Submission information: Send photos of your four-wheeling foul-ups to Whoops!, 4-Wheel & Off-Road, 6420 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90048-5515. Letters must be signed by the vehicle owner. Due to the volume of mail we receive, not all submissions can be used and none will be returned.
Dear 4-Wheel & Off-Road,This picture was taken Saturday, Feb. 8, 2003, during a search for debris from the space shuttle Columbia in the Piney Woods near Hemphill, Texas. I was part of the search team present when a National Guard Hummer was sent in to evacuate an injured guardsman. The Hummer became stuck in some East Texas muck. The guardsman was safely evacuated and a U.S. Forest Service dozer eventually extracted the Hummer. Glenn A. Raney, Liberty, TX
Dear 4-Wheel & Off-Road,A buddy and I were just going looking for a suitable fishing hole. Instead we found a mud hole. From a distance, it appeared like it was the hole sucked us in. My carb sucked in the just surface water that had collected on the road, but when we hit the throttle and entered, water, which left the truck dead. We walked till we got to my father-in-law to help get us out. Between him, another 4x4, two broken straps, Hi-Lifts, and another six hours, we were at least able to reach dry ground. We then spent two more hours trying to change fluids and get the beast to run again. Brian Terry, Springville, UT
Dear 4-Wheel & Off-Road,I was wheeling with some friends and we found a small clay puddle that begged to be crossed. After snapping the winch cable, three hours of pulling by my two friends in their stock Wranglers, denying the costly help from the Sicilian and his tractor, and watching my yank-strap getting shorter and shorter, I finally popped out by using my Hi-Lift jack as a ratchet every time my friend gave a tug. Cost: new winch cable, starter, yank strap, and a cell phone that now sleeps with the fishes. That, my friends, is how it's done.Tom Groce, Sicily, Italy