Pictures

Dave's FJ-40


A couple years ago my friend Dave and I went wheeling out in the foothills south of Tooele (pronounced "Too-ill-eh," for those of you not familiar with Utah). He had recently bought a nice FJ-40, and this was his first time off the pavement. We headed up a muddy old mining road, but didn't get far before he got himself in a pickle. You can see in the top photo it's just before sunset. While negotiating a steep off-camber turn, he got the FJ a little too close to the ditch. Further attempts to get straightened out only led to more slipping, and we decided to call it quits before rolling the thing onto its top. After trying to locate one of the two tow trucks in town that had four-wheel drive (and failing) we drove back to Salt Lake in the Hedgehog. Good thing we both drove! The next day, we drove back out with a tow truck from Salt Lake, who managed to get the Cruiser back on the road using one winch to stabilize the rear and one to pull the front end around. The whole ordeal ended up being an expensive lesson, but not as expensive as bodywork. Practice makes perfect!

Abandoned '91 XJ

I came across this '91 XJ while hiking the ridge above City Creek Canyon in the foothills of Salt Lake City a while ago. It had come to rest rubber side up in a steep gully only about 1/4 mile from the top of the peak. The odd thing is there's no public access to the ridgeline and trails in this area. Everything has been gated off for at least 5 years.

The Jeep was stock with worn-out radial tires. Probably could have benefitted from som real tread and a locker or two. It's hard to tell how steep the trail is from the pic's, but I had trouble just standing still on the slope long enough to snap them.

Alaskan SUSV

These two pic's were sent in by Michael Albrecht in Alaska:
"For your site's 'worst stuck' section... the vehicle is a SUSV (Small Unit Support Vehicle) and we got it stuck REAL good in a musgek hole on Prince of Whales Island which is near Ketchikan, Alaska."

"It's a pretty impressive vehicle with its 4x4 track drive capable of taking 60 degree inclines, floating in the snow, and did I mention it's amphibious (with a bilge pump & everything!)? Well, to an extent...LOL. It has a turbo-charged mercedes deisel with a top speed of about 40mph. Get it off road and it's a blast, but in town it sucks to be in the back on those wooden bench seats!"

"It took another SUSV, both of their 12,000 winches and some terra-firma modification to free it! Oh... and later that day the engine blew (rod through the aluminum cylinder...yikes!), guess we didn't get all of the water out!"

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