PathFound Posted November 5, 2006 Share Posted November 5, 2006 Today, while driving down a secondary highway, I decided to go on this pull-out to check on open area under some power lines. I did not intend to drive into anything serious because of all the rain lately. So I drive in a few hundred feet on a muddy, but hard-packed road. No problem. I realize it's a dead end and decide to loop around one of those massive steel structures that hold up power lines. The ground looked okay, but was too soft. I couldn't go forward or back out. Stuck. I tried digging around the tires to jam logs to get some grip but it was useless. All 4 tires spin like they're on ice. I was out of cell phone range, so I walked along the highway to the next phone. It was a campground where the owners live. It started raining really hard. I called a tow truck guy. The guy came with a big 4x4 deisel tow truck. However, as the road into where I'm stuck was getting very muddy and soft, he didn't want to risk getting stuck with his heavy truck, and I agreed. I got a ride back to town with him. So my Pathfinder is sitting in the mud. It's not too deep. Water has been collecting because of the rain. The front tires are the worse. There's water up to the bottom of the front brake discs. The rear tires have mud up to the bottom of the rims. The truck is all stock 1991 Pathfinder. If I had gripper tires I might've got out, but the tires are caked with mud and act like slicks. If the mud mostly dries up I can probably drive out. But it might rain for a while and the ground keeps getting softer. If it get's really cold and the mud freezes, that may be good - maybe. So, it's a long shot, but is there anyone in the Squamish, British Columbia area with a capable 4x4 that's willing to help tow me out? Of course, I will pay you for the help. I wish I had pictures, but my camera got wet from being in the rain. I hope it still works. I will post pictures if my camera works tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedPath88 Posted November 5, 2006 Share Posted November 5, 2006 (edited) Man that sucks... I hate the idea of leaving a rig anywhere when it is stuck. Someone with mud tires and preferable a winch would be best. Do you have a come a long (manaul winch), hilift jack or know anyone with either of them? Can you get a line from your truck to the power line tower to allow you to pull it out? *If I lived closer to the border I would be willing to come up and help you... but I am half way down WA State, some 5hrs and 250miles away Edited November 5, 2006 by RedPath88 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PathFound Posted November 5, 2006 Author Share Posted November 5, 2006 I don't have a come along, but I might have to buy one if necessary. Tomorrow I'm gonna go dig out some of the mud, place some 2x6's under the tires and try to back the truck out. It's only about 40 feet into the real muddy stuff. After I get it out from there, the few hundred feet to the paved road should be no problem. If I can get it up on the boards and back it out a little at a time, it might work. Thanks for the offer RedPath. You are too far away though. At worse, I will get the tow truck to pull it out when the rain clears. I just really hope the bottom of the truck is not damaged. I don't think it should be because it's just sitting in sand, soil, and some mud. The oil and tranny pans should not be touching the mud or water. But the front suspension and CV boots are pretty dirty. The brake discs sitting in water is not good though, as they are gonna rust fast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedPath88 Posted November 5, 2006 Share Posted November 5, 2006 (edited) It will be fine.. the real danger is vandals and thieves. You not in anything deep,have not bashed rocks so everything underneath should be fine. Don't worry about the disks rusting, they are in the elements 100% of the time (unless you garage it) and any rust that develops will be gone after a bit of driving Edited November 5, 2006 by RedPath88 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slick Posted November 5, 2006 Share Posted November 5, 2006 (edited) have you tried airing down teh tires to about 15psi?? sly Edited November 5, 2006 by Slick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedPath88 Posted November 5, 2006 Share Posted November 5, 2006 hmm that's what I get for "ass"uming Yeah try that too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PathFound Posted November 5, 2006 Author Share Posted November 5, 2006 I thought about airing down the tires. I will definately try it tomorrow. I'm not too worried about vandals and thieves. It's in an area where there wouldn't be too many people. And the truck is barely visible from the highway. Funny thing I forgot to mention: There's a giant back-hoe with tracks (not wheels) a hundred feet from where my truck is stuck. Most likely it belongs to the hydro company. It looks like it was being used to create a road for power line access. If the operator of the back hoe shows up he can easily pull me out. Anyway, I left a note with my phone number on the truck. If I don't get it out tomorrow and the back-hoe operator shows up on Monday he can pull my truck out because I left it in neutral (manual tranny). I hope he's not too pissed if my truck is in the way! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PathFound Posted November 5, 2006 Author Share Posted November 5, 2006 I was able to extract some pictures I took with my cell phone via instant messaging. They're low resolution, but gives you an idea of where I'm stuck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikemike Posted November 5, 2006 Share Posted November 5, 2006 damn that sucks. you need a winch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Boy Posted November 5, 2006 Share Posted November 5, 2006 Is that a dog there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PathFound Posted November 5, 2006 Author Share Posted November 5, 2006 Yeah, that's my dog - a black lab. See my avatar for a clearer photo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eglaisi_91pathy Posted November 5, 2006 Share Posted November 5, 2006 (edited) PathFound, fellow Squamish resident here. I plan to go wheeling tomorrow, where abouts did you get stuck? Maybe we could help you. Im all stock, but maybe nylon slings/ropes/come-alongs could help? Edited November 5, 2006 by eglaisi_91pathy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Boy Posted November 5, 2006 Share Posted November 5, 2006 Yeah, that's my dog - a black lab. See my avatar for a clearer photo. At least you had a little company...Nice Dog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PathFound Posted November 5, 2006 Author Share Posted November 5, 2006 I'm stuck just off Squamish Valley road. It's just past the Squamish Valley campground. There's a big clearing where there's some huge powerlines. Would you be willing to attempt pulling me out? You said your winch is not mounted. ****** thing is, I have no rope or wires. I can buy some though. Let me know if you can help a fellow Pathfinder owner unstuck his truck. If you can't, that's cool. No worries. My email address is btolin@telus.net Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trainman Posted November 5, 2006 Share Posted November 5, 2006 That first photo shows lots of small woody stuff you could use to build some support. Too bad I am on the other side of the Coast Mountains. May need to do some digging/lifting to get under the wheels, then lay down a brush mat with that debris in the pile. That may help. Once took over 4 hours to dig myself out on the Victoria Day long weekend. Good luck. And the hoe that is near there: does not matter if your truck is in gear or not, it will just move you out of the way Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eglaisi_91pathy Posted November 5, 2006 Share Posted November 5, 2006 Yeah, we could probably work out something. I have a come-along or 2, and a couple nylon slings (short ones tho), this tracked back-hoe you speak of, is it a Caterpillar? because i may or may not have a Cat key sly my dad just bought a brand new 2WD Titan today! too bad it wasnt 4WD, id cruise in there, tow you out and we'd be laughing! oh well, he bought the last one avaliable in BC! talk about rare Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PathFound Posted November 5, 2006 Author Share Posted November 5, 2006 There's a lot of cut logs of decent size laying around the area. I tried using some, but it didn't quite work. Tomorrow, I plan to go to Rona, buy some 2x6's, then jack up the truck under each wheel and place the wood so the entire truck will sit on wood planks. Technically, I should be able to back it out on the wood planks - I hope. As mentioned before there's only about 40 ft of mud. Beyond the mud is still a muddy road, but it should be stable enough to drive on without getting stuck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eglaisi_91pathy Posted November 5, 2006 Share Posted November 5, 2006 Ive got some crappy mud+snow tires on there now from PO. they arent the biggest lugs, but are rather new and probably better than stock for mudding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pezzy Posted November 5, 2006 Share Posted November 5, 2006 Looking at the pics, if you can get another truck in a position that they wont sink & get stuck like you are, they should be able to tug you out with a tow strap... Good luck man, let us know how you get 'er out! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PathFound Posted November 5, 2006 Author Share Posted November 5, 2006 eglaisi_91pathy: If you're willing to help pull me out, I've e-mailed you my cell phone number. But don't worry if you can't come. I might be able to get this out myself. I just hope the rain stops. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eglaisi_91pathy Posted November 5, 2006 Share Posted November 5, 2006 (edited) Ok, I checked my towing situation here: like 3 nylon slings, and my come along says capacity : 1000lbs... so that might not be good. I just looked at my winch, a 5000lbs Ramsey, too bad its apart and not on my bumper oh well, yeah so far the plan is to help you. Thats better than wheeling if you ask me, and hey, theres always the afternoon to play. Edited November 5, 2006 by eglaisi_91pathy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PathFound Posted November 5, 2006 Author Share Posted November 5, 2006 Hey, thanks man. You can come out tomorrow and assess the situation, check the road in to make sure it's not getting too muddy. Last I checked it wasn't raining, and if doesn't pour overnight, a little bit of the mud might dry up. I'm still gonna go to Rona tomorrow and get some boards for traction. How do you wanna hook up? I sent you my phone number. I have a car, so I can drive out to the site. Also: do you have the proper gear to install your winch? I can help you install it. I have no idea how long it takes to install something like that. Thanks again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eglaisi_91pathy Posted November 5, 2006 Share Posted November 5, 2006 negative on the winch. Its in 3 different peices... i dont have any wiring for it, plus, i dont dare mount it on the stock bumper, i want to keep the bumper on for at least the winter sly I Emailed my friend who is comming, he also wants to go in the morning. I guess we could meet at Rona and I could follow you up there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eglaisi_91pathy Posted November 5, 2006 Share Posted November 5, 2006 PS, looks like its raining alot out there, so it might even get worse by tomorrow morning. Im wearin my gum boots Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedPath88 Posted November 5, 2006 Share Posted November 5, 2006 (edited) Things like this is what makes this forum so great ------------------------------------------- This reminds me a little of our trip to Steadman's Hole a long time ago.. buddies '89 yota got stuck in it... Damned IFS, he let of a little to early and instead of sliding on the frame and into the last part of the hole, he stopped on his frame... front tires spinning in thin mud and rear to light to do anything. When we first got there (and when he got stuck) it was raining, by the time we got him out there was almost an inch of snow on the ground... and it was almost 3am *But we did send a guy to Rainier Market around 1am for a beer run After getting him out we headed to a buddies house and "talked" about it over drinks Edited November 5, 2006 by RedPath88 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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