Better yet - what did I NOT do today (yesterday, that is): I did not recover a Mercedes Metris van buried in sand at Glamis dunes.
The guys were a photographer crew taking shots of a baby Bronco in sand; at some point, they decided they needed to follow the Bronco's tracks on the dune slope, and... however bad the baby Bronco is, the Metris (Viano in ROW) is worse.
The van got stuck about 120 feet from pavement, at an angle - to either CA 78 or paved driveway to observation area.
The guys were very enthusiastic about everything, but... the van, purchased three days prior, had zero tools. Including, importantly, the recovery eye bolt that should go through the hole in the front bumper. That left the eyelet welded to the body panel in the rear, off center.
Between me and another very helpful fellow named Rubio with a 4x4 Ram pickup with a winch, we offered winching or pulling the van backwards towards pavement - it required at least Rubio's winch's full drum of cable + 50-60 ft of tow straps.
Having heard of a risk of tearing off that eyelet, the guys politely declined and opted for waiting for AAA tow truck.
I helped the guys to unload the equipment from the van into Rubio's truck, gave Rubio two 30-ft tow straps and a soft shackle, and left around 4pm. Called and texted them a few times, and only got a text way after we arrived home in San Diego - that Rubio stayed with them, and finally winched them out. Kudos to the guy!
The AAA never came.
The guys were a photographer crew taking shots of a baby Bronco in sand; at some point, they decided they needed to follow the Bronco's tracks on the dune slope, and... however bad the baby Bronco is, the Metris (Viano in ROW) is worse.
The van got stuck about 120 feet from pavement, at an angle - to either CA 78 or paved driveway to observation area.
The guys were very enthusiastic about everything, but... the van, purchased three days prior, had zero tools. Including, importantly, the recovery eye bolt that should go through the hole in the front bumper. That left the eyelet welded to the body panel in the rear, off center.
Between me and another very helpful fellow named Rubio with a 4x4 Ram pickup with a winch, we offered winching or pulling the van backwards towards pavement - it required at least Rubio's winch's full drum of cable + 50-60 ft of tow straps.
Having heard of a risk of tearing off that eyelet, the guys politely declined and opted for waiting for AAA tow truck.
I helped the guys to unload the equipment from the van into Rubio's truck, gave Rubio two 30-ft tow straps and a soft shackle, and left around 4pm. Called and texted them a few times, and only got a text way after we arrived home in San Diego - that Rubio stayed with them, and finally winched them out. Kudos to the guy!
The AAA never came.
That's why I chose the Toyota Land Cruiser LC250 after talking to many owners in Iceland and seeing for myself what it can do.
