Off Road Recoveries - Let's see em. (Page 1 of 2)
Posted: 3/2/2025 7:42:43 AM EDT
[Last Edit: drobs][Edited]
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Got pics or stories of yourself winching / recovering others? Share them here. I'm an admin / member of the all volunteer Missouri 4x4 Rescue group on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/groups/1771744512960125/ Yesterday a gal posted that her family were stuck in their Tundra at Haskins Ford. https://maps.app.goo.gl/aQAtJH9xwzhjN7hV7 Haskins Ford is a popular fishing / wildlife area and is about 20 minutes from my house. I have previously winched out a kid in stuck Chevy pickup there. The Tundra was framed out.  As I drove over there, I called my buddy Ed up and asked him to join me. He asked if he should bring his Jeep or F150? I told him to bring the F150 as I might need to anchor off of it and would like to have another vehicle there, in case I got stuck. He said was also bringing his drone. Before Ed arrived, I placed my Rhino USA hitch shackle into the tow hitch of the Tundra and tried using my 3/4" Yankum Kinetic Rope. I tried 4 pulls with the kinetic rope and gave up. The Tundra moved all of a foot. I'm unimpressed with this Yankum rope. I sized it based on their recommendation and this is now the 2nd recovery where it has failed to do much of anything. I have a bigger 1 inch plus kinetic rope that I think, works better. I then connected my 12K Badland Apex synthetic winch line to a snatch block on the Tundra and back to my Jeep's winch bumper. I held the brake and spun my rear tires to dig into the creek bed.  Winching out the Tundra was a slow going process. Ed made a drone video of it, but it's like watching paint dry! I had the driver of the Tundra give it a little throttle as I winched him backwards.  Ed (red sweatshirt) had the driver put the Tundra into neutral. That was smart as the rear tires of the Tundra kept on digging into the mud while in reverse. The Tundra popped right out when it was in neutral.  So I learned something! Keep the stuck (in mud) vehicle in neutral and let the winch pop it out. Here's the gear I used: Yankum 3/4" Kinetic Rope. https://yankum.com/products/rubber-boa-kinetic-recovery-rope RhinoUSA (aka RhinoChina) hitch shackle. https://www.rhinousainc.com/products/shackle-hitch-receiver Badland 12K Apex Synthetic Winch. https://www.harborfreight.com/12000-lb-winch-with-synthetic-rope-and-wireless-remote-56385.html 2 Van Beest Bow Shackles. https://switchbacksafety.com/product/van-beest-3-4-shackle/ Badland Apex Snatch Block. https://www.harborfreight.com/forged-snatch-block-58175.html |
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I'm stealing the below post of mine out of this thread: https://www.ar15.com/forums/General/Recovery-gear/198-2749448/ The following is most of the gear I carry in my Jeep.  ------------------------------ Along with my Badland Apex 12K Synthetic Winch on my Jeep I carry and use the following frequently. A hitch shackle, I had this RhinoChina one mounted in the hitch of my Toyota 4Runner. I now carry it in my Jeep and will place it in the hitch of a stuck vehicle. https://www.rhinousainc.com/products/shackle-hitch-receiver I also have a Factor 44 Hitchlink 2.0 in my Ford F150: https://www.factor55.com/p-hitchlink-2-0 My 2 newest soft shackles are HF Badland brand. I have 4 others but they are ready for the trash. 2 to 4 is a good number. https://www.harborfreight.com/soft-shackle-58168.html 2 Badland Apex Snatch Blocks. https://www.harborfreight.com/forged-snatch-block-58175.html The only ring worth anything is the $115 Factor 55 Rope Retention Pully. You don't want your winch line falling off a standard ring pully and cutting either the soft shackle or your winch line. https://www.factor55.com/p-rope-retention-pulley-00260 4 Van Beest Bow Shackles. Crosby is also good. https://switchbacksafety.com/product/van-beest-3-4-shackle/ 2 30ft rated Static Straps (2inch 2ply). https://switchbacksafety.com/product/sos-static-recovery-strap/ A Tree Saver. https://switchbacksafety.com/product/sos-tree-saver/ A 30ft Kinetic Rope: https://switchbacksafety.com/product/sos-kinetic-rope/ A 75ft 3/8 inch winch rope extension. https://customsplice.com/collections/winch-rope-extensions A replacement winch line with allen wrench set https://www.harborfreight.com/12000-lb-80-ft-x-38-in-synthetic-winch-rope-56412.html A Safe Jack bottle Jack with extensions. Your 4Runner has a bottle jack in it, get some extensions: https://safejacks.com/ I also carry a Napa Style Air Compressor with a 4 tire inflation hose system. Tire plug kit and a Milwaukee Chainsaw. Just about everything except the Chainsaw fits in this duffel bag behind the backseat of my Jeep: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07YCQK52G/ I strap everything down with these perfect bungees: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C1PXB8XZ?tag=arfcom00-20  Some off road recovery pics:     
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| Another cool post OP. My youngest boy is ate up with Matt's Off Road Recovery, so we watch at least one episode per night while winding down. I've been tempted to purchase a Yankum rope several times, but have never made the leap. |
"When you need it and ain't got it, you're singin' a different tune..."
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Originally Posted By Buckshot4U: Another cool post OP. My youngest boy is ate up with Matt's Off Road Recovery, so we watch at least one episode per night while winding down. I've been tempted to purchase a Yankum road several times, but have never made the leap. Thanks I also like Matt's Off Road Recovery. My friend Ed said he got the idea to put that Tundra in neutral from watching one of their videos. If I was to redo my Yankum rope purchase, I'd probably go with 7/8" or larger. I frequently start with a kinetic rope then move to the winch. Tip on the using the kinetic rope is 5-7mph is the top speed. Going faster can really damage things / tear off bumpers and hitches. Most of the time I will start with a gentle pull then move up in force / speed. I also pretty much put a snatch block or pulley on everything when using my winch. Winching slows everything down and allows you to focus on safety. However, it doesn't make for good youtube video content. |
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No pics or video but I used that Yankum 3/4" kinetic rope to pop a Jeep JKU out of the mud last night in the same area as that Tundra. Did it on the 1st try. I guess it works... Since this recovery request didn't come through the Facebook Missouri 4x4 Rescue page, I told them I would take donations, and they gave me $20. I had just washed the mud off my Jeep the day before. Short from the drive to meet them last night.  Haskins Ford low water bridge #jeepwrangler ##jkwillys #jeeplife This Haskins Ford area of Isabella MO is a fun spot for fishing, hunting, playing around in the mud, watching wildlife etc. It flows into Bull Shoals Lake. When the water is up in the lake this area will completely flood until the Army Corp of Engineers release water from the dam that forms Bull Shoal Lake. Frequently they will let this area stay flooded the whole summer.  Last year I winched a kid in a Chevy pickup out of that area.  Anywho the busy body ladies on my local hometown Facebook page were down there taking pictures of the aftermath of the recovery, bitching how the local kids were tearing up the place and damaging the ecology by putting deep ruts in the mud. This pic of theirs, was the very next day after I winched the Chevy out.  Well the locals all told those cunts off, stating this area changes every time it floods and those ruts would be gone in a year or less. Sure enough the area flooded a couple months ago and the ruts and all the top soil along with them was completely washed away. I called the 2 of them out on Facebook and told them to go look for those tire ruts they were complaining about. This is what the area looks like after a flood.    When it's flooded the area is impassable without a boat. That low water bridge in my video above is under a good 4 or 5ft of water. |
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Originally Posted By drobs: No pics or video but I used that Yankum 3/4" kinetic rope to pop a Jeep JKU out of the mud last night in the same area as that Tundra. Did it on the 1st try. I guess it works... Since this recovery request didn't come through the Facebook Missouri 4x4 Rescue page, I told them I would take donations, and they gave me $20. I had just washed the mud off my Jeep the day before. Short from the drive to meet them last night.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5qfW_csEVoThis Haskins Ford area of Isabella MO is a fun spot for fishing, hunting, playing around in the mud, watching wildlife etc. It flows into Bull Shoals Lake. When the water is up in the lake this area will completely flood until the Army Corp of Engineers release water from the dam that forms Bull Shoal Lake. Frequently they will let this area stay flooded the whole summer. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/41568/HF-3483831.jpg Last year I winched a kid in a Chevy pickup out of that area. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/41568/1500-3483839.jpg Anywho the busy body ladies on my local hometown Facebook page were down there taking pictures of the aftermath of the recovery, bitching how the local kids were tearing up the place and damaging the ecology by putting deep ruts in the mud. This pic of theirs, was the very next day after I winched the Chevy out. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/41568/1500_2_JPG-3483840.jpg Well the locals all told those cunts off, stating this area changes every time it floods and those ruts would be gone in a year or less. Sure enough the area flooded a couple months ago and the ruts and all the top soil along with them was completely washed away. I called the 2 of them out on Facebook and told them to go look for those tire ruts they were complaining about. This is what the area looks like after a flood. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/41568/Dec_20_2024_HF4-3483834.jpg https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/41568/Dec_20_2024_HF3-3483836.jpg https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/41568/Dec_20_2024_HF2-3483837.jpg When it's flooded the area is impassable without a boat. That low water bridge in my video above is under a good 4 or 5ft of water. I've got a ton I haven't uploaded. But I made this video to argue with that GX 460 OFF ROAD guy who claims you don't need a lift/lockers/recoverey gear to run 4 diamond trails. LOLOLOL. He's on glorified fire roads. This is a decently well known 4 diamond trail at Hidden Falls Texas. It's acutally scary to run your first time. Probably 25-30* incline the whole way and loose sandy rocks. The guy we are rescuing is in a lifted Ford Ranger with 33 MTs with bumper and winch. No lockers though. He was really upset but I told him he's wheeling a truck that was meant for light duty work to it's maximum. No shame in that.  Green Mile - Hidden Falls |
"Originally Posted By thezentree:
What NRA just did was legitimize the left's argument that guns are the problem, not people.
Great job NRA"
What NRA just did was legitimize the left's argument that guns are the problem, not people.
Great job NRA"
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Originally Posted By SkilletsUSMC: I've got a ton I haven't uploaded. But I made this video to argue with that GX 460 OFF ROAD guy who claims you don't need a lift/lockers/recoverey gear to run 4 diamond trails. LOLOLOL. He's on glorified fire roads. This is a decently well known 4 diamond trail at Hidden Falls Texas. It's acutally scary to run your first time. Probably 25-30* incline the whole way and loose sandy rocks. The guy we are rescuing is in a lifted Ford Ranger with 33 MTs with bumper and winch. No lockers though. He was really upset but I told him he's wheeling a truck that was meant for light duty work to it's maximum. No shame in that. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCg-W0tnfpMI too watch that GX 460 guy mostly because he's so annoyingly wrong in just about all of his opinions. He has a video on why you shouldn't air your tires down. Then later in the video mentions how frequently he needs to plug his tires. He wouldn't need to plug so many tires, had he aired down. That Green Mile looks like a fun trail. I note the JKUR looked to be properly aired down. The Gladiator could probably go a little lower on tire pressure. But it could just be he's lifting his front tires climbing in the video. My 1st question to the Ford Ranger driver would be... are you using 4wd low? Struggling like that in any vehicle on a climb is usually a sign of being in 4wd high. I have sticker on my Jeep that a friend gave me:  There's ledge filled trail section of a local off road park that I've needed to winch at least once every visit. I needed to winch with my 4Runner that had a rear locker and my Jeep that only had the OEM rear LS. I need to go back and try it again now that I have front and rear lockers. |
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Originally Posted By drobs: I too watch that GX 460 guy mostly because he's so annoyingly wrong in just about all of his opinions. He has a video on why you shouldn't air your tires down. Then later in the video mentions how frequently he needs to plug his tires. He wouldn't need to plug so many tires, had he aired down. That Green Mile looks like a fun trail. I note the JKUR looked to be properly aired down. The Gladiator could probably go a little lower on tire pressure. But it could just be he's lifting his front tires climbing in the video. My 1st question to the Ford Ranger driver would be... are you using 4wd low? Struggling like that in any vehicle on a climb is usually a sign of being in 4wd high. I have sticker on my Jeep that a friend gave me: https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/41568/If_you_aint_winching-3501175.jpg There's ledge filled trail section of a local off road park that I've needed to winch at least once every visit. I needed to winch with my 4Runner that had a rear locker and my Jeep that only had the OEM rear LS. I need to go back and try it again now that I have front and rear lockers. I agree, There's no shame in my game if I need to call for a winch. If I never need it I'm not wheeling hard enough or I need to find new trails. The guy in the ranger is really upset and he's going all out with a set of manual locking hubs and a set of lunchboxes. That with a little more lift and he should be able to keep up. The gladiator is probably aired down to 14psi or so on 37s. It makes sense with no beadlocks. The JKUR is me. I have only been airing down to about 11psi lately. Mostly because a few of these obstacles are barely clearing my diffs and I would rather have a little spin than too much traction and blow my R&P. I have spare sets ready to go but not doing a repair beats an easy repair every time. |
"Originally Posted By thezentree:
What NRA just did was legitimize the left's argument that guns are the problem, not people.
Great job NRA"
What NRA just did was legitimize the left's argument that guns are the problem, not people.
Great job NRA"
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I wish I had photos of all the different vehicles that I recovered while in the Army. I operated a 5 ton wrecker, HMMT wrecker and a M88A1. The most interesting was when I was stationed at Ft Irwin. We were tasked with cleaning up all the old vehicles/hard targets from base. I recovered everything from M4 Shermans, APC's from WWII to M113's and M114's, plenty of wheeled vehicles and other tracked vehicles. The biggest vehicle we recovered was an old M51 heavy tracked recovery vehicle. Think M88 on steroids. The M51 had a crane boom instead of the A frame boom. It was all two M88A1s could do to lift the M51 high enough to get a HETT trailer under it. Here is some info on the Heavy Recovery Vehicle M51 Other than that, I haven't done much recovery since getting out of the Army. I've pulled vehicles out of ditches and deep snow using either one of my different Jeeps or my Honda Pioneer 500. |
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Originally Posted By chumpmiester: I wish I had photos of all the different vehicles that I recovered while in the Army. I operated a 5 ton wrecker, HMMT wrecker and a M88A1. The most interesting was when I was stationed at Ft Irwin. We were tasked with cleaning up all the old vehicles/hard targets from base. I recovered everything from M4 Shermans, APC's from WWII to M113's and M114's, plenty of wheeled vehicles and other tracked vehicles. The biggest vehicle we recovered was an old M51 heavy tracked recovery vehicle. Think M88 on steroids. The M51 had a crane boom instead of the A frame boom. It was all two M88A1s could do to lift the M51 high enough to get a HETT trailer under it. Here is some info on the Heavy Recovery Vehicle M51 Other than that, I haven't done much recovery since getting out of the Army. I've pulled vehicles out of ditches and deep snow using either one of my different Jeeps or my Honda Pioneer 500.  I was a 63S Heavy Wheel Vehicle mechanic and trained to work on the HMMT's. I rarely if ever saw one after training and functioned as a Light Wheel Vehicle Mechanic working on Humvees, Deuce & 1/2's, whatever the diesel blazers and diesel chevy pickups were called. I think it would've been more fun being a wrecker operator though. As they say it's more fun breaking things then it is fixing them.  Side note today, I helped a gent get unstuck today. He had wedged his Ford F250 next to a tree. Once he dropped the trailer he was able to drive the F250 out. Then I pulled the trailer up a semi steep muddy hill for him in my Jeep. 
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Casey's Off Road Recovery  Recovering a Motorhome stuck on the Beach 6x6 5 ton on the Job! Guy has an interesting channel. I like his Tracked Jeep. All kinds of off-road recoveries. Lots of people following google maps on roads that are impassible seasonally and getting stuck. |
A year or two back. Self recovery of a 2005 F250 4x4. Winch is a Hazard Fraught 12500 Badlands (or something like it). Failed To Load Title |
If you think I am sexy now just wait until you find out I have full medical and dental.
Personal pronouns are; Bro/Dude
Personal pronouns are; Bro/Dude
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Originally Posted By GaryM: A year or two back. Self recovery of a 2005 F250 4x4. Winch is a Hazard Fraught 12500 Badlands (or something like it). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqxqmfCYwHMNice! |
Quicky kinetic rope use from Saturday's Mark Twain Mafia trail ride. Funny thing I got stuck / high centered a couple minutes later and Victor in the red Jeep returned the favor pulling me backwards.  Kinetic Rope - Mark Twain Mafia Saturday Trail Ride I find it's best to start with a gentle pull as seen in the video. Then move up in speed / force with 5mph being the top speed. |
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What I learned in the Army was that a little time spent with a shovel greatly increased the likelihood that a recovery would be successful. Countless times troops would get the recovery vehicle stuck in addition to the original stuck vehicle because everybody would rather use brute force than a shovel. |
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Originally Posted By 545days: What I learned in the Army was that a little time spent with a shovel greatly increased the likelihood that a recovery would be successful. Countless times troops would get the recovery vehicle stuck in addition to the original stuck vehicle because everybody would rather use brute force than a shovel. There's a folding E-tool in each of my vehicles. I've never used it in an off road recovery. A winch with a snatch block (pulley) or 2 generally works better. I usually have a friend a long in a 2nd vehicle with a winch in case I get stuck. |
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Not much to show of doing it. Oopsey... Attached File Simple winch off with snatch blocks. This one we teamed up on. Attached File I was on 5h3vfront and Lorenzo was on the side. Attached File |
Originally Posted By TacticalGarand44:
Bring it. Our side has a hundred billion bullets. Your side doesn't know which bathroom to piss in.
Bring it. Our side has a hundred billion bullets. Your side doesn't know which bathroom to piss in.
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Nice! I was out Wheeling with the Sho-Me Off Road Club at TexPlex on Saturday. This was my 3rd time at this park. https://texplexfoxcreek.com/ Heading down one of the side trails, this JLU Rubicon in front of me, almost rolled dropping down a ledge. 14 second video:  TexPlex Holister, MO Sho-Me Off Road   I winched him back up on the ledge to reposition and take another line at it. While we used my winch and gear I let the trail ride leader, Andrew (long beard), take the lead on the recovery. 1 minute 59 second sped up video with annoying non-copyrighted piano music.  TexPlex Holister, MO Sho-Me Off Road Longer 4 minute non-sped up video.  Non sped up winch recovery TexPlex at Fox Creek Park Holister, MO We used my Factor 55 Pulley, tree saver, and one of my shackles.  He was able to reposition and get down the ledge. Hindsight being 20/20 I think I should've just hooked on to him and did a quick straight pull backwards. Chatting with the driver at dinner, he was shaking (almost muscle failure) with both feet on the brake pedal. My turn:   From there we went over to the dry waterfall and climbed it. It's short but steep.  44 second video.  Sho-Me Off Road @ TexPlex Holister, MO |
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A few years back, a friend asked for help fixing a leaking hydrant and moving it a few feet. He didn’t have a mini, so I brought mine over. I knew it had rained the day before, but I didn’t realize his road turns into absolute fucking mush when it does. I was driving up the hill, slid off the side, and ended up stuck down between two hills. I couldn’t get enough momentum to climb either one before the tires started spinning, and that’s with the Freightliner being 4x4. To make it better, there was no cell reception out there. Luckily, since I had the mini, I was able to chain up to the trailer and basically drag myself out and up the hill. About a month later, I ditched the duals and went to LMTV tires so I wouldn’t end up stuck like that again.      
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Originally Posted By Fenric: A few years back, a friend asked for help fixing a leaking hydrant and moving it a few feet. He didn’t have a mini, so I brought mine over. I knew it had rained the day before, but I didn’t realize his road turns into absolute fucking mush when it does. I was driving up the hill, slid off the side, and ended up stuck down between two hills. I couldn’t get enough momentum to climb either one before the tires started spinning, and that’s with the Freightliner being 4x4. To make it better, there was no cell reception out there. Luckily, since I had the mini, I was able to chain up to the trailer and basically drag myself out and up the hill. About a month later, I ditched the duals and went to LMTV tires so I wouldn’t end up stuck like that again. https://i.imgur.com/SueJuNt.png https://i.imgur.com/TwfYKG2.png https://i.imgur.com/8cNaP5u.png https://i.imgur.com/3y30yEF.png https://i.imgur.com/V5J1hHG.png https://i.imgur.com/lVXR6kK.png Nice that you had your own tracked self recovery vehicle along with you. |
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Ambulance recovery using susv during significant storm in Colorado some time in the late 1990’s or early 2000’s. Attached File Attached File |
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That is why you need to know how shit works, bypass solenoids, fixed, motor bad? Take apart and try. Good to help him, but a bad solenoid or winch controller really freaks people out |
Originally Posted By TacticalGarand44:
Bring it. Our side has a hundred billion bullets. Your side doesn't know which bathroom to piss in.
Bring it. Our side has a hundred billion bullets. Your side doesn't know which bathroom to piss in.
| We dont have front plates, when we did i used 4 SS broom clips to snap onto the roller fairlead, what is your setup? hinge with a latch? looks cool |
Originally Posted By TacticalGarand44:
Bring it. Our side has a hundred billion bullets. Your side doesn't know which bathroom to piss in.
Bring it. Our side has a hundred billion bullets. Your side doesn't know which bathroom to piss in.
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Originally Posted By bansil: We dont have front plates, when we did i used 4 SS broom clips to snap onto the roller fairlead, what is your setup? hinge with a latch? looks cool Pretty sure this is what I have. It mounts behind the fairlead using those bolts. https://www.independent4x.com/shop/toyota-store/fj40-landcruiser/tuffy-flip-up-license-plate-holder/ Looking closer at my front bumper I could attach it directly to the bumper and bend it. I'm being lazy and I had that flip up plate holder on my previous bumper. It does the job and isn't annoying. |
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(TLDR): Recovered a Jeep that was on it's side in a ditch. 2 of the 3 occupants smelled of alcohol. A little drama... I'm not a cop or a mechanic. I should've had a video running on my phone. No pics of the recovery but Saturday night (1-31-2026) my phone rang at 11pm. I was sound asleep. Picked up my phone and it was a kid (lets call him EM age 21) that I've pulled out at least twice before now. Said he hit some black ice and put his Jeep on it's side in a ditch about 15 minutes from my house. I had him send me a google pin. This road is a county gravel road that doesn't get plowed. It connects 2 paved state 2 lane highways that are plowed. It's kind of a short cut.  I called my buddy Ed and woke him up to see if he wanted to help out with the recovery. Ed turned me down but said if I get stuck to call him and he would come pull me out, anytime, of the day or night. I drove to the location and found EM, his male friend age 20 (I didn't catch his name), and girl age 19 (didn't get her name either) standing in the road trying to start a fire with some twigs. It was cold 10-20F. I stopped and started sliding a bit. There did look to be both black ice and white ice on the road. Off to my left was a 4 door Jeep on it's side in the trees /brush. I could only see the underside of the Jeep. At some point during the recovery I asked the ages of everyone involved. I did not ask for the names of everyone there. I backed up my Jeep on the other side of the road facing the Jeep on it's side and handed a tree saver strap to the 20 year. He climbed up the underside of the Jeep and attached my strap to the cross member. We then attached my winch hook to the tree saver. I winched the jeep over back onto it's tires and the 20 year old male crawled under it on the up hill side to undo my winch hook and the strap. The Jeep was a maroon 4 door JKU and had a winch bumper on it. We then hooked my winch to the front bumper and I winched it so it was perpendicular to the road. Pulling it sideways. At that point it looked like the wheels were doing what I call the "Bronco Wave." Something was broken on the front axle. I'm not a mechanic. Tie rods were mentioned. Bronco Wave example:  I then tried winching it up out of the ditch onto the road. It seemed to be in park. I asked one of the guys to get into it and put it in neutral. They started the Jeep and it started smoking like crazy then cleared up and looked to run just fine. I then winched it onto the gravel road. It definitely had the "Bronco Wave" and was un-drivable. I moved my Jeep and winched it again pulling it to the side of the road, parallel with the road. During the recovery I had the girl sit in my Jeep and warm up. She seemed sober to me and didn't smell of alcohol. The guys on the other hand reeked of alcohol. We're they drunk? Probably but I'm not a cop. They seemed to have sobered up if they were drunk. Had the cops came, I'm pretty sure both the men would've gone to jail (DUI and underage drinking). Just by their smell alone. Once the Jeep was fully on the side of the road, the group asked me to drive them over to the girl's vehicle, a white or silver Jeep Patriot, at Haskins Ford. She said she would drive them home. I did so and watched her get into the driver seat and drive off. Turns out this wasn't EM's Jeep. It was loaned to him by a friend. -------------- Then the drama starts... Sunday morning EM calls me and asks if I can lie for him and say that I didn't know he had been drinking and could he give my name and phone number to the owner of the Jeep. Technically I never saw him drink. He wasn't slurring his words or stumbling when I saw him. He did reek of alcohol though. I said no I can't do that but I'd prefer to be left out of it altogether. He's an adult and needs to be responsible for is actions. Welcome to adulthood. I'm not going to lie for someone who I don't know outside of pulling him out of the mud, a ditch, and facebook. Plus there was 2 other people in the Jeep (witnesses). While we're friends on facebook it's not like we are friends in real life, that hang out, and get meals together. I'm a 50 year old man and do my best to be an ethical person. I then signed on to Facebook and had 2 friend requests and an instant message from what I guessed were the owners of the Jeep, a couple that looked to be in their 30's. I called them up. Turns out I had pulled them in that exact Jeep out of Haskins Ford a couple years ago. There are lots of maroon 4 door Jeeps around and I didn't know it was theirs when I winched it out Saturday night. The gal thanked me for pulling her Jeep out of the woods and said she and her fiance were at the Jeep and it reeked of alcohol. She said her previous husband died in a DUI crash and that his vehicle had the same smell when she saw it. I agreed with her and told her who was there and that the guys smelled of alcohol. She said EM should've called her last night and she would've been out there to help them. I told her I wasn't gonna leave them out there to freeze to death and did what I could for them. Sounds like EM waited till that morning to message her a picture of the Jeep and it's location. He gave no other details other than the tie rod broke which caused him to loose control and wind up in a ditch. Basically blaming her for his accident... Is that a possible scenario? Maybe, I'm not a mechanic. Ultimately she still needed to hire a tow truck or a friend with a trailer to get the Jeep back home. Talking with my buddy Ed who helps me out on a lot of these recoveries, had he been there, he would've called the cops. He's an EMT. Talking to my friend Justin, who is a reserve Deputy, he agreed with my actions but said, there is a chance in future that a lawyer for the insurance company or the owners, will probably ask me for deposition. That's if the Jeep was insured... it might not've been. Later Sunday afternoon the fiance messaged me and asked if I knew of anyone that had a complete front axle for their Jeep. I told him I would ask around. Based on that question, I'm guessing the Jeep wasn't insured, had liability insurance or a high deductible. I wish I had snapped some pics. That's the 1st Jeep I've personally winched back onto it's tires but 2nd Jeep. I saw another one flop on it's side but only helped with some gear on that recovery. |
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I'm glad it all worked out okay for everyone involved. I would say season learned about how you let borrow your vehicle. I always hated having to recover vehicles that were on their side. The worst one for me was trying to get a HMMT fueler back on its wheels in the lovely slick mud of Hohenfels Germany. What made it worse was that the tanker was full of JP8. We used two M88's get that one back on its wheels. I do miss operating heavy recovery vehicles but I sure don't miss having to get out in the mud and muck. |
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Originally Posted By chumpmiester: I'm glad it all worked out okay for everyone involved. I would say season learned about how you let borrow your vehicle. I always hated having to recover vehicles that were on their side. The worst one for me was trying to get a HMMT fueler back on its wheels in the lovely slick mud of Hohenfels Germany. What made it worse was that the tanker was full of JP8. We used two M88's get that one back on its wheels. I do miss operating heavy recovery vehicles but I sure don't miss having to get out in the mud and muck. I was a 63S Heavy Wheeled Vehicle Mechanic in the Army. We had a few HMMT wreckers at my 1st Reserve unit and then I never saw one again for the rest of the time I was in the Army. I think it would've been fun to be a wrecker operator. |
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Originally Posted By drobs: I was a 63S Heavy Wheeled Vehicle Mechanic in the Army. We had a few HMMT wreckers at my 1st Reserve unit and then I never saw one again for the rest of the time I was in the Army. I think it would've been fun to be a wrecker operator. I drug an O-3's HMMV through every spot of moon dust I could find after he decided to mess with me when I asked him if he wanted to secure his sleeping bag. None of the HMMV's at NTC had windshields or tops and his sleeping bag was wide open in the back of the HMMV. He had fun cleaning all that moon dust out of his fart sack after I was done. Another time we had a M9 ACE (combat earth mover) operator that didn't want to get dirty while in Germany. Our M88 didn't have any mud flaps on and when he refused to help hook up the tow bar, we drug his M9 through every mud hole we could find on the way to the wash rack. He had about 2 feet of mud all over his vehicle. We dropped him off at the wash rack and told him we would be back after he had the M9 cleaned. Two types of people you never mess with in the military: cooks and mechanics. And you especially don't mess with the recovery vehicle operators. |
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Some friends and I stopped at a Bull Shoal Lake access late yesterday afternoon after trail riding. We were flagged down by the owner of a stuck Ram pickup. I hooked up my kinetic rope and yanked him out of the mud.  Kinetic Rope Recovery |
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Quick little winch use from a trail ride I led Saturday. The group.  One of the creek crossings.   A brief stop at the creek.  This Gladiator really needs a lift to support it's heavy front winch & bumper. He winches at least once per trail ride.  I blasted through the mud holes.  Muddy good fun with the Mark Twain Mafia #marktwainmafia #jeep #offroad #missouri The Jeep following me wasn't as lucky.    He wasn't all that stuck and a rear locker or limited slip rear probably would've gotten him through it. Winching sped up.  Winching a Jeep #marktwainmafia #jeep #offroad I constantly read that you don't need a 12k winch on a Jeep and that 12k winches are too slow. While that Jeep, I'm winching, isn't that stuck my 12k winch seems fast enough. I like the added capacity for pulling out heavy vehicles using a snatch block or 2. Real time winching.  "12k winches are too slow." 12k Badland Apex Synthetic #jeep #marktwainmafia #offroadrecovery |
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Originally Posted By Buckshot4U: One of these things is not like the other... Originally Posted By Buckshot4U: Originally Posted By drobs: Quick little winch use from a trail ride I led Saturday. The group. One of these things is not like the other... I don't follow. |
A fellow name Monty posted on the Arkansas 4x4 Rescue Facebook page that his Grand Cherokee was stuck in a gully in the back of his 6 acre property in Yellville, AR. One the of the group members scouted it out Tuesday.    Yellville, AR is about 1.5 hours south of me. I have friends in that town and have been down there before. It's very hilly. I contacted Monty and found out he was retired and working on getting his license back after a past DUI. He didn't need the vehicle out immediately and was good with waiting till Saturday. Looking at the above pics, it looked to me, like ought to be able to just drive out of that or that I could drive down to him and drag him out... Wrong!!! I created an event on the Arkansas 4x4 Rescue page asking for other volunteers to winch Monty out. Meeting at the Monty's address at 10am on Saturday. 4 other vehicles showed up. I got there a little early and drove my Jeep down the hill to the GC with Monty and a can of gas. It was bit off camber, side hill, and I found my Jeep sliding sideways as I drove down there. Once down there, I learned why he couldn't drive it out. The ground was all loose gravel. It's like the hill was a man made gravel pile that is overgrown with weeds & briars. My tires immediately starting digging holes in the terrain. I could turn around but was unable to climb up and out. There were trees uphill on the sides of the hill that I could winch to so I wasn't out of luck if no one else showed up. I could winch myself up to a tree, turn around and winch his GC to that spot, repeat, all the way up the hill, if necessary. That would've been a long grueling day on my own with lots of re-rigging. The GC would turn over but not start after adding the 3 or 4 gallons of gas I brought with me. The GC also had a interlock device on it. Meaning Monty had to blow in a tube to start the vehicle. People always ask "Well what was he thinking taking his vehicle back there?" Easy answer he wanted explore his property. Hell I've taken my Jeep down a steeper grade at my lake house. I didn't get stuck and could've winched out if need be. Thankfully 4 more vehicles showed up. Making for a total of 3 Jeeps and 2 Toyotas. Everyone started connecting vehicles the couple hundred yards across the top of the hill.   Pretty smart - using of a bottle of antifreeze as a winch damper on the steel cable.    We probably re-rigged 3 or 4 times. I had the GC (in neutral) strapped on to my rear bumper. I started off with my winch line line, hooked to my winch extension, to the white 4Runner. You can kind of see in this 53 second video, every time I gave it gas while winching, my tires would just dug into the gravel. I wasn't aired down but I don't think it would've helped anything.  Arkansas 4x4 Rescue of a disabled Grand Cherokee in Yellville. As I got closer to the top of the hill, my winch line was connected to a 30ft tow strap to maroon Rubicon. He was facing me with his winch line extended to the tow strap. I winched as far as I could then he winched the rest of the way. That was a smart way to do it.  ---Continued--- |
  After re-rigging multiple times I was finally able to drag the GC off the hill. 38 second vid.  Arkansas 4x4 Rescue dragging the disabled Grand Cherokee off the hill. Couple pics of the top of the hill drag.   And we got him out.    It took 4 vehicles 2 hours to get him all the way out. Had it just been me there, it would've taken all day. The extra vehicles really helped plus all the guys running up and down the hill setting and resetting the rigging. |
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Looks like a good time!! People say why? I have done plenty of exploration on our property....calling the wife at 2 am to winch me.....it's been a lot of years and she still brings it up...lol |
Originally Posted By TacticalGarand44:
Bring it. Our side has a hundred billion bullets. Your side doesn't know which bathroom to piss in.
Bring it. Our side has a hundred billion bullets. Your side doesn't know which bathroom to piss in.
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Originally Posted By bansil: Looks like a good time!! People say why? I have done plenty of exploration on our property....calling the wife at 2 am to winch me.....it's been a lot of years and she still brings it up...lol I find that people love being judgemental when it comes to getting vehicles stuck. "Well what were you thinking going back there?" Then there are people that love saying "I've never been stuck." My response to that one is they aren't trying hard enough. The only way to learn the capabilities of your vehicle is to get stuck once in awhile. From there you can decide what your priorities for the vehicle are. Is it time to add a winch and bumper or would better tires or less tire pressure have helped. Few years ago I was out playing in my Nissan Frontier on the 300 some bank owned acres around my house. I got the Nissan stuck and walked back to my house to grab my 4Runner and a kinetic rope. I put the Nissan in neutral and pulled it out with the Toyota. Lots of walking but not a big deal. |
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I’m impressed so many people came from so far away to help him! Yeah there are a lot of judgmental people in the world. Several years ago I was in my RZR on some back roads. We went through a closed road that was rough. Nothing for the RZR but definitely a rough section. As we were coming to the end of the rough section, we came across someone people in a Kia Soul who were stuck. If they hadn’t gotten stuck where they were, they would have been REALLY stuck a short distance further. I offered to try my 3500 lb RZR winch. I didn’t have high hopes but with giving the Kia some gas while I was pulling, we got them out. They were very relived. They had been stuck there for hours. It was a good feeling to be able to help. |
"It behooves every man to remember that the work of the critic is of altogether secondary importance, and that, in the end, progress is accomplished by the man who does things."
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
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I was off-roading with friends from church. We have a Jeep Wrangler fall off the trail and end up on the driver's side with the passenger side at road level. We called around to off-road recovery companies and only one was willing to come out and wanted $10k with $6k up front in cash. We ended up pulling them out with two trucks in front. An equipment trailer with a big winch also in front. And another truck with a winch on the side doing the rotation. In one movement we got it rotated and up on the road. After we had it recovered I turned to all the women that were standing there with their phones asking if anyone had recorded it. Nope. They were all playing candy crush or some bullshit. |
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Originally Posted By Imzadi: I was off-roading with friends from church. We have a Jeep Wrangler fall off the trail and end up on the driver's side with the passenger side at road level. We called around to off-road recovery companies and only one was willing to come out and wanted $10k with $6k up front in cash. We ended up pulling them out with two trucks in front. An equipment trailer with a big winch also in front. And another truck with a winch on the side doing the rotation. In one movement we got it rotated and up on the road. After we had it recovered I turned to all the women that were standing there with their phones asking if anyone had recorded it. Nope. They were all playing candy crush or some bullshit. Nice work! If you or your wife, GF, etc. is on Facebook there are 3 volunteer recovery groups that would've helped. Arizona 4x4 Rescue and Storm Recovery https://www.facebook.com/groups/1104473469893000/ Arizona Off Road Recovery https://www.facebook.com/groups/1547228658901455/ The Offroad Recovery Portal is nationwide has a facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/OffroadRecoveryPortal And a website with an actual phone number. https://offroadportal.org/ |
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Originally Posted By ColtRifle: I’m impressed so many people came from so far away to help him! Yeah there are a lot of judgmental people in the world. Several years ago I was in my RZR on some back roads. We went through a closed road that was rough. Nothing for the RZR but definitely a rough section. As we were coming to the end of the rough section, we came across someone people in a Kia Soul who were stuck. If they hadn’t gotten stuck where they were, they would have been REALLY stuck a short distance further. I offered to try my 3500 lb RZR winch. I didn’t have high hopes but with giving the Kia some gas while I was pulling, we got them out. They were very relived. They had been stuck there for hours. It was a good feeling to be able to help. I bet it didn’t take long to find out the off road limits of a Kia Soul. 
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“It does not take a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen on setting brush fires of freedom in the minds of men”
- Samuel Adams
- Samuel Adams
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Originally Posted By triburst1: I bet it didn’t take long to find out the off road limits of a Kia Soul. lol….yeah they didn’t get too far in. Luckily for them! I’m sure they didn’t feel lucky though! Side note….if you were thinking of off roading a Kia Soul…..don’t! |
"It behooves every man to remember that the work of the critic is of altogether secondary importance, and that, in the end, progress is accomplished by the man who does things."
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
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So going back to that Arkansas recovery, I handed out 3 of my Harbor Freight Badland soft shackles. https://www.harborfreight.com/soft-shackle-58168.html All 3 were returned to me looking like this...  Did it work? Yes. Is it the correct way of using it? No. I was able to fix mine. I've found a lot of off roaders don't know how to use soft shackles. Here's a 26 second video on how to connect them.  How to use a Soft Shackle And a quick 38 second video on how to place a soft shackle on a strap / vehicle.  How to Properly use a Rhino USA Soft Shackle #RhinoUSA #worrylessadventuremore There will be a test...  |
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Originally Posted By drobs: So going back to that Arkansas recovery, I handed out 3 of my Harbor Freight Badland soft shackles. https://www.harborfreight.com/soft-shackle-58168.html All 3 were returned to me looking like this... https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/41568/Soft_Shackle_JPG-3783599.jpg Did it work? Yes. Is it the correct way of using it? No. I was able to fix mine. I've found a lot of off roaders don't know how to use soft shackles. Here's a 26 second video on how to connect them. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Z-1gA95G_sAnd a quick 38 second video on how to place a soft shackle on a strap / vehicle. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUvnuQnBzpkThere will be a test... |
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Originally Posted By Minerk: One video shows twisting the eye, the other does not? The huge soft shackle video is the correct way to use them. The RhinoUSA video shows how to place them in relation to a strap. The cover on the RhinoUSA soft shackle hides the eye. |