk coming from the undercarriage when driving, but more often it is good to feel for play purposefully.

Remember, anything resonating through the steering wheel (you’ll feel it in your hands) is most likely steering-linkage or front suspension related, anything you feel in your bum is most likely coming from the rear end of the vehicle.

Keep your senses open, act when there’s the slightest doubt, and keep checking!