My Cybertruck finally got stuck. Self extracted with manual ratcheting winch (AKA come-along)

[HaulingAss]

After over a year of putting the Cybertruck up to difficult challenges, I finally got the Cybertruck stuck last Thursday! I can't say I'm surprised it got stuck since I was driving through snowpack that not even very high ground clearance off-road trucks normally venture. There was 2-3 feet of melting snowpack, slushy on top, firm and slippery underneath. I'm actually surprised I haven't got it stuck sooner, considering that I have been pushing the limits of driving through increasingly more difficult snowpack over the last two springs.

It was doing admirably with both the front and rear lockers engaged and Very High ride height in Overland Mode until I found a spot where the bottom of the snowpack was not harder than the top. Basically, all four wheel fell in a hole and the vehicle was high and dry, laying on top of the snowpack on it's belly, with it's wheels spinning so freely, like a fish out of water. I wasn't even sure I was in gear until I looked in my side mirrors and could see the wheels silently turning with zero traction. I don't carry chains, but even I did, they would have done nothing. I put it into Extract Mode and could hear the suspension rising, but this just locked the front A-arms deeper into the snowpack, without actually lifting the truck up (since the tires were in holes formed by water running under the snowpack) and the truck was sitting on it's belly. All of these photos were taken in full Extract Mode and the wheels didn't even make the slightest buzzing or scratching noise as all four spun.

Fortunately, I was prepared to self-rescue with a manual ratcheting winch (AKA come-along). After inspecting the situation I determined that no reasonable amount of digging would fix the problem so I rigged up the winch to a distant tree (to get a pull as straight as possible to my existing ruts) and, after half an hour of huffing and puffing, I had winched the Cybertruck backwards 4 feet at which point the tires made contact with the snowpack and it was an easy back-down through the same tracks I had made on the way up, until I found a patch where sun exposure had thinned the snowpack down to 1 foot and I was able to turn around without worrying about getting stuck again.

The winching was more work than it needed to be because I didn't think to lower it to "High" from "Extract" in order to flatten the angle of the A-arms so they didn't anchor themselves into the firmer snowpack down below. As I winched, the a-arms had to shave the snowpack. In this particular situation I shouldn't have been in Extract Mode (for the winching).

This is why deep snowpack is a no-no. You are doing fine until all of a sudden, you are not.

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[J.Graham]

Good job getting yourself out with a come-along. Need to add that to my list!

 

[J.Graham]

Ok.. not to hijack your thread! Searching for a come-along to add to my gear and I came across this. What do you think, would this have pulled you out? I like that it’s small and I can toss it in the smugglers bay with an extension cord, then plug it into one of the bed outlets when I need it.

 

[HaulingAss]

Ok.. not to hijack your thread! Searching for a come-along to add to my gear and I came across this. What do you think, would this have pulled you out? I like that it’s small and I can toss it in the smugglers bay with an extension cord, then plug it into one of the bed outlets when I need it.

In the above situation, it would have been close. It might have required rigging it up with a pulley to double the pulling power. I considered getting one of those electric portable winches but I couldn't find one rated to 3 tons. Since it's for emergency use only, and a good come along can pull with more power when needed, I decided to replace my aging come-along with a better one (that costs more than the Warn electric winch).

 

[HaulingAss]

Good job getting yourself out with a come-along. Need to add that to my list!

If I didn't have one I could manage, I would just have to limit where I was willing to go when not travelling with other vehicles. In this example, there was no cellular coverage and no one around for at least 8 miles. I never would have ventured onto that much melting snowpack if I didn't have an extraction solution. Even satellite communications would require a lengthy wait (and potential expense) for help to arrive.

 

[Coagulation]

My 92 corolla has gone through deeper snow than that

/s

 

[SlegMD]

Glad it wasn’t an over-nighter!

 

[Ken in Miami]

If I didn't have one I could manage, I would just have to limit where I was willing to go when not travelling with other vehicles. In this example, there was no cellular coverage and no one around for at least 8 miles. I never would have ventured onto that much melting snowpack if I didn't have an extraction solution. Even satellite communications would require a lengthy wait (and potential expense) for help to arrive.

I was cold just reading this! Sitting here thinking how hot the ocean was yesterday in the keys and wondering if I could remember where my snow boots are!

 

[devdrone6]

New story on WSJ: CT owner gets stuck in driveway, in summer.

After over a year of putting the Cybertruck up to difficult challenges, I finally got the Cybertruck stuck last Thursday! I can't say I'm surprised it got stuck since I was driving through snowpack that not even very high ground clearance off-road trucks normally venture. There was 2-3 feet of melting snowpack, slushy on top, firm and slippery underneath. I'm actually surprised I haven't got it stuck sooner, considering that I have been pushing the limits of driving through increasingly more difficult snowpack over the last two springs.

It was doing admirably with both the front and rear lockers engaged and Very High ride height in Overland Mode until I found a spot where the bottom of the snowpack was not harder than the top. Basically, all four wheel fell in a hole and the vehicle was high and dry, laying on top of the snowpack on it's belly, with it's wheels spinning so freely, like a fish out of water. I wasn't even sure I was in gear until I looked in my side mirrors and could see the wheels silently turning with zero traction. I don't carry chains, but even I did, they would have done nothing. I put it into Extract Mode and could hear the suspension rising, but this just locked the front A-arms deeper into the snowpack, without actually lifting the truck up (since the tires were in holes formed by water running under the snowpack) and the truck was sitting on it's belly. All of these photos were taken in full Extract Mode and the wheels didn't even make the slightest buzzing or scratching noise as all four spun.

Fortunately, I was prepared to self-rescue with a manual ratcheting winch (AKA come-along). After inspecting the situation I determined that no reasonable amount of digging would fix the problem so I rigged up the winch to a distant tree (to get a pull as straight as possible to my existing ruts) and, after half an hour of huffing and puffing, I had winched the Cybertruck backwards 4 feet at which point the tires made contact with the snowpack and it was an easy back-down through the same tracks I had made on the way up, until I found a patch where sun exposure had thinned the snowpack down to 1 foot and I was able to turn around without worrying about getting stuck again.

The winching was more work than it needed to be because I didn't think to lower it to "High" from "Extract" in order to flatten the angle of the A-arms so they didn't anchor themselves into the firmer snowpack down below. As I winched, the a-arms had to shave the snowpack. In this particular situation I shouldn't have been in Extract Mode (for the winching).

This is why deep snowpack is a no-no. You are doing fine until all of a sudden, you are not.

 

[mcannock]

May ask what kind of tires did you have on?

 

[TeslaKen]

Thanks for sharing! Is this the point where we simply hook the battery to the shell of the truck and let it melt its way down to the ground? ??

 

[Baldyloxx]

I don’t know if I’m more pleased with the nice write-up or the fact that you have chosen to keep the CyberTrucks natural beauty..

Bravo on both accounts…

After over a year of putting the Cybertruck up to difficult challenges, I finally got the Cybertruck stuck last Thursday! I can't say I'm surprised it got stuck since I was driving through snowpack that not even very high ground clearance off-road trucks normally venture. There was 2-3 feet of melting snowpack, slushy on top, firm and slippery underneath. I'm actually surprised I haven't got it stuck sooner, considering that I have been pushing the limits of driving through increasingly more difficult snowpack over the last two springs.

It was doing admirably with both the front and rear lockers engaged and Very High ride height in Overland Mode until I found a spot where the bottom of the snowpack was not harder than the top. Basically, all four wheel fell in a hole and the vehicle was high and dry, laying on top of the snowpack on it's belly, with it's wheels spinning so freely, like a fish out of water. I wasn't even sure I was in gear until I looked in my side mirrors and could see the wheels silently turning with zero traction. I don't carry chains, but even I did, they would have done nothing. I put it into Extract Mode and could hear the suspension rising, but this just locked the front A-arms deeper into the snowpack, without actually lifting the truck up (since the tires were in holes formed by water running under the snowpack) and the truck was sitting on it's belly. All of these photos were taken in full Extract Mode and the wheels didn't even make the slightest buzzing or scratching noise as all four spun.

Fortunately, I was prepared to self-rescue with a manual ratcheting winch (AKA come-along). After inspecting the situation I determined that no reasonable amount of digging would fix the problem so I rigged up the winch to a distant tree (to get a pull as straight as possible to my existing ruts) and, after half an hour of huffing and puffing, I had winched the Cybertruck backwards 4 feet at which point the tires made contact with the snowpack and it was an easy back-down through the same tracks I had made on the way up, until I found a patch where sun exposure had thinned the snowpack down to 1 foot and I was able to turn around without worrying about getting stuck again.

The winching was more work than it needed to be because I didn't think to lower it to "High" from "Extract" in order to flatten the angle of the A-arms so they didn't anchor themselves into the firmer snowpack down below. As I winched, the a-arms had to shave the snowpack. In this particular situation I shouldn't have been in Extract Mode (for the winching).

This is why deep snowpack is a no-no. You are doing fine until all of a sudden, you are not.

 

[firemike]

I had that same warn winch, and it worked great until it stopped, and when I took it apart, the wires had been rubbing on something and it fried itself. And of course it was after the warranty. So I had no options.

 

[riggster]

After over a year of putting the Cybertruck up to difficult challenges, I finally got the Cybertruck stuck last Thursday! I can't say I'm surprised it got stuck since I was driving through snowpack that not even very high ground clearance off-road trucks normally venture. There was 2-3 feet of melting snowpack, slushy on top, firm and slippery underneath. I'm actually surprised I haven't got it stuck sooner, considering that I have been pushing the limits of driving through increasingly more difficult snowpack over the last two springs.

It was doing admirably with both the front and rear lockers engaged and Very High ride height in Overland Mode until I found a spot where the bottom of the snowpack was not harder than the top. Basically, all four wheel fell in a hole and the vehicle was high and dry, laying on top of the snowpack on it's belly, with it's wheels spinning so freely, like a fish out of water. I wasn't even sure I was in gear until I looked in my side mirrors and could see the wheels silently turning with zero traction. I don't carry chains, but even I did, they would have done nothing. I put it into Extract Mode and could hear the suspension rising, but this just locked the front A-arms deeper into the snowpack, without actually lifting the truck up (since the tires were in holes formed by water running under the snowpack) and the truck was sitting on it's belly. All of these photos were taken in full Extract Mode and the wheels didn't even make the slightest buzzing or scratching noise as all four spun.

Fortunately, I was prepared to self-rescue with a manual ratcheting winch (AKA come-along). After inspecting the situation I determined that no reasonable amount of digging would fix the problem so I rigged up the winch to a distant tree (to get a pull as straight as possible to my existing ruts) and, after half an hour of huffing and puffing, I had winched the Cybertruck backwards 4 feet at which point the tires made contact with the snowpack and it was an easy back-down through the same tracks I had made on the way up, until I found a patch where sun exposure had thinned the snowpack down to 1 foot and I was able to turn around without worrying about getting stuck again.

The winching was more work than it needed to be because I didn't think to lower it to "High" from "Extract" in order to flatten the angle of the A-arms so they didn't anchor themselves into the firmer snowpack down below. As I winched, the a-arms had to shave the snowpack. In this particular situation I shouldn't have been in Extract Mode (for the winching).

This is why deep snowpack is a no-no. You are doing fine until all of a sudden, you are not.

Which come-a-long are you carrying now?

 

[HaulingAss]

I was cold just reading this! Sitting here thinking how hot the ocean was yesterday in the keys and wondering if I could remember where my snow boots are!

When I got stuck late in the day, it was 74 degrees F in the mountains. It reached a high of 78F at 3 pm.

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