Suzuki makes Arctic exploration Sub (?)

[Brakelate]

Got a little cabin fever during the snow storm that blew in over the weekend. Decided to go out and take a look at the pretty scenery in the Samurai.

Cruised down to our little creek, drove out on the ice and promptly broke right through. That would have been fine, but I had left the drain plugs out of the floorboards last summer, and apparently the water was still rising, along with a pretty good current pushing under the ice shelf.

So, in short order, I was sunk in the swirling silt and stuck on the pumpkins. While my son went to make yet another "come tow us out" call to the wife with the Big Truck, I sat inside, with the motor running, bubbling away from the submerged exhaust. The water kept rising, first up to the pedals, then over the transmission hump, finally up to the bottom of the dash, and thus soaking my seat cushion. Arghhhhh.

Help finally arrived (thankfully she is used to this sort of thing with me) and rather than a lengthy winch procedure, I instructed them to just attach a snatch line and give me a tug, in the interest of getting my butt back on dry (warm) ground ASAP. Unfortunately, without wanting to risk sinking the big truck with a proper parallel pull, which would require the Big Truck also being on the ice shelf, we just went with a hasty pull, at about 45 deg angle from the shoreline.

One quick tug, to get things moving and it clawed it's way back out of the mess. Unfortunately, due to the angle of the tug, and the tire pressures dropping even further (into single digits) from being submerged in frigid water, the two right side tires pulled away from the rims and fully deflated, letting muck water inside.

But, the Sami continues to run like a champ! It drove itself all the way back home. When it thaws out, I will be able to get in there and see if my deep water rigging worked, or if my transfer case and pumpkins are full of sludge.

Time to pull the floor matts and clean out the drain holes and give the interior a good hosing out too. Of course, it let water in, but when it was time to drain, the plug holes were all filled with muck, gravel, old ear plugs, .22LR rounds and their boxes which had turned to slime and helped plug everything up.

Good times! Perhaps it is time for some fresh, pliable rubber. I thought those gnarly 30x11.50-15 Bias Ply TSL Super Swamper Bogger tires were about as nasty as one could get. Apparently, I could use even more. Or, just be smart and stay on solid ground, or perhaps better yet, at home during the next blizzard.

[Brakelate]

Photos:

[Brakelate]

Hard to tell from the "submerged" pics. But, for a Samurai, it has quite a bit of rubber under it, and usually can keep the interior dry.


Here it is, back safe and sound on dry ground the next day.

[03_SONIC_BLUR]

Yes, you are insane. Thankfully for you, the wife is around to haul you out, or drag you home from the horse piddle after the docs stitch you back together

[Brakelate]

I am thankful she is there. Especially since things seem to always go so well for me.

[SonicVenum]

My ninja, you so cray!

[Brakelate]

We never left the road that day. I swear it. That fiberglass mile marker stake was obviously incorrectly placed and had no business being there. But, all four tires were still on the asphalt.

I don't care what you jokers say.

[Tetge]

We never left the road that day. I swear it. That fiberglass mile marker stake was obviously incorrectly placed and had no business being there. But, all four tires were still on the asphalt.

I don't care what you jokers say.

Nor, I suppose, did you and your large, but foolish, passenger attempt to go to the end of speed on dubiously corded out tires that no doubt someone else had discarded, shortly before the spinning exit from the road In a corner, that was witnessed by countless others. And, that is what happened, and, is also what I say.

And, the screen dump from the low quality video of that very day is poor, but if you look closely that is you driving and Juan riding shotgun. Do NOT make me upload the videos to youtube.................

[Brakelate]

I maintain that we never left the roadway. There might have been some tires abused, vehicles spun, but no leaving the roadway.

[Brakelate]

Oh, and BTW, I already went through a full set of tires on those fancy 15" wheels I picked up from SonicVenum. The rear M/T D/R's were chorded, and the front skinnies had to be replaced, after one of them developed a nasty Goose Egg, apparently from the internal chords rupturing. Something about extended high speed running. Apparently those cheapo super light skinnies were not intended to withstand a sustained 165 mph. At least it just tore internally, and did not fully disintegrate at speed. Wheew.