If you liked this one then I have a few more Real World Unplanned Recoveries so you know there is actual life experience to go with all the data, graphs and theory 🙂 th-cam.com/play/PLG5Om1_yP8jn6PzJSb1UJimuWOcpgZ5si.html
I have wired in a second wireless remote for my winch controller. Super handy because I always keep the wired remote under my front seat and then have the wireless remotes as my primary remotes. Cheap and lightweight redundancy.
Real value in watching a real ( not staged) recovery. The disclosure of your process and thinking was a key element of the video and (for me) a powerful reinforcement my training/experiences. The summary was gold. Will copy and list as my to do/ reminder list for future adventures. Thanks for sharing your surprisingly eventful day. 👍
I'm glad you posted the entire recovery. It shows how difficult this type of terrain can be, even for very experienced people. Another four Max Tracks would have helped. Having the advantage of just sitting in my lounge observing, I was wondering if this technique would work: When you are reversing, place tracks behind the rear wheels and reverse onto them. Then place the other tracks in front of the front wheels, but half a track length away from the front wheels. Then try and drive up onto them. Then keep staggering the tracks forward. OR Reverse onto only one rear track and stagger the other rear track in front of the other rear wheel while using the front ones like normal. The rear locker would need to be used. I realise it's all not as easy as it appears, and slipping off the side of the tracks or simply loosing ground clearance is a problem. It would be great to find a spot on private land, and have the time to just try multiple techniques. I'd be up for that.
Wow that’s slippery alright! Wet, muddy ground is unpredictable as this shows. Just one vehicle driving on it can quickly turn it into an absolute mess! As part of my pre trip checks, I always make sure that all my recovery gear is onboard. Great video showing how staying calm and thinking about what’s needed to get out! Yep, been there-done that!
I loled when you revealed the controller was left at home. I loved the stubborness displayed. I've done similar in mud and then stopped and thought about it before remembering the winch and quickly getting out after 20 minutes battling.
4x4 ✅ shovel ✅ traction boards ✅... I'm going to get muddy(dirty)✅ 🤣 i do have a Rubicon Jeep Gladiator, with full lockers too! but... regardless that i have "all terrain" tires instead of those, mine are a bit more aggressive, i can see quite clearly that i wouldn't have fared any better. Those conditions, that slope, it is what it is. Tire chains ⛓️ perhaps, yet I'm still looking to find some, so winch or not, most with experience will say that the winch is usually the most time consuming option. The shovel, traction boards and the high lift jack are the die hard gotoo's off trail offroading. 🙂 Thank-you for the effort to make the video while doing your own real world 🌎 recovery.
4 O'clock track 🤔. Thanks for putting this up Robert, many wouldn't and you could have made out tthat it was an exercise in recover, done on purpose, but you have more integrity than that. 😉 I deflate and air-down, I also pump up, inflate or air up my tyres 😊
I am impressed with your transparency. I personally probably would have tried to turn the car around in a clockwise manner before trying to get back over the hump. Of course I wasn’t there and you probably saw something not obvious to me watching the video. Great share and as always you make it a teaching moment including reflecting on what you thought you did well or otherwise. Very nice and thanks
Turning around wasn't really an option - did consider that, but didn't have the traction that time. If I had another car beyond the hill could have pulled the nose around and over.
Hindsight is amazing. Oh man, that would have been a disaster. Such a simple decision to drive there, but such an unfortunate one. Mrs Pepper would not have been impressed I’m sure. Thanks for the video.
There is no Mrs Pepper. Any future Mrs Peppers would be have to be the sort of lady who gets stuck (ha) in and help, not exude un-impressedness from the sidelines.
Another great Vid,lots for many to learn from.I remember being in a similar situation in our old Disco 4,luckily it was shod with a new set of BFG Ko2,which saved the day,with lots of backwards and forwards driving using Rock Crawl.
Great video - I've been waiting for you to make a video on mud. The access to my property has problems with mud in the wet years. I have a vested interest in looking after my tracks, they cost money. I have a rule during those wet seasons. Don't drive on them after rain. Let them dry out a bit. Once you break the surface they turn to crap. If you have to use them, must use 4wd, it seems to look after the road surface better. It you get stuck -don't make it worse, get the backhoe 🙂 I got the big tractor bogged once, it literally just fell into the earth up to the diff. I left it there for 8 or more weeks for the ground to dry out :-). I got the the 4wd backhoe bogged, I was using it where I shouldn't have been, trying to dig a trench before even more rain came. Got it bogged. Now using the buckets will lift me out but it became clear that I was making a hell of a mess. Left it there for a month or two - Had a minor flood - foot of water , but it was good after a little while.
Yes, we have all been there at one time or another. How to make a situation worse without really trying! Inadequate wheels/tyres for the conditions, solo vehicle alone in the bush, winch not working for whatever reason and I suspect the "4 Oçlock track",that always seems to see you in the dark or sleeping in the vehicle over night. And not carrying the "get out of danger card "-( ie, mud chains) which would have had you out in 20 minutes!
Robert, such a typical situation to find oneself in and your hindsight advice to ALWAYS have on board ALL your recovery gear is paramount. Hexamin suggested snow chains would have worked but I'd like to suggest that 'Truck Claws' would have been even a better recovery gear choice, and I'm not sure if you are even aware of their existence let alone tested them against using boards or hand winching methods etcetera. Would you please check them out and do a comparison video test for us? I've had plenty of off track experience in my profession which convinced me to purchase a set of 'Truck Claws' ahead of any of the various boards & bags etcetera that everyone else seems to choose.
Respect how calm you stay! A hint from Europe: For such situations you also can use snow chains. But I don't know whether you have/need such equipment down under 😏
We use chains here, I made a video on fitting. th-cam.com/video/np6uvt_LDrQ/w-d-xo.html However, the problem is that chains damage the track, and are rarely needed. I agree it'd have been easy with chains even on the back axle, super grip!
Depends...if you drive out in one go with them and then remove, vs spinning mud tyres, yes. If you then leave them on when they're not needed, then more damage.
That Victorian surface sludge can so easily bring you unstuck! I guess even if you have 'all the gear' (lockers and winch) it doesn't hurt to occasionally do it the hard way to refresh your skills.
What generation of Maxtrax are these? Never seen ones like that before and look dissimilar to the current ones. Ah the point at 1:12 on the video when you were on slippery but hard stuff - that was the place to use the maxtrax before all the reversing and sliding. Hindsight and all.
Great to see how to work the problem and the discussion about using the gear you have. What if you don’t have an X lock device? Do you have a video on that, how to shorten a winch extension. Thanks for the great video and demonstration
You can use a few techniques such as a drag chain, wrapping a rope around something to shorten it in effect. You do need an exact length with a HLJ as the pull is so short.
Is it practical to half drive onto the recovery boards one axle, say the rear and then with traction so gained, drive half onto those recovery boards before placing boards under the front wheels, and then walk the vehicle forward by alternately relocating the boards that have just been driven over, to save having to dig every time the boards are relocated?
It can be. You can also roll back onto on set of boards, then drive off those onto another. Lots of variations. See th-cam.com/video/JIRNcBmH2ac/w-d-xo.html
Thanks for the helpful reply, Robert. I found the second clip you referred to me useful as well. Question: How can you make the wife exercise patience and understanding in these situations? PS: You are allowed to let this question pass through to the keeper.
I don't have a wife and if I did, she'd the sort of woman who'd be out there with me helping solve the problem. Hope that helps. Twice now on this video my martial status has come up!
You mention using 4 traction boards and I recently found this out for myself during my own recovery issue in soggy clay mud with just 2 boards. Do you have an opinion on the shorter recovery boards? When bogged deep it seems like the shorter boards would fit under the vehicle easier in situations where there isn’t much room to get the regular size boards under the vehicle because of the steep angle the boards are placed. Of coarse ideally would just shovel out an area to lessen the angle, but typically in this situation with the vehicle sunk down and the frame closer to the ground there also isn’t much room to shovel effectively either.
Hi Robert, # questions if you don't mind. What tyres were you running? Do you think tyre choice would've made any difference in this circumstance? Early on in the recovery it looked like you could've reversed down over the bank but you were attempting to turn around and go over it forwards. In the end you reversed over it. In hindsight would've you reversed over it earlier in the process? Thanks for your video. It looked like hard going.
1. All-terrains but not aggressive ones 2. Yes, extreme or mud tyres would definitley have helped 3. I was too far offline for that to work; later on I got where I needed to be, further up the bank. If I had reversed over to begin with would have got into worse trouble.
What a great example Robert. Got a lot from this. Thanks. I wonder, in your estimation, how much difference MT's would have made in this exact situation?
Well, I reckon if I had new muddies, aired down to 6psi, and twin lockers or Toyota-level BTC...probably could have driven out, especially at the start.
I think it might have gone through OK if the original driver had gone around the bog. The RHS seems to be a better lay. Once you were in there you didn't have many options on those tyres. I hate mud. It causes damage and covers all the running gear and the inside of the vehicle when you have to get in and out. The one time I got stuck on slippery mud between two hills, I put branches down to aid in traction. Anything helps in those situations but I was on BFGs, not those highway tyres.
Bet that will help you to remember the winch controller next time :P I remember in my younger years when I thought my Jeep couldn't get stuck & ended up using a hi lift as a winch to get out of a long muddy trail. That was the last trip I took before I bought an electric winch.
It's easy to lecture and say you should always leave your winch remote in the car at all times but at the end of the day where do you draw the line? Do you leave your tree strap, your pulley blocks, even a ground anchor in all the time? Winches are fantastic but they need things to go with them to be useful! What you did is yet another reason to always carry some traction boards, a long rope and a farm jack.
The first mistake is trying to turn around in the muddy slosh of a puddle, second mistake is that you kept trying to get out without reverting to available aides. especially getting further into the stuck position; more sliding = harder recovery. Personally I'd have used some of the momentun gained and wheel slippage experienced to swing the front round when you could, then you can recover further with the hilift and already be pointing downhill to just drive out. forgetting the winch controller is also poor prep - what should be in the vehicle lives in the vehicle (if replacing batteries, put it back as a finish to the job...) And also have 2 or more methods to control the winch. (Before I go out next I have to strip the soleniod block as it only winches in for some reason on mine). The recovery worked, so a success, but it could have been done better and quicker by the aforementioned mistakes being realised and the usual: stop, assess/think, recover stop assess/think recover, being adheered to. You don't like not being able to drive out, was your failure here. Sorry, but it's exactly what you say not to do. Ego = failure. So don't let the ego dictate you're driving out when you would have had no issue by reversing over the small rise and turning around there, just like you ended up doing. Every day is a school day, and even the teacher needs to be taught and given refreshers. 😕
Remember that any time you turn, drag increases. If the car can barely move in a straight line, it's not going to turn. I show this on sand but it works on mud too. So the turning thing wouldn't have worked, but you can see I tried it. Going back over the rise would have got me into more trouble, even softer ground and off-camber too. We only got back over the rise by using Maxtrax, and having the car positioned correctly - in the early part it was too far downhill. Ego wasn't a factor...if it was, I wouldn't have posted. What is a factor is that I love a driving challenge, so I don't want to give up, and keep going. I also knew I had ways to recover if I got stuck, and time wasn't a problem. I could have said I decided to do a demo winch without the electric, thereby concealing the fact I'd forgotten the controller, but I didn't. But I have a backup winch...which is also part of the lesson. Thanks for your points, should have mentioned them in the video, happy I can add them now!
That was painful to watch… not sure why you didn’t use the boards straight up, instead of making it worse. Would have been out much sooner and less damage to the track…
Because the car was still moving, and I wanted to see if I could drive out, I like a challenge. Really don't think made any difference to that track otherwise wouldn't have been there.
Robert, several points: (a) you are a Pommie so use English - the word is DEFLATE not American "air-down", point (b) why not use the hi-lift jack and attach to the front at right angles and turn the vehicle 90 degree to starboard, that is, get the car pointing down and drive back to civilisation. Perhaps you wanted to show-off your considerable fortitude - next time don't forget to tick your going away check list. Also in the text I noted "air down" to >15 (greater than) PSI - so how much is that exactly, or should that have read "less than" (
a) I'm also Australian and we say air down as well b) needed to get out of the deeper mud so did so the quickest way, and winching onto Maxtrax then driving off is quicker than continually winching with a HLJ c) yes sorry below 15psi not above.
I hope your "aired the tyres (or is that tires) up" when you were safe. No need to apologise re the symbols, most people do not know what they mean. Have a bonzer day mate!
Thank you Mr Robert "Air Down" Pepper😉, we really enjoyed this video & learnt a lot, especially how you were so patient! My wife would have started cooking dinner half way through because we would have been there for the night. A couple of questions please : What brand is the 2 piece shovel? What length of rope do you keep on your winch?
The shovel is 4x4 Equip, it's about 20 years old, the Maxtrax are 1a models, also very old. No "omg awesome gear" on this channel! I carry 1 x 20m, 1 x 30m and 1 x 50m winch extension rope. Used the 30m I think, plus the X-Lock to shorten to suit.
If you liked this one then I have a few more Real World Unplanned Recoveries so you know there is actual life experience to go with all the data, graphs and theory 🙂
th-cam.com/play/PLG5Om1_yP8jn6PzJSb1UJimuWOcpgZ5si.html
It's so much more fun watching other people stuck in mud rather than being stuck in mud yourself 😁
yes :-)
Impressive work. Your honesty and calm were a big factor too. Some people would have panicked and walked out.
ha nowhere near walking out!!!
This is why I air down as soon as I hit the trail. Makes the ride a lot softer and gives a lot better traction
Thanks for turning an unplanned challenge into an instructional video for the rest of us. Your calm and practical approach is brilliant.
I have wired in a second wireless remote for my winch controller. Super handy because I always keep the wired remote under my front seat and then have the wireless remotes as my primary remotes. Cheap and lightweight redundancy.
Real value in watching a real ( not staged) recovery. The disclosure of your process and thinking was a key element of the video and (for me) a powerful reinforcement my training/experiences. The summary was gold. Will copy and list as my to do/ reminder list for future adventures. Thanks for sharing your surprisingly eventful day. 👍
I'm glad you posted the entire recovery. It shows how difficult this type of terrain can be, even for very experienced people. Another four Max Tracks would have helped.
Having the advantage of just sitting in my lounge observing, I was wondering if this technique would work:
When you are reversing, place tracks behind the rear wheels and reverse onto them. Then place the other tracks in front of the front wheels, but half a track length away from the front wheels. Then try and drive up onto them. Then keep staggering the tracks forward.
OR
Reverse onto only one rear track and stagger the other rear track in front of the other rear wheel while using the front ones like normal. The rear locker would need to be used.
I realise it's all not as easy as it appears, and slipping off the side of the tracks or simply loosing ground clearance is a problem. It would be great to find a spot on private land, and have the time to just try multiple techniques. I'd be up for that.
Wow that’s slippery alright!
Wet, muddy ground is unpredictable as this shows. Just one vehicle driving on it can quickly turn it into an absolute mess!
As part of my pre trip checks, I always make sure that all my recovery gear is onboard.
Great video showing how staying calm and thinking about what’s needed to get out!
Yep, been there-done that!
I loled when you revealed the controller was left at home. I loved the stubborness displayed. I've done similar in mud and then stopped and thought about it before remembering the winch and quickly getting out after 20 minutes battling.
Awesome Practical Video........( hands-on ). Real-time ❤
I fail to see the attraction of driving in mud.
🎶🎶 Give me sand, lots of sand and a starry sky above, don’t mud me in🎶🎶
I agree, way prefer sand!!
4x4 ✅ shovel ✅ traction boards ✅... I'm going to get muddy(dirty)✅ 🤣 i do have a Rubicon Jeep Gladiator, with full lockers too! but... regardless that i have "all terrain" tires instead of those, mine are a bit more aggressive, i can see quite clearly that i wouldn't have fared any better. Those conditions, that slope, it is what it is. Tire chains ⛓️ perhaps, yet I'm still looking to find some, so winch or not, most with experience will say that the winch is usually the most time consuming option. The shovel, traction boards and the high lift jack are the die hard gotoo's off trail offroading. 🙂 Thank-you for the effort to make the video while doing your own real world 🌎 recovery.
Thanks for this Robert just keep going bit baby bit . The people who dont get stuck don't learn good on you for posting.
4 O'clock track 🤔.
Thanks for putting this up Robert, many wouldn't and you could have made out tthat it was an exercise in recover, done on purpose, but you have more integrity than that. 😉
I deflate and air-down, I also pump up, inflate or air up my tyres 😊
Glad you enjoyed it
Excellent video Rob, very useful suggestions. Especially the check list to include the winch controller. 😂
"Mistaks were made" lol, I caught that.
I am impressed with your transparency. I personally probably would have tried to turn the car around in a clockwise manner before trying to get back over the hump. Of course I wasn’t there and you probably saw something not obvious to me watching the video.
Great share and as always you make it a teaching moment including reflecting on what you thought you did well or otherwise.
Very nice and thanks
Turning around wasn't really an option - did consider that, but didn't have the traction that time. If I had another car beyond the hill could have pulled the nose around and over.
Hindsight is amazing.
Oh man, that would have been a disaster. Such a simple decision to drive there, but such an unfortunate one. Mrs Pepper would not have been impressed I’m sure.
Thanks for the video.
There is no Mrs Pepper. Any future Mrs Peppers would be have to be the sort of lady who gets stuck (ha) in and help, not exude un-impressedness from the sidelines.
@@L2SFBC Very diplomatically and succinctly put , Robert !
You were by default, referring to at least 80% - 90% of the female population, sadly.
Another great Vid,lots for many to learn from.I remember being in a similar situation in our old Disco 4,luckily it was shod with a new set of BFG Ko2,which saved the day,with lots of backwards and forwards driving using Rock Crawl.
Glad you enjoyed it
Great video - I've been waiting for you to make a video on mud.
The access to my property has problems with mud in the wet years. I have a vested interest in looking after my tracks, they cost money. I have a rule during those wet seasons. Don't drive on them after rain. Let them dry out a bit. Once you break the surface they turn to crap. If you have to use them, must use 4wd, it seems to look after the road surface better. It you get stuck -don't make it worse, get the backhoe 🙂
I got the big tractor bogged once, it literally just fell into the earth up to the diff. I left it there for 8 or more weeks for the ground to dry out :-).
I got the the 4wd backhoe bogged, I was using it where I shouldn't have been, trying to dig a trench before even more rain came. Got it bogged. Now using the buckets will lift me out but it became clear that I was making a hell of a mess. Left it there for a month or two - Had a minor flood - foot of water , but it was good after a little while.
Thanks! Leaving your car for two months is not a recovery method I can recommend even if it does work!
@@L2SFBC Well, only if it's on your own property :-). Of course the answer to recovery of large bogged machines are even larger machines :-)
Thanks for vid Robert
Yes, we have all been there at one time or another. How to make a situation worse without really trying! Inadequate wheels/tyres for the conditions, solo vehicle alone in the bush, winch not working for whatever reason and I suspect the "4 Oçlock track",that always seems to see you in the dark or sleeping in the vehicle over night. And not carrying the "get out of danger card "-( ie, mud chains) which would have had you out in 20 minutes!
Robert, such a typical situation to find oneself in and your hindsight advice to ALWAYS have on board ALL your recovery gear is paramount. Hexamin suggested snow chains would have worked but I'd like to suggest that 'Truck Claws' would have been even a better recovery gear choice, and I'm not sure if you are even aware of their existence let alone tested them against using boards or hand winching methods etcetera. Would you please check them out and do a comparison video test for us? I've had plenty of off track experience in my profession which convinced me to purchase a set of 'Truck Claws' ahead of any of the various boards & bags etcetera that everyone else seems to choose.
Not seen or tested Truck Claws, but they do sound like they would have worked well if they are what I think they are!
Respect how calm you stay!
A hint from Europe: For such situations you also can use snow chains. But I don't know whether you have/need such equipment down under 😏
We use chains here, I made a video on fitting. th-cam.com/video/np6uvt_LDrQ/w-d-xo.html However, the problem is that chains damage the track, and are rarely needed. I agree it'd have been easy with chains even on the back axle, super grip!
@@L2SFBCchains can actually do a lot less damage to a track than several attempts with spinning wheels.
Depends...if you drive out in one go with them and then remove, vs spinning mud tyres, yes. If you then leave them on when they're not needed, then more damage.
@@L2SFBC driving with chains when not needed , who does that
@@jackofjrThere's always that one guy...
That Victorian surface sludge can so easily bring you unstuck!
I guess even if you have 'all the gear' (lockers and winch) it doesn't hurt to occasionally do it the hard way to refresh your skills.
Sometimes going back makes more sense than trying to go forward and getting in a worse situation
I got stuck in worst mud a few weeks ago in a Vauxhall Insignia. It was not a happy ending.
Love the mistak in the thumbnail
Waiting to be told it's a mistake!
What generation of Maxtrax are these? Never seen ones like that before and look dissimilar to the current ones.
Ah the point at 1:12 on the video when you were on slippery but hard stuff - that was the place to use the maxtrax before all the reversing and sliding. Hindsight and all.
Very old ones, Mk 1a. Yes, hindsight!
Great to see how to work the problem and the discussion about using the gear you have.
What if you don’t have an X lock device? Do you have a video on that, how to shorten a winch extension. Thanks for the great video and demonstration
You can use a few techniques such as a drag chain, wrapping a rope around something to shorten it in effect. You do need an exact length with a HLJ as the pull is so short.
@@L2SFBCthanks
Is it practical to half drive onto the recovery boards one axle, say the rear and then with traction so gained, drive half onto those recovery boards before placing boards under the front wheels, and then walk the vehicle forward by alternately relocating the boards that have just been driven over, to save having to dig every time the boards are relocated?
It can be. You can also roll back onto on set of boards, then drive off those onto another. Lots of variations. See th-cam.com/video/JIRNcBmH2ac/w-d-xo.html
Thanks for the helpful reply, Robert. I found the second clip you referred to me useful as well. Question: How can you make the wife exercise patience and understanding in these situations? PS: You are allowed to let this question pass through to the keeper.
I don't have a wife and if I did, she'd the sort of woman who'd be out there with me helping solve the problem. Hope that helps. Twice now on this video my martial status has come up!
how long did it take to get out of there?
Reminder for everyone to always keep the winch controller in your vehicle
Can't work out why anybody would EVER remove it!!!
It's not as though it's heavy or awkward to store....and it has ZERO use for any other purpose.
When you make technical 4x4 videos you end up with gear all over the place, let's just say that...
You mention using 4 traction boards and I recently found this out for myself during my own recovery issue in soggy clay mud with just 2 boards. Do you have an opinion on the shorter recovery boards? When bogged deep it seems like the shorter boards would fit under the vehicle easier in situations where there isn’t much room to get the regular size boards under the vehicle because of the steep angle the boards are placed. Of coarse ideally would just shovel out an area to lessen the angle, but typically in this situation with the vehicle sunk down and the frame closer to the ground there also isn’t much room to shovel effectively either.
Longer better, but if too long you can't fit them under the car so short wheelbase vehicles need shorter tracks.
Hi Robert, great demonstration with the tools that you had. Would chains on the wheels have made this an easier recovery?
Yes!
Tires seem lacking. KO2’s would be quite amazing.
Yes, tyres were definitely lacking...but still got out!
And in addition to the recovery effort: cleaning of the car, maxtrax and of course yourself. But you always kept calm👍😉
yes, cleaning :-( Calm? What's there to get stressed about?
@@L2SFBC you are right. But since it was an unplanned adventure….
Hi Robert,
# questions if you don't mind.
What tyres were you running?
Do you think tyre choice would've made any difference in this circumstance?
Early on in the recovery it looked like you could've reversed down over the bank but you were attempting to turn around and go over it forwards. In the end you reversed over it. In hindsight would've you reversed over it earlier in the process?
Thanks for your video. It looked like hard going.
1. All-terrains but not aggressive ones
2. Yes, extreme or mud tyres would definitley have helped
3. I was too far offline for that to work; later on I got where I needed to be, further up the bank. If I had reversed over to begin with would have got into worse trouble.
What a great example Robert. Got a lot from this. Thanks.
I wonder, in your estimation, how much difference MT's would have made in this exact situation?
Well, I reckon if I had new muddies, aired down to 6psi, and twin lockers or Toyota-level BTC...probably could have driven out, especially at the start.
@@L2SFBC Just the muddies.
Probably would have made it out in the first instance, yes, but not once deep in.
@@L2SFBC Understood, thanks Robert.
Enjoyed watching that! Your clothes would have needed a good soaking 🙃
I think it might have gone through OK if the original driver had gone around the bog. The RHS seems to be a better lay.
Once you were in there you didn't have many options on those tyres.
I hate mud. It causes damage and covers all the running gear and the inside of the vehicle when you have to get in and out.
The one time I got stuck on slippery mud between two hills, I put branches down to aid in traction. Anything helps in those situations but I was on BFGs, not those highway tyres.
Bet that will help you to remember the winch controller next time :P I remember in my younger years when I thought my Jeep couldn't get stuck & ended up using a hi lift as a winch to get out of a long muddy trail. That was the last trip I took before I bought an electric winch.
Another thought: might be useful to research how to jumper your electric winch to work without the controller.
Yes, could have done that if needs be
Quite a bad spot!
Wow, what a bad day. Maybe I should get 2 more max trax.
Definitely 4 not 2!
Large mud tyres and the power to spin them. Failing that a winch controller.😅
This is hilarious. Monty Pythonesque.
It's easy to lecture and say you should always leave your winch remote in the car at all times but at the end of the day where do you draw the line? Do you leave your tree strap, your pulley blocks, even a ground anchor in all the time? Winches are fantastic but they need things to go with them to be useful! What you did is yet another reason to always carry some traction boards, a long rope and a farm jack.
In answer to your question about leaving tree protector, soft shackles and winch ring in the car all the time: YES.
Another reason I throw my chains in when I go out.
You did good though
Sounds like I’m in for two more max tracks
I would always run 4 traction ramps. They work, two...not so much.
The first mistake is trying to turn around in the muddy slosh of a puddle, second mistake is that you kept trying to get out without reverting to available aides. especially getting further into the stuck position; more sliding = harder recovery. Personally I'd have used some of the momentun gained and wheel slippage experienced to swing the front round when you could, then you can recover further with the hilift and already be pointing downhill to just drive out. forgetting the winch controller is also poor prep - what should be in the vehicle lives in the vehicle (if replacing batteries, put it back as a finish to the job...) And also have 2 or more methods to control the winch. (Before I go out next I have to strip the soleniod block as it only winches in for some reason on mine).
The recovery worked, so a success, but it could have been done better and quicker by the aforementioned mistakes being realised and the usual: stop, assess/think, recover stop assess/think recover, being adheered to. You don't like not being able to drive out, was your failure here. Sorry, but it's exactly what you say not to do. Ego = failure. So don't let the ego dictate you're driving out when you would have had no issue by reversing over the small rise and turning around there, just like you ended up doing.
Every day is a school day, and even the teacher needs to be taught and given refreshers. 😕
Remember that any time you turn, drag increases. If the car can barely move in a straight line, it's not going to turn. I show this on sand but it works on mud too. So the turning thing wouldn't have worked, but you can see I tried it. Going back over the rise would have got me into more trouble, even softer ground and off-camber too. We only got back over the rise by using Maxtrax, and having the car positioned correctly - in the early part it was too far downhill.
Ego wasn't a factor...if it was, I wouldn't have posted. What is a factor is that I love a driving challenge, so I don't want to give up, and keep going. I also knew I had ways to recover if I got stuck, and time wasn't a problem.
I could have said I decided to do a demo winch without the electric, thereby concealing the fact I'd forgotten the controller, but I didn't. But I have a backup winch...which is also part of the lesson.
Thanks for your points, should have mentioned them in the video, happy I can add them now!
It’s a boring story if nothing goes wrong 👍👍
I think you should have reassessed the situation the first time you backed up, it was 95% chance that it was going to end up where it did.
You're no fun 😁
Ahh😂, very professional, HT tires, go trough water into muddy surfaces 😢😢😢
I would have winched it from the very beginning. I wouldn't be wanting to get my socks wet :)
End of the video I forgot my winch controller.. I leave mine in the glove box... What a day hey :) Sometimes it happens...
Mud tyres mate 😉
If you look at the lay of the land the soft corner was imminent red flag. Could have been up to the axles first go
Did check it before but didn't get that on video
Moral - keep off wet tracks.
That was painful to watch… not sure why you didn’t use the boards straight up, instead of making it worse. Would have been out much sooner and less damage to the track…
Because the car was still moving, and I wanted to see if I could drive out, I like a challenge. Really don't think made any difference to that track otherwise wouldn't have been there.
If you had muddies there would have been easy😂
In years gone by, some drivers carried wheel chains for such slippery conditions, like they do for snow.
Yes those would have worked!
Some drivers still do
sand oR mud driving. TURN TRACTION CONTROL OFF🤬🤬
th-cam.com/video/oZIZAqaCKD4/w-d-xo.html
God I hate mud.
me too :-(
Robert, several points: (a) you are a Pommie so use English - the word is DEFLATE not American "air-down", point (b) why not use the hi-lift jack and attach to the front at right angles and turn the vehicle 90 degree to starboard, that is, get the car pointing down and drive back to civilisation. Perhaps you wanted to show-off your considerable fortitude - next time don't forget to tick your going away check list. Also in the text I noted "air down" to >15 (greater than) PSI - so how much is that exactly, or should that have read "less than" (
a) I'm also Australian and we say air down as well
b) needed to get out of the deeper mud so did so the quickest way, and winching onto Maxtrax then driving off is quicker than continually winching with a HLJ
c) yes sorry below 15psi not above.
I hope your "aired the tyres (or is that tires) up" when you were safe.
No need to apologise re the symbols, most people do not know what they mean. Have a bonzer day mate!
A very honest account Robert, thank you. Very frustrating situation but technique, patience and perseverance won the day.
What does being a Pom have to do with the issue and what is the big deal about the terminology? BTW, I'm true blue.
When you go off-road like that, you need good mud drain tires first.
Thank you Mr Robert "Air Down" Pepper😉, we really enjoyed this video & learnt a lot, especially how you were so patient! My wife would have started cooking dinner half way through because we would have been there for the night.
A couple of questions please : What brand is the 2 piece shovel? What length of rope do you keep on your winch?
The shovel is 4x4 Equip, it's about 20 years old, the Maxtrax are 1a models, also very old. No "omg awesome gear" on this channel! I carry 1 x 20m, 1 x 30m and 1 x 50m winch extension rope. Used the 30m I think, plus the X-Lock to shorten to suit.
@@L2SFBC Do you think Maxtrax MKII would have improved much better in that situation?
Thanks for sharing.
I weather tie a strap threw tire. 🛞 😮