Be careful where you drive your Earthroamer's...

[FreedomTraveler]

For educational and entertainment purposes only...


It's time to travel. Be safe, not scared.

 

[GHI]

The hug near the end of the video. I know that feeling.

 

[Ozarker]

That guy went up and put his hand on that line under tension, like he was going to pull that line over, lol, and he's a pro?

How'd that guy get that truck in that spot to begin with, did he back off the road or was he trying to climb that hill to get on the road? Idiot!

Or, was this all staged for the video?

 

[DirtWhiskey]

That guy went up and put his hand on that line under tension, like he was going to pull that line over, lol, and he's a pro?

How'd that guy get that truck in that spot to begin with, did he back off the road or was he trying to climb that hill to get on the road? Idiot!

Or, was this all staged for the video?

That was, er, NOT staged. Classic soft shoulder in that dirt/rocky layer above the Bentonite clay in So Utah. I've seen it flip multiple rigs, usually when making room for a pass on switchbacks. And yes those guys are pros. They are the ones Hans Flat ranger station calls to right flipped rigs on the Flint Trail in the Maze. Unbelievable work here.

 

[charlieaarons]

That was interesting.
The recovery situation was somewhat exacerbated by lack of in the ER:
1) very low gears. I wonder if one of those short 2.7:1 planetary Black Boxes has the torque and GVW rating to work in an ER drivetrain. You saw how much he had to rev engine to get torque converter to do something. Hopefully he put it in low range!!
2) locking diffs at both ends (aftermarket available in front only on ER AFAIK, and I doubt many ER owners install ARBs). That’s a big ER problem IMHO.
3) CTIS.
I think he did use his air adjustable suspension to get the R front tire on the road but with an open diff that wouldn’t have helped. Can anyone tell if he had a front locker? I say “maybe”.
A very similar thing happened to me trying to make a multi point U turn on a narrow gravel road on a big berm in a forest near Lviv in 2017. Except I was more perpendicular to the road and therefore not leaning very much.
I managed to make it out without resorting to winching because of being fortunate enough to have all 3 the above vehicle characteristics. I needed all 3.

 

[DirtWhiskey]

That was interesting.
The recovery situation was somewhat exacerbated by lack of in the ER:
1) very low gears. I wonder if one of those short 2.7:1 planetary Black Boxes has the torque and GVW rating to work in an ER drivetrain. You saw how much he had to rev engine to get torque converter to do something. Hopefully he put it in low range!!
2) locking diffs at both ends (aftermarket available in front only on ER AFAIK, and I doubt many ER owners install ARBs). That’s a big ER problem IMHO.
3) CTIS.
I think he did use his air adjustable suspension to get the R front tire on the road but with an open diff that wouldn’t have helped. Can anyone tell if he had a front locker? I say “maybe”.
A very similar thing happened to me trying to make a multi point U turn on a narrow gravel road on a big berm in a forest near Lviv in 2017. Except I was more perpendicular to the road and therefore not leaning very much.
I managed to make it out without resorting to winching because of being fortunate enough to have all 3 the above vehicle characteristics. I needed all 3.

Great points. Mine is an F450 (2001 swapped to 2007 F550 axles and suspension). I'm sure it's changed over the years but not sure on the newer Super Duties. Looks like he has MPT81s. Not sure what Earthroamers gear to but when I went to super singles I regeared to 5.38 front and back. Mine has a Dana S110 rear with LSD and wide track Super 60 up front. There is no true locker for the S110 rear AFAIK but I added a Yukon air locker up front for just these tough situations. It does really well.

That stuck could have killed somebody in 10 ways. A true rescue.

 

[charlieaarons]

Pretty sure none of the recent decade or so no 550/5500 trucks have a rear true locker (i.e. NoSpin) even available. Although they’re easy to get for FMTV axles. Which is odd since to my knowledge the military never ever installed them (is there a SpecOps version of the LMTV, that operates solo sometimes?).

 

[lucilius]

That was interesting.
The recovery situation was somewhat exacerbated by lack of in the ER:
1) very low gears. I wonder if one of those short 2.7:1 planetary Black Boxes has the torque and GVW rating to work in an ER drivetrain. You saw how much he had to rev engine to get torque converter to do something. Hopefully he put it in low range!!
2) locking diffs at both ends (aftermarket available in front only on ER AFAIK, and I doubt many ER owners install ARBs). That’s a big ER problem IMHO.
3) CTIS.
I think he did use his air adjustable suspension to get the R front tire on the road but with an open diff that wouldn’t have helped. Can anyone tell if he had a front locker? I say “maybe”.
A very similar thing happened to me trying to make a multi point U turn on a narrow gravel road on a big berm in a forest near Lviv in 2017. Except I was more perpendicular to the road and therefore not leaning very much.
I managed to make it out without resorting to winching because of being fortunate enough to have all 3 the above vehicle characteristics. I needed all 3.

Great points. Mine is an F450 (2001 swapped to 2007 F550 axles and suspension). I'm sure it's changed over the years but not sure on the newer Super Duties. Looks like he has MPT81s. Not sure what Earthroamers gear to but when I went to super singles I regeared to 5.38 front and back. Mine has a Dana S110 rear with LSD and wide track Super 60 up front. There is no true locker for the S110 rear AFAIK but I added a Yukon air locker up front for just these tough situations. It does really well.

That stuck could have killed somebody in 10 ways. A true rescue.

I'm not aware of locking diffs...would be great to find a proven front/rear system designed for 550/5500: anyone out there doing this? Those tires appear to be Goodyear G275 335/80r20. Looking at the specs for those tires I have to wonder what newer/longer ER's weigh, especially the load on rear axle. The carbon fiber LTi is reportedly lighter than older models. I also note the speed rating is higher and ply rating is lower on the G275 than the MPT81. I seem to recall reading that Continental is revamping the MPT81 but don't have a link. Numerous folks using the G275 say that it is excellent for (US-made, modified chassis-truck camper level) offroad pursuits.

 

[WOODY2]

Just pay attention to the trail. There appears to be more than enough surface for him to have not driven off the trail. Driver error, lockers or mega$ rigs don't replace common sense.

 

[SDDiver5]

Saw this a few days ago. Cool recovery.

 

[workerdrone]

Wow that stuck had some pucker factor for sure.

Would've liked to see the explanation/vid of how it got that bad in the first place

 

[simple]

Entertaining for sure.

 

[DirtWhiskey]

Incredible.... the EarthRoamer synthetic line failed.....

I love my M8000 with STEEL cable. I don't even think of failure when winching over rocks.

View attachment 781699

Got me thinking too. I'm shopping for a suitable winch, really looking at the Sherpa synthetic models. But their line looked pretty hammered before the rock friction. I've been around steel cables when they snap and it scares the hell out of me. But they hold up so well...

 

[Wakeup2river]

so the more I drink the more I think....

first thought... was this the winch/cable EARTHROAMER supplied...
second.... how did the synthetic cable get so frayed/abused.

always the optomist I give credit to the victim but if EARTHROAMER supplied/installed the winch and cable.... even abused it should not have failed. This was not an excessive pull if that winch/cable was rated for a mud bog pull. The loads here were pretty light.

my go to is always STEEL cable.

I believe the recovery company drug the rope over a boulder and compromised the rope. They show it in the video.

This owner doesn’t look to be too experienced. Kind of weird how they got out chairs and watched like it was a sporting event.

In an ER you better scope the trail in Google earth or you’ll find yourself in narrow spots or no turn around situations.

Why did the masses have to choose our hobby, I’ll never know. Maybe we can bleed through it, but with social media and after Expo west 2023 I’m not getting my hopes up. ?

 

[bajajoaquin]

That was interesting.
The recovery situation was somewhat exacerbated by lack of in the ER:
1) very low gears. I wonder if one of those short 2.7:1 planetary Black Boxes has the torque and GVW rating to work in an ER drivetrain. You saw how much he had to rev engine to get torque converter to do something. Hopefully he put it in low range!!
2) locking diffs at both ends (aftermarket available in front only on ER AFAIK, and I doubt many ER owners install ARBs). That’s a big ER problem IMHO.
3) CTIS.
I think he did use his air adjustable suspension to get the R front tire on the road but with an open diff that wouldn’t have helped. Can anyone tell if he had a front locker? I say “maybe”.
A very similar thing happened to me trying to make a multi point U turn on a narrow gravel road on a big berm in a forest near Lviv in 2017. Except I was more perpendicular to the road and therefore not leaning very much.
I managed to make it out without resorting to winching because of being fortunate enough to have all 3 the above vehicle characteristics. I needed all 3.

What’s that black box you mention? My camper is no Earth Roamer, but I really feel what you mean about low gears. I’ve got a Dana 80 rear and ARB but only a 2.3:1 (I think) low range in my transfer case. With 4.63 gears, its just not low enough to be in the meat of my torque curve and still be at a walking pace.