When you show up to play with the wrong toy…. Pick up truck + deep snow+ 40 PSI = failure.
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Last recovery above Rampart gate before it’s locked for the season.
We were called out Saturday evening for a vehicle stuck in deep snow. The 2 occupants had been stuck for over 2 hours before they walked about 1.5 miles to get cell service. We located the vehicle, had Little Beast drive around them. Hooked up Middle Beast to do a winch from the rear to get them back on the road. Then pulled them about 3 miles to flatter ground so they could drive on their own. Be careful out there, and make wise decisions about your vehicles capabilities.
Volunteer groups
I question the ethics of volunteer recovery groups. Yesterday 2 people had a vehicle break down on an off-road trail around 2pm. They called a well known volunteer group for help, but they refused to help unless there were 3 vehicles in the recovery group willing to go. The vehicle that needed assistance was a hydro locked Wrangler that simply needed to be dead pulled 1.4 miles to a safe place for a tow truck to access.
I received a call about this at 9pm and told them I could be there in 20 minutes. I had already been out that day since 2pm because I had to run to Leadville to help a customer, then stopped to assist a YouTuber with a flat 47inch tire on their off-road camper truck near Buena Vista.
The entire recovery of the dead vehicle took about an hour and a half from the time I got the call until the vehicle was out. As far as I know, the volunteer group never tried to recontact the customer about them being safe or at the least getting them out and to safety.
If you want to wait until it’s convenient for someone to come help you, please, by all means call a volunteer group, they might get to you when they can, if they can find enough of them to all hold hands while doing it.
Upgrades…
Removed the Dana 44 and started installing the rear 14 bolt 1 ton today…
This was built by Evolution off-road, along with the Dana 60 front, that’s waiting on a few more parts. Both are ARB locked with 5:38 gears and chromoly shafts… Anyone wanna donate some 42’s ???
Hibernation…
I thought Toyota hibernation was over for the season… Be careful out there, the roads can still reach out and get ya..
A gentle winch and it sat down nice and slow.
New addition to the fleet
We have added another vehicle to the fleet to help with recoveries.
Storm on the way.
With the predicted storm there is a chance of 8 to 18 in of snow in certain areas. Please be careful and use your head before heading out. It looks like it’s going to be a very busy couple of days. I’ll be on call 24 hours a day during the storm.
Use caution and think it thru during a recovery, accidents can happen.
This is a warning to all those would be rescue warriors. Don’t use junk recovery gear, spend your money on good stuff. Think about what you hook up to. This picture shows a 30 foot, 1 inch kinetic rope that came thru a windshield after an Amazon soft shackle broke.
Pay attention
Last week I mentioned that the trails on the mountain can change depending on the temps. I’d also like to remind you that some of these trails get less sunlight than others. My point is, when you see a trail with no tracks on it, don’t rush head first into it. It probably means that the guys with the bigger tires know that those trails get and keep deep snow. I’ve personally got stuck in 4 feet of snow in May up there. You can always call that volunteer group to get you out for free…. If they have time and many hours after you request help. Or, call me and I’ll head out right away.
Air up
If your looking for a great air compressor but don’t want to drop the kind of cash it takes to get an ARB…. Check out Thor’s Lightning. 1/3 the cost and twice as fast…
Air Management Laboratory
Beast Off-Road and Recovery 