dieselfuelonly
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Feb 9, 2008
- Location
- Chapel Hill, NC
===I know this is long but SOME of you may get a kick out of it===
I know it is a bad idea to go wheeling alone... especially extreme bogging like this. Last weekend me and my battery charger spent a good 8 hours working on my rig. Removing all those two non-rusty battery terminal bolts sure was a chore. And filling up those tires was a huge pain too.
So this afternoon I decided to hit the mudpit for a little romping. With my battery reinstalled she fired right up, and I idled out of the barn uneventfully except for almost getting stuck as I attempted to back over the horse bedding at full speed as moving some lawn chairs, and front end parts for my truck was way to much work.
I then took the long 37 second journey across many miles of different terrain to the pasture on the other side of the yard. After a few romps through the baby puddles and a ditch I decided to hit the real water hole.
I surveyed the area carefully using the advanced method of poking the bottom of the extremely deep hole with a stick. It seemed solid enough. So I fired my rig back up an slowly let my front end dive under, then let 'er rip. I made it very close to the shore on the other side when my massive rear boggers (look at how huge those things are compared to the front!) filled their tread with mud and lost traction. Knowing I didn't have much time before I became completely mired in the mud, I slammed it in reverse and backed up. Upon reaching the other bank the clutch began to slip bad, so I threw it in forward again and took one more go at it. Still no luck. At this time I was panicking, knowing that it would be a long and embarrassing walk home if I didn't get it out.
So I gave it one more try in reverse and managed to get close to the bank in which I entered the massive rig-swallowing mudpit on. Then the clutch completely gave out on me with a big squealing noise, and I shut it off.
Knowing there was nothing more I could do, I began walking the long 1 minute and 30 second walk back to the barn to retrieve my rescue vehicle, a 4x4 16HP diesel powered monster that is nearly unstoppable.
I gathered up a chain and headed back to my embarrassing situation hours away.
I arrived to find no one else around, and decided that it wouldn't hurt to give it one more try before someone showed up and I made a fool of myself. I jumped back on the stuck vehicle and turned the key. Nothing. It was evident that I must have submerged the computer and short-circuited all the electronics, rendering the vehicle COMPLETELY useless.
So, I chained up the stuck rig to my rescue vehicle, feeling very nervous that I may not be able to pull it out. Brought revs up slowly to 1100RPM, put it in 1st gear low range 2WD, and dumped the clutch. The rescue vehicle struggled under the immense 500lb weight of the stuck rig. I was beginning to worry that the chain might snap, but I kept going. Eventually I looked back to see the vehicle freed from the mud hole, getting dragged along behind the tow vehicle, in all of its parking-brake-left-on glory.
What a day... I was getting worried I might have to call some friends to come pull me out with the Craftsman rigs... how embarrassing would that have been?
In actuality, took the pics as a joke to send to a friend who always wants to go 4x4ing with anyone that has something with big tires, so I told him to come on over any time. No response yet though.
Apparently a loose, wet belt doesn't work too well when you are in sticky mud. But at least it didn't get stuck in the middle, the bottom was pretty firm and none got stuck to the tires.
Oh, and as to clear something up about the capabilities of the Yanmar tractors... it pulled it out at idle, in 2WD, with no wheelspin whatsoever, with the parking brake on on the mower.
I know it is a bad idea to go wheeling alone... especially extreme bogging like this. Last weekend me and my battery charger spent a good 8 hours working on my rig. Removing all those two non-rusty battery terminal bolts sure was a chore. And filling up those tires was a huge pain too.
So this afternoon I decided to hit the mudpit for a little romping. With my battery reinstalled she fired right up, and I idled out of the barn uneventfully except for almost getting stuck as I attempted to back over the horse bedding at full speed as moving some lawn chairs, and front end parts for my truck was way to much work.
I then took the long 37 second journey across many miles of different terrain to the pasture on the other side of the yard. After a few romps through the baby puddles and a ditch I decided to hit the real water hole.
I surveyed the area carefully using the advanced method of poking the bottom of the extremely deep hole with a stick. It seemed solid enough. So I fired my rig back up an slowly let my front end dive under, then let 'er rip. I made it very close to the shore on the other side when my massive rear boggers (look at how huge those things are compared to the front!) filled their tread with mud and lost traction. Knowing I didn't have much time before I became completely mired in the mud, I slammed it in reverse and backed up. Upon reaching the other bank the clutch began to slip bad, so I threw it in forward again and took one more go at it. Still no luck. At this time I was panicking, knowing that it would be a long and embarrassing walk home if I didn't get it out.
So I gave it one more try in reverse and managed to get close to the bank in which I entered the massive rig-swallowing mudpit on. Then the clutch completely gave out on me with a big squealing noise, and I shut it off.
Knowing there was nothing more I could do, I began walking the long 1 minute and 30 second walk back to the barn to retrieve my rescue vehicle, a 4x4 16HP diesel powered monster that is nearly unstoppable.
I gathered up a chain and headed back to my embarrassing situation hours away.
I arrived to find no one else around, and decided that it wouldn't hurt to give it one more try before someone showed up and I made a fool of myself. I jumped back on the stuck vehicle and turned the key. Nothing. It was evident that I must have submerged the computer and short-circuited all the electronics, rendering the vehicle COMPLETELY useless.
So, I chained up the stuck rig to my rescue vehicle, feeling very nervous that I may not be able to pull it out. Brought revs up slowly to 1100RPM, put it in 1st gear low range 2WD, and dumped the clutch. The rescue vehicle struggled under the immense 500lb weight of the stuck rig. I was beginning to worry that the chain might snap, but I kept going. Eventually I looked back to see the vehicle freed from the mud hole, getting dragged along behind the tow vehicle, in all of its parking-brake-left-on glory.
What a day... I was getting worried I might have to call some friends to come pull me out with the Craftsman rigs... how embarrassing would that have been?
In actuality, took the pics as a joke to send to a friend who always wants to go 4x4ing with anyone that has something with big tires, so I told him to come on over any time. No response yet though.
Apparently a loose, wet belt doesn't work too well when you are in sticky mud. But at least it didn't get stuck in the middle, the bottom was pretty firm and none got stuck to the tires.
Oh, and as to clear something up about the capabilities of the Yanmar tractors... it pulled it out at idle, in 2WD, with no wheelspin whatsoever, with the parking brake on on the mower.
