BEWARE of HEAVY front end in mud!!!

[mackey_62]

To all,

Mods, may be off-topic, but referring to weight of motor.

First real off-road experince this weekend, didn't go so good.

Spreading topsoil Sun. got a phonecall from buddy w/ F250SD (gasser). Stuck in field where he's looking to buy land. He wanted to see how land looked between meadows, overgrown pasture/woods, 5' tall golden-rods etc.. Anyway he made it about 200' off meadow which is pretty good considering.....you'll see later.

So, looking forward to marchin in there, show him what 300/520 feels like getting pulled around, feelin pretty tough even thought about bringin camera. So, I have to back in, don't want broken chains smashin front end. Notice immediately that 3" of rain last Fri. has left things pretty soft.

So, give it a try with nylon strap, get about 5' run in 2nd gear. Get him about 5' my trucks sinkin!
Unhook, rock it a little, get out, straddle last ruts, try again. Same thing except added 20' of chain, same results move another 5', truck sinks.
Try to rock it, no rock :(
That 300/520 motor has pushed me down!! About a foot, back end is only down about 2". I'm STUCK!

Call my brother, he's home washing his K2500HD gasser. Better tires than the skateboard wheels, he snags me out pretty easy. Try the F*^# again, another 5'. He's almost completly out, but still stuck :confused: :confused: What the frick, his truck sucks!!! I'm stuck in same manner as before, another set of ruts, brother pulls me out.

No more high spots to pull from. Last option, break trail through golden-rod for new, dry ground. Not my truck, brother not interested either. Go get buddies plow truck (also K2500) got pretty good tires, not worried about driving through brush. Snags it out no problem with a couple good yanks with strap, actually had to pull him about 50' till he could move himself.

Here's the best part, after getting him out, were noticing no mud inside front wheel-wells :confused: . MORON had frickin hubs unlocked :mad:

Anyway, beware, the front end of your truck will sink, right out of sight!!! At least we dont have to worry about front lock-outs.

So, going home tonight to wash 300# of mud off my black beauty. Front PYO's solid black too.

I did manage to put about 50# of mud on his tailgate :D Hopefully alot of people see it before he washes it off.

Man, should of bought them TrXus's months ago!!!
Lesson learned!

[MountainMax]

I'm usually either in Texas or Colorado. I would love to have one of those big HEAVY RanchHand front bumpers after taking out a grill once with a deer and once with tire debris that flew of a truck. However, since I go offroad quite a bit. I've learned alot about front end weight. I some times carry portable air bottle to be able to deflate my tires for a wider footprint and then reinflate. What most people don't understand about the heavy aftermarket bumpers is this: Say the bumper weighs 200lbs. Thats 200lbs if it were mounted DIRECTLY over the front axel. When you move its position 2 feet in front of the axel, the axel acts as a fulcrum and leverages the weight. The effective weight becomes even greater. Add this to the weight of the diesel engine and the front end sinks like a rock in mud and sand. (putting a strain on the DURAMAX ENGINE(topic)) ;) Therefore my front end is naked (the truck) so I don't sink into a mud bog and ruin my DURAMAX ENGINE :D
I gotta figure out how to mount a wench across my naked front end..... that houses my DURAMAX ENGINE :D

[ 09-30-2002: Message edited by: MountainMax ]</p>

[DieselEnvy]

I agree mackey_62 about diesel engine front-end weight. My buddy got his 199? F-350 Powerstroke stuck in the mud, and it was a BEAR to get it out! :mad:

[sdaver]

I GOTTA 15000 LB WARN WINCH....GET YA ONE...WHAT I HAVE DONE IS OFFERED TO PAY FOR THE BUDDIES WRECKER ........SOMETIMES ITS CHEAPER THAN THE CAR WASH.........SNATCHING IS THE BEST WAY I KNOW TO BREAK DRIVE LINE COMPONETS. I THINK THAT IF I BUSTED A TCASE OR ALUM. DRIVESHAT I WOULD HAVE HURT SOMEBODY OVER UNLOCKED HUBS. SOUNDS LIKE HE SHOULD BE DRIVE A F*&D........DAVE.......PS THE WINCH FITS ON MY FRONT RECIEVER (OR REAR) SO I DONT HAVE TO CARRY IT AROUND ALL YEAR. :D

[Pizza Man]

Sdaver...Do you have pics of your winch? Did you say you have the multi mount for front or rear?

[gardnerteam]

My 02 CC 4X4 weighs a total of 9200 lbs with Ruenel type front bumper with Warn 15000 (weighs close to 500), plus 1/2 plate rear bumper (weighs close to 300), canopy, tool box, 60 gal fuel tank. I ran it through Guatemalan mud to where I packed mud against the underneath so badly it took two Guatemalans all day to clean it out. Yes, I have used the winch many times to pull it through mud bogs, but the truck does as well as any truck I've had (all CC 4X4 since 80)if you keep it moving, keep tire pressures at 25 to 30 (lots of flex), drive it with the throttle, and don't bottom out. My only problem was dragging the undercarriage. Upon my return, I put on a 4" lift (6" makes it a little unstable for my use) and hopefully that will solve dragging mud. I am also considering taking a set of Trxus with me next time. Heavy vehicles, properly equipped, can handle deep mud very well. Mud I can handle, what I do not like is Mexican rivers running through my cab seat cushion high and getting a wet butt.

[sdaver]

I BUILT THE MOUNT. IT HAS HANDLES ON EACH SIDE. IT HAS A WARN QUICK RELEASE (POWER)PLUG FITS IN EITHER RECIEVER FRONT OR REAR. PRETTY HEAVY BUT I CAN INSTALL IN EITHER END BY MY SELF...........I WILL TAKE A PICTURE AND POST......ALSO THE POWER PLUG FITS A 30' SET OF JUMPER CABLES....I USE TO CRANK HEAVY EQUIPMENT WITH................DAVE :D

[mackey_62]

Well, got the mud off, man I don't want to do this again for awhile. An hour with pressure washer, then another hour regular cleaning (I found one disadvantage to running boards, they hold a lot of mud underneath)
Geesh, I remember when I liked muddin...no more!
Back then I was driving ??? aah it don't matter, but it cost a lot less than this one (NO, not a F*^#)

SDaver,
You don't like snatchin?? Man, done it many times plowing. I mentioned it was a strap, 4" nylon? Never feel a thing, Hands-down better than direct pulling with chain or whatever.

Gardenteam,
What's your cell#, I'm calling you next time based solely on your experience.

And as far as the winch idea... Nope, unless you had about 300' to reach the nearest 6" elm. Lots of prickers and weeds though.