Tuttle Creek and Wheel Speed Sensor

Went out to Tuttle Creek Memorial Day. Beautiful drive from Omaha. Haven't been that way in a while (we used to have family reunions in Wymore, NE) and I don't remember it ever being that green. I wanted to see what my truck could do and find out what I couldn't and what else needed changing before taking it on overland adventures in the future, including a possible drive to the Rubicon Trail and even Alaska.



I think most of Tuttle Creek is rock climber terrain, but when I was last there over 20 years ago, I remember some nice dirt and mud to trial as well. The high water changed the look of things quite a bit.

My truck is Mobtown underneath and the sides and in the back. I run 5100's on the front, one notch up, and neutral on the back with an AAL. My Exhaust is cut and dumped before the rear axel. I have traction boards and a high lift and long and short tow straps. The tires are BFG AT KO2's on alloy 17s.



So I almost immediately got into the dirt. I am impressed by the crawl control, but found that slick mud isn't going to let any climb. So I ended up in a creek bed having to make my way back to the head of a trail (Black Snake Canyon, I think). There was a 1.5 foot step in the creek and as I dropped over the edge some logs broke loose and the front left dropped, high centering on the transmission skid. I got a traction board under the left rear with my high-lift on the slider, and as I was trying to figure out how to lift my left front, to do the same, a J*** came along and gave me a pull. I didn't get a picture of the stuck, but you can see on the pull the left front is fully extended.





It took little to get me out, but once I did get the back end over the drop my brake and ABS warning lights came on. I then lost the ability to shift into 4WD. As I heard the truck put itself into 2 high from 4 low.

It turns out I tore the speed sensor wire on the left rear when a branch I had use to build up the area behind the left front tire jammed up above the axle and picked the wire off.





I decided to head for home (3 hours) and when I got there I soldered the wire back to the clip with 3 additional inches and taped it up and zipped it to the axel.

Lessons learned:
1. Have a spotter.
2. Dry on top doesn't matter if there is still mud underneath.
3. I need a winch.
4. Bring an electrical repair kit.
5. Air down below 25
6. Need to figure out front jacking point. Could just loop through the wheel next time.
7. Getting stuck is 90% of the fun.
8. My truck is awesome.
9. Need a mud tire if in mud.

Good things:
1. Hats off to Mobtown for their armor. The back bumper took a couple of hits and the sliders and full skid set worked great.
2. Dumped exhaust is a must. No damage and just looks (you can't see it) better.
3. High-lift and traction boards are a must.
4. AT KO2s are a good dry tire.
5. Being on your own to get our of a messy spot is a good thing for the mind and body.
6. Truck has enough power. And keeping on 70 on the interstate returned 18+ mpg.