Solo Overlanding Gone Wrong: Trapped in Hidden Mud at Salton Sea

[@josephdonnaway5755]

I appreciate the thoughtful analysis and sharing of lessons learned.

[@dtadventure4x4]

Glad you found it insightful. Thank you for watching my video.

[@Sandshredder2]

Don’t feel bad about anything that happened. You have a great story to tell now.

[@anorakadventures]

That's a lot of vehicle to pull out. Glad it worked out!

[@dtadventure4x4]

Yes, I always focused on the height as the limiting factor, but weight needs more attention from me.

[@roam4fun853]

Good info

[@dtadventure4x4]

Thanks for watching! Glad you found it helpful

[@kevinmyers4437]

Very relatable video, nicely done!! I have an aviation background, so checklist are normal for me. I have them for normal set-up, normal take down, weekly maintenance, monthly maintenance, etc. They are living documents, always updating.

[@dtadventure4x4]

Love it. So much of the yachting industry has made into the overlanding world, time for aviation to catch up ha ha :-). Thanks for sharing!!!!

[@w.j.hammer5902]

It's cool to see rigs like this getting out there and getting used. You are one of two channels with the Bajas that I follow that are actually getting out there with them. I also would not be so hard on yourself. Even the most experienced off roaders get stuck sometimes and most are not out there in 12000lb camp rigs. Seems to me that you did what you could with what you had and will be getting some new gear that will help in the future.

[@dtadventure4x4]

Thank you for the kind words! I appreciate it and thank you for watching my videos. I built this thing for a reason (to go out there and explore) and not for the showroom or the mall ha ha :-) Now, roughly a week later I am laughing about it. I think it is good that it happened. While it sucked on that specific day, the value I got out of that experience is immense and in the end allows me to explore more locations in a more safe manner. The human connections and feedback coming out of this is great, too. Kinda what I hope for with this channel. Thanks again for watching and also taking the time to comment.

[@mustdodiving5263]

Thanks for sharing your experience. Great to learn from your experience and glad it all worked out well for you. I have similar rig and solo. I’m sure I’m over prepared but here’s my list. Front and rear winch. 2 Extra winch line, soft shackles and stuff, dead man, recently purchased the pull pal (similar purpose as deadman but seems much faster), ARB Air Jack (x-jack) (use it like how you used your jack on the rear), 4 recovery boards, plus 2 Treads boards that I use for leveling at campsites but they are really recovery boards that fold. ARB compressor and a portable V-air as a backup). Then front and rear lockers, 2 spares. I’m 99% solo and trying to get further and further away, and communication devices (satellite phone, garmin and starlink)… I’m kind of embarrassed to share all of this : ) LOL

[@dtadventure4x4]

Thanks for your comment. Lots of good stuff you mention there. I love it. Do you travel full-time?

[@mustdodiving5263]

Hey there.. not full time but many months at a time…

[@shcaskey]

Man! That sucks! But you got out. Like you, I camp remotely and solo. Getting stuck has/is one my concerns. So far, I’ve been fortunate although I’ve bent some stuff😳. I don’t carry recovery boards and I’ve been curious about those anchors. Good job! Experience is the road to becoming an expert.

[@dtadventure4x4]

Yeah, it's all part of the journey :-)

[@HarryGreen333]

Great video, txs. Great idea to print, laminate and pull out when get stuck: RECOVERY CHECKLIST - would love to see it when you do (and perhaps collaboratively edit). FWIW, I've used Pull Pal for decades - VERY USEFUL (although the 16,000 lb model (which I have now on my heavy rig - F350 flatbed with heavy popup camper) takes a fair amount of space. The Also, I've found the DMOS shovel to be the best by far. A year ago, when buried to the frame myself (in sand, not mud), the DMOS + 4 MaxTrax Extreme worked very well for solo recovery.

[@dtadventure4x4]

Thank you. I will have to check out your recommendations. I will share my progress - especially regarding the checklist as well :-)

[@dathat555]

First item on the checklist should be, "when in a hurry, slow down." Often taking a few minutes to step back and assess, walk around the truck a few times before jumping into action can save time.

[@davidanderson8469]

The sand anchors along with that winch are tough to beat.

[@stevestewart7572]

I have a 12500lb Ram3500 with XPCamper. I get a little sketched out in the sand because I also usually go solo as well. I've been thinking about a Pull-pal. I have 4 recovery boards (wish I had gotten orange so they are easier to spot in the mud). Having 4 of those has been super helpful. I also carry a couple of 11x12x3 LVL cutoffs for under my jack and they can also be used to level the camper. Thanks for documenting your build! I'm thinking of switching my Dodge to an F350

[@dtadventure4x4]

Thanks for watching, and for sharing your setup! I agree - good recovery gear is essential when solo traveling. When I was out there I completely spaced even thinking about the straps for the boards nor did I remember if I even have them. I am sure Rossmonster included them, but I should have a) remembered and b) just like all the other gear put it where I can access them quickly. I am so happy with the Ford. My previous rig was on a F250 Tremor with the same engine as the F350 now. I think one of the advantages with the RAMs are that there is a snorkel available. I'd love to have one as I am out in the desert a lot and dust is an issue.

[@edwinstowinginc.1368]

Get a snatch block for your winch to double up the line, it help tremendously when you need to winch yourself out.

[@TRONA-CA]

I know this area all to well, the ground can look deceiving!

[@dtadventure4x4]

It does indeed. :-)

[@wanderingaimlessly.]

You can bury your spare tire in a vertical position and use that as an anchor point for winching out.

[@dtadventure4x4]

Yeah, so I learned after the fact. It would have meant a lot more digging in this situation as the spare tire was in the deep sand. But just like what you mentioned, I received so much helpful advice - I really appreciate it. I learned a lot and in a certain way I am glad it happened the way it happened. Except for one lost recovery board, there was no damage to the truck.

[@danagassaway9422]

The shells that you found are not from the Salton Sea but from an ancient sea that was there a long time ago. If you go north from where you got stuck on hwy 86 you can see the water line from the sea in an area called Travertine Rocks. The water line is also visible on the mountain side east of Split Mountain and south of Ocotillo Wells.

[@dtadventure4x4]

Thank you for sharing the information! I did not know. I want to come back and explore that overall area a bit more and learn more about the history.

[@RinconPilot]

My brother has a 5500 Buckstop single wheel camper build on 41's. His road pressure is 80 and lowest off road is 40, it comes close to pinching sidewalls at that. You can run an action camera and monitor your sidewalls. The other thing I would add is a sand anchor like Deadman off road. I don't care to carry around the big steel types. Especially out west where there are no trees to pull from. Sucks when you sink a big truck. At least you weren't on a beach in low tide, it's all good. I also run the most aggressive tire I can tolerate. I have never wished I had a less aggressive tire on a trail by myself.

[@dtadventure4x4]

Thanks for sharing. Good stuff :-)

[@freelyroaming]

Glad you were able to get out. Btw, Salton sea was created when the Colorado river once flooded and spilt more than 100 years ago. Not exactly man-made but it did spill from a man made canal so I suppose man did have some role in its accidental creation 😁

[@dtadventure4x4]

Thanks for the historical tidbit - I had heard it was created by accident between 1905 and 1907, but did not know about the details.

[@Shawn2ndaccount]

I've gone down to 22psi on my 11k rig. No issues.

[@dtadventure4x4]

That is good to know. Thanks for sharing. What is your tire/rim setup like?

[@Shawn2ndaccount]

Well, you've literally seen my rig in person, lol. 35s on 17"

[@WOODduck-u2e]

I see more of these trucks stuck in the sand and clay mud than any other and it's mainly the over weight heavy duty pickups if I had a dollar for how many I've helped tow out I would be a rich man!

[@dtadventure4x4]

Where are you located? I should come by and we do some recovery videos together. I'll bring some beer for after ... :-)

[@RinconPilot]

Gotta watch dry lake beds, you break that crust and you're done when you hit that peanut butter layer. Other than that, awareness, momentum and traction control off so you can spin your way out of a surprise.

[@dtadventure4x4]

I am glad you mentioned traction control. Was reminded about it over the weekend after I had already recorded the video. Thank you for sharing.