Storms were calming down from the memorial day weekend. So that Sunday I decided to go check out the local roads for flooding. Normally there's a good 1/2' deep flood on this road behind the house that's pretty solid and fun to drive through. Then there's this other road that goes to crap on the first drop. So I go down that crappy one lane road that has a caution sign on it warning to "travel at own risk". I'm good though as I've been down it a hundred times and it's a blast to tear up. There's trees down both sides for most of the way. So if I get stuck, no problem, winch a few feet and I'm back in business.
I get almost to the very end and I see these headlights up ahead sitting stationary with a nice slant to them. I'm pissed cause one of us is going to have to back way the hell up. Then I get up on the guy and I see this:
look it's some local idiot teenager with a Jeep daddy bought him for graduation: Smile your on Camera!
I offer to pull them out and they gladly accept and proceed to hook up the winch line. We get it all hooked up and then the damn winch refuses to reel in!! It will reel out fine but not a bit of life to pull it back.
So I get them to back away and jump in the truck to pull them out manually. I didn't care if I busted the damn winch right now so I start backing up. He still can't manage to get any traction to get out of this ditch. He keeps sliding right along in the ditch. It's like a foot deep full of slick muddy water. After about 50 foot I start to turn to the right to force him out cause much more and he's gonna hit a tree. He finally catches firm ground and makes it back on the road.
Now I'm sitting on the edge of the road and the ground starts giving away and I slide into the other ditch. GREAT!! I could be very well up **** creek now. I start pulling forward and I can't get a bit of traction to get back onto the road. He's having engine problems now but it''s still running, sort of. (Daddy's gonna be pissed!) I had to wrap like 30' of cable around my hood guard. That was I'm starting to do here. Now check out the tilt!
So I hammer down pulling hard to the left trying to get out of this ditch before I hit that huge pond covering the road up ahead. I traveled maybe 200' in the ditch and about 10' before the puddle I pop out of the ditch. Whew! I was going to get a floor full of muddy water if I had to go though that deep water in the ditch! (This isn't the photo of me popping out of the ditch but it's the same spot on the return.)
I go down to the pavement and make a U turn and follow the kids home to make sure they don''t get stuck again. My truck was nasty and grass was stuck all in the wheels. I didn't get any photos of that since the rain down poured not long after I got to the house and washed it pretty clean. It was fun and maybe those kids learned that you don''t go mudding with out descent MT's!
Nice recovery. Figure out what's wrong with the winch?
Not yet. This was a replacement solenoid that mile marker sent me under a warranty repair. Still waiting on them to get back with me on fixing this one now. They didn't include any wiring instructions so I had to install by color matching. They try but their efforts leave a bit to be desired.
I use a Canon HV30 1080i HD camcorder to record storm videos. I pretty much always have it ready to record when I'm driving since I never know what interesting stuff is going to happen in front of me. Somewhere on these tapes I got a recording of me nearly hitting a big doe on a muddy gravel road.
Specs for the truck: 04 FX4, S&B CIA, evo tuner, magnaflow exhaust, 37" BFG KM2 on AR chamber teflons, 6" Pro Comp lift, with 2" lift blistein 5100s and 4" superlift AAL. (8" total) Boondocks bumper with PIAA 520 fogs, 4 KC 150/130w daylighters, 2 hella 510s. On the yakima roof rack - 4 Hella blackmagics, on board 5 gallon 150psi stainless steel air tank, VIAIR 380c compressor, seige engineering train horns, hi-lift jack. lots of storm chasing/spotting stuff when I'm expecting something to happen.
Sorry to be off-topic, but does your truck have an upgraded electrical system (extra battery, higher amperage alternator, etc.) to handle the workload of those lights? Also, where are all eleventeen of the switches located?
yea I got a 250a alternator and a yellow top optima, a second optima going in when I get the free time to install it. The 2 sets of 4 lights are connected to a foot switch. The in bumper lights use the factory driving lights switch. The fogs on bottom are the only one with a visible switch. Then the air horns which has a switch where the cigarette lighter use to be. Suprisingly the factory alternator handles the lights pretty well. Reason I say that is because my 250a is getting repaired right now and should be back this week.
Wow, your setup sounds very well thought out and functional.
Is there a master switch that allows you turn on all of the lights simaltaneously? That would come in handy for events such as driving in remote areas at night, in conditions where ash from volcanic eruptions is blocking the sun, or even in driving around as a replacement for the sun after it goes super-nova.
Few trucks can pull off the look that your's does.
Impact, i've said it before, but I LOVE your truck. Really.
So, I asked awhile back, but it was still new. How do ya like your bumper ? Visibility ? Distracting at all ? Just curious, will be in the market for one here soon.
Pulled a jeep out of the ditch
(thanks Chris)
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