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Author Topic: Subaru AWD only goes so far  (Read 4151 times)

Offline johngenx

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Subaru AWD only goes so far
« on: January 21, 2011, 05:08:59 pm »
Went to the ski hill this morning with the school kids.  (gettin' paid to ski, oh, yeah)  Anyway, we had enough teachers for the bus ride, so I took my car so I could hang out after and keep skiing.  (I only work until 11:45 on Fridays)

I'm leaving the area, which is located on a rural, narrow road.  There is a pair of poor teen girls in the ditch, really stuck.  I stop to give them a hand with pushing/phoning/whatever.  I ease onto the shoulder, and thanks to 0C temps, it's super soft and way deeper than it looks.  The Forester slides down into the ditch, the passenger side is right to the bottom of the mirror.  Holy :censor:!!  I just touch the gas, and the car rotates and sinks in rapidly.  I try to go forward/back, and make a little progress, but overall, I'm getting deeper into the field.

I've got three plumes of snow, and no ability to move.  I'm in so deep that the snow is to the window line, all four doors.  I have to crawl out the window!!  I wallow back to the road, and now we have two stuck vehicles.

Eventually, a nice dude in a four door Rubicon stops and has a long burly rope with hooks, and with some work, everyone is unstuck.  The Jeep driver was impressed I got into the field as far as I did, but stuck is stuck.
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Offline ktm525

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Re: Subaru AWD only goes so far
« Reply #1 on: January 21, 2011, 05:16:50 pm »
Quote from: johngenx on January 21, 2011, 05:08:59 pm
Went to the ski hill this morning with the school kids.  (gettin' paid to ski, oh, yeah)  Anyway, we had enough teachers for the bus ride, so I took my car so I could hang out after and keep skiing.  (I only work until 11:45 on Fridays)

I'm leaving the area, which is located on a rural, narrow road.  There is a pair of poor teen girls in the ditch, really stuck.  I stop to give them a hand with pushing/phoning/whatever.  I ease onto the shoulder, and thanks to 0C temps, it's super soft and way deeper than it looks.  The Forester slides down into the ditch, the passenger side is right to the bottom of the mirror.  Holy :censor:!!  I just touch the gas, and the car rotates and sinks in rapidly.  I try to go forward/back, and make a little progress, but overall, I'm getting deeper into the field.

I've got three plumes of snow, and no ability to move.  I'm in so deep that the snow is to the window line, all four doors.  I have to crawl out the window!!  I wallow back to the road, and now we have two stuck vehicles.

Eventually, a nice dude in a four door Rubicon stops and has a long burly rope with hooks, and with some work, everyone is unstuck.  The Jeep driver was impressed I got into the field as far as I did, but stuck is stuck.


So I navigate my RWD G8 all the way from Calgary  to Louise, through two road closures during a heavy snowfall with no issues and you stick your Subaru on the way back from Rabbit Hill? ;)

You got caught on a soft shoulder but how did the girl's get stuck? Mascara application or texting?
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Offline johngenx

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Re: Subaru AWD only goes so far
« Reply #2 on: January 21, 2011, 05:22:28 pm »
Quote from: ktm525 on January 21, 2011, 05:16:50 pm
So I navigate my RWD G8 all the way from Calgary  to Louise, through two road closures during a heavy snowfall with no issues and you stick your Subaru on the way back from Rabbit Hill? ;)

You got caught on a soft shoulder but how did the girl's get stuck? Mascara application or texting?

Funny, huh!  I think of the poor conditions I've slogged the Subaru through in the mountains, and yup, stuck on the way out of Rabbit Hill.  Cripes!!!

To their credit, the girls moved over to let a dump truck go by, and did a "smaller" version of what I did.  Of course, their Civic Coupe didn't have the ability to dig into the field nearly as well as my Scoob!
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Offline sailor723

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Re: Subaru AWD only goes so far
« Reply #3 on: January 21, 2011, 05:45:59 pm »
Sometimes AWD only means all four wheels are spinning uselessly instead of just two.  ;D
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Offline dr_spock

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Re: Subaru AWD only goes so far
« Reply #4 on: January 21, 2011, 05:49:05 pm »
That was kind of you to stop and help.   :)

Wasn't there a saying that 4x4, AWD and 4WD help one to get stuck deeper and farther?
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Offline rrocket

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Re: Subaru AWD only goes so far
« Reply #5 on: January 21, 2011, 06:00:23 pm »
Quote from: johngenx on January 21, 2011, 05:08:59 pm
There is a pair of poor teen girls in the ditch, really stuck.  I stop to give them a hand with pushing/phoning/whatever.

I'm sure you did.... :rofl2:

« Last Edit: January 21, 2011, 06:06:24 pm by rrocket »
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Offline gotak

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Re: Subaru AWD only goes so far
« Reply #6 on: January 21, 2011, 06:51:46 pm »
Quote from: rrocket on January 21, 2011, 06:00:23 pm
Quote from: johngenx on January 21, 2011, 05:08:59 pm
There is a pair of poor teen girls in the ditch, really stuck.  I stop to give them a hand with pushing/phoning/whatever.

I'm sure you did.... :rofl2:



LOL. Well if they were stuck they have to keep warm somewhere out in the cold.
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Offline Mike

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Re:
« Reply #7 on: January 21, 2011, 07:12:33 pm »
Don't worry, I got a 4x4 F250 diesel stuck in a parking lot this week in calgary.

Same deal, it sank in soft snow and the crappy all season tires just spun around uselessly
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Offline rrocket

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Re:
« Reply #8 on: January 21, 2011, 07:14:04 pm »
Quote from: Mike on January 21, 2011, 07:12:33 pm
Don't worry, I got a 4x4 F250 diesel stuck in a parking lot this week in calgary.

Same deal, it sank in soft snow and the crappy all season tires just spun around uselessly

F250s sink on anything...including pavement.  Too damn heavy, and pretty useless in anything soft.......

But man, can they tow!!
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Offline marineboy

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Re: Subaru AWD only goes so far
« Reply #9 on: January 21, 2011, 08:49:34 pm »
Wow thanks for the heads up. Going with the school next week to Rabbit Hill but have only a Civic with  winter tires. Note to self: Stay in the tracks!  ;D
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Offline mrthompson

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Re: Subaru AWD only goes so far
« Reply #10 on: January 22, 2011, 08:06:54 am »
Great story, John.  ;D
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Offline tortoise

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Re: Subaru AWD only goes so far
« Reply #11 on: January 23, 2011, 02:19:16 pm »
Heh, learned to ski at Rabbit Hill when we were living in Leduc.  As they say, a long time ago in a galaxy far far away.

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Offline Great_Big_Abyss

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Re: Subaru AWD only goes so far
« Reply #12 on: January 24, 2011, 12:52:14 pm »
Props to the fellow in the Jeep.

I always stop when I see someone in the ditch.  I figure there's a reason I bought a 4x4 truck with tow hooks.  I have a selection of chains, recovery straps, and tow straps in the back of my truck, so there's always the right tool for the job. 
So far my little ranger has pulled out vehicles ranging from a little Mazda Protege to a GMC 2500HD.  The smaller cars I can generally pull out by just applying pressure and smoothly pulling them out.  The larger vehicles I have to snatch, as my Ranger doesn't have the weight to just pull out large trucks.

The most interesting one was actually a couple of weeks ago.  A fellow in an Accord Coupe lost control on the highway and jumped the snow bank, landing nose first in a field.  When I was pulling him out, I placed my truck on the shoulder (which was thankfully snow free - bare asphalt) and smoothly applied power (in low range, of course).  The car was lodged so well that my wheels were spinning (on dry asphalt).  It took me about half an hour to pull him out.  it would have gone quicker had I been able to snatch him out, but the last thing I wanted was for the rear row hook to rip the car's bumper off.

I always enjoy pulling people out when they're stuck/off the road.  The more challenging the recovery, the more fun.  I don't once regret trading the driving characteristics of my 8th gen Civic SI for the utility of my (horrible to drive) Ranger.
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