thatoneguyaz 0 Posted February 17, 2012 Lol! Well so we loved the area so much we wanted to go back up and scout out for some more camping spots! So yeah about 30 minutes after exiting the freeway I'm all confident from last time and I see a large muddy area and I figure I could make it through well it was like a mix between 1 foot+ deep muddy ice water lol. Pics to follow. Stuck: So yeah, I stepped out and the mud came almost up to my knee. I'm not a very tall guy but still it was DEEP. Oops. I walked to a nearby camp and they could not help as they only had a 2wd? Apparently. By the time I had walked back to the jeep a nice guy had pulled up his k5 blazer in front of me to help me. Before you ask, we tied the rope to the inside of the bumper - NOT THE AXELS. I guess I need to stop ****ing around and get proper recovery points. Any assistance with this would be appreciated - what do I need to get lol. I don't have trailer hitch in the back either. So yeah he also got stuck pulling me out. He was parked on a big ice patch and his back tire stopped getting traction? We ended up having to dig under his tire and do some rock stacking. I gave him and his wife each a beer for their troubles, they wouldn't take anymore than 1 each though! So after convincing my gf we would be fine to continue on, we did! Lol. Abby looking out the window right before this: Old abandoned cabins out there [There was a sign just stating not to remove anything Stopped to cook breakfast (or what became lunch by that time!) You can see above in the pic of abby that it starts to snow, so we decide to start heading back to the main roads as we had already passed through two gates to get to where we were at It started coming down quick, as you can see my ass running to take down one of the gates. Don't worry, I always put them back up like the nice signs ask you to Continuing to head out Have to say that driving through a forest back road while it starts snowing was easily the most beautiful thing I've seen yet on my outings. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dzJeepChic 2,925 Posted February 17, 2012 Great pictures & trip report. Thanks for sharing it. I don't know what type recovery hooks you need or how to install them so I'm no help there. Hopefully somebody will come along and explain that better than I could. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jklee 1 Posted February 17, 2012 Kevin's offroad sells a radiator support for grand Cherokees, both zj and wj. It's around two hundred bucks and offers great front tow points while using your stock bumper. *edit* I just went to Kevin's site and couldn't find the tow points for the wj just the zj, sorry for the misinformation. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
theksmith 5,874 Posted February 17, 2012 ah this kinda trip report brings back memories of my early wheeling experiences - just out exploring alone, everything about the sport still new, completely un-prepared i got stuck a couple times too, even once in a snowy ditch - without a shovel or tow hooks either! you can get factory dual front tow hooks from ebay or just google. we WJ's don't have a real frame that you can easily just bolt a standard hook to. the factory ones do a good job of spreading out the load into several points. you're looking for the entire kit shown on this page: http://www.wjjeeps.com/towhooks.htm rusty's has some front ones a little cheaper than the typtical factory ones are, but i don't know if they spread out the load as well: http://rustysoffroad.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=rustys&Product_Code=RR-TH11-WJ&Category_Code=rec_hit the rear tow hook kit seems to be hard to find as it was discontinued a while back. you may end up having to get a trailer hitch or if you ever think you'll do an aftermarket rear bumper just skip to that. just curious to where you pulled from, front or rear? it's kewl you already know not to usually pull from axles, but on a WJ i have no idea what else you would tie to safely without hooks/hitch? best bang for the buck for these situations though is this... glad you didn't panic got picks for us Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ladybug 718 Posted February 17, 2012 Great pics! Last time that I was out that way it was muddy too...but not as bad as what you had encountered. I don't know anything about recovery points either, but one lesson that I learned is that I seldom wheel alone. I can't say never, cuz I still get out, but I do avoid mud and sand if I am by myself. That was probably the best lesson that I learned! smiles, ladybug Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
teddyearp 0 Posted February 17, 2012 theksmith is right on. I agree 100% on factory tow hooks. When I got my Liberty, those were two glaringly missing things that I had on my Cherokee, tow hooks and a rear hitch as I used both quite a bit on my Cherokee. I went with a pair of factory Mopar front hooks and a Valley receiver for the rear. All pretty easy to install. Oh, and I just checked the site theksmith linked, go with the balck ones. Also, ditch those street tires. I wouldn't go as far as getting a total lift and 33's, but at least get some AT's and see what all you can do with your Jeep like that first. good luck p.s. I have a shovel just like that everytime I go out. That and my chainsaw. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
thatoneguyaz 0 Posted March 5, 2012 ah this kinda trip report brings back memories of my early wheeling experiences - just out exploring alone, everything about the sport still new, completely un-prepared i got stuck a couple times too, even once in a snowy ditch - without a shovel or tow hooks either! you can get factory dual front tow hooks from ebay or just google. we WJ's don't have a real frame that you can easily just bolt a standard hook to. the factory ones do a good job of spreading out the load into several points. you're looking for the entire kit shown on this page: http://www.wjjeeps.com/towhooks.htm rusty's has some front ones a little cheaper than the typtical factory ones are, but i don't know if they spread out the load as well: http://rustysoffroad.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=rustys&Product_Code=RR-TH11-WJ&Category_Code=rec_hit the rear tow hook kit seems to be hard to find as it was discontinued a while back. you may end up having to get a trailer hitch or if you ever think you'll do an aftermarket rear bumper just skip to that. just curious to where you pulled from, front or rear? it's kewl you already know not to usually pull from axles, but on a WJ i have no idea what else you would tie to safely without hooks/hitch? best bang for the buck for these situations though is this... glad you didn't panic got picks for us LOL your sarcasm is noted sir. Thanks for the suggestions. This is still on my to get list. I was pulled from the front. He tied a rope on the inside of my bumper so it wasn't on the actual plastic part. I popped off the grill a bit so we could loop it through there. There was a slight snapping sound when he first pulled but nothing broke and nothing appears to be broken. And yes, I know these things because I've been reading so much on all the jeep forums! I wish I would have taken a picture sooner, all the pictures I took are after he had given me the first tug and then he got stuck for a little while as well. Lol. Oops. Great pictures & trip report. Thanks for sharing it. I don't know what type recovery hooks you need or how to install them so I'm no help there. Hopefully somebody will come along and explain that better than I could. You are welcome, thanks for looking as usual! Kevin's offroad sells a radiator support for grand Cherokees, both zj and wj. It's around two hundred bucks and offers great front tow points while using your stock bumper. *edit* I just went to Kevin's site and couldn't find the tow points for the wj just the zj, sorry for the misinformation. No problem Great pics! Last time that I was out that way it was muddy too...but not as bad as what you had encountered. I don't know anything about recovery points either, but one lesson that I learned is that I seldom wheel alone. I can't say never, cuz I still get out, but I do avoid mud and sand if I am by myself. That was probably the best lesson that I learned! smiles, ladybug Our wheeling trips are spur of the moment type things usually. I really do look forward to going out and meeting others though! theksmith is right on. I agree 100% on factory tow hooks. When I got my Liberty, those were two glaringly missing things that I had on my Cherokee, tow hooks and a rear hitch as I used both quite a bit on my Cherokee. I went with a pair of factory Mopar front hooks and a Valley receiver for the rear. All pretty easy to install. Oh, and I just checked the site theksmith linked, go with the balck ones. Also, ditch those street tires. I wouldn't go as far as getting a total lift and 33's, but at least get some AT's and see what all you can do with your Jeep like that first. good luck p.s. I have a shovel just like that everytime I go out. That and my chainsaw. Thanks for the info. I do plan on getting rid of the tires I have. They are AT's I'm pretty sure but they are tiny (235s I believe). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
thatoneguyaz 0 Posted April 4, 2012 This thread reminds me I still need tow hooks lol Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
theksmith 5,874 Posted April 4, 2012 don't forget a CB sometime too it gets frustrating not knowing what everyone else is talking about during the group rides! i still need to get one setup on Aimee's liberty Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
