TurboTJ
Full Access Member
Went out snow wheeling today in Northern Colorado. We had a snow storm come through last night and dump close to a foot of fresh snow for a nice soft top layer.
I was excited to try out my new tires chains which did work pretty well though they took me over an hour to put on. I would like to find a tire offset or different rim that would allow me to run chains on the front but for now they are just in the rear.
Story:
We were doing a final run up my favorite high speed summer time trail. The snow varied from about a foot to 18” with some 36” drifts. Blazing trail, we blew passed the spot where a lifted land cruiser had gotten stuck and turned around just an hour or so prior. Damn this truck is amazing!!!
After a few miles of climbing, we came across a recently downed tree. Just after getting there, this 20 year old kid (who I later learned is visiting from Florida) rolls up on the other side of the downed tree on a snowmobile asking me to call 911. He had his helmet still on so I put it on speaker and called. As I listen to the conversation, I realize that his buddies (who are apparently from Texas) ran out of gas on one of the four snowmobiles and the other one got stuck less than half a mile up the trail. Hardly a situation for search and rescue. Hearing 911 starting to send rescuers, we decide we can handle it and talk the kid off the phone.
I threw a tow strap around the downed tree and drug it off the trail. Problem 1 solved!
We went up the trail expecting to pull the snowmobile out with my Raptor to find that they hadn’t even gotten off of it to get it unstuck. When the throttle didn’t work, they gave up. “Stuck was an exaggeration. We wrangled it a bit until it drove out under its own power. Problem 2 solved!
They tried towing the empty snowmobile out with another snowmobile but got stuck on the next incline. I ended up towing the inoperative snowmobile the rest of the way back. Problem 3 solved!
As I got my tow strap and took off my chains, we chatted a bit. Once they told me where they were from it made a lot more sense.
Lessons learned:
Questions:
I was excited to try out my new tires chains which did work pretty well though they took me over an hour to put on. I would like to find a tire offset or different rim that would allow me to run chains on the front but for now they are just in the rear.
Story:
We were doing a final run up my favorite high speed summer time trail. The snow varied from about a foot to 18” with some 36” drifts. Blazing trail, we blew passed the spot where a lifted land cruiser had gotten stuck and turned around just an hour or so prior. Damn this truck is amazing!!!
After a few miles of climbing, we came across a recently downed tree. Just after getting there, this 20 year old kid (who I later learned is visiting from Florida) rolls up on the other side of the downed tree on a snowmobile asking me to call 911. He had his helmet still on so I put it on speaker and called. As I listen to the conversation, I realize that his buddies (who are apparently from Texas) ran out of gas on one of the four snowmobiles and the other one got stuck less than half a mile up the trail. Hardly a situation for search and rescue. Hearing 911 starting to send rescuers, we decide we can handle it and talk the kid off the phone.
I threw a tow strap around the downed tree and drug it off the trail. Problem 1 solved!
We went up the trail expecting to pull the snowmobile out with my Raptor to find that they hadn’t even gotten off of it to get it unstuck. When the throttle didn’t work, they gave up. “Stuck was an exaggeration. We wrangled it a bit until it drove out under its own power. Problem 2 solved!
They tried towing the empty snowmobile out with another snowmobile but got stuck on the next incline. I ended up towing the inoperative snowmobile the rest of the way back. Problem 3 solved!
As I got my tow strap and took off my chains, we chatted a bit. Once they told me where they were from it made a lot more sense.
Lessons learned:
- Tire chains do help but the Raptor was more capable without chains than the excursion coming along with chains on all 4. Pretty amazing.
- Always bring recovery gear. I ended up using tow straps, soft shackles and traction boards.
- A chainsaw is cheap insurance against being stranded due to a fallen tree. I’ve had to remove three that were blocking a trail just in the last two years.
- We need to stop Floridians and Texans at the CO border! Didn’t Trump mention Colorado getting a wall at some point?? When is that coming??
Questions:
- Is there a way to get a real locker in the front? It took some time for the front diff to lock up and you could hear it.
- How can I get chains on the front tires? Is there any rim offset, suspension changes or tire sizes that would allow this?
- Snow wheeling is too much fun! What else can I do to make my Raptor better at it? Taller skinnier tires? Leveling kit for some more clearance?
- I would feel a lot better with a winch. It looks like the only warranty-friendly way to get one is with a hitch. Any good looking front bumpers with hitches?
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