It's always and adventure with me...especially turkey hunting it seems

Been there done that...7 grand later, the engine and transmission are brand new....'96 Dodge 4x4 35" tires 3" lift. Looking for new fishing spot at night, came up to a "that doesn't look that deep" hole. Creeped into it "just in case". Just as the back wheels dropped off of the little lip entering the hole, the FRONT tires dropped at such a rate that my headlights went under water......when I finally hopped out of the truck, the water was in the floorboards, and up to my waist (I forgot to mention...I'm 6'4"!!!!) Moral of the story, don't catfish at night! a foot note to this true tale; I had not had ANY alcoholic beverage at the time of the incident.
 
You will love this... co-worker just last week was on vacation, Wife does taxes so she stayed home with 17 year old son, while Chris takes daughter and a friend to FL for Spring Break. Son decides to take dad's 2009 Jeep 4-wheeling and submerges it. 5 days in the shop so far, and the dealer is not sure what is wrong! And Chris is worried that insurance will not cover any of it! His son is in serious hot water.... I chewed my own son out just to make sure he doesn't pull the same stunt some time!

Dave
 
You will love this... co-worker just last week was on vacation, Wife does taxes so she stayed home with 17 year old son, while Chris takes daughter and a friend to FL for Spring Break. Son decides to take dad's 2009 Jeep 4-wheeling and submerges it. 5 days in the shop so far, and the dealer is not sure what is wrong! And Chris is worried that insurance will not cover any of it! His son is in serious hot water.... I chewed my own son out just to make sure he doesn't pull the same stunt some time!

Dave
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When I lived north of 'da bridge, we played around in northern Wisconsin near a town called Mountain. We ran some wicked trails and had a ton of fun.

Standard equipment for our crew was: another truck to tug you out, carried a 3" snap strap, used bolted on tow hooks for the straps, carried Highlift Jacks, and winch of at least 8K lbs capacity. I tended to add extras like a shovel, shackels, a portable air pump, cans of WD-40 for drying out distributers, starting fluid for remounting tires, and the list goes on.

List of really funny things: Planting the front bumper in the bottom of a mud hole and standing nearly upright on the firewall, the video of a frog swimming across the floor boards, and eating camp food under a tarp in pouring rain. For us, this was a great time! I still have my trail runner, a 78 IH traveler, need some attention.

Not so funny (at the time): watching a pink milkshake erupt from my ATF fill tube, seeing a buddies 2 yr old jeep on the verg of tumbling end over end for 100 ft straight down, and seeing a custom steering setup twisted into a pretzel. In all cases, the problem was fixed with the whole crew helping out.

Good luck with your Land Cruiser, that's a really nice rig.
 
Sounds like there may have been some beer involved on a couple of those outings maybe?

Mark W
 
dani, most automotive places carry portable compressors which operate via the lighter port---probably won't hurt to give it a try---a good winch on the front may be betteer than the comealong, too.
 
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,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,a good winch on the front,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
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I never understood the appeal of a front mounted winch for some one off-roading alone. If you are in a group situation, then yes, you can use your front mounted winch to pull your buddy back out of the mudhole. If you are by yourself a front mounted winch sure limits your options.

When I was running my trapline, my winch was set up to slip into a receiver, both front and rear. I usually ended up hooking it to the rear to extract myself. Only remember a couple occasions where it made more sense to pull forward from the front. Anyway, by having it slip into a receiver, I had options. I also could carry it inside the truck all the time where it was not exposed to the elements.

It costs just a bit more this way because you need a receiver up front and wiring going both front and rear but I think it was worth it. With a remote switch from the drivers seat, I never ended up walking home! Cell phones weren't an option yet, so I tried to be self sufficient if at all possible.

I do remember the wind blowing the truck door shut one day. Engine was still running and I must have bumped the lock button getting out because there I was standing outside a locked truck with the motor running. Balling wire and pliers from the back saved a long walk that day!
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Absolutly right Dave. If I had the need, I'd be set up exactly as you described. I prefer the reciever on front and rear as the attachment depends on super stout bolts and pins, not welds.

A lifetime ago, I worked the Sand Dunes Off Road Area in Michigan. We ran a stock tire and aired it down to about 17 lbs for moderate use, 14 lbs to really float. The thing about getting down to the low teens is that we tended to roll the tire beads off the rim. I always liked the ride of the stock tire width. The 15' wide monster meats rode like a buckboard, and did not accomplish anthing some common sense and bit of the ole' go pedal could not compensate for. Besides: when your paid to drive the place, you learn where to drive and what your truck will do.

The rule of thumb we had was to always be pulled/winched backwards. But...the winch looks much better hanging off front on a cool custom bumper. I mean, you've gotta have a tough lookin' truck, right? LOL

And yes, we drank a few Barley Pops around the camp fire.
 
for a front reciever hitch is if you have a camper on a pickup and have to manuver a trailer in tight quarters such as a really bad boat ramp. A front hitch can make that job a snap. That is where I got sold on a front hitch and then the winch on a drawbar idea came next. I do like the idea of keeping the winch secure and weather protected inside the truck. Good Luck.
 
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