Even auto-recovery specialists don't get it right sometimes. Nearly half a million fans of Matt's Off Road Recovery channel on Youtube have watched the Winder Towing company pull off the impossible, including one pesky mud-bogged Nissan. But one October day saw Matt Winder and company run into trouble trying to save not one, but two Polaris RZR recreational vehicles from the Utah sands. Matt would later admit this wasn't his finest work.
Murphy's Law In Sand Hollow
For off-road excitement, you can't beat the Polaris RZR, including its latest PRO XP4 rollout. But regardless of the model, when it crashes in the sandy confines of Sand Hollow State Park, the terrain makes it tough for even the hardiest crews to recover. Retrieving one on an especially hot day is tough enough, but another one later that day? Yikes!
The first problem faced by the Winder crew was that the bright sun shining on the dunes made the first one hard to spot. Then their battery died until jumper cables saved the day. And it turned out their electric winch on the flatbed trailer had seen better days. But even with a busted left front wheel on the RZR, Matt and company managed to load it without incident.
Near Doom In The Dune
After delivering the first RZR (and reducing a group with a busted tire and rim on an off-road rental), Matt is dispatched to recover a second RZR. But with the evening shadows growing longer, he advises getting the vehicles in the morning. Wise choice, given the first recovery was challenging enough.
At dawn, Matt and crew find the second RZR stuck in the bottom of a dune bowl and in order to load the vehicle onto the trailer, flatter ground is needed. His first attempt is tying the RZR to the back of the trailer to pull it out, but the dune is far too steep for that. "This is proving to be a little bit of a problem," Matt mutters.
It Pays To Keep Going
Matt opts to winch the RZR onto the trailer but the off-road won't pull straight, making it a real hassle to get up the ramp. He manages to use one of the ramps to pry the rest of the vehicle onto the bed, but hurts his back in the process. Then comes the task of driving out of the dune, at which point the trailer detaches from the truck.
To solve the issue, Matt's assistant Tim helps push the RZR further onto the bed. Then, Matt repositions the truck and load for a better angle to take on the dune. Mission accomplished.
"We finally wrestled it," said Matt after that arduous recovery. "Metaphor for life: Fight, struggle, claw and then you die."
Source: Matt's Off Road Recovery