[Mustang Sammy]

Having driven Vader (my 4WD ScorpioN) for 11000 km purely on-road (and I use the term liberally, since those “roads” are in Mumbai and Pune) the urge to take him on rougher terrain was growing stronger. After a couple of missed windows, I finally managed to sign up for the Learn Offroad (LO) training academy run by D-BHP’ian Dr. Tejas Kothari (Tejas@perioimpl) for October 1, appropriately inflicting violence on myself and my steed before Gandhi Jayanti. The Doc was kind enough to share a primer on off roading and the working principles of differentials, which proved quite handy during the course.
The below write up is nowhere as thorough or illustrative as this one (Learning how to offroad for newbies | Learnoffroad.com) by BHPian Turbolove in his Compass, and this one by D-BHPian Axe77 in his Meridian is also very good. Still, storage is cheap, and TBHP is doing well, so I will take my chances with the moderators and share my $0.02
After gassing Vader up and emptying out the junk that invariably piles up in any vehicle I own, we were ready.
October 1 dawned bright and clear in Pune. We rumbled off at 6:30am to ensure enough buffer, as the expressway drive can be notoriously unpredictable. Luckily there were no surprises en route, allowing a an idli wada and black coffee pit stop at Khalapur. Then we exited the highway and headed out on NH548A towards Pali, getting to the destination well within time, with some government-arranged off roading patches along the way. A brand new lime green Jimny had beaten us to the post though. Our intrepid instructor and more students followed shortly after. A good mix of solo drivers, families and buddies.
Once all had assembled and imbibed hot chai nicely arranged by the Doc, we settled into the theory lesson, which was a refresher of the training with some more pointers.
We were all handed walkie talkies for comms, and then it was time to head into the field. The convoy consisted of 2 Thars (current gen), 2 Endeavors (3.2L), a Compass S, a modded Hilux, yours truly and 2 Jimnys (one of which was driven by Tejas). A short while into the drive we were instructed to put our vehicles into 4L mode, the first time ever for this bad boy.

All queued up and raring to go


Easy as puran poli


Love these monsoon colors


First time he is in 4WL. The high gas mileage number is thanks to the mostly downhill journey from Pune.


The off road Endeavor begins


Fun...

After a short drive we reached the first training area, where everyone reduced their tire pressures to 2/3 of rated levels.
The first course consisted of a steep descent into a muddy ditch followed by an equally steep climb up. The descent was to be performed in 1st gear using Hill Descent Control (if available) without using brakes. Everyone did it fine except for the writer, who forgot to put Vader into 1st (insert eye roll here) as a result of which he made a big splash when he entered the water. The exit from the ditch went off well, including the part where we had to simulate a failed ascent by stopping and restarting the climb. Vader was quite steamed about the episode afterwards, literally so, as the water that entered the engine compartment started evaporating due to the heat.

The Approach. He didn't ditch me.


Mud Bath, Anyone


Stirring things up

The next obstacle involved navigating around and over rocks on the trail, where we were guided by our fellow students. I proved not very good at following or giving instructions, which has been a consistent theme from schooldays till date. Going over rocks was quite educational, and we learnt the importance of the correct approach angle and getting the right momentum to be able to climb without the tire or the rock slipping and the tire/wheel getting damaged.

Long queue for the Rock Concert

Yours truly guiding the Jimny over a strategically placed rock

This was followed by an angled approach over a crest, where the right rear wheel was in the air for a short period, the first time in his history without being on a ramp. Then a crawl over very large pipes, which could have been taken a lot slower, but hopefully no harm done.

Never shown my undercarriage in public before



The right kind of mud - not the one from Thane Belapur Road

The next obstacle consisted of going down a muddy track and then climbing up a steep ramp, turning left using an external indicator (a tree branch in this case) just before a protrusion on the side of the mound that would hit the vehicle otherwise.
Then we broke for lunch and shot the breeze for a bit, before taking on the last 2 assignments.

Slipping & sliding (not). The 4WD is true in this one.


Vader with his red cousin and some brothers from other mothers

The next one was possibly the highlight of the day, involving (what else) a descent down a slope, and then a climb up a rocky incline. There were 5 possible options to do the ascent, and Vader rode up like a champ. Couple of the participants tried more challenging routes, and hats off to their daring.

Heading to the Hard Rock Cafe

https://youtube.com/watch?v=Ou2_FY5c9Iw?

Vader lives to ride another day

The last obstacle of the day (after a short dirt trail drive) was the off-camber challenge where you drive along the slope of the ditch and make a hard right turn at the end to get out. Due to the recent rains the trail had become extremely slushy, and after a couple of aborted attempts by other participants (The Thars & Jimny excepted) yours truly chose discretion over valor and just drove in and out (the latter in reverse). Per Tejas the ScorpioN overhang doesn’t lend itself well to such maneuvers, which was of some comfort.
The day ended with a quick distribution of our certificates, and a pose with our steeds.

Papa kehtey hain bada naam karega..

Dark clouds had started looming, so the post-session chit chat and vote of thanks was canceled just in time for us to dive into our vehicles and make the return journey in pouring rain, stopping for some cows in between and then Gau-ing again till we hit the road, following which it was back to 2WD.
We then made our way to the gas station a few miles away, where we aired up the tires and headed home.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=Ubex0-TtQXo?

The return journey begins

https://youtube.com/watch?v=AWDluPrNyP4?

Muddy patch starting


Thankfully the Levee did not break

Return journey saw some pretty nasty patches of heavy traffic especially the last 2 km before the Expressway. Our tendency to form multiple lanes and barge ahead without consideration for the flow of traffic made things infinitely worse. The expressway was also clogged (strangely in the middle of a long weekend) with heavy trucks in all 3 lanes, further slowing the traffic.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=9Xt2bVia1WQ?

Life is an off-road journey on Indian/Bharatiya roads

Vader held up quite well through the entire experience, only emitting a clanking noise in between when suspension must’ve hit, and another one that remained undiagnosed. He got a nice hose down a day later, and some well earned rest. The ScorpioN and other 4WD vehicles of this generation are truly amazing, and make off-roading so much easier than before.

Thanks to the Doc for a great introduction to off-roading, and to my fellow students for the great company. This is just the beginning of more adventures, with family in tow from next time.

[Sheel]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[Sidban85]

Great to read this. Wondering if you have any modifications e.g guard for DPF, etc or could Scorpio do these stock?

[Tejas@perioimpl]

I'm glad you enjoyed the learning experience. And as I said, remember - offroading is not like learning a cycle. It's not that once you learn, it's a life skill. You need to keep practicing and honing your skills.

Originally Posted by Mustang Sammy

The exit from the ditch went off well, including the part where we had to simulate a failed ascent by stopping and restarting the climb.

Correction: Failed hill climb, back down all the way in reverse without brakes and then restart the climb. Never start midway.

Originally Posted by Sidban85

Great to read this. Wondering if you have any modifications e.g guard for DPF, etc or could Scorpio do these stock?

Level 1 training is for stock vehicles.

[Mustang Sammy]

Originally Posted by Sidban85

Great to read this. Wondering if you have any modifications e.g guard for DPF, etc or could Scorpio do these stock?

100% stock as Tejas said.
Looking into some underbody protection now.