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ontheedgeandscaredtodeath
Trad climber
San Francisco, Ca
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Jun 23, 2008 - 01:48pm PT
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Friend and I are driving a moving truck pulling a car carrier. We pull off to go to sleep, drive down a dirt rode and get the entire rig stuck in a wash. fuc. The next morning call a tow company- They told us it would be $1000 just to look. We are on our own. We let most of the air out of the car on the carrier and gun it down the carrier ramps and across the sand to solid ground (in reverse). Then we take the ramps off the carrier and use them to drive the moving truck to solid ground, ten feet at a time. Dig-move-dig-move-dig-move. Took hours. Car carrier is still out in the wash. Tied two nine mils together and hauled the carrier out. Onward ho!
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bluering
Trad climber
Santa Clara, Ca.
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Jun 23, 2008 - 01:54pm PT
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Not only is a good come-along (w/ 3" tow strap) a must have but it's a damn cool tool to have.
They don't really take up any room either when they're stowed.
I bought mine after getting my truck stuck and snapping an old climbing rope. Truck came right out with the come-along deployed. Just winch it out!
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bvb
Social climber
flagstaff arizona
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Jun 23, 2008 - 01:59pm PT
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sturdy toyota tacoma 4X4, decent winch, 32" BFG AT's, locking rear diff, 2" lift, and don't try anything you ain't confident about.
use this playbook and the only recovery tool you'll need is a small shovel.
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John Moosie
climber
Beautiful California
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Jun 23, 2008 - 02:41pm PT
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"sturdy toyota tacoma 4X4, decent winch, 32" BFG AT's, locking rear diff, 2" lift, and don't try anything you ain't confident about.
use this playbook and the only recovery tool you'll need is a small shovel."
Don't forget the decent winch.... haha..
Only trying things you are fully confident about is not always possible. Most of my stucks came from situations where I just didn't have a choice I could live with. In the one I mentioned earlier, a large tree was across the road. To back track would have required more miles then I had gas for. The way back was about 40 hard miles, the way forward was about 20 easy miles. Yes I goofed and was pushing the envelope, but those last 20 miles were on graded road and I thought I could make that easily. I forgot about obstacles such as downed trees. I could have chewed away at the tree with the hand axe and the bow saw, but it was big enough that that was going to be a lot of work. Or I could try driving around it. I wasn't totally confident, but I had just enough confidence to risk it, I made a mistake in judgement and rolled my truck partially on its side. A tree kept me from going over completely The way it was positioned, I couldn't roll it back upright without a come along. I could have used the highlift jack as a come along but the come along is just easier and doesn't take up that much space.
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Juan Maderita
Trad climber
San Diego, CA
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Jun 23, 2008 - 02:54pm PT
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Here are a couple more tricks from my travels:
Bent tie rod in Laguna Salada dry lake, one wheel pointing to Mexicali, the other toward Tijuana (not a good thing). Put a 1" tubular sling around the tie rod in Prusik fashion. Placed the base of the Hi-Lift jack against a chassis crossmember, looped the sling over the moving end of the Hi-Lift and pressed the tie rod straight.
Stuck in mud, Sierra San Pedro Martir on approach to Pichaco del Diablo, in a venerable Land Crusher FJ40. Creek crossing gone wrong. Open diffs and the two tires on the passenger side were mired to the axle and spinning without resistance. Lashed the spoked wheels to the frame with pieces of 11mm climbing rope. That transferred the power to the driver's-side tires which were on dry ground. Drove right out and never had to deploy the PTO winch cable.
I can verify first-hand that instant oatmeal will plug radiator leaks. Though, Alumi-seal is an inexpensive product made for that purpose and is easily carried in the kit.
More radiator troubles en route from Sonora to Chihuahua's Copper Canyon in a Toyota Stout (early pickup). My buddy neglected to tell me that his hood latch was broken and misaligned. I shoved on the hood and put the latch prong through the radiator tank. Scavenged a fat sheet metal screw off the fender, added a piece of inner tube rubber for a seal, and screwed it into the hole. A five minute fix and it didn't leak a drop.
Dusy-Ershim trail out of Courtright Reservoir, a fairly serious rock-crawling Jeep trip. Broken axle housing on a friend's rig. I carried the full kit for that trip, including arc welding rod. We rigged 3 batteries together and welded the axle right on the trail. Good enough to get it home.
Getting stuck and breaking stuff is expected. The fun is in figuring out the solutions and in dealing with it yourself.
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tolman_paul
Trad climber
Anchorage, AK
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Jun 23, 2008 - 02:57pm PT
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Not discovered offroading, but a leak in a radiator can be fixed with a blob of blue rtv, cures overnight.
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Mighty Hiker
Social climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Jun 23, 2008 - 03:07pm PT
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Preparation and planning often help.
The most important tool in my kit is attached to and directly above my shoulders.
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Dr. Rock
Ice climber
Castle Rock
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Jun 23, 2008 - 03:15pm PT
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The more stuff you put on a jeep, the more sense it makes to walk, or buy a motorcycle.
Plus, you can spend a fortune.
If you can walk faster than a guy on the Rubicon, then what's the point?
It's the "Ray Way" of four wheeling, hoofin it, that is.
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Strider
Trad climber
one of god's mountain temples....
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Jun 23, 2008 - 04:20pm PT
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Not my rigs but some friends. This is them stuck in a lake about 12 miles down Stampede Road in Healy, AK. Same road from Into the Wild. And they were STUCK. I got stuck as well but was able to get out before it got too bad for me. I tried to help them but they were both set on their frame rails and all I had was some tow straps and none of the other goodies I like to have. They ended up paying a guy to pull them out with the most bizarre machine I have ever seen. 6 wheels, on tank tracks with a diesel engine. The guy just connected them both to his rig and pulled them out at the same time, with nary a bead of sweat, it was amazing. I guess this guys makes a lot of money doing this. Lots of idiots like to come down this road to try and drive to the Into the Wild bus and they get stuck and he pulls them out for $75 a pop! He said every week or two he gets a couple.
-n
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Toker Villain
Big Wall climber
Toquerville, Utah
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Jun 23, 2008 - 04:56pm PT
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Sounds more like a trapper than a farmer.
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Mungeclimber
Trad climber
sorry, just posting out loud.
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 23, 2008 - 06:34pm PT
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nice photos Strider and DMT
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F10 Climber F11 Drinker
Trad climber
medicated and flat on my back
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Jun 23, 2008 - 08:30pm PT
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Believe it or not a little brake can move you forward.
If you are running open diff's and you feel the one tire spinning but not going anywhere apply some brake pressure to keep the spinning tire still and power will be transfered to the tire with traction. This is the poor man's limited-slip and doesn't cost a penny.
Use a good eye to pick out a path that will allow all four tires to remain in contact will keep tire spinning to a minimun as Juan pointed out earlier stay on the high points.
Slow and steady is what usually works best. Low-range with a diesel E350 crawls along nice and slow, don't won't the beer all shook up !
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Toker Villain
Big Wall climber
Toquerville, Utah
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Jun 23, 2008 - 08:32pm PT
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51% operator.
In "Hummer school" they teach the brake feathering technique.
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Toker Villain
Big Wall climber
Toquerville, Utah
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Jun 23, 2008 - 10:19pm PT
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Those bumper stickers are great red flags for thieves,..
How about making the pic a bit bigger.....
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originalpmac
Trad climber
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Jun 23, 2008 - 10:26pm PT
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when I was working as a sled dog tour guide in Oregon the truck would get stuck in the snow every now and again. we always joked about hooking up 54 Alaskan Huskies up and having them do the work. We never did, but I bet they could've done it, those dogs were strong.
Anyone ever heard of a Pinzgauer? made by Puch, Austrian military vehicle six wheeler. A friend back east growing up had the grandfather to it called a Halflinger, little four-wheel drive thing and man that fvcker could go anywhere. If it had the clearance, it would make it. drank a lot of beer on that little beast.
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Juan Maderita
Trad climber
San Diego, CA
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Jun 24, 2008 - 12:58am PT
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Here's an inexpensive device for emergency tire inflation. I came up with this a few years ago to use inexpensive parts and paintball CO2 tanks. You saw it first, here on SuperTopo!
One 16 or 20 oz. tank should fill two or more truck tires. CO2 tanks hold liquid CO2, and are space efficient, unlike an air tank. This system will also give a burst of gas for seating tire beads.
There are now some pressure regulated valves for operating nail guns, but they are expensive. Adding a pressure regulator would tack on another $75 to the price, vs. my $16 in parts.
The key to my unregulated system is to modify the air chuck. Remove the check valve so that it will free-flow. On most types of air chucks you can unscrew and remove the guts. On some, I've overdrilled the orifice to get faster flow. Do not use hose clamps on the tubing. A plastic wire tie might be okay. The idea is that you want the hose to blow off, should the back pressure become excessive (over 35 psi). The CO2 gas out of the tank is around 900 psi, so be careful. Wear eye protection. Gloves or a rag to protect hands from freezing. Keep the bottle upright when discharging. You want the gas off of the top, not the liquid, to exit the valve. Keep the tank out of the sun. The tank's pin valve should have a burst disc, which will vent the tank before it becomes a bomb.
Paintball tanks are available in a variety of sizes. The 3.5 oz. (pictured above) is nice for a dirt bike, quad, or mountain bike group, and will easily fit in a fanny pack. A 16 oz. bottle stays in my sand rail, and 20 oz. in the 4x4. Refillable at paintball supply stores for under $5. A new 20 oz. tank is $25. There are great deals on eBay for tanks and valves, just watch out for certification expiration dates on the tanks.
QuickAir and PowerTank make large-cylinder CO2 systems for offroaders. Great for serious Jeepers, but they are heavy, bulky and $300+.
The paintball tank fill adapter (pictured, black w/ gold knurled knob) is $8 to $10.
The white cap in the photo is a dust cap, standard PVC pipe male threaded end cap. The cap also doubles as a holder for an extra tire valve core, core removing type valve stem cap, and extra pin valve O-ring. Those are secured in the cap with a cover of clear packaging tape. The aluminum cap (pictured) is a dust cap for the tank's pin valve.
The brass fittings are standard NPT (National Pipe Thread) for water applications.
The air chuck I prefer is the AMFLO #105L (not pictured).
If you have trouble sourcing parts, send an e-mail. I have the web links, the specs, or the part on hand.
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John Moosie
climber
Beautiful California
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Jun 24, 2008 - 01:05am PT
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Lots of good info here. Thanks everyone for the pictures. I love pictures of people actually using their rigs.
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Toker Villain
Big Wall climber
Toquerville, Utah
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Jun 24, 2008 - 01:11am PT
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A lot of people ask me what the best offroad vehicle is.
Without question, it is:....
a rental car.
Its amazing where those things will go.
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tradmanclimbs
Ice climber
Pomfert VT
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Jun 24, 2008 - 07:00am PT
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Last time I rented a car in Vegas the guy actually put his hand over the exaust to check for leaks and looked underneath it when we returned it. Must be climbers have a bad rep;) That rental car had done the 60 miles off road to Toroweep on the grand caynon as well as the little jaunt into Black Velvet Cayno.n
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