What happens when the biggest and baddest vehicle breaks down

DaveInDenver

Middle Income Semi-Redneck
There was a Unimog that flopped in Big Bend a couple of years ago that closed Old Ore Road for a while. Problem-reaction-solution.


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MTVR

Well-known member
I have this truck to get myself and friends un stuck. It has a 20,000 pound hydraulic winch on it along with lockers on every axel along with 450 HP. It seems to always win.

Is that a HEMTT that's articulated in the middle?
 

roving1

Well-known member
If a tow truck can come get you, then you must not have a vehicle more offroad than a tow truck?!

Most people are not more offroad than a tow truck most of the time because, frankly, large vehicles usually are not that capable and the ones that are do not fit or are too heavy for the terrain to support them most of the rest of the time.

Most heavy vehicles tend to get stuck on relatively mild terrain when they pull too far off the road edge or hit a soft spot or transition from a stable road surface to a soft one or do something incredibly dumb. All of these things are usually on or incredibly close to navigable solid ground.

Is it possible to get something stuck in a place so bad that self recovery or a tractor or backhoe or dozer or small front end loader can't get to? Sure. But that's an unfixable situation so it's pretty pointless to plan for a situation with no fix.
 
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roving1

Well-known member
You don't have to be big to have break down issues, GMC 2500HD stuck in Brazil

Having worked for 3 months in Brazil that is a total nightmare. Getting anything into that country in a timely and economical manner is impossible. You can't even buy retail level merchandise without a CPF (tax ID) number as a normal consumer.

If they can't root cause and fix with at hand parts they are going to have to put a person on a plane with parts to get them or hack a carb onto that engine to get it on the boat.
 

quickfarms

Adventurer
Most people are not more offroad than a tow truck most of the time because, frankly, large vehicles usually are not that capable and the ones that are do not fit or are too heavy for the terrain to support them most of the rest of the time.

Most heavy vehicles tend to get stuck on relatively mild terrain when they pull too far off the road edge or hit a soft spot or transition from a stable road surface to a soft one or do something incredibly dumb. All of these things are usually on or incredibly close to navigable solid ground.

Is it possible to get something stuck in a place so bad that self recovery or a tractor or backhoe or dozer or small front end loader can't get to? Sure. But that's an unfixable situation so it's pretty pointless to plan for a situation with no fix.

Actually I have found the complete opposite to be true.

Most 4wd pickups, SUV’s and jeeps do not come from the factory with lockers and can get stuck very easily in the sand or mud.

Large trucks, class 7 and 8, are delivered with lockers if they are ordered for off highway service.

As long as you keep moving the big trucks tend to just chug along. The real problem is getting going again after you have stoped but all it takes is a tug from a dozer or a bump from a track hoe

You would be surprised where you will find the power company 6x6’s in the mountains around here on Jeep trails
 

BeNimble

Member
I have this truck to get myself and friends un stuck. It has a 20,000 pound hydraulic winch on it along with lockers on every axel along with 450 HP. It seems to always win.

That is bigger and badder than most all campers for sure! What is the time and cost to get it to where its needed in the mountains of new mexico or colorado or baja to drag out a non-functioning MTVR for example.
 

Peter_n_Margaret

Adventurer
We are not biggest or baddest, just 6T.
Couple of personal experiences...
With 28 years of owning and driving expedition vehicles we have been bogged many times, but this is the only occasion we have accepted external assistance.
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A few years ago we broke a rear axle in the middle of the Simpson.
We considered several options.
1. Continue to drive on the front axle while being towed by our friends Canter.
REJECTED due to the extra strain on both vehicles that risked even more serious damage.
2. Get a recovery from Birdsville. There was a suitable vehicle available.
REJECTED due to a combination of cost and even after recovery, we would still need to replace the axle.
3. Fix it where it was.
Chosen. We ordered a new axle from Melbourne by sat. 'phone.. It was posted to Birdsville via Brisbane (approaching 4,000km) within 45 minutes. We tracked its progress via a family member in Brisbane and when its arrival in Birdsville was confirmed after 5 days, our friends drove the 3 day round trip to Birdsville and back to collect it. On their arrival, it was a simple 10 minute job to fit it and drive away.
The 8 day wait in the desert was a pleasant diversion rather than an imposition.
Even if the mechanical work and tools required were so specialised as to make it too difficult for DIY, in many circumstances we reckon it would be a better option to take the mechanic, the part and the tools to the vehicle than the other way around. I have an arrangement with my mechanic. He will come to me if we need him.
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Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 motorhome
 
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HAF

Active member
That is bigger and badder than most all campers for sure! What is the time and cost to get it to where its needed in the mountains of new mexico or colorado or baja to drag out a non-functioning MTVR for example.
There is an easier way. Steel Soldiers is a forum for folks like me that own these military vehicles. There are hundreds of us all over the country. Its a great group of people with most willing to help by using these trucks. You could join and post-you will get responses. You will discover a lot of members in your area willing to work there iron.
 

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