note to self: my 2wd ranger is no more capable in gravel/snow than a toyota corolla...yet another reason why my next truck should be a 4x4...

So I was out hunting for dirtbike trails when I saw a puddle on a gravel road. I stopped the truck, checked the depth of the puddle in the middle, then thought to myself: "I've got a truck...I can carefully graze the edge of this puddle and drive out just fine. 4x1 trucks ARE capable off-road; I just need to be a good driver, have all-terrain tires (which I do), and know my limits. With no intentions of getting stuck in the depths of the puddle, I drove a little ways in, watched the front tire get in about 4" into the water, and started backing up until the rear wheels stopped propelling me backwards...

oh crap

Now I've gotten stuck in 6" of snow before, so I tried the slow back/forth rock, I turned the steering left and right, I wedged the motorcycle ramp underneath the spinning wheel, found a 2x10 in the woods and put it under the other wheel, chiseled the ice/snow out around it and tried to give it a rolling start, tried pushing it with the door open and one foot on the gas, but after 1 hour of attempts, nothing worked.



I had to call my friend w' an '01 F150 to pull me out. Funny thing was, the ranger was in drive as he pulled it out backwards. It just goes to show how light the reg cab ranger really is and how little of its weight (thus requisite traction) is over the rear wheels...

And when he was done, to rub it in my face, he drove right through the puddle I got ~4" deep into:



this isn't a rant...just wanted to share...

 

lmao corolla... you're right though, FWD usually has better traction than a RWD vehicle, but i dunno about snowy stuff tho

 

Snow is not fun, especially in our RWD trucks (unless you're in a parking lot and practicing your driftoryu!), but that's why 4wd was invented. Let this be a sign from the snow gods that they are displeased with your truck sacrifice.

 

Replace that open differential with a Limited Slip and you would have had no trouble at all. The angle you were at released all the traction to the passenger's side rear wheel.

Place 200 pounds or so of weight in the bed (AKA 1 or 2 buddies), and you'll get out of it without having to strap up to something "bigger" or 4x4.

However, I think your main problem in this scenario was the level of commitment. After checking the depth, I would have done exactly what the F-150 did. Hit it doing a decent enough speed to carry you through most of the puddle.

 

Dude that sucks!

 

He had that dirtbike in the bed...I don't think 200 more pounds of weight is gonna help him.

 

You have the tires but lack of momentum killed you, if you had kept speed you probably would have made it through no problem.

 

lol i feel the your pain...my ranger got stuck in my DRIVE WAY...stupid open diff...lol why im going locker and some all terrians....maybe then it will end some of my problems

 

not nessacrly... i went to one of my friends houses and her driveway wasnt plowed... i had to back out to let someone out and with the limited slip my backend slide sideways off her driveway... spent a good hour to get unstuck and almost said id get it in the morning but then it finally caught....


sucks to hear... getting stuck is no fun...

 

LOL That's why My 4X1 truck is stuck in the back yard! I am told all the snow will be gone by wednesday, maybe I can have my truck again.

~HJ

 

Ice is ice though. Even a 4x4 will spin on ice. Just looks like that back right tire had no weight to to.....so it just spun. Gotta love the 4x1!!!!

 

4x4 with an open diff is just as bad..... getting an LS installed is on my to do list....

 

with a L/S you most likely wouldnt have gotten stuck mine sucked with an open diff after my L/S i dont mind it at all

 

Hell I was on a 4X4 4-wheeler with full locking diffs new super swampers and I still got stuck in a creek saturday sometimes you just cant win! lol

 

very true there andy

 

thanks for the responses guys

on the whole, limited slip would help almost any situation over an open differential

but for this one, I don't think limited slip would've made a difference...when I put it in reverse and let off the gas, BOTH wheels were spinning on the ice

and weight didn't do all that much...one of the guys there was probably over 200lbs, while the other ~180, and with both of them in the truck, it still didn't help...

 

You were going the wrong way..thats all, if the front end wasn't against a big rock or a tree I would have gone forward.

 

when in doubt, floor it...

 

my current ranger has the limited slip. i love it. my past rangers were just 2wd and open diff. man, those seemed to get stuck in a inch of snow!

 

out in our march snowstorm - it was really slippery and the 1WD wasn't really up to the task
couple of back and forth's managed to get it moving and momentum was key. i'm running a/t's as well..

there was no weight in the bed though...

 

got stuck for an hour, half way out my driveway today. 2wd.....

 

That sucks. When you've gotten stuck, there will always be a friend to rub it in your face.

 

ZING!!!!!! Out of context FTW!

 

i got stuck in a stream today..lol