If you're up for an extreme kind of driving, then off roading into sand, gravel, riverbeds, mud, snow, rocks, and other natural terrain would be an extraordinary adventure.

These terrains can sometimes only be traveled by vehicles designed specifically for off-road driving (such as heavy-duty trucks and equipment, SUVs, ATVs, snowmobiles, motorcycles, mountain bicycles) or vehicles that have extra ground clearance, sturdy tires, and in some cases, front and rear locking differential. Examples of vehicle manufacturers outstanding for manufacturing types of off-road vehicle (ORV) include AM General, Land Rover, Jeep and Toyota, although most vehicle manufacturers have some sort of off-road vehicle in their current range . These are usually rather expensive cars. Off road vehicles are generally characterized by having huge tires with deep, open treads and a tractable suspension, or even caterpillar tracks.

Off-road vehicles have an ardent following because of their many uses and versatility. ORV's are also used for motorsports competitions like in Rally, Desert Racing, and Rockcarwling. The three largest types of All Terrain Vehicle (ATV) / Motorcycle competitions are Motocross, Enduro, and also Desert Racing like Dakar Rallye and Baja 1000. The most common use of these vehicles is for sight seeing in areas distant from pavement.

To be able to drive off the pavement, off-road vehicles need several characteristics: They need to have a low ground pressure (to avoid sinking in soft ground), they need ground clearance (to avoid hung ups on obstacles) and they need to keep their wheels or tracks (to avoid losing traction).

Wheeled vehicles accomplish this by having a proper balance of large or additional tires and tall and responsive suspension.

Tracked vehicles accomplish this by having wide tracks and a flexible suspension on the road wheels.

Picking wheels and tracks must also have cost and suitability in mind. A tracked drivetrain is more expensive in terms of maintenance. Wheeled drivetrains are economical and give a higher top speed. For pure off-road capabilities the tracked drivetrain has the benefit.

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