Potential damage from snow recovery.

Hello TW, i was recently recovered while offroading in the snow but the way it was done has me a bit concerned about my frame. I had been stuck in a snowbank where these group of jeep people had also been offroading on a trail. I was trying to go off to the side to let more capable rigs go around me then unfortunately i got stuck in a snowbank that was about 2.5 ft deep. Without even asking one of the dudes goes like "ill have one of my guys pull you out" i had recovery gear and traction boards but these guys were so insistent i let the, at which point i responded "he isn't going to yank it like hell right? i dont want damage" because i know how malleable our frames are compared to some other trucks out there. The guy said he wouldn't and they proceeded to get out one of those yellow recovery straps and hooked it up to my D-Ring in my receiver via basket method (one point on my truck and 2 points on his jeep). The first couple pulls were pretty gentle but i kept sliding back into the ditch. the other guy had been spotting and called the other guy to stop so he could talk to me and give a situation report and where to turn my wheels etc. so i put it into park. While i was chatting with the guy all of a sudden this idiot in his jeep starts yanking me backwards at the same angle (diagonal 30-40) degrees at about a walking pace. The yank was so hard i shifted in my seat forward, on top of which my truck had been in park and in 4lo with the rear locked, both the spotter and I were like WTF. I was pretty pissed but i was more focused getting out of there as it was pretty crowded with other offroad rigs and i didn't want to be around any longer. The truck seems to track straight but i cant get over the possibility that the frame could be deformed now.

the angle which i was towed at.

 

If you are worried take it to a reputable alignment shop and have them take a look at it.

 

Doubtful that's there was an issue. Snow is slippery so the force probably wouldn't be that high.

If it seems straight it probably is. If you're worried get it checked. Not much else we can do from behind a keyboard.

 

If it drives fine and you don’t see any damage, I see no reason to lose sleep over it. You think we have miserable frames compared to jeeps? Have some faith in your taco! Don’t let those jeepers get into your head.

Snow is slippery and forces don’t build up as fast as in mud or rock recoveries. Enjoy your relatively safe and clean snow wheeling.

In the end, if you are going to wheel, you have to accept a certain level of risk. It’s both unavoidable and part of what makes it fun.

 

do alignment shops measure frames? i thought they do wheel alignments. unless i should be looking at frame shops.

 

People will worry about anything. If a truck can't handle that it's probably not worth owning.

 

what annoys me is why they were so eager to yank me out despite me not even asking. i wanted to give my recovery gear more of a chance and i wasint even blocking the trail. they should yank their own lowly kind out of the muck and have a circle yank (just kidding)

 

in for outcome but more for all the Jeep jokes....

 

Frames aren't perfect to begin with, they're built inside tolerances and then the rest of the junk is attached to it and adjusted into alignment. Sometimes poorly. It's fine.

 

yeah i keep hearing stories about tacoma problems. makes me lose faith. i feel like toyota makes these trucks more disposable in the name of business and passenger safety

 

I wouldn't worry about it at all.

Hell, you're describing a Sunday drive (quite literally this last Sunday)



This Jeep was buried in snow up to the gas tank skid/front/rear axles and more

 

That was your choice I assume. Did they drive up and yank you without asking?

 

I'm not going to bother with traction boards if someone can yank me out.

 

Gotta be more willing to say no. Nothing you can do now after the fact, but next time don't be afraid to say no with your truck. Whether it's recoveries, or someone eating their french fries in your truck... your vehicle your rules. Some people get excited to use their recovery gear

 

i think thats what it was/the vibe they were giving off. they just wanted to look for someone to pull out and test thier gear. they appeared to be some offroad group or something.

 

OP, your truck is probably not damaged. You could have a frame shop verify.

Remember, it is your truck. YOU have the final say as to who or what or how the truck is recovered. Be polite and firmly refuse if you don't want the recovery help.

 

I would think its OK.

I have already winched my Tacoma 4 times, once at the same angle you where pulled out in I was buried in sand.

Do you plan to keep going off road? If you do, then get what you think you need to do it right, truck and gear and only use your gear.
The other option is to stop going off road, because this will happen again and multiple times over the years

 

A BOF (body on frame) vehicle being “yanked” out is less stress overall than you revving the ever living hell out of it fucking with traction boards for an hour with the radiator packed with snow blocking all the airflow.


Send them a thank you card and enjoy your truck in less harsh conditions till you learn to drive it better

 

what makes you assume id be revving my truck to use traction boards, radiator had nothing in it, it was a sunny day and i just happened to slide into a small snowbank. i think a 15k frame replacement is worse than a bit of digging and traction boards considering toyota doesn't endorse cold straightening for thier HSS

 

You would have done more damage to the drivetrain getting out yourself, then the guy yanking you out. Straps have give to them so doubt you could ever hurt the frame anyway