So the other day (3/14/10) I was at Hollister (while TDO was there) and got stuck in a mud hole. Nothin bad... just a little high centered on both axles.
I don't have a tow point in the front so we hooked up the strap to my hitch. We forgot the pin that holds the hitch in, so we hooked it onto the side... using the metal hook... bad idea.
He was trying to pull me back and up a ledge..... I moved maybe an inch or two before BAM, the hook ripped right through, and nailed the truck pulling me out. It ripped through the license plate, bounced off the spare tire, and dented the frame.
That could have easily shot off in a slightly different direction and injured/killed me, the guy towing me out, or the few bystanders.
Some guy came out of nowhere to "help" us get unstuck. He tried to convince us to try towing out in some very stupid ways. He said that a screwdriver would be able to withstand the pull from the tow-strap, tried to make me attach the hook to my tie rod, and said the only way to get pulled out was backwards up and over a ledge. When we finally got unstuck, he admitted that he was trying to make us do something stupid to cause more damage. :flamemad:
What I learned:
-Don't use metal tow hooks
-Secure the tow strap to a more solid tow point
-Place a sweater over the tow strap before it breaks off... not after
-Don't listen to peoples stupid ideas
On a brighter note, the trip was awesome. Made it up truck hill twice and on the way down I stopped and went up half way in reverse. Then, some guys in Blazers on tons had some trouble going up... Got a little tippy about half way up. Found some new trails. Watched the guys in blazers beat on their junk.... fun day.
$40K 900cc Rhino
-Jeep450r
EDIT: I tried resizing the pics... no luck. Sorry.
EDIT EDIT: Photos resized.... silly photobucket lag.
I don't have a tow point in the front so we hooked up the strap to my hitch. We forgot the pin that holds the hitch in, so we hooked it onto the side... using the metal hook... bad idea.
He was trying to pull me back and up a ledge..... I moved maybe an inch or two before BAM, the hook ripped right through, and nailed the truck pulling me out. It ripped through the license plate, bounced off the spare tire, and dented the frame.
That could have easily shot off in a slightly different direction and injured/killed me, the guy towing me out, or the few bystanders.
Some guy came out of nowhere to "help" us get unstuck. He tried to convince us to try towing out in some very stupid ways. He said that a screwdriver would be able to withstand the pull from the tow-strap, tried to make me attach the hook to my tie rod, and said the only way to get pulled out was backwards up and over a ledge. When we finally got unstuck, he admitted that he was trying to make us do something stupid to cause more damage. :flamemad:
What I learned:
-Don't use metal tow hooks
-Secure the tow strap to a more solid tow point
-Place a sweater over the tow strap before it breaks off... not after
-Don't listen to peoples stupid ideas
On a brighter note, the trip was awesome. Made it up truck hill twice and on the way down I stopped and went up half way in reverse. Then, some guys in Blazers on tons had some trouble going up... Got a little tippy about half way up. Found some new trails. Watched the guys in blazers beat on their junk.... fun day.
$40K 900cc Rhino
-Jeep450r
EDIT: I tried resizing the pics... no luck. Sorry.
EDIT EDIT: Photos resized.... silly photobucket lag.
Last edited:
run:
