Submission InformationSend us your wheeling foul-ups! Letters must be signed by the vehicle's owner. Due to the large volume of mail we receive, we regret that not all submissions can be used and none will be returned. Digital photos must measure no less than 1600 x 1200 pixels (or two megapixels) and be saved as a TIFF, an EPS, or a maximum-quality JPEG file.

Write to:
Whoops!
4-Wheel & Off-Road
6420 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90048-5515
fax 323.782.2704

E-mail to:
whoops@4wheeloffroad.com

Rausch Creek takes out another one.
Patrick Woodworth
via 4wheeloffroad.com

It looked dry enough.
Ben Haake
via 4wheeloffroad.com

At least the four-wheel-drive actuator was under warranty.
Michael Schmidt
via 4wheeloffroad.com

Send us your wheeling foul-ups! Letters must be signed by the vehicle's owner. Due to the large volume of mail we receive, we regret that not all submissions can be used and none will be returned. Digital photos must measure no less than 1600 x 1200 pixels (or two megapixels) and be saved as a TIFF, an EPS, or a maximum-quality JPEG file.

Write To:
Whoops!
4-Wheel & Off-road
6420 Wilshire blvd.
los Angeles, CA 90048-5515
fax 323.782.2704

E-Mail To:
whoops@4wheeloffroad.com

Yep, I'm stuck.
Bob Lake
via 4wheeloffroad.com

Extreme snow skier tom Wayes spends the warm months wheeling his buggy up the scariest cliffs he can find. Think he made it up this one in Arizona? Wrong, gravity wins again.
Fred Williams
via 4wheeloffroad.com

It seems like every year we see less and less of your classic Whoops! is it because you are being more careful? or have you "masters of catastrophe" learned how to dodge the camera? Either way we're glad to see more of you wheeling responsibly, but boy do we ever love to see when you mess up. We all get stuck sooner or later; it's merely a case of whether or not you're willing to tell the world about your foul-ups. to congratulate those who proudly sent in their mistakes for the masses to see, we will be sending out license plates to the top 10 Whoops of 2007. Just a thank you for the joy we all get out of their 4x predicaments. Also, be sure to check out the proud men and woman of our U.S. military getting some of the biggest and baddest machines on earth demobilized in the terra firma from around the globe. And, as always, if you want to be part of the fun, simply send in your Whoops to whoops@4wheeloffroad.com.

Something's Fishy
While wheeling in northern Pennsylvania, we came across this water crossing that the locals were going right through. i decided to keep a little to the left when my passenger side dropped underwater. After getting pulled out by my "local buddy," he told me there was a ford with 60-inch tractor tires tearing it up just a few days before.
Chris Bower Sox, via 4wheeloffroad.com

Hard Lines
I had just finished working on my truck when i decided to head out for a little mountain wheeling in yigo, guam. Unfortunately i underestimated the mountain. i rolled my rig trying to follow the same lines that a few other rigs were doing-thinking that if they can do it, so can i. oh well, at least nobody got hurt.
Bob Hernandez via 4wheeloffroad.com

Speed Bump
Just because your spotter says bump it, that doesn't mean you should hit it!
Joel Brown via 4wheeloffroad.com

Boot Scoopin' Boogie
The 39.5-inch Boggers and a 125-shot of nitrous couldn't get me out of this Canadian muck.
Serge Goulet via 4wheeloffroad.com

Canadian Cannonball
The water was definitely deeper than it looked from the other side!
Marcus Fritz, via 4wheeloffroad.com

Simple Sink
Stuck again.
Phil Beeler via 4wheel offroad.com

Close Call
I was driving down a canyon road when i hit a patch of black ice that caused my Blazer to go off the road and hit a tree, then slide sideways down into a huge rock. thankfully that rock was there, because if we had slid a few more feet we would have been upside down in an ice-covered river.
Jon Holdaway, via 4wheeloffroad.com

Quick Drop
After a fun day of wheeling at the cliffs, my 7-year-old son and i found the biggest hole there. He was a little mad since it ended our wheeling for the day.
Gary j. Widmayer, via 4wheeloffroad.com

Toy Sliders
This is what happens when you don't have enough horsepower and too much weight on the passenger side and you try to drift the truck at 40 mph on a dry lake bed.
Roy WetHington via 4wheeloffroad.com

Super Stuck
Not even the v-10 can get me out of this one!
Shawn Cochran via 4wheeloffroad.com

Iced Out
This happened on the coldest night of the year in new Jersey. We were driving\ home when we hit a spot of ice that slid us off the bridge and resulted in a mangled passenger-side suspension.
Vinnie de via 4wheeloffroad.com

Friend Finder
I seriously have to stop listening to my friends.
Scott Withall, via 4wheeloffroad.com

Short Stop
I made it all the way through this 100-yard mud pit successfully only to have a drop-off at the end stop me!
David Hazard via 4wheeloffroad.com

Good Point
While wheeling at the Point in Hawaii we came upon this mud hole that my stock dakota made it through the first time with no problem. But after getting stuck on the second pass i made my decision that it's finally time for a lift kit.
Josh Bullock via 4wheeloffroad.com

Military Whoops!

The Floater
This truck was being backed off of a trailer when the driver got a little too close to the sewage pond and slid in. it took aboom off of a Hemmet wrecker and a frontend loader to pull it out.
Staff SGT. keith Forsman via 4wheeloffroad.com

H2 OH!
While deployed in Haiti we had a chance encounter with a mud hole that swallowed our 15-ton water truck that was loaded with 3,000 gallons of water. talk about waterlogged.
Gerald Vachon via 4wheeloffroad.com

Stuck Down Under
This happened on a recent training op in Australia. After we got the Humvee stuck, we went for the 7-ton and then sank it as well!
Lance CPL. Michael Leapley via 4wheeloffroad.com

Quick Crete
I was turning around a 5-ton to help a fuel truck that had gotten stuck in the sand when all of a sudden i sank. i guess the survey team forgot to mention that the ground in Papua, new guinea, would be so soft.
Name Withheld via 4wheeloffroad.com

Army Soft
This is what happens when a 2-ton truck finds a soft spot in iraq.
Jim Captain via 4wheeloffroad.com

Tanked
Thankfully the iraq rainy season only lasts two months. Staff SGT.
Chris Hjelm via 4wheeloffroad.com

Cutting Corners
Although there was nobody around to 'fess up to the incident, we think somebody went for the corner a little too soon.
SPC. Joseph Darling, via 4wheeloffroad.com

Mili-Bogger
After a heavy rain flooded our base here in tikrit, iraq, we decided to bring a little fun back into our extremely boring lives. these lmtvs are supposed to be mud boggers, but i guess not. it took us over an hour of breaking chains, digging, and laughing to get this big bugger out.
SRA Cory s. Olson via 4wheeloffroad.com

Top 10 Whoops!

Rising Sun 2 Sinking Path
We went out wheeling right after a typhoon one day in Japan, and needless to say, i learned quickly that you should always test the waters before you get in too deep.
Matt Richter, via 4wheeloffroad.com

1-Night Stand
Thanks to my heavy right foot and a few broken steering components, we had an all-night recovery party.
Bernie via 4wheeloffroad.com

Totaled Toy
This is what's left of my '88 toyota 4runner after a roll from a nearly vertical hillclimb. luckily it looks worse than it was.
Joe via 4wheeloffroad.com

Gilligan's Island
Where's the snorkel when you need one?
Chris Bryan via 4wheeloffroad.com

Full Tilt
Well, this didn't work out the way I thought it would.
Kelly Leach, via 4wheeloffroad.com

Spider Bite
I'm just putting the fall back into the waterfalls on Poison Spider mesa.
John Meighan via 4wheeloffroad.com

Muddy Boot
Some of the locals here in italy told me about this trench that I should go try. As it turned out, the mud, sand, and water mix was more like quicksand than anything else. it took a 10,000-pound winch on the front of a deuce-and-a-half to pull me out.
Derek Horn, via 4wheeloffroad.com

Swamp Thing
This is my '92 toyota with 18 inches of lift and 38.5-inch Boggers right after i dropped into what i thought was a shallow water crossing. i went in with a quarter tank of gas and came out with a full truck of water.
Richard Bates via 4wheeloffroad.com

Jonny Craig
Here is my '79 CJ after hitting a hole on the bomb range at the eagle Air force Base. i ended up ripping the leaf spring off of the perch and splitting my dana 18 transfer case down the side. The worst part was the four-hour walk to get back to base. I think we lost about 10 pounds after it was all said and done!
John Eiler, via 4wheeloffroad.com

Rock Flop
We had been on this trail several times before, but this run was just a little different.
Kreg Waits via 4wheeloffroad.com

Send us your wheeling foul-ups! Letters must be signed by the vehicle's owner. Due to the large volume of mail we receive, we regret that not all submissions can be used and none will be returned. Digital photos must measure no less than 1600 x 1200 pixels (or two megapixels) and be saved as a Tiff, an EPS, or a maximum-quality JPEG file.

Write To:
Whoops!
4-Wheel & Off-Road
6420 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90048-5515
fax 323.782.2704

E-mail To:
whoops@4wheeloffroad.com

This is what happens when you blast over a West texas sand hill going a little too fast.
Kevin Martin
via 4wheeloffroad.com

As quick as my buddy yelled "sinkhole!" we were stuck, thus making the truck's maiden voyage over the Alaskan tundra a long one.
Flint Collins
via 4wheeloffroad.com

When your friend tells you that he knows a shortcut back to camp, don't listen to him!
Jason Mcdaniel
via 4wheeloffroad.com

Send us your wheeling foul-ups! Letters must be signed by the vehicle's owner. Due to the large volume of mail we receive, we regret that not all submissions can be used and none will be returned. Digital photos must measure no less than 1600 x 1200 pixels (or two megapixels) and be saved as a TIFF, an EPS, or a maximum-quality JPEG file.

Write to:
Whoops!
4-Wheel & Off-Road
6420 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90048-5515
fax 323.782.2704

E-mail to:
whoops@4wheeloffroad.com

A man's home may be his castle, but that doesn't keep him from getting stuck in the front yard.
Jake Wellard
Via 4wheeloffroad.Com

The new employee tried to suck up to the boss by bush hogging the fence line. Let's just say he didn't win any brownie points on this day.
John Boyd
via 4wheeloffroad.com

A little too much throttle will cost you a windshield frame. Ask me how I know.
Patrick McCafferty
via 4wheeloffroad.com

Send us your wheeling foul-ups! Letters must be signed by the vehicle's owner. Due to the large volume of mail we receive, we regret that not all submissions can be used and none will be returned. Digital photos must measure no less than 1600 x 1200 pixels (or two megapixels) and be saved as a TIFF, an EPS, or a maximum-quality JPEG file.

Write to:
Whoops!
4-Wheel & Off-Road
6420 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90048-5515
fax 323.782.2704

E-mail to:
whoops@4wheeloffroad.com

This is what happens when you overestimate the power of two-wheel drive!
Name withheld
via 4wheeloffroad.com

All I can say is that I'm glad my buddy had a winch!
Brandon Dickman
via 4wheeloffroad.com

Even with 4 inches of lift and 33-inch MTs, my Jeep was no match for the Texas mud.
James Doyle
via 4wheeloffroad.com

Send us your wheeling foul-ups! Letters must be signed by the vehicle's owner. Due to the large volume of mail we receive, we regret that not all submissions can be used and none will be returned. Digital photos must measure no less than 1600 x 1200 pixels (or two megapixels) and be saved as a TIFF, an EPS, or a maximum-quality JPEG file.

Write to:
Whoops!
4-Wheel & Off-Road
6420 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90048-5515
fax 323.782.2704

E-Mail To:
whoops@4wheeloffroad.com

Beach Bummer
This is why you should never do donuts on the beach.
Keith Hebert
via 4wheeloffroad.com

Swamp 10
This is how to turn your truck into a water slide!
Alan Bates-Mendonca
via 4wheeloffroad.com

Light Yellow
I guess a heavy foot and short wheelbase don't mix!
Ray Alexander
via 4wheeloffroad.com

Send us your wheeling foul-ups! Letters must be signed by the vehicle's owner. Due to the large volume of mail we receive, we regret that not all submissions can be used and none will be returned. Digital photos must measure no less than 1600 x 1200 pixels (or two megapixels) and be saved as a TIFF, an EPS, or a maximum-quality JPEG file

Write to:
Whoops!
4-Wheel & Off-Road
6420 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90048-5515
fax 323.782.2704

E-mail to:
whoops@4wheeloffroad.com

We decided to hit the trails just after the rainy season in Hawaii. Guess it needed to dry out a little longer!
Albert Arno, via 4wheeloffroad.com

If I had a penny for every time my husband said, "But honey, it doesn't look that deep..."
Name withheld, via 4wheeloffroad.com

I now know how important it is to trust your copilot when you can't see what's on the other side of your hood!
Juan Baena, via 4wheeloffroad.com

Send us your wheeling foul-ups! Letters must be signed by the vehicle's owner. Due to the large volume of mail we receive, we regret that not all submissions can be used and none will be returned. Digital photos must measure no less than 1600 x 1200 pixels (or two megapixels) and be saved as a TIFF, an EPS, or a maximum-quality JPEG file.

Write to:
Whoops!4-Wheel & Off-Road
6420 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90048-5515
fax 323.782.2704

E-mail to:
whoops@4wheeloffroad.com

SnowBound
I was driving along with my uncle when suddenly my Dodge Ram took a plunge into 4 feet of freshly packed powder. Talk about deceiving drifts! Jeremy Teplitza, via 4wheeloffroad.com

Family Fun
This is the result of my wife's kid brother deciding to take my father-in-law's new truck for a little spin. Jed Tuttle, via 4wheeloffroad.com

Water Woes
I will never listen to my friends again when they say, "I think you can make it!" Jason Gulas, via 4wheeloffroad.com

Part 2 of the Craziest Four-Wheeling Ever!In the September issue, we tackled round one of the special tribute to our favorite reader Whoops! from the past 30 years. Let's just say there have been a lot of foul-ups in the past three decades. Narrowing them down was no easy task, as you people did some fairly interesting "wheeling"-and seemed pretty proud to show both us and the world your not-so-finest moments. Plus, we're not even talking about spontaneous transmission shifting, acts of Mother Nature, "next thing I knew," or the random flame.

Best Whoops! of All Time, Part 1, featured the first 15 years, so as you'd guess from our catchy title, here you'll find Whoops! the Next 15 Years. Thankfully, this section of the magazine keeps improving with age-as do your predicaments!

Keep your Whoops! coming!

Send yours to:
Whoops! 4-Wheel & Off-Road
6420 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90048

E-mail to:
whoops@4wheeloffroad.com

Before and After
We tried to out-jump some dirt bikes...and we did! Too bad we overshot the landing by 52 feet, snapping the front axletube and rolling the truck over when we landed.
Geoff Barnes, Mapleton, UT, Oct. '05

Diamond Scars are Forever
This Whoops! took place in Gilmer, Texas, on a four-diamond-rated trail. Next time I'll leave the hardtop at home.
Kyle Eddy, Houston, TX, Apr. '03

But was the Dog OK?
This is the short version of a long story: A routine Sunday-afternoon ride, a '72 Scout, an '87 Nissan. Some quicksand, a broken axle, a flash flood, and a 15-mile walk. A Mack truck with a 30-ton winch, several support vehicles, and a flatbed trailer. Five long days of pumping water and digging sand. The Scout is back in action, but we don't know whether the Nissan will live.
J.F. Marshall & Joe Larson, Moab, UT, Sept. '98

Big Gulp
My friend David and I were on our way to a pond in my '77 Blazer. There is no direct road leading to it, so we had to trample through 7-foot-tall Johnson grass. We ended up in a big ravine that swallowed us whole!
Sid Mendenhall, Apache, OK, Dec. '95

Anyone for Bridge?
My ex-father-in-law and I went to my favorite fishing spot for my birthday. I parked my truck on the bridge like I usually do. We were standing beside the truck when the bridge collapsed. Fortunately, we only had scrapes and bruises and the truck had minor dings and scratches. A tow truck with a boom hoisted the truck from the 20-foot-deep hole.
Rod McBride, Colfax, CA, Sept. '96

Flattie Foul-Up
I managed to roll my '48 Willys into a stream that was more like a small pond. It took a shovel, a tow strap that broke, a Hi-Lift jack, and my friend's '79 Scout II to get my Jeep back over. After I changed the oil and put a hole in the exhaust to drain out the water, the Willys was ready for the 45-mile ride home.
Andy Estrada, address withheld, Dec. '97

Pyro Bronco
My friends and I were on Interstate 5 just north of San Diego when we saw this burning Bronco on the shoulder. We could only guess what happened.
Spencer Esch, Fairplay, CO, Apr. '96

Cue the Circus Music
A friend of mine took his two trucks, a '76 Ford and an '85 Chevy, one night to play and buried them both. He called me to come and pull him out, and I sank my '91 F-150 despite 7 inches of lift. At the high point of the night, there were a total of six stuck trucks. We had to get a skidder to get these out, but we buried it too. We used a bulldozer to get the skidder out. The two Fords were able to drive home with minor water damage, but the Chevy's motor gave out and took a ride home with the skidder behind a Peterbilt.
Ric Crawford, Thompson, GA, Jan. '01

Maiden Voyage
This was my '92 Ranger's first trip on the trail. It has a 4-inch Superlift suspension, a 3-inch body lift and 33x14.50-15 Mickey Thompsons. I was climbing a hill and I didn't see the large washout in front of me. It took $7,000 and a month of frame and bodywork to fix my truck. Now I just stick to mud.
Scott Cross, Orlando, FL, May '96

Flipped Out
Who: Rob Wachs
Where: Bunola, PA
What: Scout II
Why: Showin' off for the ladies
Possum: In a purely defensive move, the modified Scout will play dead until the stock aggressor retreats.
Apr. '01

Yes, it Could
After a long day on the 4x4 trails near Bridger, Montana, I decided that a little water couldn't hurt. But it turned into a big problem. The sandy river bottom refused to release my '79 Bronco and quickly drowned its 429 engine. After 2 days, several tow ropes and a lot of sweat, my thoroughly marinated Bronco was retrieved.
Brandon Gjude, Billings, MT, May '95

We Bet it Did
The rather large truck was coming downhill and lost control, went into a full skid and then slammed me against the bank, leaving me pinned and the Blazer crushed. It did hurt.
Billy C. Wade, Fall River Mills, CA, Mar. '95

Look Out Below!
I shot this sequence of my friends Chris and Louisa in their Jeep. They were attempting to climb one of the trickiest hills in California's Los Coyotes area, but encountered a slight mishap. No one was injured, thankfully, but the Jeep was a total loss.
Robert Trent, Buena Park, CA, Sept. '94

Train Wreck-Literally
This was a real-life stall on the tracks. A lady was watching out for trains while the guys tried to start it. She began yelling when she saw the train, but they didn't believe her...until they heard the whistle. The only one injured was the Jeep.
Terri Bunch, Riverside, CA, Dec. '01

Everything half off
Here's the stuff that didn't make it after I rolled my '84 Toyota truck. My friends said it was cool. I said, "ouch."
Bill Trap, Northridge, CA, June '92

Mud Thud
Here is my friend's 4Runner after a slight loss of control in the mud.
Ross Garber and Greg, Bakersfield, CA, Oct. '06

Dune Doom
I had been tooling around Silver Lake, Michigan, for a while and was familiar with the Big Dune and what was after it. After four attempts, we got it, cresting nicely over the top into a small inline dune on the back. We hammered down to launch off, but didn't realize until it was too late that a dune buggy with paddles had stopped and made a 3-foot-deep trench at the top. We hit, the front end went up, and then the rear tried to pass us in the air. I gave it gas to try and pull it out, to no avail. Hanging upside down in your seat belt really sucks after getting hit in the head with everything you didn't tie down.
Brett Fagerness, Kalamazoo, MI, Apr. '05

Nice Butt, Jerry
This happened on my annual Memorial Day trip to Basse Falls, California. It didn't take any fancy equipment to roll my Toyota back over-just a few big guys. My truck survived with only minor body damage to the driver-side door.
Jerry Stratton, Sacramento, CA, Feb. '97

Worse Than Any
There are deeper mud holes and higher water, but it seems that this truck is stuck worse than any I have seen, since this is its last run through the mud. As my son and I were driving my 4x4 through a muddy ORV area, we came upon this late-model Dodge. We concluded that there is no worse fate for a 4x4 than to be stuck in the mud and then burned, shot up and abandoned!
Jon Crocker, Jonesboro, GA, Aug. '95

Nice Legs, Tim
I should've gone straight through the ruts instead of avoiding them. But when I tried my motto, "When in doubt, gas 'er out," my '94 Suzuki Sidekick launched like a humpback whale and landed like one, too.
Tim Maron, North Bend, WA, Sept. '97

Jeep
Who: Chuck Patton
Where: Ash Fork, AZ
What: Jeep Cherokee Hang Glider
Why: No better way to transport Grandma's dishes.
Logic: "You mean you still have to stay awake with cruise control?"Apr. '01

Dare Ya
This used to be a road until Hurricane Erin hit Florida. I tried crossing it in my '72 Blazer on a dare from my friends. When I realized I was in trouble, I tried backing up, but the entire rear of the truck started to rise up and float away.

Frederick Smith, Pensacola, FL, Sept. '96

Fourth Time's the Charm
On the last Sierra Nevada trip with our Land Cruiser club, we experienced four deep water crossings. I removed the fan belt so the radiator wouldn't get damaged and forged the first three without a problem. The fourth river was about 4 feet deep, my engine went under midstream and the ignition turned off. My winch control cable floated away, but using a loaner, I was able to winch across and dry the Cruiser out. Our club will find a new place to cross the river next year.
Wayne Pocock, Rocklin, CA, Sept. '94

That's Hot
Who: Damien Aube
Where: Hinesburg, VT
What: Jeep Cherokee Hot Pocket
Why: The ranger said all campfires must be in a metal container above the ground.
Mel Torm: We've heard of chestnuts roasting and all, but come on.Apr. '01

Some Slide
My dad and I took the wrong road when we were four-wheeling in our '94 Ford crew cab. We started sliding down the hill and had to jump out the window. It took two tow trucks and cost $270 to get us out.
Joseph Sullivan, Sequim, WA, June '96

Scout a New Route
Who: Vince A. Marquez
Where: Las Vegas, NM
What: '63 Scout
Why: He wrote, "I have killed several Scouts trying to cross the Canadian River here in New Mexico. Does anybody have any tips?" How about take the bridge?
Dude, where's my car?: Genius. Sheer genius.
Apr. '01

Like a Stone
I usually drive a restored '43 GPW, but when visiting my mother-in-law's at Lake Almanor, California, I used her '76 CJ-5. I had just returned from gassing up for an excursion when, while talking to my wife and her mother, we saw her Jeep roll past the side of the house, down the back lawn, through a split-rail fence, and jump over several huge rocks, only to land in the lake and sink. With help from a tow truck, we recovered the Jeep in a few hours. There was little damage. After draining all fluids, including eight gallons of water from the engine, and replacing a front leaf spring and shock, we were back on the road. I guess my mother-in-law will think twice before having me gas the Jeep again.
Just K. Willis, Fremont, CA, Feb.'94

Fired Right Up
The whole thing started when we went camping by the junction of two rivers. I went driving along the beach, but ended up getting stuck in the mud and sand up to my nerf bars. We tried unsuccessfully to get out, and decided to have breakfast and try again later. When we returned, we found around 3/4 of the windshield still visible. We pulled her out and she started! She's running great again to everyone's surprise, and I'd just like to send a big thank you to Toyota!
Brian Preston, British Columbia, Canada, May '03

Hot Truck
I was helping a friend winch a vehicle out of his creek when the exhaust on my '72 Jimmy set the dry grass on fire. The truck was a total loss and is still on my friend's property. I did save the winch and one off-road light.
Robert A. Pemberton, Oklahoma City, OK, Nov. '97

Jeepmarine
This is my totally submerged Jeep CJ-5 in a farm stock tank. This is what happens when you let a girlfriend drive!
Dustin Acklen, San Antonio, TX, Apr. '03

Married Life
Never let your new father-in-law drive your vehicle.
Frank Cortese, Pueblo, CO, Sept. '04

Save the Children
I promised my wife I wouldn't come home muddy or wet. This was the second time I took my '90 Wrangler 'wheeling after I installed a 6-inch lift and 33x12.50-15 BFGs. My 5-year-old son and I were heading down the lake to a section called Rattle Snake Bar. I was taking my time and driving slowly when this happened.
Michael Golder, Sacramento, CA, Dec. '96

UFO Kidnapping
Chuck Pisik's F-350 was last seen foraging for food in the pastures near his home in Syracuse, New York. Three days later it turned up in a field miles away, dazed and in a supine position. We're not sure just how it got there.
Tom Lauber, Syracuse, NY, Sept. '94

Earth Swallows Jeep, Film at 11
My buddies and I were trail riding in Camp Pendleton after a big rain when, all of a sudden, the ground swallowed our Jeep. The road just gave way. It took a dragon wagon with a boom unit to get us out.
Mike Harris, Rose City, MI, Sept. '00

Doh...Nuts
My friend and I were running Billings Canyon Trail in Grand Junction, Colorado, when we broke an axleshaft. As we were limping home, we tripped and fell end over end. As my friend Jeramie screamed like a little girl, the Krispy Kremes and the Hi-Lift went airborne. After ratchet-strapping the radiator back away from the fan blades, we drove the rest of the way down, blowing a tire bead only three more times.
Brian Cook, Grand Junction, CO, Sept. '05

Unbalanced
I was trying to balance my Scout on two tires but found that the front was much heavier than the rear. Luckily only minor damage was suffered. I quickly realized I really need to design brackets to bolt down everything inside the truck.
Sean Lipscomb, Tulsa, OK, Mar. '98

Oops Whoops
A friend and I were running the bowls at Oceano Dunes but didn't know we'd both gone into the same one. We hit the brakes, but as you can see, there wasn't enough time to keep from hitting each other head on. We were only going a few mph, so the impact was slight. However, the angle of the dune was very steep, causing us both to roll. With a little mechanical work, we were able to drive both Jeeps back to camp.
Paul Martin, Santa Rosa, CA, Oct. '98

Slip Sliding Away
My friend kept bragging about how his new Jimmy had much better traction than my old Jeep CJ-7. Two weeks after he purchased it, the towing package was installed and we trailered our Wave Runners to the ocean. The launch ramp is always covered with a layer of slippery algae, so four-wheel drive is a must. As the photos depict, my friend's theory about my old Jeep just didn't hold water.
Cary Reichbach, Boca Raton, FL, Dec. '94

Tastes Like Burning
My dad and I were going to the back side of our place to go shooting when he said, "I smell gas."
I replied, "We'll take a look at it when we get back to the house." Moral of the story: Always listen to Dad.
Toby Roderick, Ignacio, CO, Oct. '07

Cliff Notes
The sun was glaring off my windshield, making it impossible to see. Instead of getting out to see ahead of me, I inched forward ever so slowly. The next thing I knew, I was rolling off an embankment. A cliff on the other side made getting out difficult, so a Suburban had to drag my Bronco about 20 feet on its roof!
Harold Ray Ashcraft Jr., Fort Worth, TX, Nov. '99

Stout Tank
This Chevy truck was hit by a train. No one was hurt, but the truck didn't have a straight panel on it. Even the engine block and tranny weren't any good. But the gas tank was fine-you can see it dragging on the ground as I towed the truck away.
Randy Schultz, Whitemouth, Manitoba, Canada, Aug. '95

Hooray for Duct Tape
Too much throttle, not enough road. Now I know that Fords really are "Built Ford Tough." After a quart of oil and a little bit of duct tape, our '76 Bronco was back on the road.
Tom Jacoby, Oakdale, MN, Mar. '94

How's the Ice Fishing?
While plowing snow off our pond, I drove over a little too far and the front end of my '78 Ford F-150 fell through the ice. It stayed there overnight until I could get a semi wrecker to pull it out.
Dennis Hoyer, West Branch, MI, Oct. '97

This Time, the Coyote Wins
We were trying to get to a field to track some coyote. We didn't get very far. After an hour of scooping snow by hand, we were able to drive home.
Jedd Jensen, Exira, IA, Sept. '96

Going Great Until...
We were successfully four-wheeling in our '93 Wrangler until this little mishap. Luckily, my brother-in-law was following us, and we had the Jeep out and running a few hours later.
Keith Dixon, Kingsland, GA, July '96

Not Quite Anything, Eh?
I'm from Michigan, and my brother lives in New Brunswick, Canada. He kept telling me that his truck could drive through anything, so I went up to Canada so he could show me. We drove all through the backwoods until we came across this pond that he said he'd been through before. Well, all we found out was that his stereo doesn't work well under water. We walked several miles for help and had a logging skidder pull us out. It was 19 degrees that day, and the driver had to break down the dam so we could get to the rear bumper to hook up the tow cable.
Darryl Hanscom, Detroit, June '94

Freeze Frame
We were out four-wheeling in Moab when our friend came down White Knuckle Hill a little too fast in his Toyota Land Cruiser. Amazingly, rather than rolling he just came to a sudden stop. A quick tug with a tow strap got him on his way.
Jennifer Brown, Salt Lake City, UT, July '99

Who Has the Tow Hook?
I've tried to get through this mud bog twice. The first shot was with my bone-stock Wrangler on street tires. The second time, the Jeep had been modified with a lift kit and 33-inch Dick Cepek tires. Wrong again. I got about 5 feet farther than the first attempt, but at least this time the engine didn't drown. My biggest problem was that I didn't tell my buddies that the tow hooks were mounted on the bottom of the bumper.
Dave Levine, Roslyn, NY, Sept. '94

Right Tire is Wrong
After tugging at the front to no avail, we hooked to the rear and this is what we discovered: While pulling forward, we had wedged a log above the right tire. Each pull put more pressure on the ball joints until they gave out. We ended up pulling the Jeep out and loading it onto a tow dolly for the rest of the weekend.
Miles Brown, Fargo, ND, Apr. '95

Look Right
We were out on a trail looking on our left-hand side for deer and elk. We ended up in a wash that was on our right-hand side. It took a Hi-Lift jack and a lot of rock-stacking to get our '82 Ford F-250 unstuck.
Terry Gasser, American Fork, UT, June '96

Low-Mileage Unit
For sale: '85 CJ-7 Sub., A/C, recently cleaned interior, spotless paint, low highway miles.
Greg Aud, Little Rock, AR, Sept. '94

Between a Rock and a Stuck Place
Here is my Whoops! submission taken at Moonrocks, Nevada. Obviously I didn't make it.
John Buzzell, Reno, NV, May '03

For Sale: $500 Truck for $575
This is my '75 Ford F-250. As you can see, I made a mistake, but no one was hurt. I had it rolled back over, poured 3 liters of oil in, kicked the roof back into position, and fired it right up. It cost me $550 to roll it back over and $25 for a no-windshield ticket on the way home. Considering the truck cost me $500, this was an expensive day.
Ed Loo, Calgary, Alta, Canada, Dec. '98

Overdoing It
I took my eyes off the road and swerved, then overcorrected and rolled my '82 Toyota pickup four or five times. If it wasn't for my seatbelt and the Downey interior bar, I wouldn't be here. I only needed four stitches on my forehead. But I don't think I'll get the Toy running again.
Virgil Hollins, Mohsue Valley, AZ, Sept. '96

Liberrrrty
The ice was 3 to 4 feet thick on Walsh Lake. As I went to cross over from Walsh to Banting Lake, the ice gave way. In an instant my brand-new '03 Jeep Liberty Renegade was a write-off. The first tow truck I called out couldn't get my Jeep out. Another guy got it out two days later, but it was pretty frozen by then because it was 30 degrees below zero. The vehicle was a giant ice cube up to the steering wheel and the ice around the outside had damaged the body on all sides.
Dane Gibson, Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada, Sept. '03

A Pine in the Ass
I woke up one morning to this sight. "Don't look!" was my boyfriend's response when he discovered a 20-foot section of a pine tree had fallen on my '98 Sonoma Highlander. Needless to say, I was late for work that morning.
Pam Millard, Lead, South Dakota, Oct. '00

Dive, Dive
We were out mud riding at a place called Lockhead when our '83 Chevy ended up swimming in rushing water. It ended up submerged, and four days later we finally located it. It took two more days of digging and winching to get the truck out.
Adam & Paige Babb, Cumming, GA, Mar. '96

Hummer Eater
There's a place in Germany that can swallow Hummers whole. It's called Hohenfels and is where a friend's Hummer-with the help of an inexperienced driver-was eaten by a monster hole. The same driver attempted to restart the vehicle and succeeded in sucking water into the intake and eventually the cylinders. Two more Hummers, one winch and several hours later it was out of the hole, but miles from nowhere with a blown engine. I enjoy your magazine and I love Hummers. In the hands of a capable driver, they're unstoppable.
Bruce Kocher, Columbus, GA, Jan. '95

Invisible Rock
Don't let this happen to you! We were on the Rubicon Trail and I didn't see the 3-foot rock. Since we were wearing our seatbelts all we had to do was crawl out. Nobody was injured except for my pride and the truck's body. We were able to push it over and continue down the trail.
Jason Salvatierra, Sacramento, CA, Mar. '95

Built GM Tough
I was the assistant driver of this M998 when it rolled onto its top during a night maneuver here in Okinawa. Once the sun came up, we used a 5-ton tow truck to pull the vehicle out. All four occupants would like to thank GM for the rollbar and the sturdy craftsmanship.
Lance Cpl. Daryl G. Scott, Okinawa, Apr. '98

How to Impress the Ladies
I had purchased this WWII '46 Dodge personnel carrier with a flathead six-cylinder and had just replaced the clutch when I took my girlfriend out for a ride. I was eager to show her what the six-by could do and was bragging that the tough old truck could never get stuck. It took a power wagon and a deuce and a half to free the Dodge. Talk about some mean mud!
Pat Sutalo, Santa Ysabel, CA, Sept. '98

So Close
We tried to make it through the edge of this pond in my '83 Chevy K-10. We were almost out when we hit the slick mud, and there was nowhere to go but in. A friend pulled my truck out with his old Dodge in about two minutes.
Sean Barker, Ponca City, OK, Dec. '97

Your Slip is Showing
I went hunting one day, and slid off the slippery trail. My '88 GMC Jimmy turned upside down as it rolled into a deep ravine. Luckily, everyone in the truck got out safely. After being pulled out by a forest tractor and adding more oil, I was able to drive the 100 miles back home.
Cristi Morariu, Bucharest,
Romania, Apr. '00

I Spy...a Headlight
This is what happens when you don't block your wheels when parked on a hill beside a lake. It took one winch, a 3-ton chain hoist, a little bit of elbow grease, and two hours to get it out. I had her running two days later.
Mark Stuart, Nanaimo, B.C., Canada, Apr. '07

Say No More
Four men and a twist of the key and off we went.
Brian Lee, Springfield, IL, Sept. '94

Gravelrama
I tried to climb a gravel pile with my Scout, flipped over backwards, and slid back down on my roof. We used a winch to upright it and towed it back to camp. That night I started it up and it drove right onto the trailer.
Mark Van Dusen, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, May '05

Back to Cars
Bottom line: I tried a short-cut. After that didn't work, I climbed out of my '91 Ford and went for a tow rope and another truck, but while I was gone, a passer-by tried to help. The well-meaning Samaritan apparently knew nothing about vehicle recovery, because my Ford had been dragged into an even deeper part of the river. I got my rig out, but I also got a repair bill in the $750 range. Eleven days later, I rolled the truck into a ditch while 'wheeling. I'm sticking to cars now.
Kim McKinnon, Sept. '94

Hay!
I was hauling five large bales of hay on a trailer behind my Chevy 4x4 in some rugged terrain when I had to come to a stop on a very steep ridge. The truck jumped out of gear and went down the ridge. It destroyed the truck and trailer. Luckily, I was out of the truck when it decided to jump out of gear.
Steve Coffey, Thornhill, TN, May '99

Hummers Really Do Grow on Trees
I was driving a Hummer when this tank ditch appeared before me. Thinking it was small, I attempted to drive across, but the Hummer quickly began to sink. We grabbed a log and put it through the door and out the turret hatch to keep it from sinking. A 2 1/2-ton truck almost sank pulling it out.
Stacy Edgin, El Paso, TX, May '99

That Sinking Feeling
A good buddy and I were out enjoying a day of four-wheeling. We thought this puddle was just a spring runoff. To our surprise it wasn't, and as a result I sank my '93 Dodge Ram 2500 4x4 into a 35-foot dugout. Good thing the window was down so we could at least escape.
Byron Duckett, Lacombe, Alberta, Canada, Feb. '00

When Trees Attack
This is my '95 Dodge Ram, which was "Ram Tough," not "Oak Tree Tough." We had a major thunderstorm, and the sad part was that I had just added a 12,000-pound Warn winch and grilleguard (the only things I salvaged) and Rancho RS 9000 shocks. I just ordered another Dodge 2500 V-10 Quad Cab.
Owen Titus, Mooresville, NC, Apr. '99

Note to Aftermarket: Make 5-foot Lift Kit
This is my '89 Jeep Cherokee with a 3-inch lift and 30-inch mud tires. On the way to the local trails, I came across this little puddle that was actually 5 feet deep. It took a 9,000-pound Warn winch on a Toyota Tacoma to get me out. After a month, the seats were still a little damp.
Chris Garrett, Milford, OH, Dec. '98

The Ol' Trail Switcheroo
My friend and I hang out at this spot pretty often, but heavy rain changed the trail, which I didn't expect. I only took my eyes off the road for a second, and over it went. After 20 hard yanks my truck finally limped home.
David Wigent, Pomona, CA, Feb. '00

Still Waters Run, Well, You Know...
Believe it or not, this looked like just another puddle with a few logs across it. However, those logs must have been a bridge at one time-the little puddle turned out to be 4-foot deep. It took an International pickup and a Ford Bronco to get the Jeep out.
Adrian Herbst, Park Rapids, MN, Aug. '98

Demoted
I was out testing the four-wheel-drive system on my boss's hunting vehicle, a '79 Jeep Wagoneer Limited, when I got too deep in the pond on the ranch. It took a tractor to finally remove the stuck Jeep. I don't think I'll be invited back!
Bart Zavaletta, Brownsville, TX, Oct. '99

White-Water 'Wheeling
My friend and I were doing a little four-wheeling and decided to cross this river, which we had crossed many times before but never during spring runoff. We made it across (barely), but were not as fortunate coming back.
Jason Peck, Logan, UT, July '98

Nice Afternoon for a Walk
This Sunday afternoon rollover netted us a 10-mile hike to the nearest ride. Some 10 hours later, the Jeep was upright and running. Check out the fresh paint and undercarriage.
Dave Brant Jr., Fruita, CO, Dec. '97

Daktari Flashback
This is Mike Marsh's '78 Ford Bronco in a deep rut in an old gravel pit in Robinson Township. This is where all of the locals and some out-of-towners go four-wheeling. Mike's back left tire is about a foot and a half off the ground. Of course, Mike was sure he could have made it all the way through. It took a bigger Chevy to pull him back out.
April Spicer, Coopersville, MI, Jan. '94

Send us your wheeling foul-ups! Letters must be signed by the vehicle's owner. Due to the large volume of mail we receive, we regret that not all submissions can be used and none will be returned. Digital photos must measure no less than 1600 x 1200 pixels (or two megapixels) and be saved as a TIFF, an EPS, or a maximum-quality JPEG file.

Write to:
Whoops!
4-Wheel & Off-Road
6420 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90048-5515
fax 323.782.2704

E-mail to:
whoops@4wheeloffroad.com

Trailer Fun
I was towing my new car down the road to have a fresh set of tires put on when all of a sudden the trailer got away from me and I ended up in a ditch!
Gary Hill, via 4wheeloffroad.com

Tract Oh!
This is the result of the front end getting too heavy and me hitting the brakes with the boom fully extended and full of dirt!
Erich Rediger, via 4wheeloffroad.com

Wife Lessons
My wife told me not to, but you know how that goes!
Loyd Pittman, via 4wheeloffroad.com

Our "best"-themed specials are difficult to do. First, we say goodbye to our life for a couple of days-we're talking 30 years of history to rummage through! Second, we become easily distracted. Traveling deep into the bowels of our office building to get to where all the old issues of 4-Wheel & Off-Road are stored is a lot like when you stumble upon that box in the back of your closet overflowing with old photos. Loads of memories-and many flashbacks of bad hair. Even though we were on a Whoops! mission, we probably lost a full day simply cruising through old news columns and tech stories (the bad-hair cup runneth over).

Once we refocused on collecting Whoops!-which used to be part of our Tailgate department back in the '80s-we had the difficult task of culling the best of the bunch. Is there really such thing as a bad Whoops!? No-and we failed miserably at narrowing them down. So that's why we're putting together two Best Whoops! special editions. This month's will focus on the first 15 years of submissions to the magazine, and the second round will appear next month, featuring the last 15 years. We've left the entries exactly as they ran in the day-complete with their cheesy text and dated humor.

And, as always, keep your Whoops! coming!

Send yours to:
Whoops!
4-Wheel & Off-Road
6420 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90048
E-mail to:

whoops@4wheeloffroad.com

Check Out the Flying Grille
"Take two aspirin."
Photos by Dave Silvernail, July '84

Breaststroke
"Dang it, Mona, when I said we had high-flotation tires, I didn't mean...."
Photo by Steve Haffner, July '86

Mud Hole 1, New Engine 0
I was at Little Rock Dam near Palmdale, California, with my '74 Chevy truck. It seemed like a good place to test the recently installed 350ci engine, but before I knew what was happening, this mud hole "jumped" out in front of me, and I was stuck. Luckily, my pal Joe was nearby with his '77 Chevy 4x4 to pull me out. Nothing broke, but the frame was really twisted.
Dave Beaudin, Sun Valley, CA, Dec. '91

Tropical Mud
This picture was taken while I was stationed in Hawaii with the Navy. We were on our way home in my stock '79 CJ-7 Renegade and we saw this harmless-looking mud hole. I thought I would just buzz right through and sling some mud. Next time, I guess I'll be sure to lock in the hubs before I assume how harmless something is.
Robert LaGrange, Arp, TX, Oct. '88

Not the Loch Ness
We are not really sure how the gentleman in this photo came to find himself in this situation. It must just be his way of cooling off after a long, hot day of fishing on Folsom Lake.
Bill Wallis, Orangevale, CA, Aug. '88

Water World
"Artie, I told ya: Don't never pick a campsite when the tide's out."
Photo by Tim McGuire, July '86

Stuck, Stuck
I shot this picture along the lower Salt River near Mesa, Arizona. The river is a popular place to off-road for all types of four-wheel drives. The older, gray Toyota got stuck on an underwater cliff. The newer, white Toyota went in to help and you can see what happened to him. The Suburban couldn't haul either vehicle out. Finally, another Toyota hauled the gray truck out and the white truck was pulled across to the other shore.
Philip A. Fortnam, Scottsdale, AZ, Nov. '88

It Was Totaled?!
I just developed some pictures taken two years ago of my friend and his Jeep. The Jeep was wrecked, but my friend managed to save the radio and console.
Tim McCarthy, Potomac, MD, May '88

Stuck in a Foreign Land
Lt. Col. Joe Worley took this photo when the temperature was over 130 degrees Fahrenheit. We all get stuck occasionally when off-roading, but to get unstuck in that kind of heat means these two Army majors deserve a special four-wheeling award. Joe says that his field artillery unit is stationed in Saudi Arabia to advise its National Guard. He's based in the capital of Riyadh and says that his unit travels considerably throughout the desert. "We exclusively use GMC Jimmys and Suburbans (buy American) and we get great service out of them," he writes. This Jimmy is buried up to its axles in Arabian sand. "The two gentlemen studying the problem are about to practice sand ladder extraction over a very long distance before freeing the vehicle," says Joe. Come on, Colonel, don't you think you ought to help out a little bit?
4-Wheel & Off-Road staff, Dec. '87

Not Thelma or Louise
We were two girls in a Toyota on the Upper Eel River for a fishing trip. We made it across the river, but the bank gave way and the truck floated downriver about 15 feet. Just on the other side of the truck is a 15-foot waterhole. We got towed out three hours later, and the "mini-sub" started like a true Toyota. We gave a yell and went on fishing, but with our poles this time.
Cricket Thibeault and Ronda Card,
Santa Rosa, CA, Apr. '91

Knight Rider
Our omnipresent spy photographer was on hand when Kitt tried to take on Bear Foot and Little Bear Foot during the filming of Knight Rider on a southern California road. There was a crash for the on-screen sequence, but we were told that was handled with models.
4-Wheel & Off-Road staff, Jan. '85

Border Crossing Gone Bad
I do my four-wheeling in Utah. Unfortunately, a lot of drivers such as this one also use the area. I snapped this photo near the Wyoming border in the northwest part of the state. I've heard of people trying to avoid Wyoming, but this is ridiculous.
John Miles, Vernal, UT, Jan. '87

Tank'd
These two firemen are not in the army but through a friend got their hands on a tank. This picture proves that tank tracks don't always help!
Ken, June '88

More Like Underwater View, Arkansas
The scene was Mountain View, Arkansas, at a local four-wheeling spot. The temptation was to make a U-turn in the creek at about 50 mph. The '79 F-250 Ford driven by a friend almost made it. The truck was winched over and driven home.
Terry M. Stewart,
Mountain View, AR, Apr. '87

Dirty Words: River Bottom
My friends and I drove to the Brazos River bottom to do some four-wheeling, and since my truck was the lightest, I led the way. First, I buried it to the axles. My friend has a Blazer equipped with an 8,000-pound-capacity winch, so we tried to pull my Toyota out. Big mistake! The shale underneath the waist-deep gumbo slanted down toward the river at about a 30-degree angle, and as the winch pulled straight back, my truck slid down the slope into the river. When we stopped winching, the truck kept sliding. We quickly chained my Toyota's rear axle to the frame of my friend's older Toyota to keep my truck from sliding into the river. It took five hours of digging and winching with two snatch blocks to get the rear end out, then another hour of pulling with the old Toyota to get my truck onto hard ground. By that time, we had burned up the winch after getting the Blazer stuck once and the old Toyota stuck twice. This river bottom is a bogger's dream!
Shannon Seaback, College Station, TX, Sept. '91

Government-Issued Whoops!
Beginning September 1, 1984, manufacturers will have to place a permanent sticker or label on the windshield, frame, dashboard or some other prominent location of the vehicle to alert operators to the handling differences between utility vehicles and passenger cars. The sticker will inform owners that the design characteristics of utility vehicles can cause them to operate differently than passenger cars under certain driving conditions. Sharp turns or abrupt maneuvers in such vehicles could result in loss of vehicle control or rollover, both on paved roads and in off-road use.
NHTSA Regulation 49 CRF Part 575, July '86

What a Drag(ster)
This big-time double Whoops! occurred in the A/FD finals at Sandblast '87, which was staged in November outside of Indio, California. Larry Mann's blown V-6 sand dragster broke a wheelie bar just as he shifted into high, sending the front end up. The engine torque helped twist the rail over on its left side. Since it was going 120 mph at the time, Mann's dragster had enough momentum to airmail itself over the finish line. Then Bud Martin's dragster came into the picture. He overcorrected while trying to avoid Mann, then barrel rolled through the lights. There was no collision but both sandrails were totaled. Martin was declared the winner since Mann crossed the center line. Both dragsters hold the national speed record for their class at just over 121 mph.
4-Wheel & Off-Road staff, Mar. '88

Best Breakage
Trying to fly don't work.
Jay Shoemaker, Garden City, MI, Apr. '88

Ohhh, Now I Get It
After much explaining, I finally convinced my friend Alan Cason that the idea was to launch the boat into deep water, not the truck.
Steve Parmer, Bossier City, LA, Apr. '91

I Caught One This Big
Some friends and I were out four-wheeling at the Verde River, and a few of us had already crossed the river when a guy in his Toyota 4x4 pickup came along. He hesitated at crossing, but when a Suzuki Samurai made it, he decided that he could too. Well, something went wrong and the engine stopped, bringing the Toyota to a halt mid-river. Whoops, he didn't make it!
Blake Savage, Peoria, AZ, Aug. '91

Last Call?
"Jeez, Ansen, you've gotten us into a fine emergency. It'll be at least 20 minutes before the beer settles down enough to open!"
Photo by Don Byrd, July '86

What the Puck?
This picture was taken at Lake Zurich, Illinois. A four-wheeler was attempting to plow snow off the frozen lake to clear the way for a hockey game when the truck's nose fell through the ice. It took two semi-truck wreckers and the local fire department about six hours to free the rig.
Matt Finley, McHenry, IL, Apr. '91

Poor Run
This is not a picture of my truck, but I thought you would find it interesting. I was at the annual mudbogs held in Brazil, Indiana. The truck in the photograph rolled onto its side when the owner exited the mudbog after a poor run. He gave it just a little too much on the ol' gas pedal while turning around at the end of the bog, and over the truck went. I must add that once the truck was pulled back up on its wheels, the owner's wife drove it in the women's class. She took first place.
Todd Cochran, Greencastle, IN, Feb. '91

That Sinkin' Feeling
Jeff Bolomey from Clark, New Jersey, sent in these photos, which ran in July '88. As 4-Wheel & Off-Road retold it: As you can see from the photos, Jeff's story flows with the tide. He and his buddy, Rob, who owns a Dodge truck, got stuck offshore during low tide. Two other trucks tried unsuccessfully to pull them out. A call to the police on the CB brought a tow truck, which also got stuck. Another call brought a four-wheel-drive tow truck three hours later. Jeff's Blazer was pulled out, but by that time the 40-degree water was up to the windows in Rob's truck. Rob tried to swim underwater to hook up the tow line but the water was too cold. As the sun went down, all that could be seen of the truck was the CB antenna and the four lights on the rollbar. The next afternoon the tide was low enough that the truck could be towed out. Like they say: If you get stuck you get wet.

River Dance
It's in times like these that owning your own tow-truck service comes in handy! After winching the Jeep out of the river, we put it on a hill to let all the water drain out. We went off to enjoy a great day of boating. When we returned, we dried the distributor cap, put in some fresh gas and used it to tow the boat home. Only in a Jeep....
Jack Brady, Paoli, PA, June '90

Man of Few Words, Part 1
To hell with the Jeep; save the beer!
Mike Burnett, Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada, Apr. '91

He's Learning
This happened in the gravel pits near my home the second night I owned my Bronco II. I tried to drive it through a mudhole but didn't get very far. We had to leave my truck until the next day. We tried to pull it out with two other trucks, but it didn't work. Luckily there was a bulldozer nearby, and the operator was nice enough to pull my Bronco out.
Jason Anderson, Highland,
MI, Apr. '91

King of the Inlet-Not
This past Thanksgiving holiday, some friends and I ventured to the Oregon Inlet on the outer banks of North Carolina for a little four-wheel-drive action on the beach. We came upon this CJ-7 and its owner, who must have thought he was king of the inlet. Up until then, so did we, but Mother Nature proved that she was still top dog no matter what kind of off-highway vehicle you drive. It took two tow trucks and a Chevy 1-ton 4x4 with a 12,000-pound-capacity winch about an hour and 45 minutes to get this CJ that thought it was a fish out of the drink. After witnessing this, we became three dethroned kings making our way back to Baltimore, treading as lightly as possible. By the way, no one was hurt.
Tim Tracey, Baltimore, MD, Apr. '91

Man of Few Words, Part 2
Alaskan Highway during spring runoff.
Mike Burnett, Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada, Apr. '91

Monster Truck 15 Minutes of Television Fame
During a recent filming for Return of the Battle of the Monster Trucks, Spikers All American, Eagle and Lil All American were entering the water of Lake Eloise at Cypress Gardens to line up for a race. All American and Eagle went first with no problem and everything was looking pretty good, but when poor Lil All American tried to follow, it somehow drove off an underwater ridge. The front right side of the truck shifted downward and the weight of the truck came forward causing the driver side of the truck sank. Driver Jeff Dease went down with his ship.
4-Wheel & Off-Road staff, Feb. '87

Get Bent
"Jeez, it feels good to stretch after that ride."
Photo by Bob Flink, July '86

If at First You Don't Succeed
Here are some pictures from the great Pacific Northwest. They were taken in the Cascade Mountains, Washington, where there's mud year-round. This is my '86 Samurai. I've always wanted my truck in your magazine, not in the shined-up and show-truck section but all muddy in the Whoops! section, since off-roaders spend their quality time there!
Brian Gwaltney, Puyallup, WA, Dec. '88

...Try, Try Again
Please tell me where I can get some outriggers for my Samurai! In December 1988 you featured my Samurai in Whoops!, thank you. I have since moved to Indiana. This happened in the hills of Brown County near the small town of Beanblossom, while four-wheeling with the 4 Wheels to Freedom club. There were no injuries and only minor damage was done to the truck. The funny thing was, I installed the skidplate the night before. Heck of a way to use it, huh! It took an hour to right it. I drove it out of the creekbed and went four-wheeling for two more hours!
Brian Gwaltney, Anderson, IN, Aug. '90

Worst Caption Ever
"Only three more weeks together, darling, then it's back to civilization and my wife."
Photo by Ron Cirigliano, July '86

Are They Biting?
My boyfriend, John Duball, and I wanted to spend a leisurely Saturday afternoon in the country, four-wheeling down Brush Run Creek near Claysville, Pennsylvania. Our '79 Chevy Scottsdale seemed ideal until the creek proved deeper and the bottom softer than we thought. The truck became immovable, and a nearby farmer's tractor had to be borrowed to drag the Chevy to solid ground. While waiting for the tractor, John took advantage of the situation by pulling out his fishing pole and trying his luck in the hole that "caught" the truck.
Cheri Simms, Washington, PA, Dec. '90

Sideways
"Nothin' wrong. She's just resting."
Photo by Giles Berrier, July '86

Geometry Lesson
We were traveling along a nice, peaceful little cutline, minding our own business, when we suddenly came to an abrupt halt. Now I know what they meant all those years in school about 45-degree angles. It must have taken us about two hours to winch, dig and prod our way out, but we wouldn't have changed it for the world.
Roger Hopkins & friends, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, Apr. '91

Nice Try
On a nice Sunday afternoon, Ron (the owner of the Nissan) found out that there are places that my '76 K5 Blazer will go, and there are places that his truck will not go. I do have to give him credit, though. He'll try any trail I take my Blazer on, whether he makes it or not.
Richard S. Roger,
Vancouver, WA, Apr. '91

We Called It "Big-Time Whoops"
Mike Elder took this wild photo of a mud bogger doing a headstand at a stadium event. It ran in our Aug. '86 issue.

New to Stunt Driving
I'm a new four-wheel-drive owner. This scene is three miles west of Garden City, Kansas, on the Arkansas River. Any hints on how to cross a river? I have yet to make it into the water.
Steve Elam, Garden City, KS, Jan. '88

I Spy a Whoops!
This photo of my '84 Toyota 4x4 was shot by my brother, who was riding in the bed just before it happened. Since no one there would give us a hand, it took me five hours to find help and get out of the canyon. It cost $270 for the tow truck to put the 4x4 on all fours again, but then I couldn't get it off the dirt mound under its own power. I paid another guy $20 to pull me off backward. All in all, a very expensive day.
Randy Lindsay, Fountain Valley, CA, Nov. '91

Stuck, Yank, Stuck
This is my friend Dave's Suzuki. He's got 27-inch snow tires on it, and he goes nuts. This time he got stuck in some goo. The second picture is my friend Mike's new Dodge. Mike got it stuck after pulling Dave's Suzuki out of the mud. We got the Dodge out with manpower and lumber.
Alan Abbett, Groton, CT, Apr. '91

We Don't Know Why We Do it, Either
This is the result of four-wheeling at night while the ground was still very wet. I got stuck in a rut that led to a canyon. My wife, Jeanette, stood in the truck bed wondering why her husband does the things he does. We pulled it out 1 1/2 weeks later when the ground dried.
Tony Smith, Tipp City, OH, Apr. '91

We Dig It
"Hell, Fillmore, dig up another six-pack for us while you're at it."
Photo by Marty Waters, July '86

Ice, Ice, Baby
My '83 Nissan fell through the ice of this small creek in Alamosa, Colorado. It took a couple of 8,000-pound winches and 1 1/2 hours of breaking ice to finally free it. The truck's front end was totally submerged at one point, but the engine started up right away. The only damage was a broken window and a couple of crinkled fenders. Now I have an excuse to repaint it!
Marcus Richardson, Alamosa, CO, July '90

Not Quite Anything
Here's what happens when you put a set of 4.56:1 gears, a limited-slip in the rear, a set of 35-inch tires and a 6-inch lift on a truck, then decide you can make it through anything. Thanks to my buddy's winch, we finally did make it through.
Mike Zebrowski, Parlin, NJ, Apr. '91

Some Friends
I backed into a flooded creek once and returned safely. My so-called friends advised me to try it again. After 50 bucks and a complete oil change, my truck was ready again.
Aron Mendenhall, Kokomo, IN, Apr. '91

A Shattered Bug Guard? Oh, the Humanity!
This is a photo of my worst nightmare-my pride and joy, my '78 Ford Bronco. I was out with my 4WD club, the Peninsula Mudd Dawgs, at Johnson's Creek in Rainier, Washington. While taking it easy following Jeeps along narrow trails, I thought I had cleared the last bend until my rig lost its footing on a muddy bank and tipped over. It took almost everyone there to put her back on all fours. My truck suffered a broken windshield, a shattered bug guard and chrome and body damage from one end to the other. Now the major renovation begins!
Charles Bucher, Gig Harbor,
WA, May '90

Monster of a Whoops!
"So that's why they call it 'Rolling Thunder'."
Photo by Roy Ito, July '86

Right Place, Right Time
This monster truck rollover wasn't exactly a Whoops! entry, but we felt it deserved a place here anyway. A hobbyist photographer named Eric Stern of Zion, Illinois, happened to be perfectly situated during a monster truck freestyle show at Great Lakes Dragaway in Wisconsin when Bearfoot went ass-over-teakettle. No one was injured in the crash, but Stern got his 15 minutes on the Tailgate page of the May '91 issue.

Murph in the Turf
This '86 CJ-7 belongs to Rod Murphy (Murph to his friends). We were out on a club run in the very rugged mountains above Devore, California, when this incident occurred. As you can see, it's a steep slope and could have been disastrous. Luckily, the only fatality was one manicured fingernail belonging to Murph's wife, Liz. It took three winches, three anchor vehicles and about three hours to pull him back up to the road. He was able to drive the jeep home, and it had only minor damage.
Bob Shumaker, Fallbrook, CA, Feb. '90

You Might Want to Move, Dude
"'Also-rans' at Pomona included...".
Photo by Al Behary, July '86

What a Hole
I don't know if this classifies as muck, but my Toyota is as buried up to the headlights as I've ever had it. Yes, it was an accident. What the photos don't show is the hill behind the truck. After I cleared the top, it was too late...even if I could have seen the hole. But you know how it goes when you own and drive a 4x4.
Todd Nelson, Clarksville, TN, May '87

Never Say Never
My friend Randy Prow of Evansville, Indiana, can no longer say, "I've never been stuck." Randy wanted to try out his new tires, so we both took our Toyotas down to the river for a day of mud slinging. After about four hours, we found an as-yet-unexplored mudhole. Randy went first-right into a drop and up to his frame. I had to call a tow truck, and it almost got stuck getting to the site.
Bill Major, Cincinnati, OH, Oct. '89

When Things Don't Seem Better in the Morning
Four years ago, I lost control on a Friday night and this is what my Chevy looked like in the morning. The accident occurred on the north side of Sheboygan, Wisconsin, in the Pigeon River. There were no injuries. A Toyota Land Cruiser took a beating pulling out my Chevy, but it did such a fine job that I sold my truck and bought one.
Jim Moll, Sheboygan, WI, Feb. '87

Good(?) Night
When you're four-wheeling at night and you drive straight into a hole, there's nothing to say but "Whoops!"
Clifford Merrick, Sterling, VA, Mar. '91

Send us your wheeling foul-ups! Letters must be signed by the vehicle's owner. Due to the large volume of mail we receive, we regret that not all submissions can be used and none will be returned. Digital photos must measure no less than 1600 x 1200 pixels (or two megapixels) and be saved as a TIFF, an EPS, or a maximum-quality JPEG file.

Write to:
Whoops!
4-Wheel & Off-Road
6420 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90048-5515
fax 323.782.2704

E-mail to:
whoops@4wheeloffroad.com

Flat Soda
After two days of rain I learned that the dry lake isn't so dry.
Name withheld
via 4wheeloffroad.com

Stuck On Empty
Just as we began to climb out of the mud, we ran out of gas 30 minutes from the nearest station. Next time I'll carry a spare can.
Barrett Heap
via 4wheeloffroad.com

Zu Wee!
Deep ruts and a short wheelbase don't always work well together.
Judy Sliger
via 4wheeloffroad.com

Hey there guys and gals,

We're getting ready for this years Whoops! extravaganza in our April issue and we want you to show us all your blunders, rolls, and stuck vehicles so we can show the world.

Send in your photos to...
WHOOPS!
4-Wheel & Off-Road
6420 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90048

or digitally to whoops@4wheeloffroad.com.

This year we are also putting together our Top Ten list, and if you're one of the lucky few that makes the grade in our '08 April issue, then keep your eyes glued for the mail man because he's probably carrying your new 4-Wheel & Off-Road license plate and sticker! Deadline for the issue is Thanksgiving, and as always make sure the pictures are actual Whoops! All photos taken of illegal, environmentally damaging, or just plain unsafe scenarios will not be considered. Photos cannot be returned, and you will not receive any other notification if we use them. Buy the April issue off the newsstand to see if you made our Whoops! issue starting early February, '08.

Ali Mansour,
Feature Editor

Send us your wheeling foul-ups! Letters must be signed by the vehicle's owner. Due to the large volume of mail we receive, we regret that not all submissions can be used and none will be returned. Digital photos must measure no less than 1600 x 1200 pixels (or two megapixels) and be saved as a TIFF, an EPS, or a maximum-quality JPEG file.

Write to:
Whoops!
4-Wheel & Off-Road
6420 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90048-5515
fax 323.782.2704

E-mail to:
whoops@4wheeloffroad.com

Brotherly Mud
This is me and my brother's $500 Cherokee that we decided to take through the mud pit at the hunting camp. After having it pulled out we fixed it then rolled it later that day.
Gains Slade, via 4wheeloffroad.com

Right Attitude, Wrong Side
I guess I bumped it a little too hard. Oh well, after five years of wheeling it was bound to happen.
Bill Lang Jr., via 4wheeloffroad

Mail Call!
What happens when you're too lazy to walk from the driveway to the mailbox?
Name withheld, via 4wheeloffroad.com

Trashed
What do you do when you get an 85,000-pound landfill trash compactor stuck in the mud after a Florida rain storm? Does Warn make a winch that big?
Michael Holst, Citrus Springs, FL

Send us your wheeling foul-ups! Letters must be signed by the vehicle's owner. Due to the large volume of mail we receive, we regret that not all submissions can be used and none will be returned. Digital photos must measure no less than 1600 x 1200 pixels (or two megapixels) and be saved as a TIFF, an EPS, or a maximum-quality JPEG file.

Write to:
Whoops!
4-Wheel & Off-Road
6420 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90048-5515
fax 323.782.2704

E-mail to:
whoops@4wheeloffroad.com

This is what happens when you let an officer drive a military vehicle.
Spc. Andrew Cox
South Victory Camp

Let's just say a 6-inch lift with lockers front and rear, 36-inch SSRs, and lots of power upgrades still couldn't defeat deep-woods mud!
Casey Trytko
via 4wheeloffroad.com

My brother took this track-hoe to get out a D-6 dozer that was stuck. Well, as you can see he never made it to the dozer and just started sinking. After breaking a 111/48-inch cable on another D-6, cutting some trees to throw under the tracks, and pumping the water out of the crank case, out she came.
Eric Hagler
via 4wheeloffroad.com

Send us your wheeling foul-ups! Letters must be signed by the vehicle's owner. Due to the large volume of mail we receive, we regret that not all submissions can be used and none will be returned. Digital photos must measure no less than 1600 x 1200 pixels (or two megapixels) and be saved as a TIFF, an EPS, or a maximum-quality JPEG file. Write to:
Whoops!
4-Wheel & Off-Road
6420 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90048-5515
fax 323.782.2704

E-mail to:
whoops@4wheeloffroad.com

Hardrock
Even the more experienced drivers have a whoops! every now and then.
Ken Hilton
Ste. Marie, MI

Bad Decision
This pic is from the 10th Annual All Breeds Jeep Show in York, Pennsylvania. I was showing off my Rusty's long-arm kit to about 800 people in the middle of their off-road course. I guess it was too steep of an angle. Whoops!
Matt Grandinetti, Ocean County, NJ

Scuttled
A couple of buddies and I went to the "point" in Hawaii, and were trying to figure out how to get a Dodge unstuck when we plugged my GMC in the mud. After about four hours and with the help of some curious people we got out.
Wes Peltier
United States Navy

Gettin' stuck is gettin' stuck. It doesn't matter whether you're in your hometown or on the other side of the world doing what you can to bring peace to the planet. Off-road accidents happen when you're off-road. And every time one of these brave guys and gals gets in a situation like this, it only hones their driving skills even further, because nothing teaches like experience. We've got some really good entries for you this year from the field of combat. Our guys and gals have been busy in the Middle East, but not too busy to get an occasional shot off for us (the photographic kind). Thanks again to all our military service men and women. We want to see you home soon!

I am a soldier stationed in Germany and was deployed during OIF 2 in 2004. I love seeing the military uh-ohs that have been submitted to your magazine. I love reading it every month, and love seeing that not all green-suiters are great drivers.

After a mission in northeast Iraq, this driver felt as if he could make it out past the extremely narrow canal crossings on his own and did not need to listen to the advice coming from the truck behind him. Two hours and two M1114s later we were able to pull him out of the canal. Luckily no one was injured and they just had a little waterlogged ammo and wet seats for their troubles.
1st Lt. Michael Martin, via 4wheeloffroad.com

Here's a picture from the 1-128th INF (from Eau Claire, Wisconsin) taken near Samarra, Iraq...a little north of Baghdad. It was a stinky situation, since the HUMMV was stuck in a septic field. I'll bet the first sergeant can smile about it now that they are home. I'm presently over here with the 2-127th INF (Appleton, Wisconsin). So far I've no Whoops! photos of us, and I hope it stays that way. Love the magazine, keep the good stuff coming.
Sfc. Douglas Daniels, Operations NCO, HHC 2nd BN 127th INF

This was a USMC MTVR that went for a swim in a canal for more than 30 hours.
David Christiansen, Fallujah, Iraq

We were on a "route clearance" mission in Tal Afar, Iraq, and it had rained the day prior but who would have thought that this much water would be in Iraq? Route not clear! It did look passable. We hit it a little too hard and took some water in the intake. Our mechanics had it running again in two days.
Staff Sgt. Harper, 82nd Airborne Tal-Afar, Iraq

During the night portion of our off-road driving course, our captain was riding in the lead IFAV (a Mercedes G-Wagon essentially). Looking through their night-vision goggles they could see a fork in the trail. "Go left," said the captain. Maybe we should have gone right....
Sgt. Garret E. Dean, via 4wheeloffroad.com

ere is a picture from a recovery mission we went on a few weeks ago. What we did to get it out was pick it up with the crane on our wrecker. It was easier than it looks. Hope you like the picture.Sgt. Mathew Davis, Spc. Micheal Myers
U.S. Army OEF 7, via 4wheeloffroad.com

This is a pic of my friend Kimmi McT off-road in Iraq last year. Unfortunately she thought that she was in her Jeep back home and thought that the Army's Armored Security Vehicle (ASV) could go through anything. This turned out to be a four-hour expedition and she had to be winched out by another ASV. Keep up the good articles.
John Perry, 65th MP Co. (ABN), Ft. Bragg, NC

Oh my, you've been a troubled bunch this past year. We might have received some of our very best photos ever in the last several months. It seems that complete lack of forethought is ruling supreme, and we are so very proud of you! Now get back out there and get yourself as stuck as you can (after you finish reading the mag, of course). We need more Whoops photos! E-mail them to us at whoops@4wheeloffroad.com.

Diving
A buddy and I were sliding around the water hole at Silver Lake Sand Dunes in his 2WD Chevy when he decided to detour into the middle of the hole. He got stuck in some ruts and spun himself deeper, until the carb took in water and killed the motor. That gave us a chance to talk to him and ask why it wasn't 4WD again (ha ha). An FJ40 attempted a pull, a Hummer tried as well, but it was a week-old stock V-10 Super Duty that was able to free him up. After a complete flushing, the Chevy still lives to this day.
Edward Knight, via 4wheeloffroad.com

Send us your wheeling foul-ups! Letters must be signed by the vehicle's owner. Due to the large volume of mail we receive, we regret that not all submissions can be used and none will be returned. Digital photos must measure no less than 1600 x 1200 pixels (or two megapixels) and be saved as a TIFF, an EPS, or a maximum-quality JPEG file.

Write to:
Whoops!, 4-Wheel & Off-Road
6420 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90048-5515
fax 323.782.2704

E-mail to:
whoops@4wheeloffroad.com

My buddies talked me into seeing how sweet my '99 Toyota was in the mud. It did OK until I got cocky and stuck it in 2WD. My buddy broke his rear driveshaft trying to pull me out.
Tyler Lowe, Sandersville, MS

Some friends and I were out rockcrawling at Fordyce Trail near Truckee, California, when I got a little too much wheelhop and it almost sent me over backwards. It would have been bad if my spare tire hadn't stopped me....
Brent Wade, Napa, CA

Josh was trying out his four-wheel-drive skills at Camp Lejuene right before he was sent to Iraq. Part of becoming a good wheeler is experiencing issues that teach you when to say when.
Josh Branscum, Botkins, OH

We were in deep snow, my friend was driving my dualie, and I was driving my 'Burb, both pulling trailers. Going into a turn that a Dodge in front of us couldn't make, we ended up crashing into each other while trying to stop (both my vehicles!). We had the mess cleaned up in two hours before any emergency help arrived.
Kyle Yerks, Blissfield, MI

Send us your wheeling foul-ups! Letters must be signed by the vehicle's owner. Due to the large volume of mail we receive, we regret that not all submissions can be used and none will be returned. Digital photos must measure no less than 1600 x 1200 pixels (or two megapixels) and be saved as a TIFF, an EPS, or a maximum-quality JPEG file.

Whoops!, 4-Wheel & Off-Road
6420 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90048-5515
fax 323.782.2704

whoops@4wheeloffroad.com

We were most of the way through a new trail when the back end of the Bronco hit hard on a rock. My wife and daughter said they smelled gas. I was sure it wasn't leaking. When I got out to look I saw my fuel tank lying in the trail behind us. This is the same Gas Tank Alley that you drove up on Ultimate Adventure 2006.
Yancy Shupe, Spring Creek, NV

I was driving down an old section line road when I broke through the ice in my '65 International Harvester. I haven't found a bottom to this black ash tree swamp yet, and I may need help getting this old 1-ton out soon.
Mike Bergman
Duluth, MN

I learned that just because the mud in a dried-up pond looks dry does not mean it really is. My truck has 3 inches of lift and 33-inch Maxxis Buckshot Mudders, but it looks like a lowrider touching the ground.
Ben LaPrairie
via 4wheeloffroad.com

Send us your wheeling foul-ups! Letters must be signed by the vehicle's owner. Due to the large volume of mail we receive, we regret that not all submissions can be used and none will be returned. Digital photos must measure no less than 1600 x 1200 pixels (or two megapixels) and be saved as a TIFF, an EPS, or a maximum-quality JPEG file.

Write to:
Whoops!, 4-Wheel & Off-Road
6420 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90048-5515
fax 323.782.2704

E-mail to:
whoops@4wheeloffroad.com

My old '96 Chevy Tahoe had a 9-inch lift with 36-inch Parnelli Joneses and Weld Evo Cheyennes. Too bad you can't see them 'cause they're covered in clay. This is the last time I let my buddies talk me into this. It took two winches to pull me out.
Mike Harris, via 4wheeloffroad.com

This is a Bradley Fighting Vehicle (BFV). We got stuck out on a field prop near Camp Casey, Korea.
Spc. Dariek Dehn, U.S. Armyvia 4wheeloffroad.com

My dad and I were going to the back side of our place to go shooting when he said, "I smell gas."I replied, "We'll take a look at it when we get back to the house."
Moral of the story: Always listen to Dad.
Toby Roderick
Ignacio, CO

Send us your wheeling foul-ups! Letters must be signed by the vehicle's owner. Due to the large volume of mail we receive, we regret that not all submissions can be used and none will be returned. Digital photos must measure no less than 1600 x 1200 pixels (or two megapixels) and be saved as a TIFF, an EPS, or a maximum-quality JPEG file.

Whoops!, 4-Wheel & Off-Road
6420 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90048-5515
fax 323.782.2704

whoops@4wheeloffroad.com

I don't know which was worse-the ride in or the ride out.
Mitch Milner, Centerville, IA

The New-Age Depth Finder!
Eugene Stratton, via 4wheeloffroad.com

Apparently the folks at Rockport decided "Pitbull's Revenge" was getting too easy and took a track-hoe down there to make things more difficult. My "5-Day XJ" (less than $1,000 invested) flopped on its side near the end of the trail. A few club members pushed me back over and I was on my way. At the top we noticed that the front end drooped far enough for the left coil spring to come out of the bucket and that the right rear spring pack was wasted.
Jim Ott, St. Louis, MO

Send us your wheeling foul-ups! Letters must be signed by the vehicle's owner. Due to the large volume of mail we receive, we regret that not all submissions can be used and none will be returned. Digital photos must measure no less than 1600 x 1200 pixels (or two megapixels) and be saved as a TIFF, an EPS, or a maximum-quality JPEG file.

Whoops!, 4-Wheel & Off-Road
6420 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90048-5515
fax 323.782.2704

jerrod.jones@primedia.com

Our names are Spc. Devine Beng and Spc. Eric Horsfield. We are deployed in Operation Iraqi Freedom. This is a nice way to end the week. It's a picture of a tractor trailer that someone decided to drive into a waterway. It took our 5-ton wrecker plus a tank recovery vehicle three hours t