Best, worst or most embarrasing 4WD moment

[Breaker Brother 2]

OK guy's, time to tell of your mistakes.

Im still wording mine, but I have a good one from a guy who owns a land rover.... so he wont be up to a computer...let alone internet just yet....... ;)

But afew years ago, they had a slippery hill competition at the 4wd mud racing at Romsey, this guy trailered his land rover series 2 with big block 253 Holden motor fitted, now the trailer was needed because the tractor tyes he fitted to the spilt rims would not of driven very well to the event, especially after he water filled them, just like a real tractor...

Now, all this effort would of been well worth while if a trophy could be taken home as reward for effort, but unfortunatly, it all started to go pear shape as he took off from the start line...

The car slowly started to creep forward, wheels spinning, bit of mud flying as the flag was dropped, no lockers so only 2 wheels began to spin as the car crept up the start of the slope, V8 revving, bit more mud flying, more revs, bit more mud in the air........ oops... cant go any further...well, must of got a fair way, driver looks round, yep... 3 car lengths... gotta be happy with that!

Now, given that land rovers have sliding front windows, this can make it very tricky to back up and see where you are going when your helmet wont fit out the half size window when you slide it open.... and running over the start officials table, and chair, while you slide backward, unable to see, as they run out of the way is never going to help your time or distance score.....especially with 3000 people laughing.... with you of course, not at you.... ;)

Quick, wheres the trailer, lets get out of here.....bugger trying again on my second attempt.... ::)


Footnote;-
A guy named Jeff Duckworth won the day in a 80 with a 4.5 turbo intercooled, and a brand new set of 9/34 swampers...

[wally blodger]

Put one on its side then roof then side then roof.

[Breaker Brother 2]

Perhaps I should put my own up to spur you guy's on a bit...... ;)

It was about 5 years ago, a good friend and I were opening up an old logging track down the Otways. We came to a gully that was about 10-12 feet deep and wasn't very wide at the bottom. We cleared the fallen tree's from around the area and I drove my old Rangie into the bottom. I expected as I drove in that I would be winching out and so when the car hit the bottom both the bull bar and rear step were on the ground and not a lot of contact was made between the tyers and the clay. We rigged up a tree protector and a snatch block and ran the cable from my car to the tree and back across the gully to my friends car. As both the Warn high mounts started to work and the car edged ever so slowly towards the top, I heard a scream of STOP!!! Not knowing why I turned to see the horror on my friends face. When I looked back out the windscreen, I saw what can only be described as OOHHHH S*#t. You guessed it, The tree was heading for the car, and yes it hit the bonnet, the windscren, the roof and bent them all. Even though I had picked what apeared to be a nice solid tree, (it was still nice and green and about 18inchs across), it was how ever eaten away in the middle by either rot or termites. i did cop a fair bit of flack over that one, but thems the breaks when you play hard.

[David]

easy took wife out up the waipara river lots of shingle water and holes dam near paradise 1st trip out in the mitsi and saw a nice steep muddy bank the modified jeep infront of me couldnt go up and discretion being safer I promply drove into the waterhole under the trees (yes I should know better as I used to fish alot ) and of course the car slowly sank into the gravel on the wifes side she not happy water filling her side of car me not happy either and the sound of the wave inside the car on the way home didnt help,

Very early days[about 15 yr ago....] my 45 tray with newly fitted 350 Chev and 35's......

Worked out you dont try a burnout when you still have a early one piece transfer case.....

Was very embarrasing dodging cars to pick up all the pieces off the road as the thing just exploded.....

The 40 I sold recently did a much better burnout with 35 road tyres, 454 and late tranny case..... but the rear locker did explode at the exhaust shop xmas party after it hooked up and pulled the front wheels up.... ;D

[baby_troupe]

I am still quite new to offroading (less than 2 years), but I would have to say my most embarrousing moment would be on a nigh drive in the Watagan Mountains, I was climbing a small hill with a fairly deep rut on the right hand side.
Anyway, it seems I took the wrong line & the car started to slip towards the rut.
Now this is where inexperience came in, as I was used to front wheel drive cars sliding around a bit, so I steered hard left & gave it plenty of throttle. :o
Unfortunately, this made the cruiser rear up like a wild brumby & the drivers rear wheel slipped into the rut, which quickly swing the front end around & into the rut as well, all of the weight coming down onto the drivers front corner of the bullbar. :-[
Luckily for me, the bullbar was quite solid & took the impact with the only damage being missing paint & a small battle scar on the side of the bullbar.
All other panels just missed the dirt. :)

Im just glad the title has 4WD in it..... man I could add some stories here otherwise......

Most involving alcohol... and one involving a Sydney taxi driver who thought a $50 cleaning fee wasnt enough after I added to his cleaning to get my monies worth....... :o

Im sure the mods here who drive 4wd for a living have a story or 2 to tell about themselves... or dob in a fellow worker?????????

[BigMav]

Ok, a couple of years ago camping on Bribie Island. Decided it would be good to go for a night drive and found a small track going over the dunes and took it heading off into the swampy scrub. Now, I was in my old sierra which wasn't in 4wd! It never needed to be as I let the 30's down to about 8PSI on the beach and it never came close to being bogged. The sand changed to mud and I thought, she'll be right just as well I got a new set of muddies. (I may have had a couple of ales and had forgotton it was still in 2wd!!) The mud turned into a thick swampy lake and sure enough I had mud halfway up the doors and swamp water seeping through every crevace in the little zook. Anyway, had to climb out the window and walk 25km back to camp. At around 5am I stumbled back and got a couple of hours kip time in before heading back out to make the rescue. This was when I found out that water and mud had made its way up to the bottom of the dashboard. Suzis are light but it took numerous attempts to snatch out with a landcruiser because of the suction in the mud from sitting for so long. It was a very smelly and wet drive back to brissy. The track has since been completely blocked off with wooden posts so it must have happened quite a bit.

[HSV Rangie]

After going on a nice trip into the highland area around Wau (PNG). One weekend great trip steep, rocks, creeks and the mud.
We decided to go back next weekend to a nice area , across the creek for a picnic, came up to the creek crossing looked ok as we had driven it the Sat before and it was only 600mm deep so plunged in (new company patrol TI) only to see the bonnet dissaper from sight, and continue to slip in the under curent just pulled it into the creek, which was now 4ft deep, down stream we floated ontill wheels hit ground and settled.

Called friends to recover car, talking point of Lae for a while.

Lesson:
Always check water depth even when you know its shallow.
Thousands $ damage. Engine(4.2 desiel) electrics.

Michael.

[Brendan Janetzki]

This story happened at work and didnt involve my own indestructible zook

I work for the Army Reserve in an Artillery Regiment. We were on exercise a month ago at Wide Bay near Gympie. It had rained the previous day and all that night. The terrain in that area is mostly white clay and boggy sand. Our regiment consists of 6 Unimogs weighing about 8 tonnes, each towing a gun also quite heavy at 2 tonnes. There were also some Rovers in the convoy, a couple of 4x4 rovers and a couple of 6 wheelers. Early in the morning we headed downhill through the scrub to a new firing position in a valley giving little thought to the very wet very soft ground. Naturally getting back out of the position required going uphill with about 70 tonnes of convoy. The rovers made it out but after churning up the track had made it difficult for the mogs. 3 of the Mogs made it out whit lockers engaged but had severly churned up the track creating wheel ruts to sink 35's. The last 3 mogs had to be winched with guns attached. the recovery took about 4hrs and will stick in the mind of the Regiment for quite some time.

[2 BRUTAL]

the army fellows were at LMP a few years ago with a 6WD and a 4WD. they got the 6WD bogged up to the passengers door in the pig with about 200 people cheering them on. they pulled out the winch to attach to the 4wd only to start dragging it backwards. a few wheel chocks on the 4wd soon had them out to a loud cheer from all who had gathered .by them it was about 300. i think they took about 2 tonne of mud home with them that day but it was good to see them out getting their toys dirty.

[Rikall]

I did a similar thing last weekend in the pigpen at lcmp. Only prob I was on my own. Even with both diffs locked I couldn't move it. With no-where to winch off (severe lack of trees in the pen obviously) I had to sit there with my rig filling up with water until someone showed up to give me a snatch. Ended up with 2 inches of muddy sludge over the floor and a dead cd stacker that happened to be under the passenger's seat.

Thou shalt not play in mud on thine own ever again!! :'(

[HeathGQ]

Best - New car (GQ Patrol), and making a hill climb that my previous Feroza would not have even looked at. Probably nothing now, but at the time was pretty special.

Worst - Guiding the missus down into a rut at LCMP. Lots of other people talking to her at the same time, so she thought we all meant go, but when the front left missed what she should have been aiming for, and the rear right went about 3 feet into the air, i had turned around to see it.... It didnt go over, but it was close!!!!

Embarassing - Gett stuck in the sand at The Spit here on the coast. Unable to get moving, the rear wheels were just digging in, and the water was up to the rear diff.. thankfully someone notinced and came helpin...

[ferremit]

the old man put a significant dint in the tailgate of our 3 week old hilux pulling a tree over to cut the tap root to transplant it :-[

[Mid73]

Worst was out at Menai with some mates in the car, and went to go through a bog hole and proceeded to get stuck and with no one around to pull me out had to make some phone calls so l could be pulled out, A hour and half and some new wheel bearing alround. That was the last time l tride something like that by myself.

[luxute]

worst= getting pulled out of the mud by a subaru wagon :P

[Brendan Janetzki]

its funny you mention that day at lcmp with the Army guys. They happened to be some reservists out on a recruiting day from 7th Combat Services Support Battalion. It was them who inspired me to want to drive unimogs...unlucky for them i joined artillery instead

[cruiser1]

Embarrasing.......many years ago on my very first trip to Moreton Island and introduction to 4WDing, I so busy thinking about how I was going to tackle my first sand experience, tyre pressures adjusted, grear selected, new tinnie opened I drove my SWB 40series off the barge first (I was at the front of the barge) and proceded to head the wrong way down the beach to a dead end of trees hanging in the water. ::) By the time I could turn around I could see all the other 4Bs heading off in file in the other direction, Headlights disappearing into the distance ;D Much to the amusement of the more experienced guys in our group.