I pulled a FedEx truck out of a ditch tonight

[Caliber357x]

@Caliber357x, maybe you’ll get a Thank You letter from FedEx, although the driver might not want to tell his bosses he ended up in a ditch. But perhaps if FedEx trucks are monitored as closely as UPS’s and Amazon’s, they already know there was a good delay on the driver’s route that needs an explanation.

He definitely got some ‘splaining to do, as the impact from the ditch knocked a headlight completely out of the frame of the truck. Hope he doesn’t get in too much trouble…but my guess is he was looking at his phone or another screen because the road was 100% clear of snow and ice.

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[scruvs]

Did you tow it in reverse using the tow hooks on the front, or did you have something attached to the hitch?

I’m curious about this too. I have no experience towing neighbors out of ditches, but I’ve thought about carrying a tow strap in case of emergency. But, if I do, I want to make sure I know the best way to hook up to my truck.

I had to go out to my truck to see where the locking diff button is in the menu because I haven’t used it yet. Found it on my XLT under Features->Drive Modes.

I also found this video interesting to sort of show the differences between auto power transfer and manual diff locking.

Off Road Locking Differential

 

[3rdGuy]

When it absolutely positively has to be pulled out of a ditch...Ford Lightning!

 

[21st Century Truck]

Sorta off topic here, but how do you guys in WV travel long distances?
There appears to be ZERO charging infrastructure in WV.
What gives?!? What do you Mountaineers do when you travel from Morgantown to Charleston?
What is odd is that Electric vehicles run on coal more than any other type of vehicle (provided the power plant is burning coal). Seems like WV should have a higher commitment to EVs than other states.

Haha - my Sonny Boy lives in Louisville Kentucky and I used to take Corridor H (the future I-66 continuation) and I-79 and I-64 all the time to go bother him and drink his bourbon see him. Once I bought my now-gone Mach E, I found the best way is to avoid West Virginia and go thru Western Maryland then Pennsylvania and Ohio... longer by about 100+ miles but there are DC Fast charging stations galore.

On the Mach E blog, West Virginia is well-known as the largest Fast charging desert in the Lower 48 United States, whether You're driving East - West or North - South. I've driven thru South Dakota and Wyoming in the Mach E and even compared to those sparsely settled states, West Virginia is worse.

There are a few more DC Fast points now than back in 2021 and 2022, but on the whole it is still a DC Fast charging desert.

I have a theory about the coal companies and the VW state government, and "who owns who" etc., but they are just theories without hard data points. Nonetheless, the facts are the well-known facts - WV is a DC Fast charging desert, even when we include the very few Tesla Superchargers.

 

[Pod]

What is crazy is that there are not really fast charging in the college towns, Morgantown ect. we really had to plan in the winter with trips across the state.

 

[Pottsie]

@Caliber357x, maybe you’ll get a Thank You letter from FedEx, although the driver might not want to tell his bosses he ended up in a ditch. But perhaps if FedEx trucks are monitored as closely as UPS’s and Amazon’s, they already know there was a good delay on the driver’s route that needs an explanation.

They are.

 

[pullinggs]

But, if I do, I want to make sure I know the best way to hook up to my truck.

Oh, so many things, and so many opinions. We should probably start a new thread for this.

With apologies to the OP...

TLDR: Let someone else break their truck and hurt themselves while you shoot video from a safe distance.

________

You can use the recovery hooks on the front. Better visibility about what you're pulling, but not where you're going. (If you can use a Y-harness to both hooks you'll minimize the stress a bit.)

By preference, I use a shackle on a solid stem in the tow hitch and pull going forward.

Hooking up the stuck vehicle is almost always the hard part. If possible, make them do the hook up and warn them that, when you pull something off their car, it's their fault. (Seriously, you can break stuff, so think carefully about where/how you attach to the stuck vehicle.)

I've pulled many stuck vehicles using a big tractor. There is a tendency for them to want to help by gunning the gas pedal as soon as they start to move, and that's a TERRIBLE idea. On several occasions I've literally had them run into the blade on the back of the tractor (much harder on their car than my big piece of heavy steel). Use a long-ish strap, if possible, and make them *promise* to leave their car in neutral until everything is over.

If you have a kinetic rope, then you can get moving a bit and let the strap sorta snatch them out when it goes tight. This is how many of the more serious and experienced folks do this and it works very well.

If you don't have a kinetic rope (I don't), then I'd strongly suggest you do NOT use your momentum to pull them out of the hole; just ease them out gently with power. I have seen both straps and cables break under a shock load, and you really, really don't want to do that. Really. Seriously. You. Do. Not. EVER! Want. To. Do. That!

If you MUST use momentum to get them moving (and don't have a kinetic rope), then use a massively over-rated chain and I won't be anywhere nearby as pieces of broken stuff can will fly a very long way.

YMMV. Think it though very carefully before you do anything. Remember, advice you got from a stranger on the internet is probably wrong and dangerous on multiple levels.

And good luck.

 

[bhelms]

I've pulled the Amazon delivery truck out of a ditch near my house 3 times. Between the Lightning and my MORR Recovery Rope, didn't even break a sweat.

 

[21st Century Truck]

You can use the recovery hooks on the front. Better visibility about what you're pulling, but not where you're going. (If you can use a Y-harness to both hooks you'll minimize the stress a bit.)

I'm working with a local machinist and a certified welder to fabricate a method to solidly attach a removable set of F250 super duty tow loops (part # 7L1Z-17A954-AA) to the rear frame rail ends of my Lightning for exactly this reason (bolded italics above are mine).

Although of course a strong hitch shackle insert can be really useful, IMHO it is better to have two solid attachment points already permanently mounted on the truck's rear, for example if the vehicle to be recovered happens to be my truck and the only easy rescue approach is from the rear. Raptors and Tremors have them, why not the Lightnings? TBC...

Having watched and supervised several recoveries of M1A1 tanks under rough conditions, I agree with pullinggs as to the inherent danger of steel parts that go flying. Seeing it once is enough for pretty much a lifetime.

 

[Blochead21]

Could always do something like this too.

https://www.f150gen14.com/forum/thr...pring-bolt-nut-torque-spec.16792/#post-330884

 

[Caliber357x]

Oh, so many things, and so many opinions. We should probably start a new thread for this.

With apologies to the OP...

TLDR: Let someone else break their truck and hurt themselves while you shoot video from a safe distance.

________

You can use the recovery hooks on the front. Better visibility about what you're pulling, but not where you're going. (If you can use a Y-harness to both hooks you'll minimize the stress a bit.)

By preference, I use a shackle on a solid stem in the tow hitch and pull going forward.

Hooking up the stuck vehicle is almost always the hard part. If possible, make them do the hook up and warn them that, when you pull something off their car, it's their fault. (Seriously, you can break stuff, so think carefully about where/how you attach to the stuck vehicle.)

I've pulled many stuck vehicles using a big tractor. There is a tendency for them to want to help by gunning the gas pedal as soon as they start to move, and that's a TERRIBLE idea. On several occasions I've literally had them run into the blade on the back of the tractor (much harder on their car than my big piece of heavy steel). Use a long-ish strap, if possible, and make them *promise* to leave their car in neutral until everything is over.

If you have a kinetic rope, then you can get moving a bit and let the strap sorta snatch them out when it goes tight. This is how many of the more serious and experienced folks do this and it works very well.

If you don't have a kinetic rope (I don't), then I'd strongly suggest you do NOT use your momentum to pull them out of the hole; just ease them out gently with power. I have seen both straps and cables break under a shock load, and you really, really don't want to do that. Really. Seriously. You. Do. Not. EVER! Want. To. Do. That!

If you MUST use momentum to get them moving (and don't have a kinetic rope), then use a massively over-rated chain and I won't be anywhere nearby as pieces of broken stuff can will fly a very long way.

YMMV. Think it though very carefully before you do anything. Remember, advice you got from a stranger on the internet is probably wrong and dangerous on multiple levels.

And good luck.

No worries on “hijacking” the thread or whatever, I don’t mind and I’m glad it’s spurred several conversations. I did have the FedEx guy hook up to his truck, and the tow strap definitely felt like it had some elasticity to it. I did tell him to put it in neutral and to just steer, and to only use his brakes once we were both on the pavement and he saw MY brake lights. I did know there was risk to helping him, but we were all fortunate that things worked out surprisingly well.

 

[21st Century Truck]

Could always do something like this too.

https://www.f150gen14.com/forum/thr...pring-bolt-nut-torque-spec.16792/#post-330884

Yeah I saw that thread and am adapting that exact idea for my truck, with a stronger attachment system that'll distribute the pulling forces directly through the ends of the body rails.

Thanks!

 

[Evans]

About 9 months ago I got a knock on the door from an Amazon van driver who had backed his rig down a hill into a neighbors ditch. While hooking my Lightning up to the van, a neighbor drove by and strongly recommended I put my truck four wheel drive low. I smiled, thanked him for the advice and engaged the locking diff. The Lightning yanked the van out of the ditch with ease in front of a group of onlookers. It's a truly impressive machine. A few months later I used it to pull a 2 ft diameter Douglas fir stump out of the ground. It took two tries but that instant torque sure comes in handy.

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