What's The Best Way To Tackle Ditches When Driving Off-road?

The correct way to tackle a ditch is to cross it at an angle of 45 degrees. Go slowly in first gear, low ratio. Engage the centre diff lock if fitted.

By approaching the ditch at a 45 degree angle, the aim is to only have one wheel in the ditch at a time. The other three wheels will have traction and be driving it through until the next wheel enters and so on, until all four wheels have crossed the ditch.

The same technique can also be applied when crossing a ridge, or even fallen trees.

As usual when off-roading, the golden rule is to go as slow as possible and as fast as necessary.

Crossing ditches is one of the situations where a long wheelbase vehicle has an advantage over a short wheelbase 4x4. The longer wheelbase means that this type of vehicle is more likely to be able to span a deep, wide ditch.

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