high centered?

verdesard0g

Adventurist
Lets say you are driving down a familiar forest service road. You notice fresh road grader tracks... yea! Smooth sailing ahead, you come to a rain diverter berm you have crossed many times before. No problem......opps, they made it higher and more perpendicular to the road. You have enough momentum to get stuck but not enough to get over the top!
What are you going to do?
All 4 wheels turning in the air!
 
Hi Lift, front or back depends on what part of the vehicle is over the berm the farthest (shortest path of least resistance). Lift and stack under the applicable tires rocks, logs, Maxtrax if you have them. If by lifting and stacking debris and the vehicle is stable, but never while just supported by the Hi Lift, excavate the berm to remove the resistance.
 
First shut off vehicle and shift to first gear or park, set the brakes, you don't want a run away vehicle....Always secure the vehicle before doing anything else!
 
My last two trucks had a scissor jack and a screw jack both to be placed under the axles. With a long enough handle that would work. Place wheel chocks in front and back of the tire diagonal from the one you are going to lift. Jack up the vehicle and build a ramp under one tire. if the opposite tire is still off the ground do the same for that side. then drive off.
What I would use to lift a wheel now is the hi lift lift mate to lift the wheel directly, no need to crawl under the truck.
 
Lets say you are driving down a familiar forest service road. You notice fresh road grader tracks... yea! Smooth sailing ahead, you come to a rain diverter berm you have crossed many times before. No problem......opps, they made it higher and more perpendicular to the road. You have enough momentum to get stuck but not enough to get over the top!
What are you going to do?
All 4 wheels turning in the air!

It's never happened to me. So rather than answer, let me ask a question. Since you describe a berm made by a road grader - as opposed to being hung up on a rock or stump - any particular reason not to use your winch to pull yourself forward off of it?
 
It's happened to me . . . either bring along a friend with a snatch strap, or a shovel . . .

cruiser-on-a-crest_25654873271_o.jpg
 
True story: got high centered coming down from Top of the World in Moab Utah.

I couldn't get a push from someone, or get pulled by another vehicle, because I was solo.

Thought about using a jack and driving off it, but I was afraid of what the jack would do. A hi-light might hit the body and I might bend/crush my oem bottle jack.

Thought about jacking it up, stacking some rocks under it, but I was disconnected and the Jeep flexes pretty well and I wasn't sure about that. Also, let's face it, that's a lot of work in the hot Utah sun.

I ended up going with my winch. It was the safest, slowest, and most controlled option I could think of. So I ran cable to a nearby rock, looped my tree-saver around it, and winched myself forward 3".

Mind you all of this - my train of thought, rigging, and recovery - happened in the span of 10 minutes. I love having a good winch, a proper rigging kit, and the skills to use them.
 
Good conversations!
First secure the vehicle! Wheel chocks if yo have em, rocks, branches or anything you can find. 1st gear or park, brakes on.
It's nice if you have cribbing otherwise you might need to build up a hill for your jack, take the time to make the jack as straight up and down as possible. And keep it away from the tire so yo have room for rubble under the tire.

botle.jpg
 
I prefer using the hi lift jack with the lift mate accessory for this. Make sure to place the liftmate pad on the rim otherwise it could unseat a tire. Especially if you have aired down! Also make sure that the beam of the jack does not touch any vehicle body parts. And when not actually using it, the handle should be clipped up.


lift mate.jpg
rim.jpg
 
Chain/strap the axle to the frame (prevents suspension droop) and Hi-Lift/ jack accordingly.
 
Chain/strap the axle to the frame (prevents suspension droop) and Hi-Lift/ jack accordingly.

You only need to chain the axle if you are lifting by the body where the suspension has to top out before the tire comes off the ground.
Another reason to use the hi lift lift liftmate :)
 
I usually just get out and push...

If you are stuck enough that you can't drive over, I'm willing you won't be able to push your vehicle over either. And how will you secure it so it won't roll away if you get it off? Can't push with the brakes on!
 
Maybe if you had three or four big hefty guys with you you could stay in the truck and have them lift one end so the other end had enough traction to pull you off. Be safe though!!!!
 
True story: got high centered coming down from Top of the World in Moab Utah.

I couldn't get a push from someone, or get pulled by another vehicle, because I was solo.

Thought about using a jack and driving off it, but I was afraid of what the jack would do. A hi-light might hit the body and I might bend/crush my oem bottle jack.

Thought about jacking it up, stacking some rocks under it, but I was disconnected and the Jeep flexes pretty well and I wasn't sure about that. Also, let's face it, that's a lot of work in the hot Utah sun.

I ended up going with my winch. It was the safest, slowest, and most controlled option I could think of. So I ran cable to a nearby rock, looped my tree-saver around it, and winched myself forward 3".

Mind you all of this - my train of thought, rigging, and recovery - happened in the span of 10 minutes. I love having a good winch, a proper rigging kit, and the skills to use them.


Yep sometime a winch is the easiest. If it's just a little tug and no underbody stuff is going to get damaged a winch will make short work of the job. A couple of years ago on a search and rescue mission I went over a berm in my Dakota, I didn't get very far before I had to turn around and exit. Got stuck on the berm I had just cleared! I hauled out some winch rope and a tree strap around some bushes and was out in less than 5 minuets.
 
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