Optimistic man tackling Baboons Pass.

[bobDog]

This trail was probably better suited to RTT vs. an off road trailer.
But, it makes for a cool video none the less.

Oh and there's a hottie.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rPdSSkLRnI

Wow that was a great 9 min's of watching some moron towing a trailer thru an area that he never would have made it thru except that he actually convinced some capable vehicles and a rather good looking older gal to pull him thru (you can bet some money was involved). What a Germanic speaking dork. I thought us Americans were that stupid, but no there are others evidently. What an idiot!

 

[2000UZJ]

Not to hijack the original thread but as long as it could help but even one person I think I should share. It pains me to share this However, not only can you dislocate or break your thumbs but things could get even worse.

Situation; Starting from a dead stop in the middle of the desert and paying attention I started up a trail and noticed a slight was out on the left SO! I simply moved to right a bit only to drop off into an even bigger hole on the right. The wheel spun so fast it threw both hands off. The end result was not good.

I had a nice bruise on my left leg from my hand hitting it so hard, also broke my webbed watch band. The right hand, not so lucky, dislocated the Thumb and both bones in the wrist prior to breaking them. Essentially I just about screwed my right hand off my arm at the wrist.

The ugly part was, we were 20+ miles from any service at 5:00 pm and an outside temp falling thru the fifties. Getting dark and cold!! A whole lot went on at this point (Lots-O-expierience) basically we stayed calm and stopped it from being a compound situation (fracture) very close!

Lesson: Even though you know to keep your thumbs up the natural reaction is (especially in the unexpected) is to grab on tight (ouch). Even at only 10mph that steering wheel can spin your hand off. We learned allot more that day I'll share it somewhere else later.

The end result; After a situation assessment we decided to leave the rig, left a note sent a CB signal (useless) grabbed the bag and miscellaneous other items and headed off on foot. Was painful, approx five to six miles into what we figured would be 18 to 20 miles just for cell service or maybe people, we got picked up by another vehicle. Six hours and three hospitals later everything was stabilized and awaiting surgery. Went back tthe next morning got the rig and drove 12 hours to home. Needless to say we had thanksgiving dinner the next day at home.

Here’s a little picture of what can happen whether or not you know to KEEP YOUR THMBS UP! :Wow1:

thank you for the post, well said. Learn something everyday. I will follow the advice above and keep safe.

Happy wheeling,

Nick

 

[Darby Darrow]

Here’s a little picture of what can happen whether or not you know to KEEP YOUR THMBS UP! :Wow1:

Thank you for sharing this story. I am not clear on one point: were your thumbs wrapped inside the steering wheel or were they out?

 

[Buckru]

Not to hijack the original thread but as long as it could help but even one person I think I should share. It pains me to share this However, not only can you dislocate or break your thumbs but things could get even worse.

Situation; Starting from a dead stop in the middle of the desert and paying attention I started up a trail and noticed a slight wash out on the left SO! I simply moved to right a bit only to drop off into an even bigger hole on the right. The wheel spun so fast it threw both hands off. The end result was not good.

I had a nice bruise on my left leg from my hand hitting it so hard, also broke my webbed watch band. The right hand, not so lucky, dislocated the Thumb and both bones in the wrist prior to breaking them. Essentially I just about screwed my right hand off my arm at the wrist.

The ugly part was, we were 20+ miles from any service at 5:00 pm and an outside temp falling thru the fifties. Getting dark and cold!! A whole lot went on at this point (Lots-O-expierience) basically we stayed calm and stopped it from being a compound situation (fracture) very close!

Lesson: Even though you know to keep your thumbs up the natural reaction is (especially in the unexpected) is to grab on tight (ouch). Even at only 10mph that steering wheel can spin your hand off. We learned allot more that day I'll share it somewhere else later.

The end result; After a situation assessment we decided to leave the rig, left a note sent a CB signal (useless) grabbed the bag and miscellaneous other items and headed off on foot. Was painful, approx five to six miles into what we figured would be an 18 to 20 mile hike just for cell service or maybe even people, we got picked up by another vehicle. Six hours and three hospitals later everything was stabilized and awaiting surgery. Went back tthe next morning got the rig and drove 12 hours to home. Needless to say we had thanksgiving dinner the next day at home.

Here’s a little picture of what can happen whether or not you know to KEEP YOUR THMBS UP! :Wow1:

WOW

I read Scotts reasons for thumb placement but like any bulletproof male, "that'll never happen to me". Your post and pictures might just save me some serious issues somewhere down the trail, it hit home.

Thanks,

Buck

 

[Chris]

Thank you for sharing this story. I am not clear on one point: were your thumbs wrapped inside the steering wheel or were they out?

Simple answer, Oh I grabbed on like it was handlebars on a bike. "Wrapped in"

I always try to stay aware of keeping them on top of the wheel. Fact is I got comfortable when we were stopped and when we started off I was still relaxed and going so slow I didn’t really give it any thought. Then when I adjusted to the right it was totally unexpected and as I know now very natural to grab on (wrapping my thumbs in) when the wheel suddenly spun.

Problem was how fast and how much it spun (a blur) and the fact it was completely unexpected, Heck the road was flat smooth and I was only going maybe 10 mph. I just did not expect the wheel to backlash. I know now, it can happen in any environment.

FYI
I didn’t drive it into the hole I fell off the edge into it. Looking back at it I would describe it as stepping to the right into a hole you didn’t know was there while blindfolded.


:snorkel:

 

[4Rescue]

My god, for all the money they spent producing that "movie" they sure could have found some compotent 4x4 operators eh... I know we've got some pretty amazing ladies here on the board, but if that woman walked up to me and told me she was a "4wd Guru" I'd probably introduce myself as the King of Thailand... And my statement would be at least as true as hers. No that the guy's are any better mind you, she just sort of... sticks out in this video of buffoons eh.

All that said: Never mind the myriad of things we "experts" can find wrong with their techniques. I'd say by far the BIGGEST mistake these guys (and gal) made here was posting a video of this on the internet... almost makes me think it was a joke. Could anyone trully be THAT full of themselves and have THAT LITTLE know how with a 4wd??? It boggles the mind and I've seen some pretty -ahem- interesting? ideas as to what was a good idea when out playing with 4wds right here on my own home trails.

And yeah, these guy's get to buy 70-series Cruisers and we don't... BOOOOOOOOOOO WE WANT the 70 series NOW!!!!!!!!!!!

It is recommended that you never wrap your thumbs around the steering wheel, but keep them rested on the side. This is because of the potential for a rock or hole to suddenly jerk the wheel, spinning it in your hands and breaking your thumb on the spoke.

It's espescialy true of old trucks (or cars) with the "thum breaker' style steering-wheels (look at a stock 40-series cruiser wheel...) that are not padded and have thin somehwat "sharp" angles to their spoke shape... Add in manual steering with no dampening and VIOLA!!!! no more thumbs to worry about eh My old Dodge Dart had a wheel like this (the only up side was it was large in diemeter so I had more mechanical advantage over it) and even ON ROAD I almost lost a thumb to a particularly nasty pot hole...

Cheers

Dave

 

[sleeoffroad]

I have to agree that what they did was stupid, but if you are from South Africa you will understand it a little better.

You have to equate that family with some redneck family from a farm somewhere in the US. Tourism is booming in SA as is 4x4 trips, training and escaping in general. Most of it driven by the violence and crime in major cities. People are looking for place to go have a vacation where they can escape from this.

Now enter the picture, a farmer, his sons and daughter. They have been driving 4x4's on their farm for years, no-one went to 4x4 school. Things were learned from experience. No overland certification, just some common and some not so common sense.

They decide that they are going to start eco 4x4 tourism. they have a farm, they have 4x4's and this is their marketing and self promotion. The pass they did is very famous and they decide, hey we will show people how it is done. We will have a video and we will use it to promote. What is more, we get to do it on some TV networks dime. Well, it failed.

Take the same redneck US family from somewhere and ask them to make a video. I am sure you will see the same thing. Dangerous practices on the ranches is Texas, hey my grandfather did this, and never got killed etc etc. I would bet you would get the same scenario.

However, why do you have to be from SA to understand it? Well, because the other dangers that you are faced with on a daily basis in that country, far outweigh anything in that video. Was there a ton wrong, yes, did they trash the environment, yes, were they stupid, yes, however in their daily lives they deal with much worse issues and I can assure you that there are people in SA that destroy the environment much worse than this on a daily basis.

All you have to do is take a drive through some of the under developed areas. These people are only trying to eek out an existence in a country where it is becoming much more difficult for farmers to be safe and survive.

So don't always judge so harshly what is seen on the internet. Rather learn from it, just like these people probably did when the video aired.

 

[gfiero]

Opportunity

After watching the video I realized how lucky I was , My empolyer sent me to 4x4 School so I was able to avoid a lot of mistakes (not all) in my beginnings.

After reading Cristo's comments (Good pointed reminders there) I wondered has anyone contacted these people with some constructive feed back. I have found a lot of information on this an other websites that has saved me a lot of pain and made my experiences more pleasurable. Do they even know these resouces are there?

Just a thought, another is Scott maybe you need to go international and have a South African Expo.....Just think of all the time you could spend doing research there!

 

[Dipodomys]

It's not "Baboon Pass" it's "Bufoon Pass."

My only question is: "Why?" Why not just get out and walk? Why run your tires at 50 psi? Why not ditch the trailer, throw in a sleeping bag, fold down the back seats, and sleep in the back? Why did that moron think he could bend a tie rod back into shape with his bare hands? And the biggest "why" of all...why was that hottie hanging out with that boneheaded old fart?

 

[p71]

Slee has said the smartest thing on here...

I lived in East Africa for 10 years so I know what he is taling about...

All you military guys who have actually been in the line of fire and then come home and been told to wear a reflective belt should understand the "daily danger" argument. True, wearing the belt is safer, but compared to the reductrion in danger by getting away from "Jerry", "Gooky", "Charlie" or "Haji" the added benefit may seem negligeable. Same thing is evident here.

 

[INSAYN]

Huhhh?

 

[sleeoffroad]

It's not "Baboon Pass" it's "Bufoon Pass."

My only question is: "Why?" Why not just get out and walk? Why run your tires at 50 psi? Why not ditch the trailer, throw in a sleeping bag, fold down the back seats, and sleep in the back? Why did that moron think he could bend a tie rod back into shape with his bare hands? And the biggest "why" of all...why was that hottie hanging out with that boneheaded old fart?

I believe it was her dad.

All the people in SA are not like that, here is a thread on the fall-out from that.

http://www.4x4community.co.za/forum/archive/index.php/t-29820.html

 

[bobDog]

I've changed my mind
I don't know guys....I think some of us aren't seeing the fun.
Future used 4x4 for sale cheep
Trailer testing was awesome
Lean tanned good looking gal w/ sweet accent
Old man w/ bruises and broken veins who wants to be in charge.
4x4 Guru
Animals
Locals being employed
Cool English rig w/ seat on bull bar
Lots of winching
Camera man and team employed
Money being injected to local economy
Comic relief
Destruction of plant life for no reason
Possible future return effort

Man whats not to like:sombrero::wings:

 

[4Rescue]

I have to agree that what they did was stupid, but if you are from South Africa you will understand it a little better.

You have to equate that family with some redneck family from a farm somewhere in the US. Tourism is booming in SA as is 4x4 trips, training and escaping in general. Most of it driven by the violence and crime in major cities. People are looking for place to go have a vacation where they can escape from this.

Now enter the picture, a farmer, his sons and daughter. They have been driving 4x4's on their farm for years, no-one went to 4x4 school. Things were learned from experience. No overland certification, just some common and some not so common sense.

They decide that they are going to start eco 4x4 tourism. they have a farm, they have 4x4's and this is their marketing and self promotion. The pass they did is very famous and they decide, hey we will show people how it is done. We will have a video and we will use it to promote. What is more, we get to do it on some TV networks dime. Well, it failed.

Take the same redneck US family from somewhere and ask them to make a video. I am sure you will see the same thing. Dangerous practices on the ranches is Texas, hey my grandfather did this, and never got killed etc etc. I would bet you would get the same scenario.

However, why do you have to be from SA to understand it? Well, because the other dangers that you are faced with on a daily basis in that country, far outweigh anything in that video. Was there a ton wrong, yes, did they trash the environment, yes, were they stupid, yes, however in their daily lives they deal with much worse issues and I can assure you that there are people in SA that destroy the environment much worse than this on a daily basis.

All you have to do is take a drive through some of the under developed areas. These people are only trying to eek out an existence in a country where it is becoming much more difficult for farmers to be safe and survive.

So don't always judge so harshly what is seen on the internet. Rather learn from it, just like these people probably did when the video aired.

Good points Christo, but I've gotta say, I was NEVER trained on how to perfectly use a 4wd... hell I've never had any official training but then practice does make perfect (sort-of) But then I have driven Mogs through wildfires, Cruisers through flood areas, and lots of other 4wd's lots of other places... Maybe I'm not "Certified" but I hardly think that carry's a whole lot of merrit. My Grandpa wasn't certified to be a 4wd leader either but he drove those Willy's Jeeps and Half tracks all through the south Pacific just fine. Point being that: 4wd usage is something you have to work up to and gain confidence in, not take a class and call it good...

I get the booming Agro tourism business. I lived on a Cattle Station in AUstralia and did the same thing daily (well I led tours couple time a week, but I was in 4LO Locked F/R daily to do my part to keep the station up). Most of the folks out there had never been trained to use 4wd's "properly" but it's kind of a Do or DIe type scenario eh. you either get that feed out to the stock or... I led ALOT of 4x4 tours out into the bush with the same idea as that takin here by these folks. Even had a few good lookin sheila's with us from time to eh. We always taught the "tread Lightly" ethos and would make folks leave if they tried to ruin trails or trail runs in general. I lived in one hell of a delicate Eco-system and frankly we ket it as best we could

That said, these folks are just flat out morons. Are they any more moronic then said "Hick" family from here in the states??? Absolutely not and there are certainly LOTS of Youtube vids to show that... BUT then most of those vids have ZERO production value and no valueless assignment of status like "4x4 Guru"

So yeah, you're right in alot of ways and good point. But I hardly think this is an incident isolated to SA that only SA folk can under stand. That's like saying that only people in the NW can ever really know what it's like to go wheeling in the rain and mud... That's clearly NOT the case, but I think these folks got enough feeback that I'd be guessing that they won't be doing it again.

Like I said, IMO the stupidest thing they did was to PUT IT ON THE INTERNET... I'm guessing that equaly as stupid of things get done nearly EVERYWHERE on a daily basis... Fortunatly for humanity it's not ALL on You-tube

Well, hope even a BIT of that made sence eh

Cheers

Dave

 

[bobDog]

That's like saying that only people in the NW can ever really know what it's like to go wheeling in the rain and mud...
Well, hope even a BIT of that made sence eh

Cheers

Dave

I'm sorry but yes we are the only people who really know how to drive in rain, mud and fog I might add....what about it?:coffeedrink: