Worst stuck recovery gear inspiration stories?!?!?

[NuggetHoarder]

Worst stuck... Florida mud. No winch, No rope, No brains.

Got stuck at the bottom of a sloping depression and it was 100' uphill to solid ground in every direction. Had to climb out of the windows because the mud was so high. My buddy and I had to spend all day gathering downed branches from the woods to build a bridge out. Luckily we had the factory jack to jack up each tire and fill with wood.

Worst part is that it took over 12 hours to gather wood, build a 100' long bridge and drive out. Ruined the seats and carpet with mud stains that never came out.

Moral of the story: "Punch it" is not an acceptable substitute for a winch.

 

[StumpXJ]

This is the worst/hardest recovery I have done. Last year, at the 2010 South East Cherokee Crawl at Harlan Kentucky, Black Mountain ORV park. This guy managed to roll his MJ off the side of a mountain the night before. Rolled over 1.5times, and was luckily stopped by a bunch of trees on the side hill... it was a LONG way down if the trees werent there. He had a passenger and a dog in the truck with him, and everyone was ok. This is a very narrow ledge road leading up to other trails. The bed of the truck was full of crap, and getting all of that stuff off the side of the mountain was just as hard as recovering the truck. It took 3 winches, mine included, 9 - 20 ft straps, 3 snatch blocks, about 20 shackles. All three winches were darn near at capacity just because of the angles we were at. The narrow road made it difficult to get a good angle, and had to be repositioned several times. Once we got the truck right side up, it was much easier! It took a whole lot of planning to get it up safely, without doing more damage than was already done.

Believe it or not, this guy drove the truck back to Nashville (4 hours) on the interstate with no issues. He passed us doing about 70mph or so with no windshield whatsoever, and the roof caved it. He still wheels it today!

Crappy video my wife took after we got it most of the way up...

 

[Bigjerm]

:Wow1:

Headed to Harlan Thursday... I will try and not follow that line!

 

[StumpXJ]

Yeah...its not a recommended route! You will have a blast there....love that place!

 

[KSJeep]

We ran across this Jeep while exploring Coyote Canyon, NM. He had been stuck for a couple of hours while his buddies tried in vain to pull him out with another Wrangler. I pulled my 05 Grand Cherokee down into the riverbed and found a hard spot for traction. Hooked up a recovery strap put the grand in 4lo and walked him right out. He had it stuck pretty good, all 4 wheels were just spinning in the mud.

 

[the dude]

Wheeling in Sask with a light truck/buggy when the ground was frozen. All we needed was a pry bar to pound into the ground to anchor his truck, but we didn't have it. He didn't have the weight to pull me back and slid with the winch. Took off to the nearest farm to borrow a tractor and came over a rise and into 6 feet of snow. No shovel (left at the cruiser) Actually, all of our equipment was at the Cruiser. 45min walk, with wet clothes at about -15C. Stupid stupid stupid.

 

[chet]

I had a toyota truck on 37's and our club was out snow wheelin. while driving across a dirt dam in a blizzard I got off trackand started sliding down the side of the dam (opposite the lake!) it wasn't that steep so I just slide sidways right to the bottom. Managed to get myself turned around and using my 8274 and a buddies jeep with an 8274 took 2 hours! of straight winching to get me back up on the damn dam! That was pretty cold too.

There was also the time when I was 16 and had a suzuki LJ80. me a 2 buds took off for some lunch time fun ont he beach and the damn points spring broke WAY backa long the beach. We pushed for quite a few hours battling rising tides to get to a place where a guy could pull us with a long rope. My dad was NOT pleased!

 

[LR Max]

3 stick out in my mind.

1st I was doing a photoshoot up at Rausch Creek back on 07. A beat and built Cherokee (more like what was left!) was basically between a rock, a rock and a cliff. Truck was sideways to the cliff. Couldn't go forward (rock), couldn't go backwards (rock) and every move kept slipping the truck sideways toward the edge.

I asked if I could help, considering being the camera guy, I'm usually passive so I always ask permission before I open my big mouth. First thing was had another vehicle attach a winch line to his roll cage at the B pillar and tighten up. This unloaded the low side of the vehicle and prevented the rig from slipping sideways. Then we took his winch and tied it off at a ~45 degree angle uphill, dragged the nose of the truck around. Worked good!

Lesson Learned: Don't play around on cliffs.

2nd one didn't look bad, but it just got worse!

I was out with a friend and he wanted to take a run at a mud pit. He went in, got stuck. Ok, whatever. It happens. I pull out the tow strap, give him a tug. Nothing. Didn't budge. Reckon I'll have to put a little more @$$ on it. I do a couple tugs. REAL TUGS. Like, back up 15 feet, 2nd gear, near redline clutch drops. Nothing, nada. Ok, now its a concern.

Friend recommends using his winch, and attaching it to a tree at a 60 degree angle from his truck. I'm like but he keeps going on and on about "how it will work". Well it didn't work, it just started tipping his rig over. This actually worked out well because I told him to hold it. As he ran his mouth, freaking out, I stuck a couple logs under his passenger tires. Then resumed tugging. Got him out.

Lesson learned: A winch can also be a jack.


Muddy mire by expeditionmax, on Flickr

3rd, a guy drove off the side of a mountain.

Literally, trail went straight, he turned hard right. Literally, on the drive up there I was debating on selling my Warn 12k for a 8274. Well I ran a pulley block to up the hill (so it would pull him up straight) and picked the butt of that rig up and literally put it back on the trail. Then I did a straight back pull to get him properly oriented.

Lesson Learned: When you've got a 2 week beard, an awesome hat and a cigar in your mouth, people expect you to be awesome. Do not disappoint.

 

[Token]

Superlift ORV Park on Hot Springs.. Caught between therock and a hard tree.. Trail called Rock Fink.. I was in front and about half way up and got caught up against a rock that was a little bit larger than the front tire on the driver side and the left side in loose dirt.. Rear end locked in something close to large gravel.. Back tires both spin and slides the rear end over about two feet putting me with a rock I can't climb over in the front and a large tree 6 inches behind the rear bumper preventing me from going backwards... Trail to narrow to get someone around to pull.. There was another parallel trail about 30 ft to my right and 30ft up (I was down in a gulley).. Got one of the Jeeps on the high trail to yank the rear of the truck back over away from the tree..

Used to be an ORV Parkup in Dyersberg, TN called Coon Creek.. There was one particular trail that had a stretch that was about 2.5 deep in the sloppiest, nastiest smeeling mud you've ever seen.. The guy leading was on 33" AT tires and no winch.. We had about 10 rigs in the group and there was no where to turn them all around to get back off the trail and not much of a chance of everyone backing half a mile off the trail as sloppy as it was.. So we winched him forward from behind.. Actually it was from above and behind.. Rigged a snatch block up in a tree in front of him and hooked the cable from the next Jeep back up.. Cable was running about 3 ft over the top of the stuck truck to the tree and them back to his front bumper..

 

[eric1115]

All right, this one's a little embarrassing... years ago, when I was young(er) and stupid(er), than I am now. Super green, I went out for an evening cruise. Going up a steepish climb, decided it was getting too narrow, rutted, and washed out and tried to turn around. Dropped opposite corners in a rut, couldn't climb up out, ended up with my rear bumper against a tree, opposite corners not quite hanging but with not much traction.

I had no hi-lift, no mats, not even a shovel. Nothing. Ended up with the bottle jack lifting corners, shoving rocks in the ruts, digging by hand, in the dark. In sandals. The hike out would not have been pleasant had it come to that. Ordered a hi-lift the next day, and have never gone out without a shovel since then. Now have a fair bit more recovery gear than that, but it was a good way to learn about bringing the basics.

 

[Master-Pull]

Moab, Easter Jeep Safari 2010, I was able to get winched backwards by two winches. It was a mixture of spotter error and my confusion on his directions that caused my tire to drop into a a hole and almost dump my jeep a few hundred feet into the Colorado River.

-Alex

 

[off-roader]

Worst stuck is actually a 2 part story.

Part 1a: Rubicon Trail (late 90's). First time on the trail with a 1990 4 door montero. v6, rear locker.
On Monday, my buddy broke the splines on his front axles trying to do the Little Sluice w/ his 90 2door Montero (35's, 5.29 r&p, 2.8x:1 xcase gears, front and rear lockers).

It was only supposed to be a short trip and I had to get back to work so I decided to leave early and head back the way we came. Seemed simple enough except I missed the turn left to go out through Loon Lake and ended up going out the Wentworth Springs route instead where hardly anyone was coming up the trail. Ended up discovering a weak point in the Montero and breaking a rear control arm/trailing arm which in turn pulled my rear driveshaft out of the xcase tailshaft slipyoke.

Unable to move from that spot, I began pondering what I had to do to get out to civilization in one piece. Not only was my rig disabled, I also severely hurt my knee the week prior and was wearing a knee brace and was taking ~600mg of ibuprofin to relieve the pain. I didn't think too much of that injury until then.

Being it was a Monday, I also hadn't seen a coming onto the trail vehicle since the early morning. It was now past 2:00pm. Much to my surprise, there was a group of 3 well equiped jeeps coming into the 'con. One of them, had a Premier Power Welder.:Wow1:

Using 1 HiLifts, and 2 bottle jacks, we were able to re-align the rear axles as close as possible and with a 2' length of chain he welded the trailing arm back together well enough that I had some semblance of being able to steer the vehicle straight however we were unable to re-insert the driveshaft into the tailshaft housing. We simply supported the driveshaft in the air with a piece of ratchet strap and I resumed my drive out in front wheel drive.

I got about a 1/4" mile from where I got stuck and ended up high centered on a big flat boulder. It was late afternoon on Monday when I began my hike out of the 'con on a bum knee with ~a dozen power bars, a dozen individually wrapped rice crispie treats and ~3/4 gallon fresh water and a bottle of iodine tablets. I also had a small 1st aid kit, portable CB radio, FRS radio (and a pack of batteries for both) and some basic camping gear (tent, sleeping bag, etc.).

Thus I began my walk out of the 'con.

 

[off-roader]

Part 1b:

I probably hiked for a mile or so when I happened upon a couple of college students who were camping just off the Wentworth springs trail. I can only imagine their concern running into a guy covered in dirt & grease, carrying what could have been all my worldly belongings asking them if they could give me a ride into town.

The guy suggested we hike up and see just how badly I was stuck in case we could somehow extract me. He admitted later that he wanted to be cautious and confirm my story before giving me a ride into town. Never know what kind of crazies you might run into in the wild right?

Well, my rig was there as I said and of course the key and alarm fob working confirmed any possible doubt.

By this point it was already getting pretty dark. I welcomed their offering to share their dinner and they agreed to drop me off in town the next morning.

In town the following morning, I found a local shop with a mechanic who was willing to strap me to a spot where a flat bed could get in and bring me back.

A week later I went t cost me $800 in towing and 700 for a replacement tailshaft housing slipyoke, rear driveshaft, and replacement trailing arm.

 

[off-roader]

Part 2:

Fast forward about a year later on what was our Annual Sierra Challenge trip. I was in the same rig, this time with re-enforced trailing arms so that they wouldn't break like the year before. The plan was to run the Deer Valley trail, then the Slick Rock trail then the Strawberry Creek Trail then finally the Rubicon.

The Deer Valley trail went without a hitch and it was actually quite fun. While on the relatively easy Slick Rock trail, my buddy Carlos reported that there was a ton of fresh oil on the trail and to check our oil pans for any possible damage.

Knowing I hadn't hit anything, I did a quick cursory check and found no damage. But by the next ledge I found the rear was 'bouncing' a little more than normal. We took a 2nd look and found the rear axle housing on the driver side was breaking right at the weld at the differential!:Wow1::Wow1:

At this point, we were well beyond half way through and there was really only one other major obstacle to tackle so we elected to try to make it the rest of the way through. After gingerly throttling my way through the worst parts, I was on solid level ground. I slowly made my way hoping to make it to the pavement but at least we were on the level easy fire road section.

About an 1/8 mile later crack/slump/grind to a halt... The axle housing finally gave out. The rear MT's were pitched inwards at the top from the axle housing break. Now realize this was Sunday and only day 2 of a week long trip. I was NOT about to give up.

The plan was to do the rear end swap right there on the fire road. Using 2 hiLift jackes we raised the rear, removed the tires and put them under the rocker panels, disconnected the entire rear end but kept in in place and left the rear half of the Montero resting on my 33's for the night.

Carlos and I headed up to Sacramento where there's a well known Mitsubishi recycler (MS Recycling). We stayed at his uncle's Sunday night & on Monday bought a used rear end w/ LSD (entire axle housing assembly including the trailing arms), 2 jack stands, and fresh gear lube and LSD additive. We then headed back to my rig.

We got there mid afternoon and began the re-installation process. By late afternoon we finished up and I loaded my broken rear end onto my roof rack (thank you Wilderness Trails Rack!!) and began the drive to the Strawberry Creek trail. To make up for lost time, we drove through most of the trail and camped near the end of it @ about 1am-ish. We awoke early that morning & headed out to make our way to the 'Con.

The rest of the trip went without a hitch. The new axles and trailing arms held up well and the LSD worked it's magic and I ended up not even needing a Locker.:ylsmoke:

After the trip, I disposed on the axle on my roof, and kept the axle end as a final souvenir. I also scheduled time with Roger Brown (4crawler.com) to help me weld on a piece of 1/4" plate to reinforce the one weak area of those trailing arms.

Afterwards I did some research and found that this is not an uncommon failure point especially in Australia where the Pajero (as the Montero is known) is very widely used off road. The first part most owners learn to upgrade are those trailing arms. Some have even resorted to sleeving and reinforcing the diff housing.

We surmised that in my case, the trailing arm failure the year before fatigued the diff housing. A year of driving (daily driver) and wheeling eventually took it's toll and it broke at probably the best possible time considering the circumstances. I mean imagine if it broke at a precarious spot on the trail or worse yet, while I was driving at 65mph on a freeway.
:smiley_drive:

In terms of recovery gear, we used chain & a welder (1st time broken), 2 stock bottle jacks, ratcheting cargo straps, snatch straps (w/ good recovery points) to tow me through the trail after the axle broke, HiLift Jacks (I recommend the 60" basic cast steel model), and good dose of common sense.

 

[B.L. Sims]

The worst recovery that ive been on was when a friend tried following a Sami along the banks of a lake in an 89 Chevy 2500. There was a small area where the water had eroded the sand and he got too close (and being alot heavier). He ended up sliding sideways into the lake and had water up in the floorboards.

After class let out a group of us loaded up to go and pick him out. Not even me in a 91 4x4 Pathfinder + a friend in his 4x4 F250 pulling in tandem could unstick him. The muddy water had an extremley strong suction to it as we would come to learn.

We set about with full sized shovels daming the water back and attempting to dig him out. Even with all of the frame cleared (had to dig out the front licence plate!) and half the wheels showing he still would not budge. You could only get about half a shovel full and could not dig very deep in the water logged soil. Id dare say it may have been quick-sand. We ended up breaking one shovel handle.

At around dusk he finally relented and called in a "winch truck" which was a step down from a full size "Semi" with a massive winch. He yanked him right out but you could hear the suction break. The sand had gotten into everything and for the first 30 or so yards the wheels were not turning.

Sometimes you have to throw in the towel and call someone with a bigger toy!

I suspect due to his weight and sitting there for almost 24 hours it really sunk deep into the muck and that made it harder. While we were digging some fool in a 2wd Fronty just nosed it into the water and ended up stuck. We picked him out no problem.