I took the X-Car "4-wheeling!" - a survivor's story
If I'd known what was to come... I'd not have taken the nice new X-car on those roads, up that high, in that weather...
But I was too far from home to turn back, so I just kept going. My two buddies invited me to accompany them on a bow-hunting trip to the White River National Forest (look in the upper left hand corner of Colorado east of Meeker, and slightly north of Buford). We drove in fairly constant rain from Denver and when we got to the dirt (now mud) roads just outside Buford, I knew I should have left the X-car home and bummed a ride with one of these other guys. The roads had been rain-soaked, and were muddy in the extreme. We were driving in 4 inches of mud with deepening puddles, and it was 3:00 a.m. besides. I was following the other vehicle, a 90s vintage Chevrolet 4X4 pickup up what would turn out to be the best and most level portion of road. I rounded a corner, and he was gone. But as I got to the corner, I saw his tail lights off the road, in a shallow ravine. All I could think was "Oh, man!" Yep. He'd been unable to keep the Chevy on the road during the turn going only 15 mph or so. He sat there, about five feet below the road level, with his rear wheels spinning. The Chevy was upright (amazingly) and nobody was hurt, but I wasn't so sure about the truck. We hooked up the tow strap to the front rings on the X-car and connected them to his hitch. I tried to pull him back onto the road. His rear hitch dug into the steep bank, and he was going nowhere. Then it began raining very hard. I could see that the slope on the far side of the ravine was more gentle, but I couldn't see how to get there. I took the rain-delay as an opportunity to get back into the car and drive up the road to see if I could get across the ravine. I found a place and then back-tracked to where he was on the far side, through the sagebrush and such. It stopped raining just as I pulled nose-to-nose about fourty feet from the Chevy. My friend got out of the Chevy and said, "Boy are YOU crazy." Then I saw it. The truck was buried up to the frame in mud. There were lots of reeds in the water, but they didn't offer much support. The rain had begun to fill the ravine, and now there was another 4" of water on top of the mud. We needed to move quickly.
We strung out his tow strap and mine and hooked me up. To get into position, I stopped with my front tire about four feet from the drop-off. I put it in reverse, and began to back up. After getting some good pressure on the straps, BANG, one of them broke. We repaired it, and then doubled it for added strength. Now I had to pull even closer to the edge so we could make them reach. The front left tire was just on the edge of the drop-off. After hook-up, I again eased backwards, and the Chevy began to move. I gradually increased the pressure and got the other vehicle moving at about 5 mph by the time it hit the near side of the ravine. I kept the diesel humming, and he slid gently up the near side up out of the reeds and mud. I pulled him another 30 feet until he was up on the top level with me.
We chained-up his Chevy and put chains on the front of the X-car (I only have one set)for the remainder of the trip up the mountain.
For the next two hours we drove the remainder of the 10 miles to get to where we were going to camp at about 10,500 feet. The roads got much worse. I will tell you I am amazed we even made it. The road would have been fairly classed as a "jeep trail", given the conditions. I firmly believe that a jeep could not have made it without being chained up, and having two posi-track differentials. The vehicles were always trying to slide off the roads over the cliffs on the outside, or into the rocks on the inside. We made it to camp at about 4:00 a.m. and just turned off the motors and crashed right there in the seats.
After a day and a half of hunting, and after off-and-on rainstorms, it began to snow. The snow began at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, and we went back to camp for warmer clothes. At 3:30 or so that afternoon, we were looking at 4" on the ground. We did some quick calculations and figured out that if we stayed the night, we would not be able to leave until thaw. I looked at one of my friends and he and I had the exact same idea... BREAK CAMP and GET OFF THE MOUNTAIN! We threw things into the trucks, like there was a fire coming. The other hunting party came back to camp at about 6:00 to see no camp, but two trucks sitting lined up with the engines running ready to go. There was now 5" of snow on the ground, and we were noticing that it was covering the dangerous spots in the road. We knew there were a hundred places in that road that putting a wheel there would lead to disaster. I knew we likely wouldn't be able to see any of them. So, off we went, and as darkness fell, I watched the fishtailing Chevrolet ahead of me throwing mud with four sets of chains. I was not encouraged. I was just hoping to see enough of what was going on with the Chevrolet to avoid the bad spots with the Ford. The Chevrolet guy would have said, "Chevy leads the way!" I would have said "Your Chevy is merely a curb-feeler for my Ford".
About half-way down we encountered a hairpin curve with a very steep approach to a very tight left turn. I let the Chevrolet go first... all the way through before I tried it. If I got out of control on the slope I didn't want to take us both over the edge. I saw his tail lights disappear around the bend, and then he stopped. He was waiting on me. I eased down the slope in low range, and even braking a little. Then I saw it... a tree had fallen into the road and was laying in the middle of the road just around the corner. I eased to the far left side of the curve, and up onto the pile of dirt the dozer had left when making the turn. The car leaned to the right, but held its position. With some gentle steering, I slowly went over the mound, and back into the road just beside the tree, missing it entirely. An hour later we had finally white-knuckled our way down the mountain to a paved road. We took off the chains and breathed for the first time. I thought the trials were over. Not so.
We cleared Vail Pass nicely and were heading up the west side of the Eisenhower Tunnel when we saw ahead an endless string of tail lights... all stopped. It looked like a trucker's convention with all the big rigs. But they were all at crazy angles. I found holes between them, and eased the X-car through the maze all the way up to the tunnel. I entered the tunnel thinking, "If I can just get to the other side, It'll be down hill from there." Yeah, right. I stopped inside the tunnel just 150 yards short of the far end in another traffic jam. Most of us turned off our engines because the air in the tunnel was getting smoky. We sat there for an hour. Once out, we were just sent over to a parking area to wait until the down-hill traffic cleared. I guess they didn't want people to asphixiate in there, so they moved us out. The east side was twice as bad as the west side, and big rigs had been actively making sandwitches with smaller vehicles. Finally we began to move at about 3:00 a.m. and I again snaked my way slowly through the logjam of lesser vehicles. From there home, the blizzard conditions remained, and I found myself getting nervous when the speed exceeded 25 mph. I finally turned-off the 4X4 just after clearing the mountains on the outskirts of the Denver metro area. The trip off the mountain had been only 235 miles, but it had taken us 10 hours.
The 4X4 feature functioned flawlessly, and even the Firestone tires provided sufficient traction to do everything I asked the X-car to do. I confess I have never trusted the little plastic "switch on the dash" as an effective means of controlling the transfer case. I have always insisted on a "lever through the floor" so I could be absolutely positively in control of the status of the gears. But I have to say I have no complaints on how the new system performed. Turn the switch = instant response. You do need to stop to go from high range to low and back, though.
The Chevrolet driver had been giving me grief for weeks for owning a Ford. Now he says, "I have a new-found respect for Fords." I guess so. One saved his truck. I have always had that respect. And now that respect has increased. I have given the X-car and its 4X4 capabilities the trial by fire... or mud. I can tell you I have never had a civilian vehicle on roads like those. I hope I never take that vehicle on roads like those ever again. I was lucky I didn't bring it home bent. I was lucky to bring it home at all. I would have been nervous in a "deuce and a half" or even a "hummwv" on roads like those. I wish I had photos. You wouldn't believe it.
The bottom line is that Ford makes an outstanding vehicle that does what it says it will do. Now if they can just make it to shed mud a little better. I was spraying water under the wheel wells and under the bottom for two hours to get it clean(er).
Jay.
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H. J. Ledbetter, Jr.
2K Excursion LTD, 4X4 Limited Slip, PSD, White/Az Beige, Az Beige interior, with all the factory goodies. 30' Sportsmen fiberglass-sided TT with slide-out, which likes to go to the mountains a lot.
__________________
H. J. Ledbetter, Jr. J.D.
Wife's car Y2K Excursion LTD, 4X4, 3.73 LS, PSD, 3-guage pillar.ISSPRO boost, Pyro (pre-turbo) Banks tranny temp. Diablo 54. Amsoil air filter. Altimeter. Tows a 30' Sportsmen fiberglass-sided TT w/ slide-out, which likes to go to the mountains a lot.
Re: I took the X-Car "4-wheeling!" - a survivor's story
Jay,
Quite a story. Was glued to the edge of my seat reading it. Thanks!
Up here in Cheyenne, we got 10.5 inches of snow on Sunday, probably over a foot over the weekend. That gave me a chance to get used to the feel of my new PSD in the snow. The 3.73 LS rear end sometimes obviates the need to put it in 4x4 mode. However, when it's in 4x4, it's like being on pavement when you accelerate. The ABS brings things to a stop in a hurry when it's slick. Not bad for a 7000# truck. The more I drive my white beauty, the more I like it. Up until I bought my truck, I told my friends that I didn't understand what this truck craze was all about and that I'd be a car man (BMW, to be specific) my whole life. Well, my little Nissan 4x4 got totalled by a drunk driver on Aug 15 and it was time to look for a new truck. Got tired of the small-truck scene and went for the Ford monsters. Havin' fun so far. These trucks are sooo much fun. I guess I'm a truck man, now. Maybe my next truck will be the X!
Cheers,
Tim
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'00 F-250SD SC 4x4 shorty Lariat PSD, auto, ESOF, ABS, 3.73LS, Towing pkg, OWL Tires, prem CD/Cass/radio, Captain's Chairs, leather, bed mat, cubby hole mat, Lund X-Terminator. Blind Spotz Mirrors. Oxford White/Harvest Gold. Built 7/00. Delivered 8/19/00. Valentine One (everything else is just a toy). Private Pilot, AOPA member.
[This message has been edited by thu (edited 09-26-2000).]
__________________ DSB'd: '00 F-250SD SC 4x4 SB Lariat PSD, auto, ESOF, ABS, 3.73LS, Towing pkg, OWL Tires, prem stereo, Captain's Chairs, Protecta bed mat, cubby hole mat, Lund X-Terminator. Oxford White/Harvest Gold. It's all mine! Valentine One (everything else is just a toy). AOPA, EAA, & NRA. Wyoming Pilot Representative for "50 Flags to Kitty Hawk", EAA's 100th Anniversary Celebration of the Wright Brothers' First Powered Flight at Kitty Hawk, N.C.: WyomingFirstFlight.Org
Re: I took the X-Car "4-wheeling!" - a survivor's story
Legal, great yarn. It must be nice to use an Excursion to it's full potential. Most will never even see a dirt road. Also glad to see that Colorado hasnt changed....if it's September & there hasnt been a good snow storm, just wait a day or two. Plus all those idiot CO drivers forget how to drive over the summer. And before I am flamed, I lived there for almost 7 years, so I can say with utmost certainty that alot of Colorado drivers S&*K.
Re: I took the X-Car "4-wheeling!" - a survivor's story
Legal,
Way to go. I only hope that one day I can have half as much an adventure in my Excursion as you have had in yours. At least you have give us some ideas as to what our trucks can do in extreme conditions.
Bowhunting and 4-wheelin', now thats what I call a fun weekend.
regards,
Ben
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2000 XLT EXCURSION, Chestnut, PSD, 3.73 LS, AT Tires, Skid Plate, Tele PWR TT Mirrors, Chrome Wheels, Reverse Sen. Aid., K&N Air Filter, 3 Guages, TTM, APCM, W-D Turbo Brake, Towing a 2001 Dutchman Supreme Travel Trailer Model 31BH4-DSL.
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2000 XLT EXCURSION, 4X4, Chestnut, PSD, 3.73 LS, AT Tires, Skid Plate, Tele PWR TT Mirrors, Chrome Wheels, Reverse Sen. Aid., K&N Air Filter, 3 Guages, TTM, APCM, W-D Turbo Brake, Rancho RS9000's, Grover Air Horn 1609KD, Towing a 2001 Dutchmen Supreme Travel Trailer Model 31BH4-DSL.
Re: I took the X-Car "4-wheeling!" - a survivor's story
Jay that was a great story. It reminds me of my trip up to Alaska years ago when I knocked a hole in my fuel tank and broke a shock in the Yukon near Destruction Bay.
Re: I took the X-Car "4-wheeling!" - a survivor's story
I'm glad I didn't know about the hole in the fuel tank and the broken shock BEFORE I took that drive.
As to the underwear... yes, I could save them. I have been in situations which caused me much more anxiety, so this was not so bad. What made this one bad was that this particular vehicle was MINE! I have travelled pretty dangerous territory with Uncle Sam's vehicles, and I could relax because my uncle didn't mind if I were to bend his stuff. But I would much rather explain things to a colonel than to have to face my wife. She'd not give me any grief (like the colonel would) but I'd have to look into those sweet brown eyes and realize that I'd bent her car.
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H. J. Ledbetter, Jr. J.D.
"Wife's car" is the 2K Excursion LTD, 4X4, 3.73 Limited Slip, PSD, White/Az Beige, Beige leather interior, with all the factory goodies. Added Diablo 54 chip, three-guage pillar mount with ISSPRO boost guage, ISSPRO Pyro with pre-turbo thermocouple, Banks tranny temp guage. Amsoil air filter. Altimeter. Tows a 30' Sportsmen fiberglass-sided TT with slide-out, which likes to go to the mountains a lot.
__________________
H. J. Ledbetter, Jr. J.D.
Wife's car Y2K Excursion LTD, 4X4, 3.73 LS, PSD, 3-guage pillar.ISSPRO boost, Pyro (pre-turbo) Banks tranny temp. Diablo 54. Amsoil air filter. Altimeter. Tows a 30' Sportsmen fiberglass-sided TT w/ slide-out, which likes to go to the mountains a lot.
Re: I took the X-Car "4-wheeling!" - a survivor's story
Legal,
It sounds like you had a great weekend! I drove over to Denver from Paonia (south and west of where you were) on Saturday afternoon. I was in snow from the Tunnel all the way into Denver (good old September weather in Colorado). It was my first trip over the hill in the X, and I was really pleased.
Went to the Broncos game and came back Sunday night. It was great to go over those hills as fast as I wanted or as the conditions would allow.
Did you use heavy chains on your X, or were they the lighter truck chains.
Re: I took the X-Car "4-wheeling!" - a survivor's story
Kirby -
I used the chains I had left over from the previous Ford 4X4, but never used. The guy in the Chevy had big truck chains that had been cut-down to fit 15" tires. I had some that were somewhat smaller than those, but I would not call them "light" at all. I did notice that I had considerably more chain rows going across the tire than he did, with his big-rig chains. That made me feel better. I will tell you this. I think I will get another set... but this time I will get the ones that have the "V" bar welded onto the links, to grip ice much better. Then I will be able to chain-up all four wheels for the best traction ever.
Jay
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H. J. Ledbetter, Jr. J.D.
"Wife's car" is the 2K Excursion LTD, 4X4, 3.73 Limited Slip, PSD, White/Az Beige, Beige leather interior, with all the factory goodies. Added Diablo 54 chip, three-guage pillar mount with ISSPRO boost guage, ISSPRO Pyro with pre-turbo thermocouple, Banks tranny temp guage. Amsoil air filter. Altimeter. Tows a 30' Sportsmen fiberglass-sided TT with slide-out, which likes to go to the mountains a lot.
__________________
H. J. Ledbetter, Jr. J.D.
Wife's car Y2K Excursion LTD, 4X4, 3.73 LS, PSD, 3-guage pillar.ISSPRO boost, Pyro (pre-turbo) Banks tranny temp. Diablo 54. Amsoil air filter. Altimeter. Tows a 30' Sportsmen fiberglass-sided TT w/ slide-out, which likes to go to the mountains a lot.
Re: I took the X-Car "4-wheeling!" - a survivor's story
Legal Eagle,
Where can I get the chains you're talking about? I live in Tampa, Fl and we're going to W.Virginia (Canaan Valley) for Christmas. I'm not sure if I even need them, since we're going to be on roads, but, I just want to be prepared. Do you think I'll need them?
Re: I took the X-Car "4-wheeling!" - a survivor's story
LEAGAL,
THEY ARE GREAT ARN'T YHEY, THE EX'S I MEAN. I'VE HAD MINE ON TOP OF THREE 13,000 MOUNTAINS IN COLO SO FAR AND THE ONLY PROBLEM IS BUFFING OUT THE SCRATCHES IN THE CLEAR-COAT WHEN I GET BACK. THEY ARE "LITTLE" WIDER THAN A CJ2 WHICH MOST COLO TRAILS WERE ORIGINALLY MADE BY AND THE SCRUB OAK AND SAGE BRUSH MAKES LOUD SCHREECHING NOISES AS IT RIDES ALONG THE PAINT. MY FAMILY AND FRIENDS THINK I NUTS, BUT WHY HAVE IT IF YOU CANT USE IT!! I'VE HAD TO CRAWL OVER LOGS, LOOSE SHALE, MINIMAL MUD THOUGH, AND I THINK THE EX WILL GO IF IT CAN HANG ON. I REALLY THINK THE SIZE AND WEIGHT IS A PLUSS MORE THAN A MINUS FOR WHERE I'VE HAD MINE. WHO WOULD OF THOUGHT 20 YEARS AGO WE'D BE 4 WHEELING IN ROUGH COUNTRY IN A LEATHER TRIMED FULL LUXUREY RIG THE SIZE OF NOA'S ARK!?!
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2005 "AMARILLO" PACKAGE F250 CREWCAB, LONG BOX, POWER MOON ROOF, LEATHER INTERIOR, HEATED POWER SEATS, TOW COMAND, UPFITTER SWITCHES, TEMP/COMPUS/HOMELINK MIRROR, POWER REAR WINDOW, ARE BED COVER W/SPOILER, 6 DISC IN DASH, SHIFT ON FLY, BODY COLOR GRILL INSERT, MIRRORS, LOWER VALANCE, LICENSE PLATE BRACKET, COWEL COVER, MUD GUARDS, SIDE STEP BRACKET COVERS, REAR BUMPER/HITCH PLATE COVERS, AND IS THAT YELLOW EVER "SCREAMING", AS FORD PUTS IT!!
Re: I took the X-Car "4-wheeling!" - a survivor's story
tbbux -
I hope the detailed reply I gave you by the one-on-one e-mail I sent you today was sufficient for your purposes. If you want any further information, just give me a call.
Have a nice trip.
Jay
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H. J. Ledbetter, Jr. J.D.
"Wife's car" is the 2K Excursion LTD, 4X4, 3.73 Limited Slip, PSD, White/Az Beige, Beige leather interior, with all the factory goodies. Added Diablo 54 chip, three-guage pillar mount with ISSPRO boost guage, ISSPRO Pyro with pre-turbo thermocouple, Banks tranny temp guage. Amsoil air filter. Altimeter. Tows a 30' Sportsmen fiberglass-sided TT with slide-out, which likes to go to the mountains a lot.
__________________
H. J. Ledbetter, Jr. J.D.
Wife's car Y2K Excursion LTD, 4X4, 3.73 LS, PSD, 3-guage pillar.ISSPRO boost, Pyro (pre-turbo) Banks tranny temp. Diablo 54. Amsoil air filter. Altimeter. Tows a 30' Sportsmen fiberglass-sided TT w/ slide-out, which likes to go to the mountains a lot.
