Gladiator Rubicon Gets Stuck Pretty Good -- "This Will Be The HARDEST Rescue Ever" (Matt's Off-Road Recovery)

[Stan H]

90% of the time, the Mojave would have gotten in & out of there twice as fast. ;-)

Until proven otherwise, I believe that the owner of the Rubicon may very well have been returned to the safety of civilization by virtue of a Mojave.

cheers!

?

Sponsored

 

[Sweetums]

I won't disagree that one locker and more suspension can be a winning combination, that's been my formula for 15 years and I never once needed a winch.

 

[Rusty PW]

I won't disagree that one locker and more suspension can be a winning combination, that's been my formula for 15 years and I never once needed a winch.

You haven't tried hard enough.

 

[ZeeJay]

So much for Rubinot. Simple trail walk and understanding the break over angle and lack of it was needed. No gear and a kid whining about trashing it, and attempting shit he shouldn’t have apparently solo. The good news is somebody brought a real Jeep. That XJ could walk all over the truck any day of week.

 

[Sweetums]

So much for Rubinot. Simple trail walk and understanding the break over angle and lack of it was needed. No gear and a kid whining about trashing it, and attempting shit he shouldn’t have apparently solo. The good news is somebody brought a real Jeep. That XJ could walk all over the truck any day of week.

Why exactly are you here? Every vehicle has limits and everything is a tradeoff, the long wheelbase is a detriment in some places and an advantage in others.

If you are just here to shit on other people's vehicles, the Tacoma forum is that way, ?

 

[ZeeJay]

Ok, I’ll run right over and sign up with my 4 Jeeps. Thanks for the tip

 

[Sweetums]

Maybe try not being a jerk for a few minutes, you might like it. Looking through your post history is more of what you've posted here: bitching and complaining, but not a single positive or encouraging post to anyone.

What a sad little existence, having to personify negativity to everyone you interact with.

 

[BearFootSam]

Stacking rocks may have been a good option. But not knowing the drivers skillset or how far into the trail he was, it may not have worked. Seems he was alone. How much time/patience would you have meticulously placing rocks and getting in and driving a few feet, only to repeat it again and again. Based on our limited information, it looks like that might have been his only alternative. I would have tried it and stayed out there all night if it was working.

If you are wheeling alone, you really should be thinking about a winch. I'm out places with the family every weekend and some of these places I wouldn't go as a solo rig without the winch, an e-tool, some straps and a pulley. It's too easy to get off the road edge bypassing a rock fall and finding yourself hung up such that you either need a tow (good luck hoping someone passes by) or you need to self-recover.

Usually, the difference between getting through and being stuck is a matter of a couple of inches, like being high centered. With a winch it's a five-minute affair to get the wheels on the ground and then stow it all away vs potentially hours of racing daylight to stack rocks and dig holes.

Just last week I was dragging a log out of my forest with the Rubicon and got hung up going over a 20" log with the rear wheels sitting light on slick mud. Bing bang boom, a quick 2' pull with the winch and I was loose, dignity retained.

 

[BearFootSam]

The guy needed more momentum and some good old lack of give a damn. He would have got out of there with some damage but probably got out of that situation. I am wondering if the swaybar is disconnected. I drove mine of the dirt version of that same first obstacle and was fine other than the rear bumper scraping once all four time reached the bottom. I wondered whether it would have even scraped if I would have kept the swaybar connected because the JTR wouldn't have been sitting as flat

Sway bar makes a big difference, it's fun to see how disconnected the axles will be all crossed up yet the body is more or less level. My wife was watching me driving around the barn over these offset humps and was surprised how much the axles flexed. Such a capable vehicle.

 

[BearFootSam]

Those are the Hualapai mountains, every road is almost entirely an obstacle if you get in there deep enough. When I was even more of a novice, about 7 years ago, I hit a 38 mile stretch that took 14 hours to get out of once with 3 other rigs, mostly stock but somewhat capable. I had just purchased my Xterra, no lockers, just traction control and 31’s. My buddy has a stock first gen Xterra, not even ABS and the other a Discover I - really the most capable. We all kept thinking, no way we make it back past that, let’s keep going it has to get better… it didn’t.

With airing down a tad, a driver with some experience and a spotter could have got them out no issue…. But if you’re new to wheeling, wandering for hours and hours, absorbing bumps with a wife and a toddler in the back and then get stuck I can see fatigue kicking in and just wanting out. No idea how they got out of there, I take it a buddy who could wheel was guiding him on what looks like a fun trial. No way I leave my keys in the truck and calling a tow truck, but I have some experience, no angry wife, a hungry toddler who has been bouncing around all day, etc.

Here are some shots from that trip that we all questioned why we liked exploring off road:

A winch is good insurance against a cross wife and a frustrated toddler. Being hung up for hours is a great way to convince your family that off-roading is terrible enterprise, whereas a quick winch makes you look like a capable and competent spouse.

 

[BearFootSam]

Power Wagon.

The power wagon is an elephant, there are a lot of places it's size becomes a major liability. Weight is also your enemy on soft terrain and road edges. Our big MATVs caused so many issues in Afghanistan because they'd collapse roads whereas the local high sprung corolla wagons would just trundle through.

You can't pick a good line when the truck is so big there is only one.

 

[Sweetums]

You can't pick a good line when the truck is so big there is only one.

Yep, I've watched stock CJ5s get up stuff that caused JLs on 35"s to struggle just because the CJ was so narrow it could pick lines that made it easy.

 

[Jefe1018]

A winch is good insurance against a cross wife and a frustrated toddler. Being hung up for hours is a great way to convince your family that off-roading is terrible enterprise, whereas a quick winch makes you look like a capable and competent spouse.

Well we all begin to learn somewhere. Hopefully this driver doesn’t get discouraged and instead makes a few modifications and keeps exploring the back country.

 

[Rusty PW]

The power wagon is an elephant, there are a lot of places it's size becomes a major liability. Weight is also your enemy on soft terrain and road edges. Our big MATVs caused so many issues in Afghanistan because they'd collapse roads whereas the local high sprung corolla wagons would just trundle through.

You can't pick a good line when the truck is so big there is only one.

I've done most of the trails in Moab, and Rausch Creek with my Power Wagon. On picking lines. Yeah, you are limited on which lines to take. Sometimes you have to grin and bear it.

 

[Chunky White]

Sway bar makes a big difference, it's fun to see how disconnected the axles will be all crossed up yet the body is more or less level. My wife was watching me driving around the barn over these offset humps and was surprised how much the axles flexed. Such a capable vehicle.

Yeah I would like to see a video or watch someone drive my JTR or another Jeep up and down the hill I scraped on decending. I had zero issues going up that same obstacle but scraped coming back down. I was following a lifted JKU sport with 35's which had some body roll and didn't drag anything. I felt like I was flat side to side and caught the corner of my back bumper before the drivers side tire reached flat ground. Easy trail though.

Sponsored