Driving Across An Incline - GMC 1999 Envoy Owner's Manual

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When driving downhill, avoid turns that take you
across the incline of the hill. A hill that's not too
steep to drive down may be too steep to drive across.
You could roll over if you don't drive straight down.
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Never go downhill with the transmission in
NEUTRAL (N). This is called "free
brakes will have to do all the work and could
overheat and fade.
Q:
Am I likely to stall when going downhill?
A:
It's much more likely to happen going uphill. But if
it happens going downhill, here's what to do.
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Stop your vehicle by applying the regular brakes.
Apply the parking brake.
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Shift to PARK (P) and, while still braking, restart
the engine.
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Shift back to a low gear, release the parking brake,
and drive straight down.
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If the engine won't start, get out and get help.

Driving Across an Incline

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Sooner or later, an off road trail will probably go across
the incline of a hill. If this happens, you have to decide
whether to try to drive across the incline. Here are some
things to consider:
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A hill that can be driven straight up or down may be
too steep to drive across. When you go straight up or
down a hill, the length of the wheel base (the distance
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wheeling." Your from the front wheels to the rear wheels) reduces the
likelihood the vehicle will tumble end over end. But
when you drive across an incline, the much more
narrow track width (the distance between the left and
right wheels) may not prevent the vehicle from tilting
and rolling over. Also, driving across an incline puts
more weight on the downhill wheels. This could cause
a downhill slide or a rollover.
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Surface conditions can be a problem when you drive
across a hill. Loose gravel, muddy spots, or even wet
grass can cause your tires to slip sideways, downhill.
If the vehicle slips sideways, it can hit something
that will trip it (a rock, a rut, etc.) and roll over.
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Hidden obstacles can make the steepness of the
incline even worse. If you drive across a rock with
the uphill wheels, or if the downhill wheels drop into
a rut or depression, your vehicle can tilt even more.
For reasons like these, you need to decide carefully
whether to try to drive across an incline. Just because the
trail goes across the incline doesn't mean you have to
drive it. The last vehicle to try it might have rolled over.
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