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