I've read through the archives about the angle at which an Xterra will fall down and go boom. According to my clinometer, today I was at 25 degrees. It felt like I was about to canter over, but I'm inexperienced with this. There wasn't a definitive answer...maybe there can't be one.

Based on your experiences, would you say that the tip angle is greater than 25 degrees as the other thread suggests? I was going very slowly, since I am sure that it makes a difference. I guess I'm just looking to know what is safe and what is not, since I am not highly experienced at this--I can look at the lev-o-gauge and go "OK, I'm safe up to 30, iffy at 35, so hit the gas and don't worry!"

I've been to 40 and there was a little pucker factor

EVERY situation is unique, there is no "magic number" to use as a general rule. I've been past 40 degrees 3 times, and beyond 35 many more. I've also been in situations where I've been under 30 degrees but very close to rolling because a front tire was low and the opposite right tire was high. If the other front tire didn't come down soon, it would have been a different story.

Never trust your clinometer to tell you what's safe and what isn't.

Brent

Perhaps I'm wrong, but aren't clinometers more of a novelty item anyway? I myself don't have one but I've seen many people that do. When I have my X at a precarious angles my eyes are focused on what I'm doing or the person who's spotting me, not on a bubble.

Yeah, they have limited use for the driver, but they're great for quantifying situations. Many times I've seen people say "I was tilted about 40 degrees" when describing a picture that obviously doesn't exceed 30 degrees. The mind exaggerates, the clinometer doesn't.

Brent