Horror Stories & Solutions

[simpleton7016]

I am new to the 6x6 world and have less than an hour invested in driving my Terra Tiger in a snow y terrain in my yard. This machine and a few others will eventually "live" up at my cottage in central Wisconsin. The terrain is marshy. A very slow moving river with hundreds of acre's of backwater and murky muck. It is basically in the heart of "cranberry bog" USA.

I expect that I will get stuck a good number of times....or worse yet, that my boys will get them stuck /andor suffer catastophic failures far far from home base. I know that I will definitely need to invest in a winch and walkie talkie's. And I will likely curse the fact that the Terra Tigers do not have reverse many, many times.

I am very interested in hearing other folks horror stories and how they solved them. How do you get your machine out of horrendous situations far from home?

[Jeff t-boss]

Until you establish good reliable paths, you might consider not going out alone. If one is available, have someone ride with you in another 6x6 or quad. That way you are not stranded and helpless. Definately have your winch in good working order, and take along 1 or 2 come-a-longs. As well as a shovel and (I carry) 50ft of extra cable or rope. You might also want to check out portable anchor points (I'm checking this myself) incase there is nothing to tie to. Put together a small tool box of basic hand tools and spare cotter pins/bolts/ MASTER CHAIN LINKS/roll pins etc. Try and get an idea as to your fuel consumption before you venture. Limit yourself to 1/2 of that going out, then head in. I carry 1 extra gallon incase my guestimates are too far off. Cell phone would be good incase you get out of radio reach too. In strange/unfamiliar areas, I use this idea to help avoid sinking or getting TOO stuck. "When in doubt, GET OUT!" It saved me plenty of times until I got a good feel for my 6x6 and the terrain. DO NOT FORGET TO PUT YOUR DRAIN PLUGS IN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I litterally sank mine once (only to the seats WHICH WAS DEEP ENOUGH!) not because I forgot, but because I didn't tighten 1 enough and the brush pulled it out. Really get to know your machine and how what makes it work before you venture out too far. And here's an odd idea; call me!!, I'm in West Allis. lol! You'll have fun and learn as you go. We all did/do. In that we get better and have more fun and less hastle and frustration. I went out with dkonset late last summer and learned alot about winching as we spent more time stuck than moving. (Actually it was more me stuck than don) But we did have a good time neither of us had to spend the next days piecing our toys back together. I almost forgot a REALLY IMPORTANT ITEM. Take a simple first aid kit for those cuts and scratches you'll get.

[KRRZ350]

Put together a small tool box of basic hand tools and spare cotter pins/bolts/ MASTER CHAIN LINKS/roll pins etc.

Make sure it also has a rag, quik-steel, visegrips, and duct tape. Seriously, those are 4 of the 5 things I never ride without (the other is a helmet).

[brushcutter]

Since you have no reverse, you might consider a reciever hitch set-up on your winch/tigers. That way you can winch yourself either direction, as needed. One thing that I built for my 950 was a giant "fishook", when I would get stuck I would pull out enough cable to reach anything suitable for an anchor and hurl the thing at it, saved a lot of wading and dragging a line through the muck. No machine that I know of has a place where extra ground clearance is stored, and amphibs need all we can get, so the biggest tires your machine can handle is a big help. As you ride, try to take a slightly different "line" each trip across boggy ground, this will keep you from cutting deep ruts that will eventually stick you. Happy riding....

[Rock Doctor]

A SPOT personal tracking unit is VERY cheap insurance. If for some reason you do get badly stuck, or broke down, one push of a button will notify your choice of rescuers, and provide your EXACT location, with a Google Map indicating your position. Works for me, as we have limited cell coverage, and spotty Sat Phone coverage at best. A SPOT Locator will still work in areas where Sat Phones will not.
Also, for more local help calls, you might consider keeping "Bear Bangers" with the machine. Walkie Talkie's are OK for "Line of Sight", but in the bush or hills, a Bear Banger can be heard for MILES.

RD

[whipper-ag]

Here's my Horror story,
My first date with the Model citizen was in a Max II.
The story never ends.
Whipper

[McCoy]

Not really a horror story, but more of major inconvenience. I was about 4 mi in the woods with my 4 year old son, 1 year old daughter, and 3 year old nephew & popped a front tire off the rim. It was getting dark, and luckily, I was able to get a friend to bring me what I needed to get the tire back on the rim. Now, I always carry a small compressor and a can of ether to get a tire back on the rim. I also carry a toolbag with an assortment of tools. And a 40 cal Glock, just in case.

McCoy

[countrycummins99]

My horror story was me and two of my buddies took my max out the day after i bought it got several miles from mu house when two of the chains on the driver side snapped leaving us stranded with no tools and no means to get back. Right about that time a group of quads past us and decided they would be nice enough to two us back. Now if you ever tried towing a 6x6 with a 4x4 its not fun we had to get out and keep turning the direction we wanted to go. my worst experience to date!! not to mention i got towed by a 4x4 what a disgrace

[Bw6]

Ok, this is embarrassing. My friend Cam & I decided to do a little exploring in the area we ride in. This time we wanted to check out 4 beaver ponds in series, the surrounding area was dense Northern Ontario bush. Cam had his Argo Frontier and I had my Hoot with Frontier tires mounted. We were about 10 minutes into the trip on the second beaver pond, when I thought I noticed the Hoot was getting slower, I looked down and I thought I could hear water sloshing sounds, I yelled to Cam who was about 50 yards ahead, he looked back and only to see my head above the water! Dang I forgot to put the plug in. So here I was still on the Hoot with it sitting on the bottom. Cam came to the rescue and did we ever have a laugh, although a little embarrassing (but no cameras), we had to figure a way to get the Hoot out.

Cam had about 100 ft. of rope so we tied up and headed to the closed shore (300 yards), finally with me half swimming, half riding we made it to shore. Now if you ever tried to get a machine filled with water up on the bank to drain it you know what a job that was. Well we finally got it up enough to drain and bail it out (no bilge pump). Well now how do we get back out of the bush. We tried towing but the area was so thick with trees/brush that it would take a week to get out, we had to get it started. The engine was running when it went under, so I removed the spark plug and asked Cam to see if any water would come out when I turned it over (knowing what would happen) he got his head in there and a hose of water came out and squirted him real good. After laughing our heads off, I put a new plug in, added some oil to the water/oil mixture, drained the float, and hoped for the best.

Well after considerable cranking it came to life! White then blue smoke so thick I couldn't see Cam anymore, but a perfect bug fogger, we must have killed every bug within 1/4 mile. I carefully kept the engine running, until the blue smoke cleared up a bit, and then left it idle, while everything dried up. The amazing part was no water entered the gas tank! I checked the plug and guess what NO PLUG, it was gone! So I carved a new one with a good taper on it and banged it in. It was starting to get dark and we wanted to get out, so the fastest way was over the water the same way we came in. So with Cam leading the way, a short rope tied to the Hoot, we hit the water and made it back. It sure was nice to hit terra firma.

[Jeff t-boss]

BW6; I like that. Actually would have enjoyed being there with you.
On my virgin run, I got the boss stuck/wedged between two trees on a steep hill (nose down) at the end of A CITY STREET 1/4 MILE FROM MY HOUSE AT 2AM AND BROKE A MAIN DRIVE CHAIN ON BOTH SIDES. (Keep in mind that this is bar closing time in Wisconsin when the cops are looking for drunk drivers.) Obviousely renderred me helpless. After multiple cuts through peoples back yards for failing attempts/tools to self recover, I decided to just get the truck and drag it home. (By city street came to be about 1 1/2 miles) I got the truck and managed to pull the boss back on the street. I wrestled it to turn it around and hooked it up to the truck. Mind you, I only had a chain to tow with. You mentioned trying to steer a towed 6x6 in your post. Let me tell you, I KNOW WHAT YOU MEAN!!!! As I headed home, I remember watching my mirrors and seeing the 6x6 just swaying across 4 TRAFFIC LANES LIKE A FLAG IN THE WIND!! I was praying it wouldn't riccochet off of any of the parked vehicles on the sides. Luckily, I/we made it home without incident, and when I turned in my driveway the Boss swung wide and ended up in the middle of my front yard. At this point I didn't care, we were home, safe and somewhat unsound. I waited about an hour to see if anyone called the cops, then I had a couple beers and laughed my ass off as I recollected on the recent past events. To date , I wish I had that on film. "PRICELESS!!!" Needless to say, the next day,I replaced each and every chain on the boss and haven't had a problem since.

[Bw6]

Jeff, what a cool story! That does sound like a horror story, very tense, you really need those beers. I've towed Argo's before with my car and you would think that they would go straight, but they don't. A video would indeed be PRICELESS!

[argohunter]

I am enjoying these exploits and laughing as I read them. Jeffs' story is great. A person would have to be very familiar with the streets and neighborhoods in West Allis to fully appreciate his story. The beers must have eased the fright a little. It wasn't near Mobile Ave. was it?

[Jeff t-boss]

88th & rogers to 92nd & mitchell.

[MarshallEpp]

i am thinking someone needs to come up with a 6x6 tow dolly.lol so when i get to the tow point i would not have to learn the hard way. great stories guys

[argohunter]

88th & rogers to 92nd & mitchell.

Oops! and I can just about guess where you were running around before the t-boss broke down , 'nuff said about that. Glad you made it home okay.