Itinerant Air-Cooled

dtrumbo wrote:

Amskeptic wrote:Then it started to rain.

That's damn funny! I can't wait for your book, you're story-telling skills are amazing. It is so fun to enjoy your adventures across this wonderful country of ours. Please continue to keep us entertained with your fabulous tales!

I guess I kinda missed the point about the rain. I read 'flash flood' and that's all I could think of. The rain could be either your salvation or your doom, depending on the storm clouds.

As I read it, the likely reason he got stuck in the first place was because the sand had dried out and become loose and, well... sandy. If only it had rained more recently, the sand might have been a little firmer with the increased moisture content, therefore avoiding the problem in the first place.

It's the same irony as if he had gone through everything he had only to have a tow truck show up just as he finished.

I thought it was hysterical, but maybe I missed the point. I'm still laughing anyway, not at Colin's misfortune, just at my perception of irony.

dtrumbo wrote:It's the same irony as if he had gone through everything he had only to have a tow truck show up just as he finished.

In retrospect, however, rain would have turned everything into soup and only much later, after the bus was entombed to the hubcaps, would the firm surface redevelop.
Colin

The defense rests.

Oh dear, another lost GM fanatic has wandered into the forum....

Here, glasseye, let me set you on the right path....

Hee hee. Snicker, snicker. (chortle)

Amskeptic wrote:General Motors is going to hell in a handbasket for GOOD REASON.

I'd have to agree with that after my Blazer heartbreak. (Traded it for a Toyota.)

static wrote:Letting air out of your tires does work. Don't ask me how I learned this.

It doesn't work in snow...makes things worse I think. Sand yes.
...It got a friend of mine out of the in coming tide once.

A lot of off-roaders carry air tanks and sometimes have bead locks on their wheels so they can air down for the bad stuff.
Don't forget to air back up before hitting the road.

Colin, maybe next year you should get some tire chains?

There's an idea too. Could you put on tire chains to escape sand? You would need something sturdy for a jack support I suppose, or put them on before driving on sand.
I usually carry a 12v tire compressor so I can refill tires in an emergency.

Birdibus wrote:There's an idea too. Could you put on tire chains to escape sand? .

Generally, they pull you ahead before they dig you in, but no one thing works all the time. I always carry some...and a square of plywood for the jack. Poor man's 4WD.

Well, we all have 1 tire fire as my son says, unless you have a southafrican positraction. (rare). I think we all do pretty well in our buses. More than once I have come upon a hopelessly stuck 4wd(2 wheel drive unless awd posi or locker). There is something about 4wd and a big engine that makes some people bury it and burn out the clutch.

bus71 wrote: There is something about 4wd and a big engine that makes some people bury it and burn out the clutch.

Bingo!
4 wheel drive is nice but has its limitations. Where you can go is mostly in the driver. A lot of these guys with their heavy-ass, two lane wide 4 x 4s just punch it and try to power out of a sticky situation and end up having to dig out both axles instead of just one.
I'll take finesse, reasonable ground clearance, and light weight (and/or soft, wide tire) flotation anytime. A V-8 doesn't get you unstuck.

Hippie wrote: A V-8 doesn't get you unstuck.

Wiser words never spoken.
ColinWhoNeedsToGetOutMore