We were crawling through some medium sized rocks for most of this trail (not a big fan of rock crawling) so couldn't wait for a stretch of clear trail. Once I got thru the rocky section I noticed GTKrockett and FJamming speeding up thru the smooth part of the trail. Feeling compelled to keep up, took off at a speed not quite ideal for a downhill stretch, sand-like dirt and off a turn.
Saw a decent size rock on my left side, figured I can move over a little bit to the right to avoid it, but the trail was too narrow my front tire fell off the curve and couldn't get it back due to the speed, vehicle momentum and dirt.
When I finally stopped, my foot stayed on my brake for a good 2 minutes. Not really sure what was going to happen yet. I hear the CB chatter but couldn't respond since it flew to the other side of the rig. Tried to open the door but woudn't open somehow. Dave came up to check on my condition, told him I gotta get out of here. Rolled down the window and climbed out. Dave was getting ready to pull me out in case it rolled during my escape.
The rescue planning was superb and everyone involved I owe a great deal of gratitude. We all had some ice cream after compliments of GTKrockett. Surprisingly the rig drove off as if nothing happened but I was apprehensive the rest of the way.
Moral of the Story:
Speed on downhill slope with loose surface is hazardous to your health.
You couldn't find a better group of offroaders than FJamming, CADavebert and GTKrockett that day. Gotta love this forum!
I'm glad to hear it was all over with a happy ending. Oh and great teamwork!
Well, since the prime suspect chimed up, there's not need to sanitize the story . I guess I go into the rescue efforts.
As soon as we came back to the vehicle, it was clear that there was no way to drive the vehicle out unassisted. After checking out the scene and talking it over with everyone, we decided multiple vehicles were needed for the rescue effort. As shown in the picture, the vehicle is extremely unstable and there's a good chance that if we did a pull from just one side, the vehicle can swing and fall off-maybe even taking the rescue vehicle with it down the hill. There wasn't much traction on the dirt trail.
Luckystrike had to climb through the window to get out. The vehicle is tilted over and on loose terrain. The only thing holding it in place is the few brushes and the little bit of traction afforded by driver side tires. We knew we needed an anchor vehicle and a pulling vehicle. The anchor vehicle will stabilize one end of the vehicle so it won't swing out and go down the hill. We contemplated over whether to a frontal or a rear pull. Usually it would be easier to pull from the reverse direction of entry (in this case, the rear), but there was a rock in front of the vehicle and we used it to our advantage. As seen in the picture below, the boulder is about 1 ft front of the passenger tire. We figure as we pull, we can get the vehicle onto the boulder and maybe level it out. It would take significant pulling power and we weren't sure if our FJs will have enough traction.
So the plan was to have CADavebert use a strap to the driver side rear recovery point and place Dave vehicle as close to the mountain as possible so we can have a sharper angle. I did the front pull with snatch block to increase strength and also allow myself a better angle. GTKrockett anchored my vehicle from behind. GTKrockett and Luckystrike then placed a strap over the roof rack to do whatever they can to keep the vehicle upright. Luckystrike then work the wheel from outside trying to get it on the rock and back on terra firma. It took a lot of strength to get the FJ out. It needed to climb a foot to get on the boulder and CADaveber had to be careful with the tension on the strap. I felt my FJ sink down and felt the tug from GTKrockeTT's FJ anchoring. Finally, Lucky's FJ moved onto the rock! As soon as it got onto the rock, we all kind of breathed a sigh of relief. All was well after that. GTK busted out the ice cream and we sat there and laughed at how lucky Lucky was.
My winch did over heat as I was respooling. I hope it's normal after such a hard pull...
After the rescue, we went over to the scene and tried to figure out what held it in place.
It was a miracle it didn't go over. Don't know what held it in place as it was clear to see the bushes weren't very strong...
All was well and we went on to a full afternoon of trails at White Mountain.
__________________
Click for the "Genie" build up
Sandoo Blue FJ
Walker Evans adj. F&R reservoir shocks. Pro Links. AP F&R bumpers. Demello skid. Mile Marker SE9500C. Viking Trail Line. Super Swamper LTB 34s on Tacoma wheels. 305 MTR on Wheelers wheels. Trail Gear Sliders, Aeroflow, Lightforce Blitz 240, Powertank 10lb, Hi-Lift, Jack Mate, Pull-Pal.
Goodness. That does look like a long way down that hill. Glad everyone was okay. The owners manual to the Warn says that continued pulls with tension should be done at intervals, not just a steady long pull. This aids in preventing it from over heating.
Goodness. That does look like a long way down that hill. Glad everyone was okay. The owners manual to the Warn says that continued pulls with tension should be done at intervals, not just a steady long pull. This aids in preventing it from over heating.
It sure was a long ways down. GTK called it a 10 roller and I don't doubt that. The winch did start to work again after it cooled, but had me worried for sec.
__________________
Click for the "Genie" build up
Sandoo Blue FJ
Walker Evans adj. F&R reservoir shocks. Pro Links. AP F&R bumpers. Demello skid. Mile Marker SE9500C. Viking Trail Line. Super Swamper LTB 34s on Tacoma wheels. 305 MTR on Wheelers wheels. Trail Gear Sliders, Aeroflow, Lightforce Blitz 240, Powertank 10lb, Hi-Lift, Jack Mate, Pull-Pal.
Tucson Unified Romping District (TURD)
. I guess I go into the rescue efforts. 
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