I have been getting rid of a few tonnes of earth dug out from trenches on my property and I have a friendly arrangement with a gent who is slowly landscaping his garden and fields, i.e. I want rid of earth/rubble etc, he wants, so I take it there and dump it, he then levels it using his mini digger.
A couple of days ago I dumped a couple of loads over a new septic tank he's installed. Although the ground is reletively flat it was extremely wet. I did get sort of stuck, as the weight in the trailer had ensured that its wheels sunk into the mud when I reversed over some soft ground. I got around this problem by emptying the trailer and then using a'rocking motion and tickover with low ratio diff lock on to climb out of the rut I had created. The earth was in the place it was needed anyway.
Today I thought "I don't want to get stuck so I'll tip this last load in another area that he can live with. This is a mainly hard area that he is widening and levelling off. When I spoke to him a couple of days ago he indicated that he could use the earth in a different position if it suited me better but was quite particular that he didn't want it too close to some rubble in the same area.
I tried my damndest to back the trailer into the correct position to tip but couldn't quite make it, so I stupidly manuvred into an area that I knew could give me problems. I tipped the load, hopng that the reduced weight would enable disco to pull herself out of yet another rut.
It was then I realised that I had just driven onto a new area of this level that wasn't there a few months ago. It was as soft as hell. I eventually gave up when the drivers side step was level with the ground. The vehicle was listing at a devistating angle and no amount of tickover or revving was going to help. One wheel on each axle had completely lost the will to grip, despite my efforts in digging them out and filling the ruts with hardcore. In addition I had a wonderful view of a steep bank on the drivers side that the vehicle was leaning towards. Oh for a TD5 with traction control!
I eventually found a phone (mobile is in for repair again) and contacted Chris, the local garage owner who came out some 15 mins later in his Series 3 Discovery. After laughing and taking photos that he has assured me will be posted around the village, eased all of us out of our little predicament. I did get the impression that Chris, who has a very dry sense of humour, very much enjoyed the spectacle. He waited until I was sitting in the disco before taking the photos, so there was absolutely no dispute who wa behind the wheel. In due course I'm sure I can make a photo available to you all;)
The moral of the story. The disco will indeed go anyhere, just don't expect it to get back anytime soon!
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As someone who wasted hours going to a tedious meeting stuck in a jam on the M6 today, I would have swapped your fun and games for my misery any day.
Admit it, you enjoyed it and it will fuel a good night in the pub any day now.
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The disco will indeed go anywhere, just don't expect it to get back any time soon
Which is why we sold our disco and bought a defender. SWMBO got well and truly stuck on an embankment, part of the recovery process (with the Fergie there to help) was the worry about dmaging expensive panels and paint. No such worry with a Defender, (oh dear another dint !)
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"(oh dear another dint !)"
Surely on a Defender that's "Cool, another battle scar" At least the scars won't rust.....!
Guy I used to work for got a 110 stuck on a wet caravan site positioning a static van - even with the diff locks engaged, all 4 wheels slipped and it just worked its way sideways into a hedge..... Had to be pulled out with a turfer!
--
RichardW
Is it illogical? It must be Citroen....
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Went to a concert last year and parked in an official car park that was a grass field in a large public park. It rained heavily and when we came to go home, all RWD cars got stuck, as did most FWD cars that were being driven by idiots.
Both our Foresters (parents and mine) got out simply by driving gently. And my tyres were those useless Geolanders that are good for neither on road or off road.
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Which is why we sold our disco and bought a defender. SWMBO got well and truly stuck on an embankment,
what on earth was Mrs PU doing up an embankment?
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I've sometimes wondered why they only fitted a centre diff lock to Defenders and early Discos. My mate who had a 90 said the Land Rover view was that "a rear diff lock is unnecessary on these vehicles", but I bet many drivers would have found one handy at some stage.?
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I've sometimes wondered why they only fitted a centre diff lock to Defenders and early Discos. My mate who had a 90 said the Land Rover view was that "a rear diff lock is unnecessary on these vehicles", but I bet many drivers would have found one handy at some stage.?
This has always been the problem with many 4X4's. So even in 4WD low you've still only effectively got 2 wheel drive. One front spins and one rear spins, and you stop. You can buy add lockers, but you run the risk of putting all the power through one wheel which snaps the half shafts.
The only proper offroaders with lockers all round are the older Landcruiser 80 series and the Mercedes G wagon. As a result though, their axles and shafts are twice the size.
Off course, there's always the new fangled electronic aids, none of which work very well.
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Hugo, your story is interesting, but I think it doesn't quite ring true ;-)
After all, doesn't everyone know that Cornish people only have 4X4s for use in their main occupation of smuggling? The towing capacity and offroad ability is required for hauling the loads of contrabrand up the steep and unpaved paths from the deserted coves where it has been rowed ashore in open boats by bearded men with eyepatches, and then for making escape across fields when the redcoats start their pursuit.
The obvious conclusion of course, is that the trip to the soggy field was to stash the loot out of sight until the excise men had given up the hunt. And now your friendly garage man is about the blow your cover by revealing the location of the hardwon haul for which you braved the shots of the militia's muskets. ;)
How much do you want for the television rights?
[/tongue-in-cheek]
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He only nearly "wrecked" his Disco not a ship :-)
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NW you have found me out :)
I feel I can now admit to hiding bootlegged cornish pasties in this soggy field! I can only think it was the ones in the boot that finally got me stuck.
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Get yourself a set of Grizzly Claw tyres and you'll never be stuck for traction again
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The merc G wagon is without doubt the best off road 4x4 i ve ever driven. I ve only ever got stuck once and this was while reversing a 3 ton trailer across an extremly waterloged field with cheap road type 4x4 tyres and my old isuzu.
My only consolation was that the ford 7610 tractor that came to extract me got bogged and it took another two tractors to extract us.
These days I use BFG all terains and know the limits of my vehicles, 4x4 does not mean invincible.
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My 2001 Shogun has a rear locking Diff as standard.
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