Bear with me if these questions sound stupid, I’ve only ever wheeled a manual rig & have very limited experience except normal driving with an auto.

When wheeling an automatic transmission equipped rig:

1. When in 4Lo, do you just leave it in Drive the whole time?
2. Would you drop it to 1 or 2 if tackling an obstacle?
2a. Would the transmission hold it in 1 or 2 without automatically shifting up?
3. Any reason you wouldn’t leave it on Drive when wheeling?

When wheeling my manual rig, I usually have it in 4Lo & select an appropriate gear to be in depending on what I’m attempting, changing as needed.

Thank you in advance for enlightening an auto idiot.


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I can only speak of wheeling my Xterra.

1. I was told years ago when I started this silliness to never run the AT in drive while in 4LO. This became more apparent after I put 3.7:1 gears into the transfer cases 4LO.

2. I have it in “1”, 4LO only when I’m going 5mph or less. If I run it any faster, I get some backlash and the truck will buck. I have it in “2”, 4LO when I’m going a bit faster but still under 10mph. 4HI and Drive any faster than 10mph. Long climb at speed, 4HI, "2".

2a. My truck “holds it” in “1” or “2” or “Drive” unless I shift it.

3. I was told that it puts unnecessary strain on the AT and could cause premature failure. Like I said, I was what I was told. My AT had to be rebuilt a few months ago so who knows if all my shifting made a difference. I believe running larger tires and the abuse I put the poor thing through it did.

I'm basically in 2 while in 4 lo. It'll hold fine. I'll drop to 1 on a long downhill so I don't smoke the brakes.

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My rig is a stock X trim with 3.13 gears so my crawl ratio is as low as it gets. I wheel in 4LO Drive but I probably wouldn't with 3.69 or 4.10s.

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I wheel 4LO, 1.

Why are you asking, Suresh? Are you hiding something from us?

Short answer - I’m gathering info on how to wheel an auto rig.

Long answer -
Something I’ve been contemplating for many months - thinking about moving to a 4door Jeep, a used one around the same vintage as my 2door.

My 18month old now sits in a rear facing convertible seat....while I can get the car seat in with little issue, I would have to hire a gymnast to put her in the seat & buckle her up. Once she turns forward facing, should have no issues but until then I can’t even pretend I can get her in.

We use my wife’s car for kid carrying duties, so it hasn’t been a critical issue yet. Except when my wife needs to be at work & Abby needs to be taken for something like a doctors appointment (I need the car, wife can’t drive the manual Jeep). The latest safety recommendation is to keep kids rear facing until they exceed the weight or height limits of the seat...so could be a few years until that happens.

Wife wants to be able to drive too, so it has to be an auto. While I love the manual, giving in to the auto requirements will help my case when I get the lift, skids, bumpers, upgraded steering, axles & tires etc. I will need to add any new rig.

The one reason I’ve been contemplating this for so long is that I love the way my Jeep is setup, know all its faults & most of all have it built the way I want it.



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Ah, gotcha.

Maybe Angie would buy it. I heard she’s colleting Jeeps…

I understand your dilemma bro, I really do and although I would never assume you need relationship advice from anyone, especially some idiot from Brooklyn I gotta tell you I never discuss my truck and the stupid amount of money I put into it with my wife or any of my family.

I have yet to find a single soul outside of the nut jobs taking part in this “hobby” that understand any of it in any way.

No one besides me likes to drive my truck even though it’s a 4 door auto and I seldom offer it up. “It’s too big”, “I can’t see anything”, “the back window is blocked”, “it’s too high”, “it handles like a pig”, “it eats too much gas”…bro, it goes on and on and they’re right!

But like you I love it. It’s my truck built for me. I’d buy another car before I gave it up to appease some delusion I might have about it somehow easing my wife's objection to spending the family savings on a fucking skid plate...

Fucking A brother!

I make many sacrifices for my wife, for my kids, for my family and a few friends…my truck ain’t one of them.
It’s one of the few things I do for me.

In the X in the woods, if I need 4wd I’m in 4lo 2nd. On the beach I’m usually in 4hi with OD off. Mostly because I could be traveling at 20-30 mph. And occasionally 45+ if it is low beach driving season and the beach has some nice whoops.

If you are getting a Jeep, how you use the auto will depend a lot on what you get. Rubicon with the lower 4:1 transfer case? 4.10 gears? Tire size?

I've tried all different scenarios with my auto Rubicon with 4.10s and 33s. I have settled on just keeping it in 4LO, D auto mode, letting it shift by itself, and selecting 1 manually when I need it. In regular D, it remains in 2 most of the time and it will upshift when you need it (think sending it on Diaper Hill or Sidewinder). It will then downshift automatically as you slow down, but it does not shift into 1 automatically (at least it never has for me). I will select 1 manually for really slow crawls or really steep descents. Otherwise, my Jeep is geared so low that 1 is not suitable for most situations.

Now, all of this applies to my vehicle. If you get something like a JKU Sport with the normal xfer case and 3.73 gears, all bets are off.

Thanks all. I’m looking at the 4door Rubicons with the 4:10 gears, with an idea of ending with 35s.


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Just make sure you verify that it really has 4.10 gears. They didn't come as part of the Rubicon package, they were an extra cost option.

I thought all Rubicons came with 4:10’s....I’ll have to keep an eye out then. Thanks for the heads up.


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Hey Jeff - do you have the Hard Rock or the 10Anniversary edition with the steel front bumper? And does that steel bumper readily accommodate a winch? Thanks.


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I have a 2014 Rubicon X, which uses the same steel front bumper as the 10A and Hard Rock. The front bumper "accommodates" a winch, but you will need to buy a winch mounting plate to actually mount the winch. I'm using a mount by Maximus 3.

Check out their offerings here:
https://maximus-3.com/10a-x-and-hard-rock