Bad decisions make great memories...eventually.

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Wow! Yeah, that would have done it. I didn't know I could hold a bead under 12 psi. How does that pressure work on rocks and ledges?

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15 PSI in an 80 is no problem. I've driven miles on the highway out of necessity or laziness at 15psi but try to keep the speed to 50 or so. I use 18 in Moab rocks.

In the snow your traction would be remarkably better, but it's just as well you didn't air down, or you might have made it even further before you got stuck. Then you'd really be in a pickle.
 
Yeah, right? Refer to lessons learned: With great power comes great responsibility. Just because you can doesn't mean you should.
 
Cruiserdrew said:
15 PSI in an 80 is no problem. I've driven miles on the highway out of necessity or laziness at 15psi but try to keep the speed to 50 or so. I use 18 in Moab rocks.

In the snow your traction would be remarkably better, but it's just as well you didn't air down, or you might have made it even further before you got stuck. Then you'd really be in a pickle.
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Driven from Pismo to LA on 15psi because I was tired and too lazy to fill up. :P
 
Yoink! [The sound of a paradigm being shifted]
 
airing down might get you out of a pickle, or if you pop the bead put you into more of one...
 
White Stripe said:
I have a app on my phone that uses GPS only and no data. Often times the trails in Moab are on it. If I get lost I just setmy destination as moab, and it gives the route.
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What app is that?
 
Motion-X will do that if you preload the (free) maps. A surprising number of trails do come up. It's actually a very useful program for establishing .GPX tracks of where you went. Easy to then share your tacks with others directly from the program.
 
MDarius said:
What app is that?
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It's called mapfactor GPS navigation. U have to download the maps by state onto your phone first. So I downloaded Utah some time ago on mine. Whenever I go wheeling out of state, I download that states map file before I leave. I also have my home state map file of Colorado saved. Also, b4 I leave I have key destinations saved. For example the town of moab, or my home address. It's easier to select these while u have data signal, otherwise u have to enter the destination exactly as its entered in the internal map storage. Still, worse case scenario u can zoom way out, and figure a route out on your own at least. A few months ago a group of us got turned around trying to get off the trail. I turned the app on, selected my home address that was saved, and it gave me turn by turn directions. I had never been on the route it took us, but sure enough it got us back to town and in decent time. I just use the free version FYI. It's helped me in Moab several times. Typically I leave it on while on the trail so I know we aren't going the wrong way.
 
Dang dude. If my son and I had made it through there we could've used my chains or ham radio. :cheers:

Or we could've fired up the grill, had some bison burgers, drank a few beers, done some "campooting" (term I just learned yesterday), and headed back out in the morning.

Or we could've gotten even more fubar...
 
Roostre said:
For the same reason as you... we have upgraded to DeLorme. The transmitter is 5 times as powerful as the spot. More $$$, but how much is your families safety worth?

DeLorme has been flawless and worth every penny.

Glad to hear that you made it out OK. It could have been much worse.
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yup, I have a delorme in reach, don't get to use it often but when I go hiking alone or 4x4 w my daughter my wife likes to be able to comm with us. It works great to talk back and forth with her via text. I really like it because it is BOTH a communication device AND an emergency beacon.
 
This is one of the better threads I have read on Mud because it explains what can happen to you even when you think you are prepared. I wheel alone ALOT! I have had some really long walks and I built my rig out specifically to avoid those walks. If more people share what they learned from experiences like this, we will all be better wheelers.

Thanks very much for your frankness and honesty. It is a lot easier to post up photos and videos where you are having fun and all is well. It is a lot tougher to post of pictures where you put your life and the life of other at risk!

I put up a thread yesterday inviting this sort of story telling so that Mud can become an educational site not just for building an awesome rig but also an educational site for how to use it effectively!

How to drive an 80-series off-road
 
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Cruiserdrew said:
How about 1 more lesson-don't go by yourself! Good on you though for making sound decisions once you were stuck and in a bad spot.

The wheel cocked to the right is concerning. It usually means you have twisted the steering box sector shaft, so examine the spines above the pittman arm with great attention.

Great story though. So I'm trying to visualize this--you left the Devil's Kitchen area headed toward Beef basin at nearly dark? To get out of there you need to climb to the top of Elk Ridge and traverse that for miles until you get to the road to Blanding. I've been in snow there in May, so my guess is that would have been a no go. And it's a stout climb out of Beef Basin with lots of exposed uphill turns and the like.

There's also the Bobby's Hole/Impossible Hill thing before you even get to Beef Basin. With snow. Dang-ambitious to say the least.
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I have heard this advice from people many times on Mud "don't wheel alone". Having had really long walks alone I understand why you recommend it. Here is the rub. I hunt in the most remote places I can find. Most people don't hunt there because they can't get in and out which means it is a better place to hunt. I work all the time and find it difficult (impossible) to schedule my hunts or my wheeling expeditions around the calendar openings of others. That means I wheel alone in the middle of nowhere. It happens to others as well I am sure. I learn from every thread like this and really appreciate those who are willing to post them up.
 
Corbet said:
In hindsight it goes down as a great adventure right?

My Delorme InReach has always gotten my messages out within a couple minutes at its slowest. I've not yet had to hit the SOS button. They only thing that has been a little finickey is he pairing with my phone. I've used it from Devil's Kitchen.

I'd say your worst decision was heading out solo. (One truck). We all do it though. I had an under hood electrical fire the last time I did. Could have stranded my son and I a few miles from the nearest hope of help at the minimum. I was able to put it out and continue without loosing the truck, luckily.

Snow wheeling is sketchy at best. Done it for fun a few times. Don't much like it. But learned some things that will come in handily someday when it counts. I generally carry one pair of chains after October 1 regardless of weather forecasts.
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Be nice to hear what you learned!
 
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