Offroad Trailblazers and Envoys

Extraction pics

Dumping ground for offroad Trailblazer or Envoy general discussion.

by teebes » Thu Nov 05, 2009 3:01 pm

Just a few pics from the round of extractions performed in Canyonland, Utah. Eventually I'll get to these in my trip report, but it could be a while since it didn't happen till the end (maybe I should have chronicled it backwards, oh well :finger: ).


First stuck situation. This is basically where the 'truck' tracks had stopped and only saw dirt bike tracks from then on. Unfortunately, I had no room to turn around and forward seemed easier at the time:

Entering the obstacle, pic from the driver seat:
Image

From the opposite direction:
Image


Shot with the dog in the 'big whole', for some perspective:
Image

Missing my line and getting stuck, nearly busting the bead on my front driver wheel:
Image

Initial thought was to pull-pal my way out with the winch. The creek bed infront of me was solid rock, so I attempted to use an embankment in the direction I wanted to pull the truck:
Image Image

...to be continued shortly...
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by teebes » Thu Nov 05, 2009 3:32 pm

Tried three times in varying locations, but the pull-pal just wouldn't fully bite with the rock only a foot or so down. It made a rather annoying mess:



I decided to pull out more goodies and used a rock in the above background:

Image Image

That did the trick, phew, the winch / bumper didn't separate from the truck :cheers:
Image Image
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by The Roadie » Thu Nov 05, 2009 3:39 pm

Looks like Speed is saying: "He must have buried a HUGE bone in here for me! Where is it?!?"
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by teebes » Thu Nov 05, 2009 3:42 pm

After that fun, I went up to peek around the next corner and was met with another, even more steep, 'sand' dune:

Image Image


This is when I decided to tuck tail and run. I already had one large dune behind me that would be a challenge, I had no desire to add this into the mix (note the dirt bike tracks only - what a playground for them in the middle of a canyon! :hissyfit: )


From here on out, I use the term 'sand' loosely (no pun intended)... The dune was an interesting mix of clay, sand, silt. For those with dune experience, take a look at this pic and tell me what you think :work:

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by Trail X » Thu Nov 05, 2009 3:49 pm

teebes wrote:Image Image


Curious about your rigging setup here.

Is that winch extension rope? or your winch rope? Any issues of chafing the synthetic on the rock?
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by teebes » Thu Nov 05, 2009 3:57 pm

JamesDowning wrote:Curious about your rigging setup here.

Is that winch extension rope? or your winch rope? Any issues of chafing the synthetic on the rock?


3/8's extension rope. Makes rigging a bunch easier and becomes a 'consumable' component over my dedicated winch line. It held up really well as I spent a bit of time before the pull to get the rope 'settled'.
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by teebes » Thu Nov 05, 2009 5:57 pm

The next obstacle.. The hill...



With a bit of speed/torque and tires even MORE aired down, I gave it everything I had and made it to about the second bush (on the left) from the top.



Second chance for the pull-pal. It worked like a charm this time around.
Image Image Image

At this point I returned through a tight squeeze, had some fun on some slickrock, then did this :hissyfit:



:hissyfit: :hissyfit:
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by teebes » Thu Nov 05, 2009 6:04 pm

No excuses here.. Heading around a corner in 4lo, barely crawling along. The trailer's axle caught a decent sized lip and capsized :poke: :slap: :slap: :viking: I guess the adrenaline was still churning a bit from the previous recoveries and I wasn't paying close enough attention to the trailers 'wheel cheat'. It hit a double bump which the truck took a tad bit different :slap:

Luckily there was a decent sized tree up on a ledge about 10ft higher than my truck. I crash landed in the perfect spot, arrgh :finger:




Redirection pulley and final anchor via independent shackles


Chains around the axle along with the second pulley


Decent shot of the rock used to keep the trailers lower wheel from sliding along with the double 'bump' that pushed the trailer up, up and away :o
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by bgwolfpack » Thu Nov 05, 2009 6:12 pm

You took that in stride. Good for you. How glad are you, you had the AT Max Coupler / Receiver. :salut:
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by teebes » Thu Nov 05, 2009 7:17 pm

bgwolfpack wrote:You took that in stride. Good for you. How glad are you, you had the AT Max Coupler / Receiver. :salut:


Oh boy, good point :friday: I would've been ////, to say the least :gimp:

The coupler performed exactly how it was designed; allowed the trailer to flip with no related damage to the truck, hitch, coupler, nerves, etc :woot: However, it's in the back of my mind I'd like to get a spare coupler to have in dire emergencies (a slightly different design I've seen floating around the interwebs, hopefully Neil can hook a brotha up ).
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by Trail X » Thu Nov 05, 2009 11:26 pm

I was looking at your trailer and truck at first... then I discovered the amazing scenery in the background! :shock:

I'm going to have to try to talk the wife into visiting that area when we head west.

Did you have to reposition the truck to get the winchline coming out at the right angle for the trailer recovery?
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by foosh » Thu Nov 05, 2009 11:52 pm

Could you just rig up a stabilizer setup for it? it would mostlikely help alot and if you custom made it, it would alow for a good bit of movement without letting it flip.
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by EwingJK » Sat Nov 07, 2009 4:41 am

Impressive recovery of the trailer ( not to mention the other recoveries). I need to check out your Build Thread to see what the rest of your recovery gear looks like. I've got a long way to go before I can run in your circles.
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by dirtychevymama » Wed Nov 11, 2009 9:11 pm

WOW, neat, I'm amazed! :finger: That sand mixture looks very similar to my children's Moon Sand....
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