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So my M37 was parked in my back yard. 10 degrees out this morning, she started right up, but did need a bit of nursing until she warmed up. (I need to rebuild that block ...) Anyway, I started filling up the truck with boxes from my basement. Lots of room in there when the canvas is on the back.
So I get ready to drive from the back of the house to the front - done it many times before. There's an incline from front to back, but it's not too bad - or so I thought. Well, it starts getting a bit slippery. The 2-3 feet of snow/ice has a sheet of ice at the bottom (who put that there??). Got stuck a bit of the way up. No problem, I grew up around here & learned to drive in this. So I roll back, get a "running" start, and get a bit further up the hill before I start to slip again. Wash, rinse, repeat.
Now I've got about 10 feet to go to the top of the hill, and can't get any higher. I try shoveling snow under the wheels - no luck. I try a series of 2x4's under the wheels to try to make a sort of "fish ladder" - a gain of a few inches and several busted 2x4's later - no luck. My truck has now earned a new name - "Sisyphus"
About now, I'm thinking I could use some tire chains & locking differentials.
Here's the funny part!
So now I start to slide - backwards - down the hill. I pull out all of my New England "you're completely out of control and are solely at the whim of the laws of physics" driving tricks, and am able to bring this 3 tons of steel to a stop - about 5 feet before a significant drop into "an environmentally sensitive" (pronounced swamp) area. Quick chocked the wheels to avoid going swimming. I'm now about 150" from the road.
Some rules I learned long ago in owning antiques (1) it is a miracle if you can get to your destination and back again without anything breaking. (Just getting to where you are going sometimes is enough of a miracle!) (2) Know when a project is beyond your financial means, patience, or skill/equipment. (3) Know when to call in the Cavalry.
So one call to AAA and under 1 hour later, a flatbed arrives. Do dice - his winch can't reach. Flatbed leaves, wrecker comes. Brand new truck (his, not mine) and the owner is taking it on its maiden voyage. So the guy hauls me out (and gives me a discount for helping him test drive his rig). Impressive bit of machinery, that wrecker - was able to pull my truck up a good sized hill through much deeper snow than I anticipated.
He didn't even laugh at me!
The irony is that I just installed a rebuilt LU-4 a few months back. Too bad the PTO is still waiting for a rebuild in my basement. Oh well, there's nothing to hook my winch to anyhow. Note to self: plant huge oak tree in the front yard.
We'll all's well that ends well, right? My truck is now in a spot where I can get her out unassisted. I can resume my treks from my basement to a storage unit, although I'll be carrying the boxes to my truck which will be waiting patiently right next to the driveway.
Then again, my wife hasn't seen the back yard yet ...
