Rolled it over today and nearly died doing it. Need your help

Tigerman

Tigerman

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Location
North Hills, CA
Hello Gentlemen!

Today is a very sad day! I made a mistake climbing down a very treacherous trail and my Jeep paid for it. The funny thing is I was out taking pictures, just pictures and had no intention of hardcore offroading today at all. I made one wrong turn and took a really really hard trail called "look out" in Santa Clarita mountains. Approximately half way down the trail I hit a spot I realized I could not back up from. Took the chance and did it wrong! I rolled down the mountain 6 times and luckily did not fall off the cliff, so I am grateful I am alive. It ended up upright, surprisingly. I threw myself out it and after getting the thoughts together, gathered what remained of my most important belongings and walked down the trail before it got dark.

Here is what I need your help with! It is still up there, in the middle of a very hard trail that no tow truck can get up to. At least I don't think they can. How would I go about recovering it? Would anyone be brave enough to go up there with me and see what can be done? I will call tow truck companies in the area tomorrow, but not very hopeful.

96236


See the attached images.

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Jeeeeeeez louise !!! wow you should go buy a lottery ticket.
Im sure there are people out there who can recover it...you cant be the first to do that. Local Jeepers or Towies
 
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Sorry to hear it. If I was in the area I'd help you out. That spot doesn't look too bad getting into.

lostintime said:
Did you see if it still runs? I would and just drive it out if you could. Good to hear you are alright
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It looks like the radiator is smashed.
 
My first thoughts are a winch but there doesn't seem to be any trees in the area to hook to. Definitely see if there are any Jeep clubs in the area and I'm sure a few of the members would be up for the challenge. Glad you are ok and the man above was looking out for you.
 
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The man above has kept you around for a reason, and you should thank him for that.
In the meantime, check the suspension, steering linkage, and brake system out really good, then put a helmet on and aim it down the hill. At least to a point where you could get it towed. Could be fun. Have somebody else take pictures while you do it. Make sure you have the local air rescue phone number saved first. Good luck
 
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I've seen several Facebook groups that do recovery that's probably a good start.

If you have to leave it there past today you could come up the other side with a buddy and start pulling the high value stuff the winch, the headlights, anything else easily removed and sought after / stolen. The only problem with that is the whole broken window theory thing. Especially in that part of the country Jeeps and parts dissappear like crazy.

Take all the fluids you might need, right her, sawzall the windshield off, and limp her the rest of the way down the mountain to a waiting tow truck.

1 guy in front with a strap and 1 in the rear with a strap if it won't drive.
 
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Wow! That had to be a horrific feeling. I’m glad you are okay and I’m sorry for your predicament. Having been in a similar situation I would agree with others comments about finding a local club that can assist in recovery or a buddy that can get up there. If it starts or even rolls I’d check brakes to make sure you can stop and try to drive her down. If one person assists and you can drive it have them hook you from behind as a controlled descent. If they must pull you make sure your brakes work. Take all fluids with you, duct tape for any leaks in hoses and an extra serpentine belt just in case unless you inspected the Jeep for what you may need before you came down.
 
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Sorry for that bad roll @Tigerman, at least you're ok and there's help available at no charge. There's a SoCal recovery group on Facebook for things like this this called SoCal Off-road Recovery SOS. It's a casual group of volunteers that lives solely to go out to help retrieve stuck or rolled vehicles.

Log onto FB, do a search for that group and then post a Pin with your information into it. You'll soon start getting responses from those who can help.

They will need an exact GPS location which they prefer as a Pin plus your phone number.
 
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You're a lucky SOB!

It looks drivable, but obviously we can't see everything. I'd get it running, make sure the brakes and steering still work, and slowly make my way back down the trail.

It looks like it took the fall pretty well. Replace the windshield frame, bend the fenders back up, and attach some parts and you're good to go!
 
Kiwi TJ said:
Jeeeeeeez louise !!! wow you should go buy a lottery ticket.
Im sure there are people out there who can recover it...you cant be the first to do that. Local Jeepers or Towies
Click to expand...

I found lots of Jeep parts lying around... I am guessing the spot is notorious for this.
 
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