Learned the hard way

4x4kota · #1 12-31-2006, 04:55 AM

Ok so i learned the hardway that I should follow my own advise. What advise might that be you ask? To never go 4x4'n alone. Or at least without a winch. I have a 2001 4x4 dakota, with the 3.9L and 15" Wranglers. Tonight i decided to go off the beaten path a little bit, a very little bit. I saw a few tracks down a dip on the grass, nothin to big. I was bored and thought why not. So I went for it, slapped it in 4x4 and proceded nice and easy.... and then sunk. i kept on the gass to try to keep momentum, but nothin. Tried to rock back and forth... nothin. Slapped it in 4x4 low, rocked it back and forth, nothin. ooops... im stuck. It's 11:30 at night, the odd person is pulling into this park that im at and all that im thinking is please no cops. so i called home. Luckily i only live 10 mins away, and my dad showed up with our 1985 pontiac parisienne. I hooked up a chain to the two and we tried to pull my ol girl out. we tried rockin it back and forth, and then i had the bright idea to go through the trunk. I grabbed my dads level and dug under the front tires.(btw i owe him a new level) Finally after about 15 minutes we got my truck out. What a relief. I then went to the car wash and spent 5 bucks to wash her off. I learned 2 things through this that really surprised me. #1. I have no tow hooks. I did find a place to hook the chain on, but ended up cracking the lower plastic part of the bumper; is it a cowling? This is just a good excuse to find the one with the fog lights.
The second surprise is how little clearance the front skidplate offers.
Tomorrow I plan on goin back and gettin a few pics of the hole i got stuck in.

f0x672 · #2 12-31-2006, 05:58 AM

problem is... those junk wrangler tires.. countless 180s ive pulled off while merging onto highways with them on a rainday.... useless rubber.. stock tires are useless when it comes to offroading, i got bridgestone duehler a/t revo's... good tires, not so shabby in the mud, i pretty uch have the same driveline that u have, except i have an auto, if you need some anchors inf you get stuck, buy towing hooks and get a trailer hitch, saved me whenever i got stuck in mud

dodgerules86 · #3 12-31-2006, 07:18 AM

Quote:

ORIGINAL: 4x4kota
I learned 2 things through this that really surprised me. #1. I have no tow hooks. I did find a place to hook the chain on, but ended up cracking the lower plastic part of the bumper; is it a cowling? This is just a good excuse to find the one with the fog lights.

Yea... I found that out about a year ago.
And than in the last week I've had to help tow out two friends vehicles... so today I looked at tow hooks. Here are the ones I'm probably gonna get, their from Summit (my new favorite place to shop)
Or maybe shackles.

4x4kota · #4 12-31-2006, 07:50 PM

Quote:

ORIGINAL: f0x672

problem is... those junk wrangler tires.. countless 180s ive pulled off while merging onto highways with them on a rainday.... useless rubber.. stock tires are useless when it comes to offroading, i got bridgestone duehler a/t revo's... good tires, not so shabby in the mud, i pretty uch have the same driveline that u have, except i have an auto, if you need some anchors inf you get stuck, buy towing hooks and get a trailer hitch, saved me whenever i got stuck in mud

I know what you mean about the 180's, you really gotta take off slow when it's wet. Oh well, i'll keep them until they wear out, after that im goin to bigger tires. And reading that 32's will fit is good to know. I went back to the mudd today and got a few pics with my cell. If it wasn't for the low clearance with the front skidplate, i think i wouldda been ok. I'm still tryin to get the mud outaa all the nooks and crannies. Here are the pics.

horatio102 · #5 01-01-2007, 03:01 AM

Doesn't really look like you tried to get out.

Cut the wheel back and forth while spinning the tires slowly to try and get some grip. It works better if you have all terrain tires, not all season tires. Dad got his Yukon stuck similarly, although it was on his own property.

jonnymagnum · #6 01-01-2007, 04:38 AM

why would you do 4 whelling by your self who do you think would pull you out? I never go 4 wheeling my self.

dodgerules86 · #7 01-01-2007, 04:40 AM

Quote:

ORIGINAL: jonnymagnum
why would you do 4 whelling by your self who do you think would pull you out? I never go 4 wheeling my self.

Sometimes people don't think. I'm guilty.

jonnymagnum · #8 01-01-2007, 06:52 PM

I've been stuck too many times to count. I always think after I've done it. and by then its too late.

atleast yours was easy to get out. me and my freinds were off roading in some guys bush and we get both trucks stuck.and then the farmer came out and yelled at us and threatend to call the cops. so finnaly my cousin came over in his bronco up on 36" to pull us out. lets just say I'll never do that again.

lodakota99 · #9 01-01-2007, 09:02 PM

When I got mine stuck, it was in caly-mud and I had the only truck. There were about 10 of us in this dried up swamp that wasnt really so dry. Everyone else had cars that couldnt get to it, so we dug it out for about 12 hours, the whole time trying to run from the cops.

4x4kota · #10 01-01-2007, 09:58 PM

Quote:

ORIGINAL: horatio102

Doesn't really look like you tried to get out.

Cut the wheel back and forth while spinning the tires slowly to try and get some grip. It works better if you have all terrain tires, not all season tires. Dad got his Yukon stuck similarly, although it was on his own property.

Yeah i tried that!! I don't have a lot of 4 wheelin experience, but I'm not new. I'm a farmboy who grew up driving anything from dirtbikes to great big loaders. I've been stuck many times before, this time i just sank and got hung up on the skidplate. Oh well. Lesson learned.... But i'll probably do it again!!