This is the wrong kind of advertisement....

[sn_85]

There's an Incredible Effort to Save a Stuck Toyota 4Runner Unfolding on Facebook - The Drive



stuck happens !

Yep that's the guy. Prior to his trip he posted on FB about crossing the Black Rock Desert. Many locals and those that knew the area told him not to do it in winter since it's mud pit with the winter storms. And what did he do? He went anyways. There's also signs on BLM land warning him of wet conditions in winter. Ignored those too. Stuck happens, sh*t happens and sometimes it's a honest mistake and learning experience. This guy seemed to go out of his way to ignore all the warning signs and intentionally go against better judgement and advice because he thought he had a 4Runner with a lift, all-terrains, and a winch. I'm not sure what you're going to even winch to out in the desert unless he had shovel and an earth anchor. Not that they would have gotten him out but it doesn't even look like he brought traction boards with him.

Reminds me of a time I went to Alstrom point, a popular IG destination. There was a flash storm that briefly came in for about an hour. Turned the soft clay into muddy slop. I made it out fine in 4-Lo and MTS but along the way I saw a stuck Cruise America RV, 2 Chevy Tahoe rentals, and a rental Ranger Rover Evoque that followed me. Luckily the RR made it out but not without struggle. Without proper low range his drivetrain was working really hard and over heating. All the flying and stuck mud caused his fenders to pop off. Front air damn and rear bumper were popping off too. Thing was covered in mud in all the wells. I'm curious to know what the rental agency said to him after the whole thing. Those flash storms in the desert are no joke.

 

[PK930]

Not to keep escalating the off-topic but ^this for sure.

Go watch a few side x side adverts and how they promote ripping through the wilds :twitch::mmph::doh:

To be fair, Toyota, or any other manufacturer out there, engages in the same. Splashing through water at 20mph+, doing donuts, blah, blah.

But no one want to really watch a commercial in which the vehicle is in 4Lo and the lowest tranny gear while trying to move over an obstacle. Not visually appealing.

 

[csommers]

It's very easy stuck in the snow, 4x4 and ATRAC won't help much if tires don't have any traction. Even if that lady driver with dementia used 4lo with ATRAC she probably would just try to go further and stuck deeper.

The better offroad capabilities your vehicle has the longer you'll have to walk back for help : )

This is some DEEP shit

 

[Inv4drZm]

To be fair, Toyota, or any other manufacturer out there, engages in the same. Splashing through water at 20mph+, doing donuts, blah, blah.

But no one want to really watch a commercial in which the vehicle is in 4Lo and the lowest tranny gear while trying to move over an obstacle. Not visually appealing.

Jeep had a sick superbowl commercial maybe a year ago in which they drove slowly through a river in low range and up the bank on the other side. No background music even, it was beautiful. But yeah, the average Joe doesn't care about that stuff. At least not when watching TV where everything is over the top trying to get your attention.

 

[spartacus]

Chains? I've gone snow wheeling and have gotten stuck almost every time but with chains you can get out of trouble but then again with chains you push the limits and get stuck also. So in other words bring a friend with a gwagon and a winch.

 

[jrandom]

To be fair, Toyota, or any other manufacturer out there, engages in the same. Splashing through water at 20mph+, doing donuts, blah, blah.

But no one want to really watch a commercial in which the vehicle is in 4Lo and the lowest tranny gear while trying to move over an obstacle. Not visually appealing.

You're not at all wrong, I've seen plenty of them over the years. Although most truck ads are a quite a bit less aggressive, yes it still exists and it's BS. For example Polaris splash page:
Polaris RZR: Sport Side by Sides (SxS)

I do get your point

 

[Hans Moleman]

No matter with 4wd and other traction aids, an old lady with severe dementia will get in trouble a heavy snow storm.

 

[Thrasher_S]

Great advice and wisdom.
But everytime I begin to start getting that 'what the hell were you thinking' shift in my brain, I realize the ones doing it have (probably) never researched any of this, (probably) never visited this or any other forums around the off road/camping/outside/overlanding world, and have an 'it won't happen to me' opinion. Or better, they don't even know what it is that won't happen to them.

Not that we should stop spreading the word. Just seems like a daunting task to reach the ones that haven't got a clue that they need to know more than they do.

"The salesman told me these things can go anywhere! (Promptly drives into a lake).

 

[jrandom]

"The salesman told me these things can go anywhere! (Promptly drives into a lake).

right! :rofl:ound::fishing:

 

[DAW89446]

The picture doesn’t tell the whole story but it looks like 4wheel drive was never engaged...

In case it got 4x4 it doesn’t matter how good the system is, it can’t work without the driver engaging it!

It never fails to amaze me, when snow covers the roads around here (often), the amount of people with vehicles that have standard 4WD systems to driving around in 2WD, getting squirrely, spinning their rear tires and going nowhere. And putting themselves and others at risk.

In the old days with manual locking front hubs, you could excuse this. But most 4WD vehicles since the 1990s have automatic systems to lock the wheels to the axle. It’s one thing to be too lazy to get out to turn the hub knob, but it’s another thing to be too lazy to yank a lever or push a button.

As soon as I seen enough snow on the pavement to start whitening it, and turns in town can be taken without drivetrain windup, my 4Runner is in 4WD.

 

[Xetabur]

Looks like a Limited.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It looks nothing like a limited.

Also, it says SR5 right on the pillar.

 

[Matze]

It never fails to amaze me, when snow covers the roads around here (often), the amount of people with vehicles that have standard 4WD systems to driving around in 2WD, getting squirrely, spinning their rear tires and going nowhere. And putting themselves and others at risk.

In the old days with manual locking front hubs, you could excuse this. But most 4WD vehicles since the 1990s have automatic systems to lock the wheels to the axle. It’s one thing to be too lazy to get out to turn the hub knob, but it’s another thing to be too lazy to yank a lever or push a button.

As soon as I seen enough snow on the pavement to start whitening it, and turns in town can be taken without drivetrain windup, my 4Runner is in 4WD.

You’re right, if it’s laziness or stupidity it should be punished
I don’t even wanna know how much tax money gets burned year after year by these people all the road repair, rescue missions etc. should be paid in total if it’s based on laziness or stupidity!

 

[t0y0ta4R]

Oh boy have you got that right!


[MENTION=489682]t0y0ta4R[/MENTION] a person with dementia could care less if they have a driver's license. They are running on full-blown autopilot. You have obviously never been around a person suffering from it. All I can say is check their pockets... constantly. My wife cares for a 72-year old, prior to hiding all of the keys in the house, she would go out for walks without anyone knowing she left, drive around the block/neighborhood/city for hours, put their dog in her neighbor's car and leave him there, it is a terrible and scary affliction. Thank god she was/is a nice person, angry folks with dementia steer clear.

Unfortunately, I've had one neighbor and one relative both diagnose with dementia and neither was a pleasant experience. I don't disagree about them being in their own world but this is also why they should be in care of professionals to protect them from themselves as well as society. Regardless if she legally had a license or not this situation is preventable with the proper care so hopefully this experience will ensure that occurs moving forward. :thumb:

 

[Grug556]

Getting out of my driveway is more of a challenge than that. Nothing like leaving the garage in LOW... :hungry:

 

[MasonCO]

I've got a 2016 TEP, with decent AT tires. The snow in South Park Colorado is generally soft and light. That didn't stop me from getting stuck in a snowdrift on a county road about 1/4 mile from our place last year during a few moments of complacency.

It required some shoveling out the packed snow under the frame rails and engine/tranny, and then using some 'firm' throttle to back out . I was never in danger, or worried about getting out.

If you transfer that situation to an older person, regardless of mental capacity, and add in being miles from help, it is easy to see how this can happen, especially in flat light where it's hard to see the edges of the road.