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RAMSEY WINCHES USED AROUND THE WORLD
Some nuts don't fall far from a tree
January 21,2001
The day starts out, sunny and cool. What more can you ask for to head out with a couple of friends to test out the new Ramsey Wireless Remote. The test area is a popular offroad area located just west of Tulsa. This particular area had posed some trouble for me in the past. Very few people can claim that they rolled their Jeep on flat ground, but that's another store for another time. The plan for the day was to get 3-4 hours of winch test time. Do a few harder areas, but get winch time.
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As Ron Vanderslice from Ramsey Winch, Matt Whiteis, and I hit the trail after meeting at the local hangout, Sam's Offroad, we gassed up and aired down. Since Ron and Matt are new to these trails, I figure I'll take them in easy and head over to the famed "Make-it or Break-it". Nothing better than warming up on the hard stuff. This particular spot has had only two people make it, the rest have gone home broke or scared. The spot is located down in a gully. The intent is to climb out the opposite side up a 25' hill with a couple of ledges in it. These "couple" of ledges are roughly the wheelbase of a Jeep and step up about 6'. Not only is it steep but there is a tree or two thrown in for added excitement. Hitting the hill hard enough to get up will throw your Jeep into a tailspin. Literally standing it up on its tail. If you lucky enough to get up and over the first ledge, you're in the make-it or winch it point. Falling backwards will put you into a tree. I eased up the ledge to get a feel for the angle. Knowing that we wanted winch time, I elected not to slam the gas and let my fuel injected Chevy 350 power up the ledges. This would have likely given me the chance to replace one of my Dana 44 axles so I elected to winch.
With Matt and Ron just teaming with energy and knowing that they won't try it, I convinced them to pull the winch cable and secure it to one of the larger trees at the top. This was our chance to test the Ramsey Wireless Remote. This thing is cool. No more having to fumble for the winch remote. I keep mine in my Tuffy console attached to a bottle opener. We ran the winch and tested various angles of control, in the Jeep, out of the Jeep, out in the woods, front and back. Worked like a charm. We finally got the Jeep up the ledges. Incredibly, we almost stalled the winch even with 105amp alternator fueling twin Napa Gel filled batteries.
Once up on the top, I knew I didn't want to go back down the way I came up. It was way too steep and my stretched CJ would likely tip over. With this in mind, I headed around to the by-pass. This is a similar rock structure but isn't as exposed. As I eased over the edge, feeling my Rock-et Science Brake system hold me steady, my front tires ease over the first ledge. Of course at this time my seatbelt tightened up. Having been known to not make the right choices sometimes, I took off my seat belt, only assuming that I'd just bounce my way down the ledges. Now the front tires had eased far enough over that gravity took over. As I felt the tires slide, I suddenly felt the front left side grab, the tires turned and now the rear of my Jeep was going airborne. Things got quite. My seat started to draw up. Thoughts of the impending disaster raced through my mind. Of course the biggest thought was "my wife is going to be REALLY mad!" As the rear came up and over, all of a sudden, WHAM! The cage that protects any rear passengers slammed against a tree. For the next few moments (a life time when in this position) I kept thinking this thing is going to fall sideways and it's really going to hurt.
The next thing I knew I was facing the ground, my toolbox which wasn't secured was laying next to me on the windshield (no damage) and my Tuffy had emptied itself all over the front of my Jeep. I cut the engine off and stayed motionless to see if it was going to finish it's destined fall. With nothing happening, I elected to get out….quick! There's nothing more amazing than seeing your Jeep, 8 years of hard work and busted knuckles standing up in a tree. Of course at this point, Ron and Matt were in amazement at the distance that my spare parts box had flown which was about 50 feet out. And both were laughing at the face that I made on my trip over.
We stabilized the Jeep using Ron's Ramsey Platinum 9500. Once it was stable, we checked for body damage. The only damage was a minor tear in my top and a good bend in the rear cage. Not too bad. Now we needed an additional winch. The way the Jeep was standing and the only way to pull it down with one winch would have resulted in severe damage. I grabbed my trusty cell phone and called a friend and head gear doctor at Sam's Offroad. Luckily I caught him and explained the predicament. He said he was on his way. I then had to make the dreaded "honey I've done something wrong" call. I called her, told her to get with Matt's wife and bring a camera and that she just wouldn't believe what I did and that she would just have to see it to believe it. It's pretty hard to explain that your Jeep is up a tree, standing on it's nose but don't worry, no body damage!
By the time the camera's arrived, so did Mike. We used his Ramsey Platinum 9500 to secure a second angle to my Jeep via tree straps and snatch blocks. With the help of the two winches and one trusty hand winch, we got my Jeep down out of the tree. Minimal damage to the Jeep, a slight cut on the forehead from a plastic Mt. Dew bottle that Matt threw to me yelling "heads"….note to self: don't look up if you hear "heads!". We headed home, feeling quite lucky and had a great story. This is one fish that didn't get away.
This incident gave me a few points to remember. First and foremost, when going offroad, ALWAYS wear your seatbelt. Second, ALWAYS secure your gear.
-jpc
Do you have an interesting story to tell which involves your Ramsey Winch? Let us know. Contact Lisa Holden at lisaholden@ramsey.com or 918-234-2138. Photos need to be included with your story, but they don't need to be action shots. They can be of your vehicle in your driveway. (of course we would like your Ramsey Winch in the pic.)
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