1/28/17: My buddy was having a bday camping trip up to Parker, AZ with the main attraction being that we would spend Saturday enjoying the infamous desert bar. But due to a family emergency, he decided to make the trip shorter and closer so we all went to Sycamore Creek for 1 night instead. This is only 30 minutes from my front door so it was a very easy but very fun trip.
The area had been closed by the forest service for several days due to the large amount (for us) of raining that Phoenix had gotten the week prior. Large sections of the bank had washed away and the water was a raging river.
The site was opened just hours before our scheduled departure time and when we got there around 10am the creek still had a good amount of water in it and the ground which is normally a beach sand like consistency was now soup.
Our camp site was on the other side of the creek so we had to cross. The lead vehicle of our group was a near stock 2000 Discovery II, it powered it's way through but just barely made it. Next up a Gen 4 Toyota 4Runner V8 towing a Jumping Jack trailer. He got stuck within seconds of hitting the soft sand. So then the Land Rover reversed to try and get close enough to pull him out and promptly got stuck as well. I was taking care of some stuff a few hundred yards away while all this was going on so I wasn't there to advise against the route or having the land rover reverse, etc. When I finished parking my 2wd Explorer (not even gonna attempt a crossing) and transferring some people and gear into Betty, I get to the situation for myself:
[video]https://youtu.be/Ef9Kz0RKzBQ[/video]
[video]https://youtu.be/LcDogyCKaOk[/video]
Not a perfect pull because yes, I know I shouldn't have twists in the recovery rope but it was actually a very mild baby pull (what would be the easiest of the day)
[video]https://youtu.be/vVbnWXzPIlY[/video]
Then as soon as I get the 4Runner across we see this big Dodge Ram towing a big flatbed trailer with Razr and ATV on it bomb down and then up a different section of the creek where it was not muddy but rocky and steep instead. The truck had enough muscle and clearance but the trailer got hung up on the steep inclines of the rocky bank. Then we realize that that guy is one of our friends and also apart of our camping trip. haha
I didn't get a video because the women were off doing other things but someone did manage to snap this pic from far away of me tugging them out:
The later on I had to pull out a JK Rubicon that picked a terrible place to try and cross the river. The guy was woefully inexperienced and unprepared (no snatch strap or recovery gear). My 30ft snatch strap was not long enough for me to be on solid ground so someone gave us their cheap tow strap to lengthen the pull. I said ok despite my better judgement and instead of snatching we took the tension out of the line and I slowly pulled him out. Even still though, when disconnecting we found that the cheap town strap almost broke which could have resulted in all kinds of carnage.
These experiences were really a wake up call for me. I always have a top of the line 30ft snatch strap, 2 3/4" shackles, misc rope and tie downs, shovel, jack, jack stand, tools, and a bullet proof rear recovery point but that's not enough. I don't have a great option for front recoveries on my rig nor do I have a good way of helping people who don't have good recovery points on their vehicles either or who get stuck more than 30' away from safe ground.
So I bought another 30' recovery strap and 2 more shackles. This will allow me to make a bridle when someone needs to be pulled out but doesn't have a rated recovery point but has 2 wimpier points (like our monteros in the front). It will spread the pull between two points and both frame rails and also if one breaks it won't be able to fly far because it is still tied to the other point. I think I'll also bug Toasty to weld up some reinforcements to the existing factory tie down and tow point on the front until I can afford a custom front bumper.
Spent the day shooting, offroading and then we had a big bonfire. Drinks were consumed, propane tanks were exploded, firework fights were had, it was a bit of a ruckus and a good trip.
The legend of the Montero was expanded to a whole new network of people. And another thing was that this was the first time I wheeled without the front Detroit Locker. I much preferred the lessened torque steer and am okay with sacrificing the extra traction so I've 100% decided to sell the Detroit.
Washing off the ARB strap after a lot of use:
