I got to go wheeling with my brother again. His ride....CJ5, 31" TSLs, rear locker, open front. My ride....samurai, 31" MTs, rear locker, open front.
After 4 wheeling with him over Memorial Day weekend (he still had his crappy tires on then), and pretty much walking all over his Heep, I thought after he got his TSLs on, we would be pretty evenly matched.....well read on.....
It had rained quite a bit, and was pretty wet/muddy where we were wheeling....advantage TSLs (or so I thought). All the TSLs wanted to do was dig (he was even running 6psi in them). First place he had problems was trying to cross a creek. There was a pretty steep and loose sandbar he had to climb to get out of the creek, he must of tried it about 10 or 12 times and all he could do was dig holes when he was headed up the sandbar....he had to break out the winch. I tried the same place, but he had dug ruts and holes so deep I couldn't make it either. So I picked a different line, just to the side of where he was trying....it was a little tougher line....it had a trench running across the face of the sandbar, so just as the rear tires were starting to go up it, the front tires dropped into the trench and had to climb out again. I had to hit it about 6 or 8 times, but then it just popped right up it (actually more like shot right up it), it had to stand on the brakes pretty hard to keep from hitting a tree right at the edge of the creek
. Samurai 1....Heep 0.
Then it was on to the infamous "trench" crossing (it is a big, deep, muddy "V" shaped ditch that you rub the front bumper when your front tires hit the bottom of the "V" and you drag the rear bumper when your rear tires hit the bottom of the "V". He tried it first.....he got down into the ditch, got his rear tires into the bottom, then couldn't climb out of it. He could work back and forth, to get a "run" at climbing out, but those TSLs just pretty much sucked it up....they wouldn't dig, they wouldn't bite, nothing....and he was spinning them as fast as he could (V6, low gears, so he had the power and speed). I even had him try a little different line (since the one he had been taking did had a couple little holes dug into the face of it). While he continued to attempt to get across, I was working on pulling my spare tire off the stock tailgate tire carrier, since it will rub pretty hard when I am crossing the ditch (it doesn't hang me up, it is just really hard on the tailgate and bracket). Well, by the time he got winched out of the ditch, I had the spare off and was ready for my attempt. I tried the same line I suggested to him, since it was the "smoothest" line to get out of the ditch....it was a no-go....I could get the front tires just about the to the top of the ditch, but I couldn't get them out (I was doing 5K RPM blasts too....I know not redline...but I hate running the engine that hard
). Then I thought I'd try the line he was taking at first with the holes dug into it....I hit it a few times, then the front tires finally got up out of the ditch and I got out. Samurai 2....Heep 0.
Then onto another creek crossing....to get out of the creek, you had to climb a steep mud covered sandbar. After I cleared the downed trees from the crossing, he tried it.....HE ACTUALLY MADE IT WITHOUT WINCHING
....after about 6 or 8 attempts. I hit it once, popped right out, without even really trying. I radioed him on the CB and said I have another samurai he can build....I am glad he can take some ribbing.
.
Final tally...Samurai 3....Heep .5 (I'll give him half a point for the last crossing....hey, he didn't have to winch
).
Oh yeah, did I say I was selling my samurai to get a Heep? What the hell was I thinking.
