Tony Raven vaguely muttered something like ...
> Paul - *** wrote:
>> Tony Raven vaguely muttered something like ...
>>
>>> Paul - *** wrote:
>>>
>>>> It is when you realise it's a slurry pond, and it's sinking .. slowly,
>>>> but still sinking ... and the depth in that particular pond is around
>>>> 30 feet ....
>>>>
>>>
>>> What's that rule in off-roading about inspecting and walking it first?
>>
>>
>> We'd gone there the day before and all was well .. Overnight the factory
>> had started to pump slurry, we came along, following same tracks, saw
>> 'same' 4' wide 'puddle' before a bank. yesterday it went up the bank
>> fine, today the wheels spun even before getting to the bank and spun us
>> round dumping us unceremoniously into the clarts ... We got deeper
>> trying to get out. When reverse still goes forwards and deeper there's
>> little option but get recovered ..
>>
>
> Cumoffit ;-). Yesterday you drove through it. Today it was the same
> size but 30ft deep? I applaud your Land Rover's ability to scale the
> 28ft vertical walls of that particular pit on the first day. Or is this
> the off-road equivalent of "the one that got away"
Acksherlly you're right. looking back and at the pics, the stream feeding
the sump hole is about 10' wide, not 4,
but looked exactly the same both days. What had happened is that the slurry
pumping had scoured it down somewhat, but the surface looked absolutely no
different. If you look at this photo
http://groups.msn.com/LosiPaulsPictures/shoebox.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=120
(screen grab from analogue video) you can see our tracks leading iinto the
water, the pic is taken from the top of the bank we would have gone up, and
had done the day before. As the tyres entered the water they simply sank,
and we couldn't get up the bank or reverse out ...
The sandy area is actually very firm, the slurry sets like concrete,
http://groups.msn.com/LosiPaulsPictures/shoebox.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=121 shows the two towing vehicles and one of the drivers, and the tracks
of the rearmost towing vehicle almost at the edge of the water. The watery
bits are absolutely slick.
On a second outing we got stuck again, but differently. Having walked over
a section, as we normally do and as you pointed out testing it, we drove
out, when all wheels were out, the 'crust' gave way and we sank, with
apparently just water under the tyres, and the chassis resting on the hard
surface. Got out ourselves that time though ..
That's the trouble with this area, it's unpredictable and changes condition
every time we go there. The time we sank shown in the pictures was only the
second time we'd been there and didn't really know the local conditions.
With hindsight, a wonderful thing, we'd not have got stuck at all .. and
haven't got stuck there since, despite going back on numerous occasions with
Landrovers, bikes, motorbikes, and a truck ...
--
Paul ...
(8(|) Homer Rules !!!
"A ****** is a ******, no matter what mode of transport they're using."