Vancouver Island submerged truck recovery expedition

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What about some kind of air bladder that a diver puts inside the vehicle? Inflate the bladder and let the air do the heavy lifting. The vehicle should flip right side up in this process. Once it is floating on the surface, winch it in. That way you wouldnt be dragging across the bottom of the river.
 
I haven't noticed if he is on this thread, but I know Jim Brantley who owns "Knuckles" has a writeup on his website (realcruiser.com) about recovering and fj40 under similar conditions. He also has an email link if you wanted to contact him. Jim, if you're already following this, sorry, just trying to help. I give you my sympathies, Good luck!
 
Thanx for all the info and help. if it turns out that we cant get it out nicely i'll use the drive train in my amc gremlin. i dont know anyone with tractors other then my boss and he just laughed me back to work.
I know safty 1'st and i do have a snatch block to that will make a 8k into a 16k winch. i also have a friend with a chev on 39's. i think it will all be done by winch its just there is not much to anchor to. more divers the better safty safty. as farr as roling it under water i could stuff a bunch of air matresses in it and fill the with co2 from my welder bottle, like a king size watter bed bag would be good. that would displace the watter and make it a little mor boyent for the flip. thanx for the input.
 
Contact your local fire and rescue station. I bet ya they would love to help you out. I know our group is always looking for a chance to play with our nifty gear. Were we can practice our rescue techniques in a controlled environment. Never hurts to ask and you might be very surprised!

Good luck
Post pics
 
a whoa. i see nothing but tragedy here. no right minded diver aside from a navy seal is gonna have much to do with that for very long or at least not while that winch or winches have pressure on their cables. and i see that 60 rolling over, catching current, and pulling in the tow vehicle too, along with whatever its tied down to. and on top of that i can imagine the canadian epa getting into the act because by now your gasoline and oil is all out into the water along with all the other fluids.

sucks dude. now let me get this straight: you were out wheeling at 2:30 in the morning after driving around town (and im not going to speculate on what you were doing up till 2am that would make you think it a good idea to go down to the river to test out your rig in the middle of the night) and you went all the way down some hairy a$$ trail and into 15 feet of water. right?

i think a proper burial is in order. video please.

sorry to hear but man in retrospect the same things must be going through your mind as mine. and i hate to see someone killed or another vehicle sucked into what is essentiallly bottomless rescue resistant situation.

and again, as a diver for many years, though mostly tropical warm waters, i wouldnt even get in the water in the vicinity of that thing with a winch connected to it and pulling. cold water plus depth plus current plus winch line plus steep dirt and stone incline = death if youre not careful.

anyway i guess if it were mine i might be tempted to rescue it at any cost but then when i thought a bit more "any cost" might be a problem. its only a toyota fj60 after all...plenty more where that one came from.

have you checked your insurance policy to see if it covers water damage?


one love
jah bill
 
dudes, if the truck is *in* the water, then the water inside doesn't weigh anything, so to speak, (until you get out of the water). Drag on the outside yes, inertia yes, weight inside no... Buoyancy and all that, ya know... :D

no matter, I feel your pain ! Damn, it it weren't so bad, I'd almost say "this thread is worthless without pics..."


watch what you are doing, and be safe!
 
its a bj60. and i know it sounds scetchy, but you would have to see it the river (creek) is not fast and chucking another truck in the drink is not an opction, the diver just has to hook the chain to the frame and he can get right out of the water. i think if we role the truck into the current it wont get away. the truck with the winch will be hooked up so it will not move. and as far as the why we where out. it was a test drive that got way out of hand, no booz as i was just getting over an Illness
 
to calm all the nerves of any people that are in a state of panic. the plan is to go out there as if we are going to get it out and use the divers to reasses the situation and see what we can do. anything is worth a shot. and if it is to scetchy than so be it. i do know all this rain is not going to make it any easier.
thanks for all the input there will be beer for the people that can come and help, but after the action is done as to play it safe.
 
pictures....
 
honestly, if you think a king size matress filled with co2 will help in retreiving your cruiser, you might as well throw some daisys at it right now, and to also prevent anyone from getting killed
 
FWIW, my bestfriend years ago was "driving around" (long story short) and went though a frozen lake a swim and a sprint he calls me, I circle the wagons. The truck, about 40y from shore, on sandy bottom, I would say depth at 15-20'. Lots of manpower, chainsaws, axes, chain, and adreneline! We cut a pathway though the ice and into pieces, my friend agian-went for a swim (we now had a large bonfire) to set the hook! My (then) 1ton locked 44's and 10,000lb. winch started the pull with a block, it pulled my truck about 5' in the sand before I anchored to 2 other rigs and out it came! GO SLOW, I repeat GO SLOW, this is NOT the time to be in a hurry.

His rig was a '79 Ford 1/2T PU on 39's, so, it can be done. I will say, and as others have- the current would scare the $h!t outta me! As a fisherman, I know rivers, when a river looks lazy-its not! its still moving the same amount of water.

Oh and BTW he rebuilt his truck, PLEASE DO be carefull, and next time- extend you breathers and get a snorkle- those things are not just for malls!:flipoff2:
 
It weighs 4000 lbs give or take, right? You only have to displace 500 gallons of water to float the fuquer. Get a gas-powered compressor on a tube and three or four big-ass balloons. If it's 20' deep it'll flip over by itself on the way up.

You could inflate some $100 kiddy rafts inside it...
 
And I'd probably not post photos or videos of the recovery. Heck, I'd delete this thread after I got the help I needed. No need to alert everyone who has an ax to grind with 4wd folks.
 
Ping pong balls and lots of them...

Somebody else watches Mythbusters. :cool:
I thought of that yesterday afternoon... but thought their boat was probably lighter with more interior area than a bj60.
 
Could vicarious liability be extended to internet forum advice? Does this cruiser really have to go up a vertical embankment to escape the river? I've got to witness some recovery stuff go very, very wrong before and this s*** sounds sketchy. Have fun.

I remember hearing:

How high's the water, mama?
Twenty feet high and risin'
How high's the water, papa?
Twenty feet high and risin'

We can make it to the road in a homemade boat
That's the only thing we got left that'll float
It's already over all the brews and the trucks,
Twenty feet high and risin'
 
tow line

I have appx 60ft of towline (from a tug) its at least 2" 12braid or better and has pulled lots so if ya need it for the recovery would work well for tieing down the winch vehicle. Just a thought.
2 conditions don't cut it and I want it back!
 
Not to sound rude, but what is the point of saving this 60? It has been underwater for some time now, and to me it sounds totally worthless.

Zack

The beauty of it is that it'll be easier to get driving again than the famous Top Gear Hilux. The river water won't hurt it any.

I'd love to be along for the recovery. It can't be as bad as the DOCA unimog that ended up upside down in a 30 ft gully near here.
 
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