Rescued an XJ a few days ago

[stan98tj]

I got a call this week from James (Saharacon87) asking me to head out to the trail and help this guy out who was stranded in his XJ. Guy had a pretty built XJ with 35s and around 7" of lift. But, he broke some cardinal wheeling rules: He was alone and without any recovery gear, save a dinky come-along and a strap. This was also his first time out on this trail.
I came along his driver side, on the side of the trail that was actually the natural progression of the trail, to find that where he was stuck was to the right....off the trail in a pit.
Directly in front of his bumper was a pile of mud, much like a muddy wall basically meaning he was up to his doors in a muddy hole. The winch needed to pull him up and over the wall, but when i began winching I noticed I was actually pulling him THROUGH the muddy wall, rather than up and over. His axles, pumpkin and undercarriage were all just shoveling this muddy pile/"wake" of mud along with him. Nevertheless the warn winch perfomed well and got him out.
I included this video on my winch review page so future members can get another look at it in action.

[orangecrush4u]

Nice job, surprised you didnt move foward with the weight and the conditions

[HuLuD44]

yup! i need me one...

[stan98tj]

Nice job, surprised you didnt move foward with the weight and the conditions

I did at first. Then I anchored to a tree.

[orangecrush4u]

I did at first. Then I anchored to a tree.

Thats what I would have thought but couldnt see it from the video.

[565matt]

Good job helping a fellow wheeler.. Im sure he wont go out on the trail alone ever again

[stan98tj]

I forgot again to bring a heavy mat to act as a saftey damper for the line. Corrected that when i got home, i now have on in the trunk waiting for the next rescue.

[BermB1026]

question for everyone...I have only been around I winch recovery once and it took place in very sandy section. The truck being pulled was in gear and he was giving it gas. In doing so he was making the situation worse by actually digging into the sand. The winch operator finally saw and told him to stay in neutral, once he did the winch pulled him out with no problems....Would that of helped here? and would it have be better to pull him out from the rear?

[HuLuD44]

From what I witnessed up in CT which was my only experience seeing some serious winching, in a low traction situation like a muddy rocky slope where there is no digging. assisting with the gas def helps. You will catch here and there and out run the winch but as long as you give it a chance to catch up its all good. In a situation where your buried like that, might be better to be in neutral and let the winch do the work. Hitting the gas may possibly create additional forces and fight the winch.

[NiceGuySanti]

Cool rescue!

I usually tell anyone that I am pulling out to put it in 4 lo and keep the rpm's steady at around 2500, it really helps get them unstuck.