$105.00 Mistake

[lappir]

In preparation to move today I started the truck and recharged the A/C. It might  be cooler in North Dakota and I won't need it, but most likely my trip from Oklahoma to Iowa I'll need the cooling. No, that's not what cost the $105. 

Neither is the flat tire I had on the motorcycle when I left work last night. But I couldn't fix it today either. My pancake compressor doesn't have enough oomph to get the bead to set. I had the problem yesterday, but I was at a "Tire Shop" and they loaned me a valve core remover and it blew right up. No such luck for me today. I'm thinking since I went ahead and loaded the bike last night ( Chance of severe thunderstorms and hail), maybe I will just leave it loaded and drive my Jeep. 

I haven't updated the signature info, but I traded off the Subaru Crosstrek for a Jeep Wrangler Soft top two door. I saw one on a lot in town and on a whim I decided to look at it and take it for a test drive. I was amazed at how quiet the drive was and my biggest problem with the Subaru was the Collision avoidance preventing an easy load into the garage a real pain. The Jeep has none. I didn't by the one locally, It had been modified with new bumpers, fenders, big tires and a lot of stuff that I didn't want. I did find one on a trip to Tulsa and purchased it a month ago, but then on my 3rd day of having possession. I couldn't get the drivers seat to return to a position where I could actually drive it. The seat stayed forward and wouldn't release to a normal driving position. The next week I took it back to the dealership, had a Brand New Rubicon for a month while they fixed my Sport and I guess maybe I should drive  it a bit. 

Now for what I did and wish I hadn't.  I normally park my truck right in front of my trailer. I back in so I'm as short as possible and with most sites I'm ok. I probably would have been at this site too, but I had plenty of room to slide my truck over next to the building and was parking my car in front of the trailer. It worked out pretty well until today. I noticed my left side was a bit lower than the right and noticed my front left tire was sunk in  a bit. The rear left were also in a bit of a hole. I had noticed it when I parked, but didn't think it would be and issue. Well it was. The thunderstorms didn't produce any wind or hail where I am, but there was plenty of rain. I'm not saying I would have been able to extricate myself it I had tried before the rain last night, but maybe I should have moved as soon as I noticed the truck seemed to be sinking. I hopefully will next time, if there is one. 

The tow truck was a Dodge 3500. When I called I said to the dispatcher not to send a C-30 or an F-350 and they didn't, but I thought they would send a bit larger tow truck  and I mentioned it to the three people who crawled out of the cab. The drive said not to worry and he was right. He wanted $100, but I didn't have that much cash in my wallet. I offered him the $45 I had and said I could put the rest on the card, or could meet him at the ATM. He chose the ATM. Thankfully the ATM was only giving out 10's because when I handed him the $50 he didn't offer my $5 back, doubt he would have given me change  if I had given him $60 when the ATM usually spits out $20's. 

One more week of work before the trip to the next location in Grand Forks, ND. 

 

Rod

[spindrift]

Don't send an F350?

Whaaaat??!!

[rickeieio]

The size of the truck doesn't matter as much as the winch.  Throw some chocks under the tow truck wheels and it'll pull a house down.

[lappir]

30 minutes ago, rickeieio said:

The size of the truck doesn't matter as much as the winch.  Throw some chocks under the tow truck wheels and it'll pull a house down.

True, I had a 70's era Chevy dually with the 292 6 cylinder and a tow sling wrecker. It would pull a lot and the motor would lug down but never die. Had to reinforce the uprights after pulling myself out of a ditch on a snowy Iowa afternoon. 

The guy though just holding the brakes would work but still slid toward me instead of winching me out. They had these handy hydraulic legs with feet that they pushed into the rock roadway and that's what it took. Sure easier than the wheel chocks I had with the anchor chain attached.  At least he did use a snatch block. 

 Rod

[noteven]

Ya once upon a decade I ran a KW winch truck with a 30 ton hydraulic winch  (60 tons double lined). It would pull on stuff. If the footing was poor we had a pair of chocks with chains you hooked to the rear skirt...and pull some more.  Then anchor to another truck or cat or something off the front... now we can pull. 

The trick with winching yourself out is having an anchor point somewheres in the direction you need to go.

Edited May 31, 2021 by noteven

[RickS]

Hi Rod,
I have always had a 1 ton-dually 4x4 but sold it this year. I park at a storage lot that has very soft ground and is grass that the Volvo does not like when a little wet. I purchased these this year and used them last week. Couldn't believe how well they worked. I have road side assistance but sometimes it is just faster to do it yourself or are to far away to even have service to call. I was stuck spinning all rear wheels (have air locker) and put them on and idled away to dryer ground and then stowed them away in the storage bin.

[lappir]

3 hours ago, RickS said:

Hi Rod,
I have always had a 1 ton-dually 4x4 but sold it this year. I park at a storage lot that has very soft ground and is grass that the Volvo does not like when a little wet. I purchased these this year and used them last week. Couldn't believe how well they worked. I have road side assistance but sometimes it is just faster to do it yourself or are to far away to even have service to call. I was stuck spinning all rear wheels (have air locker) and put them on and idled away to dryer ground and then stowed them away in the storage bin.

Thanks for the link Rick, I might just have to invest in them. If I had a locker rear end I could have driven out, but no. Last time I had a similar issue I was running steer tires on the rear and the grass was wet. I did put a couple scrap pieces of E track under but apparently they were not long enough. I'll be more careful in the parking spots in the future too. 

 

Rod

[rickeieio]

You'd surprised how well a length of 3/8" nylon rope works.  Spiral it over the tire and through the holes in the rim, round round until you run out of rope.

[Av8r3400]

A must have for an HDT, IMO.  With this bit of kit you can extricate a mildly stuck semi with a Jeep.

Yankum Kinetic Energy Recovery Rope

[lappir]

11 hours ago, Av8r3400 said:

A must have for an HDT, IMO.  With this bit of kit you can extricate a mildly stuck semi with a Jeep.

Yankum Kinetic Energy Recovery Rope

You have to have more than one person to utilize the rope. I have seen them in action and they are remarkable. If I continue to do dumb things I may invest in a large winch to mount to the truck. Find a good anchor spot, use a snatch block or two and it takes just a little time. The anchor spot is the hardest usually.  

 

Rod

[maveric]

Another option. Have used a set similar to get ours out of the sand. Rear tires buried almost to the bottom of the wheel, with the trailer attached. Threw them under the tires and drove right out. These are $90 on amazon.

Edited June 3, 2021 by maveric