What happens when the biggest and baddest vehicle breaks down

Jacobm

Active member
Honestly, if the recovery price was decent, I'd call 'em even if I had the equipment to get out myself. On a rig that big and presumably pricey, I'd rather the towing company flip it over in the recovery than me flipping it. There's at least a chance their insurance would cover it instead of mine. Not to mention they've got way more hands on experience than any of us do at getting big things unstuck.
 

b dkw1

Observer
If you're going to the middle of nowhere you need to be resourceful. Broken axles are an easy fix, all it take is 2 battery's, some jumper cables and 6010 welding rod. I have fixed many broken parts to get out of remote places. Beats sitting around waiting for something to happen.
 

Peter_n_Margaret

Adventurer
I actually carry a Readywelder 2, which is a US made 24V DC Mig. Great machine. Ready Welder » Product Info Just needs 2 x 12V batteries in series.
I doubt a welded axle would get us over the dunes, but it was certainly worth a go if an axle was not readily available.
Used it in the Simpson the following year on a friend's truck.
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Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 motorhome
 

axlesandantennas

Approved Vendor
I would not call this the biggest and baddest vehicle, but this old GMC sure found themselves in a bad way in the Cherokee National Forest a few weeks ago. I would surmise that the owner was enjoying the fresh snow the day before and "let 'er rip" though the turn and hit the solid patch of ice in the turn.

Probably 15-20 miles back in the FS road. Not sure if it's still there. The truck did not look too bad, all things considering. Unless he/she has a bunch of friends, this would be a fairly expensive recovery.

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MTVR

Well-known member
I would not call this the biggest and baddest vehicle, but this old GMC sure found themselves in a bad way in the Cherokee National Forest a few weeks ago. I would surmise that the owner was enjoying the fresh snow the day before and "let 'er rip" though the turn and hit the solid patch of ice in the turn.

Probably 15-20 miles back in the FS road. Not sure if it's still there. The truck did not look too bad, all things considering. Unless he/she has a bunch of friends, this would be a fairly expensive recovery.

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Could be tweakers- no plates, no cats, incorrect wheel offset, no spare tire, 2-into-1 Flowmaster muffler with no tailpipe, hemorrhaging rear pinion seal- it's even the vintage that tweakers prefer.

They would have an extremely hard time seeing, especially during the daylight, as the meth blows out their pupils- they can't constrict like yours or mine to meter the incoming light bouncing off all that snow.
 

axlesandantennas

Approved Vendor
Could be tweakers- no plates, no cats, incorrect wheel offset, no spare tire, 2-into-1 Flowmaster muffler with no tailpipe, hemorrhaging rear pinion seal- it's even the vintage that tweakers prefer.

They would have an extremely hard time seeing, especially during the daylight, as the meth blows out their pupils- they can't constrict like yours or mine to meter the incoming light bouncing off all that snow.
Serous question: why would tweekers, and I assume you are taking about meth, be drawn to a vehicle like this?
 

MTVR

Well-known member
Serous question: why would tweekers, and I assume you are taking about meth, be drawn to a vehicle like this?

Yes, meth.

Tweakers spend all of their money on drugs, so they don't have anything left over to spend on vehicles, so they usually end up with cars that are roughly 30 years old, and in poor repair.

They also gravitate towards generic transportation appliances, so in urban settings it might be a beige early '90s Oldsmobuick with no wheel covers, and in rural settings it would be a hoopty like the pickup above.

Another thing that we see all the time, is that tweakers have some kind of preoccupation with really crappy Chinese HID headlight "conversions" installed in OEM reflector-beam headlight housings, usually with sun-hazed 30 year old lenses. It's like looking into an arc welder for other motorists, but it puts almost no useful light on the road for them to be able to see. Bonus points for only one of them working, or for the left and right ones being different shades of color.

They also hardly ever register their vehicles, so they'll disable the license plate light. No plates, expired plates, no front plate in a two-plate state, trip permits, expired trip permits, and/or multiple trip permits are all tweaker things.

And the vehicles themselves tend to change hands casually, with no paperwork- it's always "my friend's car", but they don't know their friend's name.

And of course, at 0400 in the morning, the only two kinds of people out, are tweakers jacked up on meth, and cops jacked up on caffeine, so it's pretty easy to tell who is who...
 
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axlesandantennas

Approved Vendor
Yes, meth.

Tweakers spend all of their money on drugs, so they don't have anything left over to spend on vehicles, so they usually end up with cars that are roughly 30 years old.

They also gravitate towards generic transportation appliances, so in urban settings it might be a beige early '90s Oldsmobuick with no wheel covers, and in rural settings it would be a hoopty like the pickup above.

Another thing that we see all the time, is that tweakers have some kind of preoccupation with really crappy Chinese HID headlight "conversions" installed in OEM reflector-beam headlight housings, usually with sun-hazed 30 year old lenses. It's like looking into an arc welder for other motorists, but it puts almost no useful light on the road for them to be able to see. Bonus points for only one of them working, or for the left and right ones being different shades of color.

And of course, at 0400 in the morning, the only two kinds of people out, are tweakers jacked up on meth, and cops jacked up on caffeine, so it's pretty easy to tell who is who...
OMG, thanks for the education. Sounds like some folks were heard in the Daniel Boone NF a few years back at the S Tree camp ground. Some time after midnight, had a bunch of vehicles going thought that were just loud as hell and the hoots and hollers they were yelling were even louder.
 

MTVR

Well-known member
OMG, thanks for the education. Sounds like some folks were heard in the Daniel Boone NF a few years back at the S Tree camp ground. Some time after midnight, had a bunch of vehicles going thought that were just loud as hell and the hoots and hollers they were yelling were even louder.

That's probably just kids having a kegger.

Tweakers do whatever they can not to attract attention to themselves, because they want to be able to move freely through the night without encountering the police- they're like cockroaches, and they don't want anyone to turn the lights on.
 
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MTVR

Well-known member
Weed users, at least the ones whose drug problems haven't advanced into harder drugs yet, tend to call attention to themselves to a hilarious degree- they tend to select and accessorize their vehicles in a unique way.

Pot-heads like "cool" cars and trucks, but can't afford nice ones because of their drug habits. 25 year old 2-door sporty cars, any Subaru, and four wheel drive trucks and SUVs. They like poorly-fitting aftermarket wheels, raised or lowered suspensions and removing the front license plate. They like to have dark illegal window tint film (sometimes even on the windshields), so that they can use illegal drugs while driving. They seem to like applying unnecessary stickers to their vehicles, often in rasta colors, depicting Bob Marley, marijuana leaf designs, "420", and so on. They like playing rasta music at unreasonable volumes.
 
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