WOMEN ONLY!!! When you need a tow out in the wilderness

[charliesmom]

I'm not mechanically inclined with cars so if my tow vehicle breaks down in the middle of nowhere, who do you call?  Is there a membership that will come get your vehicle.  I don't think AAA would be able to get to me in the national forest.  There must be something out there.  This is my biggest fear.  Being stuck due to mechanical breakdown and unable to use my AAA.

 

[Almost There]

[font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]Unfortunately a really good post had to be deleted because it was a guy who answered it and this thread is in the Women Only section of the forum.

Sooo, I did what any good woman would do and took a guys advice and posted it for you. Thank you Trebor for the advice..sorry it had to be removed.

IMO it doesn't matter what gender you are, if you're out past the edge of Nowhere and have any kind of trouble then you ask for help...plain and simple. Heck, you ask for help even if you're not out past the edge of Nowhere..it's all the same.


Here's the advice that had to be deleted:


"Most of the people in and around Nowhere are helpful and mechanically inclined.  The people near the middle of Nowhere tend to have more stuff like winches, chains, and tow straps.  Around the edges of Nowhere cell service is more reliable.  Once you get past the edges of Nowhere it is best to go with other people.  You don't use a cell phone, you talk to them face to face because you stay close enough."[/font]

 

[Cat Lady]

Who cares if it was a man who offered the good advice.  Too bad it was deleted.  Good suggestions are just that.  If you don’t know, you don’t know....and to those that do, no matter the gender, thank you very much.

 

[charliesmom]

I always save stuff I may use from Bob's you tube videos, I could swear he had one on this topic. A company that can locate you and get you towed out. I have winches, straps, the whole set up if stuck in mud or sand. I have something to jump my car battery if needed.
I'm thinking of bigger mechanical problems. Lets say the alternate or transmission goes. I have AAA but I don't think they will go the places I go. Someone mentioned Good Sam, it's like AAA but for RVs. Thing is not your usual RV in that I am deep in boondock country when I travel. I always check my car prior to hitching up my trailer, but you never know. Anyway thanks to all you gals out there, hope too meet up during my adventures.

 

[Suanne]

Check out SPOT's SOV (save our vehicle) service.  Bob did a video on it with Roxy.  It's a "road service" that will come out into the back country and other places AAA will not.  www.findmespot.com

I have that service on my Gen3.

 

[WalkaboutTed]

The Spot SOV plan will only tow you if you are within 100 metres of a real road.  Which doesn't help you if you are in the middle of nowhere. From their terms of service:

"Your vehicle must be within 100 meters of a regularly maintained roadway. The NSD Roadside Assistance Service is not offered in roadless areas regularly not traveled, such as vacant lots, beaches, open fields or other places which are hazardous for tow trucks to reach. This means that if after mapping your GPS latitude and longitude, the location does not map within 100 meters of a known, regularly maicontract." roadway and is in an area safe for the tow truck to travel, NSD will not dispatch Roadside Assistance." And: "IMPORTANT: Roadside Assistance is to be used only for roadside services, it is not to be considered an emergency response service. Roadside Assistance is not an automobile liability insurance contract, a warranty or a physical damage insurance contract."

Doesn't sound too great to me, especially since you have to pay the large annual fee and the towing service on top of it. And with the Spot, you won't know if they will be able to help you as there is no way for them to message you.
Ted (sorry about the font weirdness)

 

[Annie W]

[font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]"Most of the people in and around Nowhere are helpful and mechanically inclined.  
The people near the middle of Nowhere tend to have more stuff like winches, chains, and tow straps.
Around the edges of Nowhere cell service is more reliable.
Once you get past the edges of Nowhere it is best to go with other people.  You don't use a cell phone, you talk to them face to face because you stay close enough."[/font]

UM
in order to "[font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]best go with other people.[/font]" = you have to know some others. What if you do Not know anyone?
let alone "[font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]talk to them face to face because you stay close enough."[/font]

in that case, do NOT risk driving anywhere near Nowhere ? - Just live in a site-built house, right ?

 

[Almost There]

Annie, there are about a bazillion square miles of the north american continent that are neither urban nor 'out past the edge of Nowhere'.

It's not a black and white situation at all. It's not either S&B or Nowhere...actually most of the continent is somewhere in between. You can be alone and still within a couple of miles of someone else.

It takes real determination to absolutely get out past the edge...where you won't see anyone for weeks at a time.

Common sense (which isn't very common these days.. ) dictates that if you're not an experienced person at travelling out past the edge of Nowhere that you either gradually work your way out there learning and adjusting as you go or make darn sure you have all the equipment and the knowledge necessary to get yourself back.

Most of us live and love the area that's 'In Between'...

 

[Annie W]

Thanks for your response , but I am still confused, Almost There. So may I ask:

1. WHAT is "S&B or Nowhere..." ? 
so you mean that "the edge...where you won't see anyone for weeks at a time." is ALL over, because the country is SOOO vast.
Sorta like the moon ?

2. as now primarily a Happy Introvert, who also needs deep :heart: connections with a few precious others, I have NO intention of ever getting "lost in Nowhere".

3. That said, when traveling ALONE because of not yet having met others, HOW is one supposed to know ?? where the "Nowhere" starts?

4. And (short of attending an RTR which I looked forward to,
but a few Forum-members have now discouraged me) , HOW are we supposed to find... ? the "Most of us live & love the area that's 'In Between'..."

 

[cyndi]

S&B, a house usually in a neighborhood
Nowhere - someplace many miles from civilization

The edge is more likely to be found in the south and north west where there are fewer towns and vast wilderness

Nowhere, for me would start someplace where I could not find help. No cell signal, for instance. Perhaps the place where you can't get road service if you are alone

Reports tell us that upwards of 4000 people made an appearance at the RTR and your concerned about a few people's opinions. If it's so bad why have so many of us made lifetime connections there? Why do so many of us return year after year? Ask those few people if they made connections there. If you decide to attend the RTR you'll have a network of friends, out on the road. Clearly, you've already made connections here.

There are many fb groups that center on this lifestyle, if you're on fb.

 

[Whitewolf7]

I can share what I did yesterday, when I broke down! I don't have AAA since they will not rescue me on a dirt/gravel road. For me, I make sure I have good cell signal. I don't compromise on that, as a single woman on the road with a young child. Second, I have a "tow" fund always ready. I don't touch it. Yesterday, I woke to a flat down to the rim. I was 7 miles up forest road. I have a spare, but no jack. I drove 2 miles to the "busier" forest road, pulled over with hazards on. Got out, and stood at my door and waited 5 minutes. Two vans approached, they BOTH stopped and asked if I needed help. They both jumped out with jacks, tools, the works...and had it changed out in no time. Anyone that approaches me can clearly see I'm armed, so never a problem. If that isn't your cup of tea, a $10 can of pepper spray in your pocket can keep the ball in your court, so they say For larger mechanical needs, keep that tow fund handy, and perhaps google the reputable one in town. Some smaller mom and pop shops will allow you to stay with your vehicle overnight, esp in popular rv destinations. Good luck!

 

[Suanne]

The Spot SOV plan ... From their terms of service: "Your vehicle must be within 100 meters of a regularly maintained roadway...

Thanks for posting this Ted.  When I first signed up for the SOV, their big selling point was that the roadside assistance was for anywhere and everywhere your vehicle might be.  So many of us got the SOV service because of that feature.

I will contact them to see if I'm grandfathered into their original TOS or if it got revised with this year's subscription.

At any rate, I will still keep the SOV plan because I go on many maintained roads outside of cell service.

 

[WalkaboutTed]

Today Hubby got stuck in his van in a wash in the desert. I thought of this thread.

Okay, so my van has a compressor, a long snatch strap, a shovel, a big shackle, tow hooks, a 5 ton bottle jack, the tire track thingies and other assorted items.  I don't want to be stuck and without resources.

Hubby's van is the same as mine, a NIssan NV.   His van weighs about 8000#.  The only of the above stuff he has is the jack that came with stock van for changing tires, tow hooks and a compresser. Guess who told him that he needed a compressor.  Both vans have the crappy stock tires. Ya look at them crosswise and they skid.

This afternoon I'm sitting at Tucson Tamale having a chile relleno cheese tamale with a Negro Modelo.  We're leaving AZ for 3 months or so and I was finished with a ton of errands before I go. My phone rings..."Honey?"(pregnant pause). I say "Yes, Dearie, what happened?" 40+ years of husbands and four sons makes deciphering male silences and tones of voices really, really easy.

"I'm stuck"

"Where are you stuck?"

"I don't know. I'm in a wash."  I've got my eyes closed and shaking my head.  

"Why?"

"Well, ya know that road that's kinda rough? I thought I'd take a shortcut. It kept getting worse and I didn't want to stop and get stuck, so I kept going. Then I got stuck"

"How deep are you buried?"

"Not too bad, I stopped as soon as I realized that I was likely not going to be able to get myself out." (I thank God for small favors)

"How far are you from a real road? More than 100 meters?"

"Uh, I don't know."

"Get your tablet out, open google maps and drop a pin on your location and text it to me".

"I'm gonna just walk and see what I can see".

"Ok, fine. Call me with what you know".

First things first, I needed to be able to get a cost estimate on extricating an 8000# cargo van. I called a local towing place. $125 an hour for regular extrication, $225 an hour if they needed 4x4 (portal to portal). If he knew how much money it might cost, he might be more inspired.

"Hey, Hon, I'm about 200 yards from a real road".

"Well, that doesn't do us a lot of good." I then told him the cost of getting him out. "Do you have the compressor in the van?"

"Yep. What should I do?"

"Bring the tires down to 10 psi". They are normally 65psi in the rear. "If you get yourself out, as soon as you are clear, reinflate them or you will kill them. If you can't get out, here's the towing service's telephone and I spoke to Michele. Call me when you have an update."  

45 minutes later "Honey, I'm out!!!"  It took him forever to reinflate the tires to 65psi because the 12v compressor needed rest periods every 10 minutes.  He said that he rocked the vehicle gently and was able to get out easily. I found him when I got close to where we were camped and brought him a couple of Millers.  He was jubilant that he didn't have to pay big bucks.  Hopefully his tires didn't take any damage from wallowing around in the sand.

I walked down to where he got stuck. These are some of the lessons:

Do not go down a narrow track with no semi-recent full size vehicle tracks. There were some old ATV tracks.  What the Hell was he thinking?

It's better to get stuck closer to the road than continuing to go in deeper. 

Have some equipment. He was very lucky to get out with just deflating his tires.

Have a wife to call for moron support, if you can. Sometimes you can't see the problem right in front of you. "I think I would have thought about the compressor eventually", he said.  

Hope you have cell service. His phone is Verizon, the tablet is T-mobile. 

Make sure you have water and a hat (he had both).

So we had a cheap lesson. I attached a photo of his tire. You can see by the dust ring how deflated it was at 10psi.
Ted

 

[ColdBrook]

A friend of mine sunk his rear truck tires in the sand right up to the axel.  He was down by the Colorado river in Ehrenberg, AZ.  It cost him $300 to get towed out ( just a few feet).  I told him next time to call me no matter where I am. I might have been able to tow him out, or I might have known some other nomads whose vehicles could have towed him out.  He didn't want to bother anyone.  I think he learned some valuable lessons-walk in areas that look sandy before you drive into them, and call another nomad and maybe they or someone else can get you out for free or for the price of their gas.  And like he had, always have an emergency fund.