Trail Boss accomplishes Recovery WAYY offroad in Northern Colorado

vezePilot · Nov 16, 2022

I did another recovery as a volunteer for Recovery Offroad Portal. There are volunteers for the portal in every State.
Scott, his family and friends were hunting Elk North of Walden at the State line. F150 suffered a driveline failure for the front, after he had backed off the road ... and basically into the forest.
They had two other trucks, but one developed a dead battery. They went into town (Laramie?) and got a new battery, but they did need my Cat brand Starter Box to get it started to drive out.
So this was, technically, two recoveries.

You can see "Hunter stuck in Colorado" at offroadportal.org for more details.

I have a TRUCKLOAD of recovery gear, including about 250 feet of Winch Line, Winch ropes, Tow Straps and Tree Savers. Four or five Soft Shackles, 5 hard shackles, winch rings and snatch block, much etc.

I anchored the Trail Boss using Tree Savers to a live tree at the nearest flat spot in the road, nearly 200 feet from Scott's truck.

My Power Cable and electrical connections and tools worked well in the field when very much needed. Scott had Wife and Kids, all hunters, with him.
OpenRoad brand 9,500 lb winch worked Great! ... but at one point we ripped the rope completely off the spindle. My advice is NEVER DO THAT.
Took 45 minutes to fix it.

After winching and getting him turned around, I towed him through the deep snow and steep inclines back to his campsite (two large hot tents.)
This was with a 1-1/4 inch DIA 30 foot Kinetic rope ... that I have been really looking forward to trying out.

Chevy Trail Boss is awesome.
Does everything so Well! Fast and efficient for more than 450 miles on highway, VERY capable offroad, massive capacity for gear and people.

.

TonyBoss · Nov 16, 2022

Awesome! Great adventure and recovery.

vezePilot · Nov 16, 2022

Now several hours today organizing and putting away all of the tree savers, tow straps, winch ropes, soft shackles,
gloves, back belts, wet tire chains ...

and that's a good way of looking at it- "Great adventure." People contact me through the Portal, and say:
"Hey, Curt ... we're out here way back and beyond the middle of nowhere, it's windy and cold and some of our stuff is broke.
... Wanna join us?"

Jmzvet · Nov 16, 2022

Awesome job! Doubt I'll ever need your help in San Diego but it's great to know people like you still exist.

Boop · Nov 22, 2022

I'm new to Colorado and new to offroading but I'm working on upgrading my trailboss. If you ever need help id love to volunteer and learn the ropes ( pun intended )

scotman623 · Nov 22, 2022

Great adventure and recovery!!!!!

vezePilot · Nov 22, 2022

Boop said:
I'm new to Colorado and new to offroading but I'm working on upgrading my trailboss. If you ever need help id love to volunteer and learn the ropes ( pun intended )

For 4WD/Off Road fun/work, self-recovery should be planned for. And without the help of another vehicle, a Winch is an imperative.

Unfortunately, it is either expensive, or difficult ... or both, to put a Winch on the Front of a Trail Boss.

However, using a winch at the Rear of a Trail Boss is Cheap, Easy and nearly as beneficial as a front mounted winch.
Just get a Receiver Mount for the Winch, and fabricate a 20-foot long Red & Black cable of two lengths of 2 gauge welding wire, with terminals.

I found that the stock Factory power Cables on my OpenRoad brand winch are just a few inches TOO SHORT to even reach the battery from the front of the truck. So I have to use the 20-foot long Power Cable that I made for the Rear, just to make it work on the Front. The location of the Battery may have the same outcome for other brands.

So having the Long Power Cable might someday be needed even for your Front Mounted Winch, whenever it is that this is available.

I selected the OpenRoad because (a.) the Harbor Freight products did not have a lightweight, low-cost model with fabric Winch Rope; (b.) the OpenRoad products are well-reviewed by others; (c.) the low cost of OpenRoad compared to other brands. Now that I have used this OpenRoad 9500 more than once, I have proven that it is a sturdy and cost-effective solution. There are other comparably-priced winches, of course.

PHXPHOTOG · Nov 22, 2022

Until you brought it up I didn't even know volunteer recovery groups existed. Good for you. What an awesome act of selfless good to give your time and expertise to. We have watched you build that whole system, now your doing good with it. A salute good sir.

Steve