My story is much like the situation appstatedisco was in not too long ago.
Saturday, I called two buddies of mine I havent seen in some time and asked them if they wanted to go wheelin with me. I picked them up and headed to the trail. I plow through some deep mud holes and puddles. Before approaching the end of the trail, there's a biiig hole I hadn't gone through before because its the deepest one and I dont have a snorkel, and I havent sealed my ECU. I didnt think it could be MUCH deeper so I gave it a go and punched it...
I immidiately put the front tip (not the whole bonnet, just the tip) of my truck under water and freak the HELL OUT! (means I was quiet and white-knucling the wheel). In an attempt to make a quick escape, I point the wheel towards the right edge of the hole, get the right side of the truck on it, and come to a hault on dry mud.
At this point, my truck is at a little less than a 45 degree angle with the left side of the truck a little below half way of the door in water, and the right side up on the dry mud. I climb out the passenger side, while my buddies who were already outside, are standing, looking at my truck in awe (their first time off-road). Luckily, there is no damage. I climp up on the roof of my truck to get the Hi-Lift off the rack (that's the Stock rack, for those of you who are picturing). I found a stump about 35 feet away at my truck's 2-o'clock, which is PRECISELY what I needed. The tree-strap, chain, hi-light, tow-strap, and shackles are quickly set up, and I start winchin while my friend Chris puts all his weight at the end of the hi-lift and my other friend Justo helps me pull/push on the lever.
The strap gets tight but there is no movement, i climp into the car again and hold the wheel at the 2-o'clock position while my buddy Just winches. I think we moved it about an inch. As I'm in the car, I here two approaching engine. I look over to my right and there are two guys on ATVs (the work/hunting type, not the sporty ones). They both hook up to my shackles and begin to tow...nothing. Then they tried, back up, and yank..and that finally got us moving inch at a time. After we moved about 5 inches, i went outside, cleared the mud from the front of the tires, climbed back in, made sure Diff was locked, and on the last yank of the ATVs, I came roaring out!!! Best feeling yet! I thank the guys, they get on their way, I pick up my stuff, and turn the truck around.
Going back that way we came in, I picked the wrong line, and went over a hump of roots right into a another hole with nothing but dried up mud!!!! :complain: This time the WHOLE truck was in and we were in DEEP. I couldnt open the doors!!! Put the windo down, climbed out, saw that I didnt have any trees near me and started to call my firneds with pick-up trucks. Called one guy who's brothers with a Tow-Truck Service owner. He told me that even if he got there, he wouldnt be able to do much since I was about 300 yards from the entrance of the trail, which was right off the curb. I IMMEDIATELY begin to panic and almost passed out.
As I'm sittin on the ground thinking, visualizing anything I could possibly do, I look up and see some of the darkest clouds we've had down here all summer! The lightning and thunder was INCREDIBLY LOUD and when ever it would strike, it was TOTAL WHITE OUT! (it quickly moved in over us). At that moment, I thought about appstatedisco. I instantly felt his pain the day his truck got stuck!
OUT OF NOWHERE!!! I see the two guys on ATVs comming back again!!! MIRACLE of the ROVER GODS!!! (since they had gone out the way we came in, I thought they had left)...we quickly hook everything back up again and they start to pull from the back, but since they were on higher ground, their ATVs were only diggin themselves in the the ground. They couldnt do it from the front since that would have required getting their ATVs into the same mud I was in. The strap wasnt long enough for them to pull from firm land at the front. They decide that one of them would go home and get his truck (mid-90's 4x4 Silverado that's ONLY been used to tow, and the 4x4 NEVER been engaged.)
As we wait the winds pic up dramatically and in a matter of seconds and the 5-in-the-afternoon sunlight has been eclipsed by these MASSIVE, HEAVY, DARK clouds. The subject of leaving the truck there for the night comes up amongs the one guy who was still with us and my two friends. I refused to do so. Still waiting... The other guy finally arrives and can be seen from our location. Once the guy had enetered, he stopped, took a few seconds to think about getting his truck dirty for the first time, I hear the 4x4 being engaged, and he plows right through the first set of hole...it was like watching an old Chevy commercial while "Like A Rock" plays. He gets the front end of his truck into the shallow part of the hole I was in, hooks up my tow strap to his stock-recovery hooks. It begines to POUR!!! I'm talkin golf-sized water drops!!! Unfortunately, (you can already see where this is going...) I was rushing and install the shackle on the BurshBar's RH "Recovery" point. He starts to tow and I begine to move, but I still have NOO traction...tows some more, I move foward some more. Almost at the end of the hole, he give one final yank, and my bumpers, lower, RH bolt pops and my brushguard's right side peeks over the hood-line of the truck
At that moment, I didnt care, because with that final yank, the wheels came onto dry land and traction was recovered. We both drove out to the side of the road and looked for any undercarriage damage. NONE WHAT-SO-EVER!!! :buttrock:
Turned the truck back on, and drove to my friends house. Amazingly, my braking problem, where my truck would veer to the left as the brakes were being applied, was GONE!!! It drove like a dream! Smoooth! By then the sun had set and it was STILL POURING!
This morning I woke up early to assess the damage. Not only had the bolt on the bumper poped, the RH crushcan had collapsed a bit in an upper position, so if you look at the truck from the front, the RH (the left if your lookin at it from teh front) is up a tad. Not only up, but out too. So far out that my tires rub my LH end cap. The truck now sits on my driveway, with a now clean exterior, partially clean interior, bumperless at the front, and a LH CV joint still badly damaged from before. Atleast I'm home, with my truck :wave:
LESSONS LEARNED:
- dry mud is the enemy
- pick your lines wisely
- have a realistic Plan C you can fall back on if worst comes to worst
BENEFITS:
- Knowledge
- new friends (gave the two guys that number and address to the shop I work at to get RIDICULOUSLY good deals on goodies for their trucks.
- a reason to get a new Winch-Mount Bumper ( JOHN!!! Get that order form ready )
- another reason, to get MTs sooner that planned.
Guys, I'll have EXTREMELY sucky phone-pics to post as soon as my friend Chris sends them over.
Soo sorry for the length of the post
Saturday, I called two buddies of mine I havent seen in some time and asked them if they wanted to go wheelin with me. I picked them up and headed to the trail. I plow through some deep mud holes and puddles. Before approaching the end of the trail, there's a biiig hole I hadn't gone through before because its the deepest one and I dont have a snorkel, and I havent sealed my ECU. I didnt think it could be MUCH deeper so I gave it a go and punched it...
I immidiately put the front tip (not the whole bonnet, just the tip) of my truck under water and freak the HELL OUT! (means I was quiet and white-knucling the wheel). In an attempt to make a quick escape, I point the wheel towards the right edge of the hole, get the right side of the truck on it, and come to a hault on dry mud.
At this point, my truck is at a little less than a 45 degree angle with the left side of the truck a little below half way of the door in water, and the right side up on the dry mud. I climb out the passenger side, while my buddies who were already outside, are standing, looking at my truck in awe (their first time off-road). Luckily, there is no damage. I climp up on the roof of my truck to get the Hi-Lift off the rack (that's the Stock rack, for those of you who are picturing). I found a stump about 35 feet away at my truck's 2-o'clock, which is PRECISELY what I needed. The tree-strap, chain, hi-light, tow-strap, and shackles are quickly set up, and I start winchin while my friend Chris puts all his weight at the end of the hi-lift and my other friend Justo helps me pull/push on the lever.
The strap gets tight but there is no movement, i climp into the car again and hold the wheel at the 2-o'clock position while my buddy Just winches. I think we moved it about an inch. As I'm in the car, I here two approaching engine. I look over to my right and there are two guys on ATVs (the work/hunting type, not the sporty ones). They both hook up to my shackles and begin to tow...nothing. Then they tried, back up, and yank..and that finally got us moving inch at a time. After we moved about 5 inches, i went outside, cleared the mud from the front of the tires, climbed back in, made sure Diff was locked, and on the last yank of the ATVs, I came roaring out!!! Best feeling yet! I thank the guys, they get on their way, I pick up my stuff, and turn the truck around.
Going back that way we came in, I picked the wrong line, and went over a hump of roots right into a another hole with nothing but dried up mud!!!! :complain: This time the WHOLE truck was in and we were in DEEP. I couldnt open the doors!!! Put the windo down, climbed out, saw that I didnt have any trees near me and started to call my firneds with pick-up trucks. Called one guy who's brothers with a Tow-Truck Service owner. He told me that even if he got there, he wouldnt be able to do much since I was about 300 yards from the entrance of the trail, which was right off the curb. I IMMEDIATELY begin to panic and almost passed out.
As I'm sittin on the ground thinking, visualizing anything I could possibly do, I look up and see some of the darkest clouds we've had down here all summer! The lightning and thunder was INCREDIBLY LOUD and when ever it would strike, it was TOTAL WHITE OUT! (it quickly moved in over us). At that moment, I thought about appstatedisco. I instantly felt his pain the day his truck got stuck!
OUT OF NOWHERE!!! I see the two guys on ATVs comming back again!!! MIRACLE of the ROVER GODS!!! (since they had gone out the way we came in, I thought they had left)...we quickly hook everything back up again and they start to pull from the back, but since they were on higher ground, their ATVs were only diggin themselves in the the ground. They couldnt do it from the front since that would have required getting their ATVs into the same mud I was in. The strap wasnt long enough for them to pull from firm land at the front. They decide that one of them would go home and get his truck (mid-90's 4x4 Silverado that's ONLY been used to tow, and the 4x4 NEVER been engaged.)
As we wait the winds pic up dramatically and in a matter of seconds and the 5-in-the-afternoon sunlight has been eclipsed by these MASSIVE, HEAVY, DARK clouds. The subject of leaving the truck there for the night comes up amongs the one guy who was still with us and my two friends. I refused to do so. Still waiting... The other guy finally arrives and can be seen from our location. Once the guy had enetered, he stopped, took a few seconds to think about getting his truck dirty for the first time, I hear the 4x4 being engaged, and he plows right through the first set of hole...it was like watching an old Chevy commercial while "Like A Rock" plays. He gets the front end of his truck into the shallow part of the hole I was in, hooks up my tow strap to his stock-recovery hooks. It begines to POUR!!! I'm talkin golf-sized water drops!!! Unfortunately, (you can already see where this is going...) I was rushing and install the shackle on the BurshBar's RH "Recovery" point. He starts to tow and I begine to move, but I still have NOO traction...tows some more, I move foward some more. Almost at the end of the hole, he give one final yank, and my bumpers, lower, RH bolt pops and my brushguard's right side peeks over the hood-line of the truck
At that moment, I didnt care, because with that final yank, the wheels came onto dry land and traction was recovered. We both drove out to the side of the road and looked for any undercarriage damage. NONE WHAT-SO-EVER!!! :buttrock: Turned the truck back on, and drove to my friends house. Amazingly, my braking problem, where my truck would veer to the left as the brakes were being applied, was GONE!!! It drove like a dream! Smoooth! By then the sun had set and it was STILL POURING!
This morning I woke up early to assess the damage. Not only had the bolt on the bumper poped, the RH crushcan had collapsed a bit in an upper position, so if you look at the truck from the front, the RH (the left if your lookin at it from teh front) is up a tad. Not only up, but out too. So far out that my tires rub my LH end cap. The truck now sits on my driveway, with a now clean exterior, partially clean interior, bumperless at the front, and a LH CV joint still badly damaged from before. Atleast I'm home, with my truck :wave:
LESSONS LEARNED:
- dry mud is the enemy
- pick your lines wisely
- have a realistic Plan C you can fall back on if worst comes to worst
BENEFITS:
- Knowledge
- new friends (gave the two guys that number and address to the shop I work at to get RIDICULOUSLY good deals on goodies for their trucks.
- a reason to get a new Winch-Mount Bumper ( JOHN!!! Get that order form ready )
- another reason, to get MTs sooner that planned.
Guys, I'll have EXTREMELY sucky phone-pics to post as soon as my friend Chris sends them over.
Soo sorry for the length of the post
