Pulling 405Style's Explorer out of the mud...
 

so.. the offroading meet on Friday had a few glitches... 405Style's Explorer got stuck in the clay mud. A bunch of guys came from soxc.org (southern ontario xterra club) to help get him out... asking for nothing more than a cup of coffee in return. :)

I couldn't make it... but this is the story as told by Pete (one of the guys that helped out):

The spot 405Style was stuck was not too bad overall but he was in the deepest part of it, sunk in deep with all 4 wheels spinning and high-centered on his frame. It was VERY heavy thick clay that was strewn through with grass that made the stuff brutal. Hard to shovel, stuck onto everything, you couldn't even scrape the crap off your boots! The worst part was that he had NO recovery points at all either. I ended up putting a 6' tree strap around one of the rear leaf shackles (manufacturers recommended location if necessary...) and then fastened the recovery strap to that.

Anyway, after a couple hours of screwing around, trying different stuff and shovelling out as much as we could from behind the wheels and under the frame we tried again. It took me 5-6 VERY hard tugs (with a running start too) to finally pull him out. Then we changed his almost flat tire and got him on his way. I can't remember exactly what time it was, but I think it was around 6:30 or 7:00 when we got out of there.

And here are the pictures from Booker C.. unfortunately his batteries died.. so he only got a few pics. I believe 405Style has some pics too though.

Here is what we found when we arrived.
http://www2.freepichosting.com/Images/421563798/0.jpg

So here is Pete getting ready to tow out the Explorer, while Jon in the white works security.
http://www2.freepichosting.com/Images/421563812/0.jpg

After the first few attempts to have the Ford pulled out from the rear, Marty decided that they will try to yank it out from the front.

Only to get stuck in this hole, but Pete came to the rescue.
http://www2.freepichosting.com/Images/421563809/0.jpg

http://www2.freepichosting.com/Images/421563803/0.jpg

omg bad memories :'(

pooor explorer.

thank god my baby stayed on the roads.

Whats the point of buying an SUV then??? Just get a mini van or something...

indeed... even stuck, these trucks do look in their natural habitat in the above pictures. :)

with the amount of damage u guys did 2 ur trucks.. i would rather juss be a passanger

Yes, but we do that to other cars too; doing dounuts, burnouts, drifting etc is not good for the bimmers but we do it because its fun and we enjoy it (the reason for buying a sports car!) But many SUV owners just spend tons of $$$ on those cute trucks but never want to take it anywhere but grocery shopping! To me thats a waste...

very i have an escape its my moms, and we dont do ne thing with it, in my mind a 325 wagon woulda been better...

well its not my explorer, its my dads.. if it was mine it would be a different story. lol
but i no.. offroading is fun

exactly..thats like buying an m3, and never giving it WOT, or taking turns hard, or ANY of that fun stuff EVERYONE should do if they have a high performance vehicle :D

hell i do it even with the civic and the words high and performance should never be associated with the car i'm currently pushing :D

I have been reading the off road threads. Looks like fun....untill you guys got stuck!

Guess you need to spend some money on those yuppie SUV's or get something like this for the trails! LOL! :D

http://memimage.cardomain.net/member...37_11_full.jpg

^ thats hot. im jealous lol

Taking the SUV's that you guys took (car based grocery getters like the CR-V and Murano, or severely soft frame-based ones like the Explorer) is akin to "doing dounuts, burnouts, drifting" in a family sedan. They were NOT made to handle these conditions, at all. No low range gearing, locking hubs, enough ground clearance, or real tires. Terry's Cherokee and Edwin's Grand are the exceptions, but it seemed lack of experience held them back also.

Just my $0.02.

Well said Mystikal. *th-up*

It seems there is some confusion between an SUV and an off-roading truck. Yes, you CAN get a family sedan and have it doing donuts, burnouts, and drifting---if you give it the proper modifications first. Likewise, you CAN take a SUV offroading---if you give it the proper modifications first. Off the lot?... those were all definately grocery getters.

The basic mods for a grocery getter to get onto the trails? 1) a lift... 2) proper tires. Both points proven by the underbody and fender, and license plate damages some vehicles suffered; and by the vehicles that lost traction and got stuck.

The two fundamental mods to make a SUV off-road worthy?

1) suspension
2) tires

You need a lift. (how many vehicles now have dented body panels or lost body parts?)
And you need proper tires. (how many vehicles have lost traction and got stuck?)

Case and point. Are you going to take your car to the race track without fixing up the suspension and getting some high performance rubber first? Likewise, don't take your SUV off-roading until you've done the proper prep work.

In the end, I say I'm glad everyone had fun and no one is too upset at the damages their vehicles suffered. Still makes for some good pictures and stories.

do you guys have pics of the sex trooper actually out of the mud??? or getting pulled??? *wave*