Had a near miss while out riding the other day. My dad and 4 year old son were with me and we took a road that dad used to take me on "just around the mountain..." A 1 hour ride turned into a 6 hour $225 nightmare. As we began our final descent to the paved road (1st mistake...should've started out going up, not down) I hit a long stretch of red Georgia mud and my little bronc turned sideways and no steer/countersteer would straighten it out. After nearly tipping over a couple of times, it stopped and Dad and my son got out. With a little coaxing from Dad, I attempted to straighten out and ended up sliding further down and really began to tip. The rear driver's side and front passenger side tires were off the ground and the bronc began to tip over on the passenger side. Dad grabbed the left rear bumper and had just enough weight to pull it back down to the ground. I pulled forward somehow (by the Grace of God I am sure) and my little bronc came to rest at the edge of a 7 feet deep hole, just large enough to nicely swallow it. OK, good, I am out and watering the nearest tree. Now what? I can't go forward any more because I am pointed up a large rock that is almost too slick too walk on and I am sure too slick to drive over and risk sliding off into the washout or rolling over completely. My cell phone had no service. I could barely make the local ham radio repeater in Toccoa, Georgia, but was finally able to get someone to call my Mom so she could go pick up Dad and Jr. (we were about 3 miles from the house and they went to walk home for help). A good samaritan volunteered to come pull me back up the hill but got his new blazer stuck and when he got there, he didn't have a winch . Someone else in a full size power ram showed up but would not attempt it. Finally in another county dad found a 4x4 wrecker that knew the area and he finally arrived around 10pm after having a tough time getting to me (I am surprised at how tough these little boogers are) after winching me out little by little backwards, I was finally able to get some traction and at the urging of the wrecker driver drove hard and furious backwards till I got to the top...30 seconds of sheer terror and another trip to the far side of a tree... I followed the wrecker back out to the main road and had an easier time getting out than he did (wrecker was a chevy as well).

The wrecker charged $225 for his trouble and fortunately for me, my little Bronco 2 has no damage at all.

What I learned:
1. Stop and check out the trail around the curve.
2. Make sure you have some sort of communication.
3. Have a bottle of water or something to drink with you.
4. Take a flashlight or 2 with good batteries.
5. Don't drive beyond your skill level.
6. If in doubt, turn around.
7. Be careful.

I am sure there are a lot more things to consider. Any more suggestions?

 

same kinda thing happend in my brothers full size we were gunna turn around and when we drove over this area which had water flowing over it we sank in like 2 feet. it was the muddyest stuff i have ever been in and it was that groos mud in like a wash that smells like poop. to the right was a cliff so we has to becafull. when we tried to move the cliff side was giving away(scary). me and a friend had to stand in this mud and we just went in rev, forward over and over. i did not want to be stuck in the middle of nowhere we didnt even know how to tell somone to get to us. yes be prepared for the worst always

 

Long handled fiberglass spade type shovel, high lift jack, axe, bow saw, (2) 2"x12" x2' pressure treated lumber. All this fits right on the roof rack.

 

These little B2's are awsome, and if equiped can keep up with anything on the trail. Their short wheel base will cause what you experienced. Side slip. If you slip, stop your tire spin immediatly, hopefully you will get some grip. Get out and investigate as you stated. Iv seen Jeeps do 180's on a trail cause the guy gave it to much gas, and his tires were too big, they had no bite because the contact patch was to big for the wooded terain we were on. I show'd him and his buddies how to do it, no wheel spin, 20 psi air pressure, smooth throttle, and pick a good line. Took them from 3 to 6 tries, there were 4 of them, I made it up first try on a trail they had butchered. The looks and remarks were priceless to me, and we all had a good time.

Get a come-a-long, you could use it to straighten yourself out on the trail, $40-80 at most hardare stores. Tow ropes, hooks, shackles etc. You still havn't spent $150. You can mount the hooks on the front frame rail, and cut holes in the air dam. Im lucky I have two OHV parks here in Indiana, and have had the benefit of skilled people to learn from. Try not to ride alone.. and keep on wheeling.

 

One of my suggestions would actually be to leave your 4 year old at home while 4 wheeling. I take mine with me but only when I have no chance of getting in that kind of predicament. Not raggin ya by any means its just that if you are like me my kids are my life. Sure sounds like ya had fun though. Aint the adrenaline rush great. LOL. Been a while since I have done it myself and I miss it. Last time I got stuck in a swamp and the water poured from the drivers side out the passenger side. Lost a starter, universal joints went bad right after that, water pump (dont ask me why it went right after that, and a alternator. The ole girl squealed so bad from all the water that I actually thought a train was beside me while running alongside the tracks. This is my daily driver though and its getting to be too expensive to do this. Glad to hear everything turned out ok for ya. Good luck, have fun and be safe.

 

If I had known what a mess I would end up with, I wouldn't have gone, much less take jr. It is a state road and there was no indication that anything like that was ahead. Yea, kinda fun but scared the crap out of me. I talked to dad this morning and he said that there are gates at either end of the road now. That's sad because it was a great ride up to that point. Maybe they will open back up part of it.

 

Add wheel chains to the above list. They will provide traction when nothing else will work. Try them at home before going into the field to be sure you have enough clearance between the tire and wheel well. Two sets (all 4 wheels) beats one. If I am using only one set, I prefer using them on the front, but with the B-II penchant for swappng ends, rear mounting may be best, especially if going downhill.