Almost rolled the explorer...story and pictures inside.

So, today I decided to go explorer some more of those trails I had found, mentioned in this thread:
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=222997

I headed out there, because I had some time to kill, and wanted to explorer more of the trails. It was pretty muddy, and there were a fair amount of mud pits since we got several inches of rain last night. So, I'm on one of the trails in the woods, and it's pretty tight. Around a 90 degree bend, there is a fairly large mud hole, about 10" or so inches of water, with thick muck underneath and on either side. Since I was out here alone, and from some of the other ones I had gone through today, I decided not to go through it. So, I could either back up the narrow winding trail, or find a spot to turn around.

Just as my luck would have it, there happen to be a grassy field there. So, I figure, pull into the field, turn around, and head back. Well, I start to go into the field, and all seems well. What I didn't know, was that there was a creek right in front of me, and I couldn't see it because of the overgrowth. Well, I had been proceeding forward with caution, about to execute my turn, when the front driver wheel dropped. I stomped on the brakes ASAP, but it was pretty slippery, so I slid in...What I slid into was about a 3ft drop, with a creek running in the middle. It was about 6ft across to the other bank. So, before I know it, I've slipped into it. I wasn't totally in, so I decided to put it in reverse, and carefully back out. I still had no idea how big/deep it was at this point. As soon as I hit reverse, I slid all the way in. Quite a fun predicament I found myself in at this point. Well, I try to maneuver myself out by going from forward/reverse, but this didn't do any good. The story only gets better from here, but I will post the picture I took with my cell phone first.

Well, I figure, OK, I'll call one of my friends with a 4wd vehicle. At this point, I'm pretty pissed at myself, because I was out there by myself, and had gotten myself into this while trying to avoid getting stuck in a mud hole.
So, I get ready to call one of my friends, when I see the message on my phone that says "No service"

Great. Just great. So, time to take a hike I guess. After walking out to the beginning of the trail, which was about a half hour walk, I finally have a bar. I give my friend a call. Turns out he is about 30 miles away. Well, after finally explaining the situation, which took about 4 phone calls, because I kept loosing service, he finally gets headed out. About 45 minutes later, he shows up and I direct him down the trails and where to turn. The expression on his face was priceless when we pulled into view of my explorer.

Well, being the kind guy he is, he had brought his camera with. Here are the pictures of once he got there...
The first thing he saw...

Well, we hooked up the to strap, and after several tries we got 'er out. Now, this part was fun for me, because how I had to get into the explorer, was hanging on the roof rack, and shimmying forward, lean on the door, push myself in. When we are ready to do the first pull attempt, I realize that my seatbelt is locked in, because of the angle I was at. Great. So, my door is wedged open, so I can't close that, either.

Well, long story short, 3rd pull was a charm and we got it out.
Me unhooking the tow strap:

I again mention that the underbrush completely covered up the hole/stream. In the pictures it has been somewhat pushed back from me wandering around and looking from different angles, but just take my word for it, you couldn't see it. The last picture shows the best what it looked like, there was no sign of it being there. In the last picture, the hole is probably a ft or 2 in front of my explorer. It can be seen, since most of the brush has been knocked down, but still can't be easily seen.

Now, the aftermath. The whole front of the explorer had been under water, and resting against the other bank. When I pulled out and looked, the first thing I noticed was the water in my corner lens, which was draining.

Sludge in the bottom of the corner lamp:

Amazingly, no damage! I expected the whole driver's front to be busted to hell. I'm not complaining though!

Lesson learned: Never go on trails by yourself. Even if you were doing like I was, and only going through/over things I knew I could, things can still happen...like things you can't see that you might hit trying to avoid something you aren't sure you can get through...

Everything works fine. Drives fine, too. Tomorrow I'm going to crawl underneath and make sure nothing to bent/damaged.

Edit: Forgot to add, yes, it is on 2 wheels The front passenger wheel is sitting at the top of the water line. Slightly in the water.

 

[Blacksheep Josh]

At least there's no damage! Doesn't look like anything a power washer and soap can't take care of. Glad you're okay.

But think of it this way, it's a great story to tell in a few years.

 

[DeRocha]

Great story.. Thanks for sharing and for making a well constructed post with pics to highlight the "Event" Glad to hear your damage was minimal and that you will live to wheel another day.

 

[Charlie]

But think of it this way, it's a great story to tell in a few years.

Haha, it became "funny" to me and my friend..well...me at least as soon as I realized everything was fine after getting out.

I forgot to mention one other feature I had...self emptying cupholders! All the stuff I had in them came flying toward me, along with the stuff in the passenger seat. My Ipod almost went in the drink. The angle I am at was a lot steeper than the pictures make it look. The picture from behind showing the drivers side, the camera was held slightly at an angle, so it was leaning more than it appeared.

Edit: In the first picture, you can see the angle the parking pass is hanging at. My guess on how far it was leaning sideways is somewheres around 45 degrees.

My friend has kindly uploaded these photos on facebook, with the album title being "Hold my beer...AND WATCH THIS!" He's so kind

I don't think he really realized how I described my situation on the phone was really how it was...When we rounded a bend in the trail and my explorer became visible, his comment was something like "Holy F-ing god!

My one regret from this..I didn't take a picture from the view inside.

 

[BrooklynBay]

You could tell this to people which think that they are prone to roll overs. Maybe this is a way to prove that they don't roll that easily.

 

[CCr]

that is amazing, check out my worst stuck. I'd bet the angles are worse on yours. NICE WORK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Donner]

Since no harm was done, that was a dam# scary looking trip - but fun too!

 

[Charlie]

So, anybody want to guess where I'm going tomorrow afternoon?

My friend wants to go out there now, the one who pulled me out. One of his comments was "why didn't you ever tell me about this?" (talking about the trails.)

So, I'll be being smarter tomorrow. Lessons have been learned.

Biggest lesson learned: Don't drive through tall grass unless you know the area well. If we are in this area of the trails, I will get a picture or two of what it was I went into. You can't see to well, since there is an explorer in the way in these pictures...

On a side note, you can tell how long I was out there for, by looking at the first picture I took with my cell phone, and the later ones, by looking at how the sun is shining. It was a fairly long walk to go get service. And I didn't have any water By the end of this, I was parched. First picture was taken about 4:30, and I was out a little before 7.

 

[Crunchy]

All you needed was a hi-lift and you would be out of that situation in about 5 minutes flat even by yourself.

Jack up your front end until your truck is level and back out.

Nice stuck though.

 

[Charlie]

All you needed was a hi-lift and you would be out of that situation in about 5 minutes flat even by yourself.

Jack up your front end until your truck is level and back out.

Nice stuck though.

That wouldn't work, because the front bumper was wedged in the other bank. There's no way the front could have been lifted anyway, because even if I had lifted it successfully, when I backed out the jack would just slip and rotate, dropping the front back down. Front tires were about ~4-6ft in front of the drop. When it went down it slid forward quite a bit. Gave a nice under body scrub, though.

And earlier when I said there was no damage..I lied. I did a close inspection of everything today. The only damage there is, was the driver's door was tweaked up slightly. You wouldn't notice it if you were looking at it, the only way you will notice is when you close the door, it closes a little hard..but not bad by any means. Doesn't bother me any, though

I've been approached by a few people today who saw the pictures on Facebook. I know what they are thinking about when they walk up to me, because they have a great smirk on their face. Then they walk up to me and go "so, whats new?"

 

[Dannyboy]

ahh, the first scratch and dent is always the most memorable.

Good story, even if you do want to go wheeling by yourself (which I enjoy doing from time to time) follow these steps. I do this EVERY time I decide to take a run off a main road even if it's just supposed to be a shakedown run for a few miles.

1) call a friend, tell him where you are going and when you'll be out. If you don't call he can find you or alert authorities exactly where to look for you.
2) pack a days worth of water (1 gallon per person). I have about 35 16oz bottles of water stashed under the seats in my explorer for such occassion. I will go as far off the main road as I'm willing to hike back and have enough water to accomplish unexpected survival a few granola bars or extra calories in the glove box isn't a bad thing to have either.
3) If you get in a really big bind...stay with the vehicle. Rescue crews can find a vehicle much easier than a person wandering in the trees.



The hi-lift idea good to have but those things are dangerous. The chances of a truck slipping off that jack with a soft ground underneat are very possible and not a good idea in this instance. The chance a rescue crew would find you in time while you could be wedged under the vehicle is minimal. Buck up and take a walk like you did was the best thing to do.

A hi-lift, straps and a 20 dollar come-a-long can be your best friend (if you have trees to tie up against). When I did a bunch of winter wheelin in Wisco we would sink through the snow and ice and get centered on ruts where another vehicle couldn't get traction to pull you off. I can't tell you how many times we used the come-a-long when a cherokee couldn't get traction to free my Explorer 6 inches at a time.

If you do have a CB and are close to a highway (which you may be closer than you think) you can hit channel 9 for emergency or 19 for truckers passing by.

If you have no cell phone service you can still dial 911, your cell phone will go in an advanced power mode for this and use additional boost to try to complete a call. No guarantees but 911 will complete prior to a regular call.

I've been in your shoes plenty of times, your first reaction is "Damn, I wish I could go back 20 seconds in life right now." It's all fun and good stories. You got a little unexpected adrenaline rush and a little extra excersize and a good story to tell.

I had a buddy get so stuck out by himself once with open diffs he jammed a crowbar through his wheel or u-joint to lock it to the frame and wrapped a strap or something around the other wheel to rig a home made winch up. that slid him back the few feet he needed. Desperation leads to creativity. I actually saw that same procedure used in a military book my Dad had from National Guard training.

 

[Charlie]

Yeah, I'm still working on getting a new vehicle so this can be for a dedicated purpose. Plus, that way if something major happens to it, it's not that big of a deal.

I have really re-thought how to do things when I go out from now on. I will still head out there sometimes alone, but will be letting people know when and where I'm going. Nobody knew where I was this time out. I have a cb, but there aren't many main roads in this area, but odds are if I try for a few minutes I will find somebody with a CB. I usually keep a 2L bottle of water in the car, but I had used that the other day and hadn't filled it up yet. I think I will soon be investing in a strong come-a-long. They do wonders, even if they are a pain in the ass to use. When you need it, you will be glad you had it. If I had had one yesterday, I probably could have gotten myself out. Also, its a good thing I have my sub strapped down with ratchet straps, otherwise that would have gone for a trip. I started doing that when one of my old boxes went airborne on a jump, hit the headliner, leaving a mark in it, and then landing on the panel below cracking it. I'm just chalking this all up as lessons for next time, and a fun story. Amazingly, after doing this, I feel like testing the limits of what I can go through/over more than before

 

[Sams01XplrSprt]

at least u didnt get any damage on ur explorer

 

[SkanlaxJMO]

good story and nice pictures too. Sometimes getting unstuck is just as fun as getting it stuck. Post pics of your next trip back there.

 

[Charlie]

good story and nice pictures too. Sometimes getting unstuck is just as fun as getting it stuck. Post pics of your next trip back there.

Yep, getting it unstuck was pretty fun too I might head back there tonight (if my friend is ready soon enough, since it is getting dark), if I do, I'll try and get some good pictures of the trail. Otherwise I'll probably be heading there tomorrow

You know, this just gives me more reason to make it a little..larger..you know, safety and whatnot. I've been debating for a while what I want to do, though. Knowing me, probably nothing will happen for a while, though

 

[SkanlaxJMO]

nice all of us forum lurkers will be waiting desperately for more exciting stuck pics.:

 

[Joe Dirt]

Wow Charlie- very lucky! I was already mentally counting parts I was going to donate- and nothing is needed!

Luuuuuuucky!

But- I'd rather be lucky than good!

 

[Charlie]

Wow Charlie- very lucky! I was already mentally counting parts I was going to donate- and nothing is needed!

Luuuuuuucky!

But- I'd rather be lucky than good!

Thanks for the thoughts!

nice all of us forum lurkers will be waiting desperately for more exciting stuck pics.:

Just got back from there again. Didn't get stuck, though. Sorry to disappoint:

There was one part of the trail I decided not to go on, because I knew there was know way I could make it. It was about 200ft long, (very) steep hill, deep soft sand. Me and my friend walked up it, and it was hard enough to walk. When you would step, you sunk in 6 inches. Saw a few other guys out there, too. Suppose I'll share some pics from today..

Getting tow strap ready to go through big mud hole. It was about 1 1/2 ft deep, so I didn't want to risk getting stuck and needing to hook up in there. I just had it going through the window (window was only open 1/8th of an inch) so if I got stuck, I could just throw it out.

Going through big mud hole

After I went through a couple times, it was pretty well drained, just a couple inches of water left

Smaller mud hole

Cliff, looking down on the river

The path along the cliff is only a little wider than a vehicle, there's not much room here. Plus, there's no trees to stop you if you go over. It's a lot farther down than this picture makes it look, too.

Getting ready to head out

I was pretty impressed what my friends Forester could go through. For some reason, he decided to take that instead of the jeep, which he helped me out in the other day. He got through one mud hole that a guy in a mid 80's/early 90's F-150 got stuck in. He did have more speed going into it, though. He bottomed the forester out a few times, but managed not to get it stuck. There were a few parts that we just took mine on, since his couldn't go there. We figured, worst case scenario, if we get stuck, we walk to the forester, drive and get the jeep. But, no problems.

 

[SkanlaxJMO]

nice pics looks like fun