1996 Chevrolet Suburban Owner's Manual - Page 203

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 ora rollover. 0 Surface conditionscan be a problem when you drive across a hill. Loose gravel,muddy spots, oreven 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. 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 tryto 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. Q: What if I'm driving across an incline that's not too steep, butI hit some loose gravel and start to slide downhill. What should I do? A: If you feel your vehicle starting to slide sideways, turn downhill. This should help straighten out the vehicle and prevent the side slipping. However, a much better way to prevent this is to get out and "walkthe course" so you know what the surface is like before you drive it. Stalling on an Incline If your vehicle stallswhen you're crossing an incline, be sure you (and your passengers) get out on the uphill side, even if the door there is harder to open. If you get out on the downhill side and the vehicle starts to roll over, you'll be right in its path. If you have to walk down the slope, stay out of the path the vehicle will take if it does roll over. 4-20