UGH-RECOVERY MISSION TODAY....

[Cal_Gary]

So Winter Storm Indra left its mark here in Utah-close to 2 feet where I live, and created a mess of work for me.
After blowing away all the snow in the driveway and sidewalks then trenching the back yard for the dogs, we decided to load up for our daily coffee run. I didn't get 10 yards into the cul-de-sac only to become high-centered. Not moving forward or backward and at first I thought it was just deep snow. So, being the old MOS 63H mechanic and recovery specialist I just figured I'd go to low range, engage the Lockers, and drive away. Naah, I learned quickly that 4 tires are just as high-centered as 2, all spinning freely and going nowhere. What a Mo....

So I open the garage up where the M37 sits, awaiting the call. I fired her up and pulled out within chain range, hooked up and dragged the Rubicon off the snow berm. Then in another "Mo" moment, shut off the Dodge, hopped back into the Rubicon, got a running start this time, and yeah, high-centered it 10 feet further out. Jeez I guess I needed more exercise. So, I chained up again, dragged the Rubicon to freedom and parked it in the driveway. We off-loaded the dogs back in the house then jumped back into the M37 (no more horsing around). I engaged the lock-out hubs beforehand and shifted into 4WD to ensure I'd make it out.

We got a running start and hit the berms, taming them by showing them who is the real boss, got to the end of the street and turned right, into a half-dozen stuck Avalanches, Outbacks, little front wheel drive cars etc., all in various stages of digging out. I chuckled as I drove by because they didn't see my recent predicament that totally matched theirs-the trump card being the M37 that continues to rule the road . The looks of "ah man" as we drove by the stuck modern vehicles was priceless.

So we ran our errands, got our coffee and headed home. About 5 miles out, just before the big hill with it's 10% grades I decided to add the tire chains as extra insurance getting back through the cul-de-sac, not confident that my two previous ruts would still be in place. So, turning into the local Chevron I also spotted the spray and wash there-what a great place to chain up! No cars being washed in this weather, shelter overhead, and a dry floor-perfect! So I installed the chains and made the climb.

All of the stuck vehicles were gone except one abandoned Silverado that the guy gave up on. However, turning left onto our street found two more stuck cars: my next door neighbor's Chevy Volt (seriously?) and some little Kia Sol FWD high centered at a 45 degree angle, with no room for me to get around it. Guys with shovels and blowers were trying to dig out the Kia but didn't realize that digging out the front and back wasn't going to address the berm under the car. I finally got out to offer moral support and to suggest latching a tow strap on the Kia to my M and I'd pull it off the berm. They agreed, and another neighbor grabbed a tow strap and handed it to me. Climbing under the back of the car, much to my surprise, not a single tow point, ring, shackle bracket, or anything else to secure to. Cheap-assed auto makers! So, since it was so icy, I fed the strap through the right-rear rim then backed out all of the slack. Then, just applying steady gas, freed the toy car from it's snowy grip, keeping the RR wheel from turning as it slid along the ice-improvisation at it's best! Once freed they backed it into another driveway so we could get by-no "thank you" or anything-that's the 21 Century, boys and girls. Finally around 8:30pm a bucket loader and plow cleared a single-lane snow chute down the street, so I knew then that I could garage the M37 and take the Rubicon to work.

Tiring day and evening yet amusing all the same...
Thanks for letting me ramble,
Gary

[ashyers]

Gary,
Looks like you had some fun! This gets me:

" Once freed they backed it into another driveway so we could get by-no "thank you" or anything-that's the 21 Century, boys and girls."

I run into the same issue constantly and it's BS. What's up with people?!?!?!

Andy

[sturmtyger380]

Because they feel everyone owes them something! Don't get me started.

[HingsingM37]

Sounds like quite the snowy adventure. Nothing like the M37 ruling the snowy road.

In a odd way I kind of miss the challenge of snowy travel....

Those folks you pulled out in the Kia Soul were probably frightened by the "toxic Masculinity" of your army truck

[ashyers]

Gary,
You going to come pull out Hilde and I next month?

https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/cto/d/ ... 33053.html

Seems you have the perfect credentials and vehicle and chains .

Andy

[rickf]

I used to get the same thing in the woods, all happy and smiles to see that winch show up and forgot everything once out. Well, I have a long memory and I KNOW these are the kind of people that do NOT learn from their mistakes. Yup, I have run across more than one of them stuck again in the woods. Funny thing is that they always remembered me as the guy that pulled them out the last time but never remembered that once out they just drove off. Well, I reminded them. I would say, "Looks like you got yourself stuck again, did you learn anything from the last time?" And the answer was always "I guess not". That was my chance to remind them they also forgot to say thanks and I would get in my Jeep and drive around them and drive off down the trail about a mile or so. And yes, I could hear all the names I was being called. But I had a plan, I sat there for a while and then I drove back to just within sight of them and stopped. Just so they could see me and inevitably one of them would walk back and ASK if I could pull them out. Now keep in mind that I will NEVER leave anyone stranded in the woods no matter how much they deserve to be left to their own devices. I will tell them to give me one good reason to pull them out after doing it once and not being thanked and then this time being called all kinds of names and NOW you want me to pull you out? Why should I? I wanted to and succeeded in making them feel lower than snail snot! This was a hard pull even for me with many, many years of experience. They would not have gotten out with the average newbie with a winch driving by. And they fully realized it. I was not only thanked but apologized to by all involved.

In a second recovery just to show total contrast I came across four trucks in the woods in the winter. Two were stuck in frozen deep water filled mud holes, one had died a while before and they had been towing it and only one truck was still mobile and trying to get the two unstuck. This is in the Jersey Pinelands and these people were from Patterson NJ! These were gangbangers which I did not know when my girlfriend and I pulled up on the scene at close to midnight. They were far from home and way far from their element! 4 guys and 4 girls and only three of them spoke English and my Spanish is terrible! Once I was there I figured I am unarmed (this IS NJ) and they probably are armed. But they need help. Three of the guys are hypothermic, I get one that speaks English into my Jeep and the other two into the running vehicles to get warmed up so we can figure out a plan and keep everyone alive. He tells me they have been there for about three hours and are out of food, beer and water. I give them all the water I have. I don't have beer thankfully. These people were no threat at all, they were so happy that I stopped. Apparently three others saw the group and when they realized who they were they took off!
This was in the 70's! Things were nowhere near as bad back then. Long story short it took almost 2 hours to get the frozen in trucks out between my winch and the one running truck, 2 once we got one out. They were also lost and had no idea how to get out of there so I led them out to the highway and gave them directions to the Parkway. They all gathered for a meeting and the guy came back to me and said they took a collection and handed me close to 500.00! I told him no way, they needed help, I helped. He insisted. He said " from what you tell me we could have died there, we don't know this stuff and should not have been here, We owe you more than this but it is what we have." there was no taking it back. I never saw them or heard from them again.
Maybe these were bad people in Patterson or maybe they just gave the image but that night they sure proved that people CAN be thankful and gracious. That was one long cold night. The sun was coming up when we got home. It started out as an evening cruise through the woods.

[Cal_Gary]

Thanks All! Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures as the sun was dipping fast.

I don't know what happened to common courtesy when helping folks out-it's become lost in the generational changes I suppose. The Kia gal has always been stuffy-never returns a wave or greeting when we cross paths-always looks POed so I wasn't surprised to not receive a thank you response.

The tire chains made a real difference too, enough that I will pick up another set for the front wheels in the near future.

That's quite a story Rick, thanks for sharing!

Hope everyone is OK in Winter's grip.
Gary

[NAM VET]

I live in UpState SC, near Charlotte, and just can't take the cold anymore. I used to live in NE and KS, and well remember being wet and cold, blowing snow, shoveling, wind chill, and at my age (72) I really don't do much outside when cold which for me is maybe in the 40's or so. We get ice sometimes but rarely much snow. Southern folk have no idea how to drive on icy roads, either. Dangerous to venture out then. I have to deal with summer heat and humidity, but it is better for me than the cold. I just sold my much loved Jag, 15 years old, looked like new, and my wife told me to get something nice. I have had "performance" cars of one sort or another since I was a teen, so upon my son's suggestion, bought an Alfa Romeo Giulia, the Quadrifolio, with the 510 horsepower Ferrari engine. I just got it back from the detail shop, where I had the Xpel film applied to the front, and just love the car. Beautiful blue, fast, loud, various "race" modes, and all sorts of nice features. For security, added a 8 year warranty package.

I am heading down to Daytona Friday, a 14 year old grandson is flying out from Kansas City, taking him, and picking up my son and his 4 year old son south of Columbia, then picking up the other guys in GA, and will down in time for the preliminary races Friday. The Rolex is the premier 24 hour sports car race in the US, just a great time, all sorts of activities, BBQ, beer, trackside and garage excitement. Then Sunday, whip over to Orlando, where my grandson flies home, a hotel there for me, then a leisurely back road drive to our cottage near Charleston, and back home here later in the week. Chris and I have gone to the Rolex for almost 18 years now, always in one sports car or another. Our yearly event.

My own M37 is finally done, with the help of Charles Talbert, who is about a hundred miles up from me in NC. Looks great, runs great, and I drive it just about every day. A little choke, and it fires right up, idle to get the oil where it needs to be, and ease out and stay off engine load until I get some heat into the motor and oil. Runs great and pulls strongly at 40 mph.

My truck has been invited to the once a year Kiawah island car show. They have asked me to put the gun on and park in an area where folks can climb up and just have fun. It is a big event, lots of expensive and restored cars there, but no army vehicles. People are just fascinated by machine guns, at the last beach car show, people of all ages and even women just had to climb up and swing the gun around. I made up a dummy belt of 30 cal. Funny when moms holding babies say to me. "... here, hold my baby, I gotta get on that gun!" It is a seven hour drive the 200 plus miles down, all very rural back roads, and is in late April.

Oh, for now my prostate CA is in remission, completed my radiation and two years of chemo, and I see my oncologist every two months, so life is good.

Have a safe winter, and be safe out there. All the best, guys,......

NV

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[Cal_Gary]

Nice to hear from you Nam Vet! Believe me I was rethinking my love of snow, exhausting myself running the blower then dealing with the unexpected self-recovery and the other recovery job. Add driving the M37 with it's stock steering, manually tranny and brakes, and I was a whipped dog and still had to work my Grave shift that night. I certainly slept soundly the next day, and so glad to have the M37 as my back-up vehicle for the tough jobs.

I spent time at Ft. Riley in '79-'80 and dealt with that winter-windy and cold always chills one to the bone.

Best of luck with your health issues my friend!
Gary

[rickf]

Thanks All! Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures as the sun was dipping fast.

I don't know what happened to common courtesy when helping folks out-it's become lost in the generational changes I suppose. The Kia gal has always been stuffy-never returns a wave or greeting when we cross paths-always looks POed so I wasn't surprised to not receive a thank you response.

The tire chains made a real difference too, enough that I will pick up another set for the front wheels in the near future.

That's quite a story Rick, thanks for sharing!

Hope everyone is OK in Winter's grip.
Gary

Miss Stuffy and her Kia would have just stayed there in the drift. No danger there for her and she could call a tow truck. They don't care if you don't thank them, they will just charge more on the next call. I WOULD have been sure to wave to her on the way by though.

[just me]

I'd do the same, Rickf. My brother would help regardless and give me grief for not doing so.

[T. Highway]

Hi Gary,

That sounds like a fun snow adventure, better than going to the gym.

I was always amazed at what an M37 will motor through with chains on all four wheels. My first experience driving in deep snow was a bit intimidating but a great time and I agree with you that it was a great workout muscling the steering wheel at slow speed.
I remember it like it was yesterday, there was about 2' deep snow on the logging roads and drifts that packed the grille full of snow. I still think about the rough ride from the chains on the plowed pavement for the last leg of the trip, the shear noise of it all, the bouncing and strange looks etc as we passed through downtown Tomahawk WI.

Bert

[rickf]

The only downside to chains on all four is that if you ever get in really deep snow then the tires dig down to where the diffs bottom out and tire touch nothing but air. And MAN! Are you stuck then!!!!! I did many years ago with a 70 Bronco, no chains but same thing on a mountaintop road where the only other thing around were snowmobiles. I ran the battery down winching and was just about out when I stalled it. Now there I sit with a dead battery and a Paraplegic in the back seat so I can't just walk out! All the damn snow mobilers took off. Well, we sat there for about an hour and I figured it was a new battery so I had one try and one only, touched the gas for a little shot and hit the starter and it grunted but it did start. We sat there for a good hour just letting the battery charge and then winched out the last 50 feet. But that was with a light little Bronco, A tank of a M37 in the same position I don't know, it may have still been there at spring thaw!

[Cal_Gary]

Thanks for sharing your stories guys.
I too, thought I'd be in deep doo doo if I got the M stuck but each of these "road tests" helps my confidence with every successful trip. The only thing I didn't do was air down the tires on the way out, and figured it wouldn't be necessary once I chained up.

Waiting on the next storm since Winter Storm Jayden bypassed Utah-hope you folks up North are staying warm-Bert I know you're in the bulls-eye....
Gary

[rickf]

Airing down with chains on is not a good idea since it will allow the chains to get loose and work on the sidewalls too much. With chains the idea is to dig down not float on top. Airing down is for floating on top more than digging down. You will pretty much never have to worry about the scenario I had if you are on the road. It is if you are off road and you hit REALLY deep snow that you could have the severe high center issue. Severe as in the entire bottom of the truck is flat on the snow and the differentials are buried deep below it.
At that point is it still called high center or is it "tires no touchy bottom" issue?