Stuck stories

[ATX_4Runner]

Been stuck there

I've got a good one! Got two trucks stuck. Mine, which had fj coils on XREAS and 33" terra grapplers, and an FJ80 w/ OME 3inch and 35"duratracs.

It was a gray morning, but the white basss were running so we had to go. These trails at this park north of Austin are a mix of rock and clay, but the lakebed can be pure silt.

After fishing and a nice drizzle the grassy/sandy road we came in on was covered in a light layer of water. I went forward with caution until the puddles and ruts became more frequent. Eventually I came to a spot that was nasty. I tried to gun it through to the other side.

Halfway through I lost momentum. ATRAC was doing me no good (I have an all nannies off switch now). I tried to bail out across a couple ruts to a better/drier line, but I buried it in a hurry.

We tried to dig it out. The ruts just refilled with water. It started to rain harder. I started to panic.

At this point we call a friend to get my fishing friend's FJ80 and drive the 40 miles to come get us out. He rolls in an hour or so later. We think things are about to get easy. We even joke about fishing some more.

The FJ80 lurches, my 4Runner moves a foot or two and sinks. His truck then digs in and quickly buries itself to the axle.

Now what?

We call a tow truck. They won't even come near us. We discuss going to get my friends girlfriend's Tacoma with an ARB front bumper and no winch. We discuss installing a winch, but decide that's a lot of money and time we don't have.

Finally we call Hidden Falls off-road park which is about 20 minutes away, and is actually a really sweet place. By this time it is dark and we're desperate for help.

Rescue arrives in the form of two JEEPs. A wrangler and a cherokee. As they winch us out, they have the audacity to tell us to dump our Yotas for jeeps. I tell them it's not gonna happen. Hand them $400 for both trucks and gtfo and to concrete.

We're immediately stopped by the game warden. Given a little sh*t and sent on our way. 12 hours in the mud will put a deep fear into you. Sand, rocks the concrete jungle, I'm cool with those. F*ck MUD!

 

[BlackWorksInc]

............Ok Mr. Bond :cheers:

Hey, theoretically it's a big tool that shoots giant spikes into the ground... I mean that falls under the whole "guys & their tools" trope right?

 

[wfo9]

I've got a good one! Got two trucks stuck. Mine, which had fj coils on XREAS and 33" terra grapplers, and an FJ80 w/ OME 3inch and 35"duratracs.

It was a gray morning, but the white basss were running so we had to go. These trails at this park north of Austin are a mix of rock and clay, but the lakebed can be pure silt.

After fishing and a nice drizzle the grassy/sandy road we came in on was covered in a light layer of water. I went forward with caution until the puddles and ruts became more frequent. Eventually I came to a spot that was nasty. I tried to gun it through to the other side.

Halfway through I lost momentum. ATRAC was doing me no good (I have an all nannies off switch now). I tried to bail out across a couple ruts to a better/drier line, but I buried it in a hurry.

We tried to dig it out. The ruts just refilled with water. It started to rain harder. I started to panic.

At this point we call a friend to get my fishing friend's FJ80 and drive the 40 miles to come get us out. He rolls in an hour or so later. We think things are about to get easy. We even joke about fishing some more.

The FJ80 lurches, my 4Runner moves a foot or two and sinks. His truck then digs in and quickly buries itself to the axle.

Now what?

We call a tow truck. They won't even come near us. We discuss going to get my friends girlfriend's Tacoma with an ARB front bumper and no winch. We discuss installing a winch, but decide that's a lot of money and time we don't have.

Finally we call Hidden Falls off-road park which is about 20 minutes away, and is actually a really sweet place. By this time it is dark and we're desperate for help.

Rescue arrives in the form of two JEEPs. A wrangler and a cherokee. As they winch us out, they have the audacity to tell us to dump our Yotas for jeeps. I tell them it's not gonna happen. Hand them $400 for both trucks and gtfo and to concrete.

We're immediately stopped by the game warden. Given a little sh*t and sent on our way. 12 hours in the mud will put a deep fear into you. Sand, rocks the concrete jungle, I'm cool with those. F*ck MUD!

Was this at turkey bend? The ground is extremely variable out there when the lake is down.

 

[Jetboy]

This thread needs more pics! I've found my 5th gen actually pretty hard to get stuck. Broke ice this weekend through this old ranch road. Didn't get stuck - but I did lose a mud flap. Having a winch gives me a lot of confidence where I wouldn't otherwise go when I'm alone. I REALLY didn't want to use it though - note the temp in pic 2. Wading in mud/ice at -2* would not be fun.

I also found that mud and freezing temps made for some issues with the suspension - it got really iced up to the point that it wouldn't cycle up due to ice buildup around the lower a-arm interfering around the bump stop area.

 

[Engineer]

Hey, theoretically it's a big tool that shoots giant spikes into the ground... I mean that falls under the whole "guys & their tools" trope right?

I jest........but let me know when the prototype is done :rockon:

 

[mcarey86]

note the temp in pic 2. Wading in mud/ice at -2* would not be fun.

Yikes. Where in the state were you? Looks like a nice area for a drive.

I'm shocked by your MPG! 100% stock I wasn't even getting that high.

 

[Osmith]

Got stuck in about 10-12" of mud on the farm. Only way I got out including the xterra Tacoma and jeep was a local farmer with a gigantic tractor with wheels larger than I am tall. He had a ball pulling all four of us out.

 

[Jetboy]

Yikes. Where in the state were you? Looks like a nice area for a drive.

I'm shocked by your MPG! 100% stock I wasn't even getting that high.

I was in Montana. That's where I grew up - trying to figure out how to move back. That was shortly after a fill up, so not really representative of my typical mpg. My total MPG since new is 19.983. I put on 285s a few weeks ago and it's been kinda odd - my mpg dropped significantly on the highway - from 21-22ish down to 17-18 on the dash. Yet calculating mpg via the phone app that uses pump gas volume and odometer - says 19.5 when the dash is now reading 17-18. For whatever reason the dash seems to be off where it was previously pretty close. I'm going to keep comparing for a while so I have a larger sample.

 

[4RnR Grl]

I was stuck twice. In the exact same spot at the Cove. Basically I was high centered so tires could not get enough of a grip to get me out.

The truck was basically resting on the sliders. On the way down a hi-lift was used to push the back end over the hill a bit more. On the way up, I was pulled out with a bubba rope.

Had I been by myself, I never would have attempted it... There were two other ways around. One with giant rocks and one that was pretty skinny with one giant rock. I thought maybe I could slide down the trap... buuuutttt the truck was a bit too wide.

 

[DesertCanyons]

Breaking ice and mud

This thread needs more pics! I've found my 5th gen actually pretty hard to get stuck. Broke ice this weekend through this old ranch road. Didn't get stuck - but I did lose a mud flap. Having a winch gives me a lot of confidence where I wouldn't otherwise go when I'm alone. I REALLY didn't want to use it though - note the temp in pic 2. Wading in mud/ice at -2* would not be fun.

I also found that mud and freezing temps made for some issues with the suspension - it got really iced up to the point that it wouldn't cycle up due to ice buildup around the lower a-arm interfering around the bump stop area.

Wow! Minus 2 F. I'm surprised there was any unfrozen water at all. That road needs a plow or gully to a drain at the low spot beyond. I wonder if you could have waited for nightfall when the temp' drops even more and then just drive out on solid ice? Not fun but doable?
And the engine was running at 1500 rpm and the temp still reads cold. That's brrr cold. Not good weather to be stuck in, as Montanans know.

 

[DannyLlama]

I was stuck twice. In the exact same spot at the Cove. Basically I was high centered so tires could not get enough of a grip to get me out.

The truck was basically resting on the sliders. On the way down a hi-lift was used to push the back end over the hill a bit more. On the way up, I was pulled out with a bubba rope.

Had I been by myself, I never would have attempted it... There were two other ways around. One with giant rocks and one that was pretty skinny with one giant rock. I thought maybe I could slide down the trap... buuuutttt the truck was a bit too wide.

This is def. a good use scenario for a winch

 

[calcrc]

Never got stuck with the runner since I have it. Almost got stuck while going in the back parking lot the year I got it but it was a good 4 feet of snow, I managed to back it up to the street.

Now with my wife and sister in law lol ... do I have some stories for you guys ...
THEY DON'T have 4Runners that's for sure !

Getting woke up at 7AM is no damn fun on the week end by your nice sister
in law who has no F%?%ng clue that a car cannot go in 4 feet of snow .....

I think she had her eyes fixed with the laser technology !

 

[v_man]

My dad and I once got stuck really bad in the Panamint valley . We were crossing a wash, I got out and walked it , but when I drove my truck across it , we sunk quickly in the mud...

stuck good...

With no natural anchors to winch off (and we were solo) , I built a bollard, or a channel in the soil, commonly used in mountaineering, to winch off...

It worked thank gawd, there was just enough vegetation to make the soil stable , and allow me to pull myself out ...

 

[Jetboy]

Wow! Minus 2 F. I'm surprised there was any unfrozen water at all. That road needs a plow or gully to a drain at the low spot beyond. I wonder if you could have waited for nightfall when the temp' drops even more and then just drive out on solid ice? Not fun but doable?
And the engine was running at 1500 rpm and the temp still reads cold. That's brrr cold. Not good weather to be stuck in, as Montanans know.

That area is a bit of a low spot. And the small stream freezes up and makes a big ice field there in the winter. I thought it would be frozen enough to drive across when I started. There's another road around that's more maintained. I just take that one for fun.

I was surprised to break through. It was probably just a melted mud hole two days before. I think if I had left it to freeze it would still be there. Breaking it out of the ice would be very difficult. Not to mention the damage from the ice expansion when freezing. I was actually able to drive out without the winch. Just had to keep breaking ice as I went. It was close enough that I don't think I would have driven out without the rear locker.

 

[JB.]

I wonder if you could have waited for nightfall when the temp' drops even more and then just drive out on solid ice? Not fun but doable?

Very doable. Saved my butt once and the principle has also allowed access and exit to areas where I would never have attempted to go in the middle of a sunny day.

Obviously, a vehicle can probably get so set in solid ice, eventually, that it might as well be in concrete but the beauty of letting it firm up is you get to pick the degree of solidity.

As an aside, firm, semi-frozen mud churned up by livestock is a wonderful surface to drive on.

 

[Antman]

I was stuck twice. In the exact same spot at the Cove. Basically I was high centered so tires could not get enough of a grip to get me out.

The truck was basically resting on the sliders. On the way down a hi-lift was used to push the back end over the hill a bit more. On the way up, I was pulled out with a bubba rope.

Had I been by myself, I never would have attempted it... There were two other ways around. One with giant rocks and one that was pretty skinny with one giant rock. I thought maybe I could slide down the trap... buuuutttt the truck was a bit too wide.

What was [MENTION=132027]OneGreenTaco[/MENTION] doing to the back of your truck?






I didn't notice that at the time...Oh yeah- I went the way with the giant rocks and didn't get stuck LOL My sliders work really good...:bounce:

In all seriousness, I wasn't about to go over the mud cliff you got stuck on- ballsy! Pictures do no justice.

 

[4RnR Grl]

What was [MENTION=132027]OneGreenTaco[/MENTION] doing to the back of your truck- I didn't notice that at the time...Oh yeah- I went the way with the giant rocks and didn't get stuck LOL My sliders work really good...:bounce:

In all seriousness, I wasn't about to go over the mud cliff you got stuck on- ballsy! Pictures do no justice.

[MENTION=132027]OneGreenTaco[/MENTION] was getting ready to hi-lift me over the ledge.

No guts no glory. At least I can say I tried. [emoji48]

 

[Antman]

[MENTION=132027]OneGreenTaco[/MENTION] was getting ready to hi-lift me over the ledge.

Does he always hump the hitch before he does that??

 

[4RnR Grl]

Does he always hump the hitch before he does that??

I believe he was trying to remove my locked hitch pin. Buuuuuttttt..... it can be whatever your eyes see.

[emoji6]

 

[Taco04]

My dad and I once got stuck really bad in the Panamint valley . We were crossing a wash, I got out and walked it , but when I drove my truck across it , we sunk quickly in the mud...

stuck good...

With no natural anchors to winch off (and we were solo) , I built a bollard, or a channel in the soil, commonly used in mountaineering, to winch off...

It worked thank gawd, there was just enough vegetation to make the soil stable , and allow me to pull myself out ...

Awesome recovery and rig! One of our senior field Geologist told me to always carry a couple of 4 in. x 6 in. x 4 ft. boards for anchors in sand. Just dig a deep T shape with the boards being the top and the base of the T ramping up for the winch cable. I have done this a few times over the years and it has saved my A$$! You can also use the boards for recovery in mud or for a base of a jack on a soft surface. The best part about this is he said if all else fails and your A$$ is still stuck to the point you are going nowhere you can use them as firewood to stay warm!