First oops

[Ritsui]

This is pretty much my first "stupid stuck", not counting when my front drive died, so I guess it's time to post it:

This Saturday, we decided to go check out Truckhaven before actually coming down with all our gear. Well, truckhaven was utterly deserted, so we took our time driving through Anza Borrego on the way back, however in the end we took just one "scenic route" too many...


Easy cruise on nice, smooth sand road just south of Ocotillo OHV area:

Wrong turn, then an imbecilic blind backup into a bush and sand... not too bad looking from the front:

A bit more obvious from the rear. With no LS/lock, we're stuck:

Zero traction front right and rear left, mostly due to me backing up blind into over a foot of soft sand, but also being stupid enough not to have unbolted my swaybar before driving in sand.

I'm sorry to say that I got a bit too sweaty and tired hunting for big, flat rocks and I completely forgot to have Rachel capture my somewhat notable effort at getting unstuck. I jacked it up, piled rocks underneath, then topped it off with some carpet before dropping it down. Unfortunately, the first try failed and I didn't get another chance since a very nice couple showed up in a (locked) Tacoma and pulled us out easily.

Everything turned out fine, and a few lessons learned:

0) Don't drive unknown trails without the company of another vehicle. Even if the map says it's a "road" rather than a "trail". If it's not paved... anything can happen.

1) Don't drive into sand of unknown depth. If the terrain is not absolutely obvious, WALK IT.

2) Get a locker (or two) as soon as budget allows. It doesn't make up for being a moron, but I doubt I would have been stuck there with a locked rear.

3) Be prepared! Fortunately, we had packed pretty well with steel cable and heavy nylon rope (the guy who pulled me out had no tow strap), wood to support the jack in the sand, two shovels and most importantly enough water to stay the night or hike out.


Many thanks to two strangers in the desert. Who knows how long we'd have been out there without a tow.

 

[dtl 2k2 sport]

glad u made it , so ur 4x4 wasnt working?? how long exactly where you out there?

 

[dman726749]

did you iar down your tires???? that will help alot with the whole getting stuck thing.

 

[Ritsui]

glad u made it, so ur 4x4 wasnt working?

Thanks

If you look at the second pic, the front right tire is in the air. Without a locker, there's no way for the other tire to move the truck. Since the sand was quite deep under both the front right and rear left tires (deeper than it looks in front), there was no way to get moving without getting something solid under both of them.

did you iar down your tires???? that will help alot with the whole getting stuck thing.

Actually, I think I was a lot worse off for not having removed my rear sway bar, but yeah... airing down a few pounds would have been a good idea.

We were out there for maybe 2 hours, but most of that was spent relaxing and keeping the dogs comfortable... including picking some serious cactus out them. Guess being raised in the Arizona desert didn't do our dog Leo much good because he ran right into cactus 2 seconds after getting out of the truck.