I've really taken good care of my truck over the last couple of years. Even put a fresh coat of was on it last weekend. It's my daily driver, family hauler, boat tower, debris remover and now, Jeep recovery vehicle. My kid wanted to go 4 wheeling so I figured I would go along. The Jeep is a 2008 Unlimited Rubicon on 35 Toyos. We locked up and slowly moved through some really soft stuff and I knew right away we weren't getting back. Recent rain created a swap with some dead brush cover.

So, called the wife to bring the truck. Figured I could get close and give a pull. With 4 wheel drive and a rear locker, I figured it was 50/50. However, all I did was bury they Hancook's and settle the frame into the ground on the side I thought would be the driest. Not sure why I thought it would work with factory Hancook's with 37k miles on them. Hindsight...

Finally got the truck out but the Jeep stayed the night. Luckily, Harbor Freight was having a sale and was open at 8am the next morning. $299 and one 12,000 lb winch later with a hitch mount and we're out.

But man, those sport wheels love to hold mud. Took about an hour and a half to really get the the mud out enough that the balance wasn't thrown off. Before I got them cleaned out, my youngest thought we had a Platinum with messaging seats it was shaking so bad. It'll be a while before it's the same again!

Cautionary tale from Captain Obvious is simply this. Don't drive in swamp muck on factory Hancook All Terrains.



Calvary to free the truck was another Jeep and F150.



The $299 hero of the weekend

 

Good times! My truck is also my daily driver with the Hankook DYNAPRO AT-M tires. I'll struggle through this winter but next fall but will get something better. The one positive on these tires is they are pretty quiet on the highway.

 

Agreed! I think the Hankooks have actually done really well on the highway and after 37k miles, I still have some life in them. Definitely no complaints for road and light trail use.

 

I picked up my 2018 on the 6th of October. I thought the Hankook's were pretty good tires...until our first snowfall. They got replaced yesterday at 4000 km with BFG AT/KO2's. I couldn't imagine trying to offroad with the Hankook's, especially after running 35" AT/KO's on my last 2 vehicles, which were respectively 2013 and 2014 JKU Rubicon's.

 

I agree. For OEM tires they're pretty decent.

 

Looks like fun !
How do you like that winch?

For $299 I'm thinking of getting one too !

 

Times of crisis is when family bonds the most, right? Makes for a good story anyway. Glad you were able to get out w/o any damage. Doesn't look like there was much of a "bottom" to that trail so I'm not sure different tires would've made any difference.

 

That's a good deal on the winch... their website has it listed for $399 + the hitch mount...

 

That looks like it would have been a blast......had you not gotten stuck.

Brings back memories from our past outings with an off road club years ago. My wife and I both have been stuck as well, she was running 36" Super Swampers and mine had 39" Super Swampers, both were 79 Broncos.

Are you going to put the winch on the Jeep for future fun?

 

To answer a couple questions above, yes, the winch will live on the Jeep. But for the money, I might get another. As far as liking the winch, 12,000 lb is probably overkill but I'd rather have it than not. It was the hero of the weekend and so far, we live it. I read good reviews from actual owners and the real negativity came from Warn owners. I love Warn but again, $299 on sale just couldn't be passed up.