Anyone who has driven on sand knows how fast it can swallow a heavy vehicle. A desert recovery crew that posts as @MattsOffRoadRecovery found a Chevrolet Suburban sitting with its rear bumper under water, sunk so deep in wet sand that its driver couldn’t get it out. So they brought a wrecker and lifted it free.
“So, we got a call for a Suburban that is partially submerged in a river out to the barracks,” the crew explains at the start.
On the way in, they wonder aloud what a Suburban was doing on that trail at all, because washouts cut across parts of it.
How The Chevrolet Suburban Got Stuck
When they arrive, the driver explains that he could not make one climb on the way out.
“And I decided, well, the creek bed’s been solid everywhere,” he says. So he went around through the water instead, and the truck sank. Within seconds, the crew sees how deep it sits, with water reaching almost over a tire.
Lift, Then Pull
At first, the crew debates whether to pull it out frontwards or backwards. In the end, they work from the back.
So the wrecker backs in, they run two lines and pick the rear up with the boom. Meanwhile, after a jump start, the driver puts it in reverse and adds a little gas.
At first, nothing seems to move. Even so, the operator says he could see the wheel creep backward one grain of sand at a time. Then the suction lets go, and the Suburban rolls out.
Before the pull, one crew member leans toward pulling it frontwards, because the rear bumper sits under water. However, working from the back lets the wrecker lift the stuck end.
Water From The Muffler
Afterward, the Suburban starts and drives, with water pouring out of the muffler. On the way out, the crew also pulls a stuck Prius off the same trail.
“Being able to lift, pick up and pull changes when they’re suctioned in like that,” they say. As they put it, lifting the stuck end first cuts the load.
Afterward, the group talks about the night they had just spent on the trail, which one person calls miserable. Meanwhile, the Prius they find later drives away on its own once it is free.
Into The Barracks
It is an early job on a cool, clear fall morning, and the crew brings two dogs, Peanut and Higgins, along for the ride.
On the way in, washouts break up the trail, and the crew says even the easier direction is hard going. Then they reach the creek bed and see the Suburban sitting low, with its rear bumper under the water.
What To Do If Sand Grabs Your Vehicle
Their job is a reminder of a few simple rules on soft ground:
- Don’t assume a creek bed is firm just because the trail was, since wet sand can act like suction.
- Stop spinning the wheels early, because digging in only makes the hole deeper.
- Call for a recovery vehicle that can lift as well as pull when a truck sinks to the axles.
- Turn back before a climb you aren’t sure about, rather than trying a detour through water.
Where Things Stand
In the end, the Suburban drove out under its own power. The crew credits the right tool for the job, a wrecker that can lift as well as pull.
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