Rollover Recovery 101

cbetts

New member
Great writeup! I have come close to rolling my rig once (both driver's side tires came off the grond then dropped back down). Fortunately, there were some experienced wheelers that came to the rescue. I agree that getting the vehicle out of a predicament can be a lot more hazardous.

Thanks for sharing!
 

Dieselcon

New member
Great article.... I was Lucky... once it rolled I shut the engine down....I was able to self recover with my winch and the Diesel engine started without issue... very Lucky. only damaged the rear passenger door... no windows brocken :)
IMG_3561.jpg
 

T&ERun

LOSER
I know you didn't go into detail on the actual flipping the Jeep back over, but could you list some safe attaching points to the Jeep to keep people from doing more damage. In your pic you're attached to your EVO sliders. If one does not have sliders to attach to, what would you recommend next? Is the factory roll cage strong enough or will it bend? Obviously attaching to the frame would be good, but can list other points you have used, or seen others use, when a good slider like EVO's isn't an option.
 

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
I know you didn't go into detail on the actual flipping the Jeep back over, but could you list some safe attaching points to the Jeep to keep people from doing more damage. In your pic you're attached to your EVO sliders. If one does not have sliders to attach to, what would you recommend next? Is the factory roll cage strong enough or will it bend? Obviously attaching to the frame would be good, but can list other points you have used, or seen others use, when a good slider like EVO's isn't an option.

As you seem to have already guess, hooking up to the frame is always optimal. If you don't have sliders to hook up to, you can loop a tree saver around the frame rail and that'll work too. If needed, hooking up to the roll cage will work as well but I would try to keep the attachment close to the B-pillar. I know some will give me shit for having one but, I also carry a short heavy duty chain with a standard hook on one end and a grab hook on the other. This allows me more options and so long as you're doing a nice, slow recovery and NOT jerking the rig around, it'll get the job done safely.
 

hogtyed

Member
:bowdown: Thanks for the info; I made some typo repairs & will keep a copy in the toolbox. I hope I never have to use it but I would rather be safe then sorry. :thumb:
 

T&ERun

LOSER
As you seem to have already guess, hooking up to the frame is always optimal. If you don't have sliders to hook up to, you can loop a tree saver around the frame rail and that'll work too. If needed, hooking up to the roll cage will work as well but I would try to keep the attachment close to the B-pillar. I know some will give me shit for having one but, I also carry a short heavy duty chain with a standard hook on one end and a grab hook on the other. This allows me more options and so long as you're doing a nice, slow recovery and NOT jerking the rig around, it'll get the job done safely.

I agree on the chain. I've seen many trucks, tractors, bobcats recovered by a local towing/recovery company (a friend of mine's company). They always use chains unless there is nowhere to attach a hook (then they will use a strap which is usually 6"+ wide :crazyeyes: ). As Eddie stated, nice slow pulls only though...... Do not try to jerk or snatch with a chain!
 

Ranger4011

New member
1 - shut the ignition off ASAP (even during the flop if possible). Prepare for fire, get the extinguishers handy.

2 - evaluate injuries to people or pets. Attend to those first, forget about the stupid paint, metal and rubber damage.

3 - recover the vehicle. This is as dangerous or more dangerous than the initial flop. This takes a lot of knowledge to right vehicle without causing further damage. The use of winch blocks is highly advisable to lessen the work on the winches doing the recovery, it also makes it much more controllable up until the point of gravity taking back over. Doing this type of recovery is exceptionally technical and actually is very helpful if you have had professional lessons/training.

4 - once vehicle is righted, a seriously detailed assessment of the damage to the engine needs to be done before attempting to restart.

5 - No need to drain the oil! That serves no other purpose other than to make the trail even more messy. However, you do need to pull the spark plugs to release any vacuum in the cylinders that might be keeping oil from returning back into the pan from the cylinders. Also pull the air filter to see if oil has made it up through the intake manifold and all the way to the filter element.

6 - once it has been deemed safe to attempt an engine turn over, and with the plugs still out, crank the engine over to purge the cylinders of oil. Caution: this is super messy, oil is going to spray everywhere.

7 - Once the cylinders seem dry of oil, clean all the spark plugs with brake cleaner really well. Reinstall spark plugs, check engine oil level on as flat a surface as possible and top off. Top off all other fluids too at this point.

8 - start vehicle, prepare for lots of smoke......which will eventually go away. Now drive off trail.

Caveat: it is possible that you may not have to pull plugs, but this is an advance technique to check if motor is hydro-locked, but I will not cover that here.

For all you newer guys here on the forum, during the pre-run for the King of the Hammers 2013 race, my jeep was flopped on the first day of the run. Basically using the outline above, we recovered the jeep, finished pre-running that day and the next day too and then I drove the 435 miles from Johnson Valley back to Scottsdale, AZ

You forgot one more thing
Change your underwear.......,.,
 

Scoop315

Caught the Bug
As you seem to have already guess, hooking up to the frame is always optimal. If you don't have sliders to hook up to, you can loop a tree saver around the frame rail and that'll work too. If needed, hooking up to the roll cage will work as well but I would try to keep the attachment close to the B-pillar. I know some will give me shit for having one but, I also carry a short heavy duty chain with a standard hook on one end and a grab hook on the other. This allows me more options and so long as you're doing a nice, slow recovery and NOT jerking the rig around, it'll get the job done safely.

The chain is a good idea, because if you have sharp edges on the frame, nylon straps can be damaged or cut, and you take the chance of losing tensile strength, or the whole load as you're pulling.

Softeners for sharp edges should be used to reduce that risk.

Just for reference...
linton_corner_protector.png


But, for wheeling, I'd keep some old 1/2" air hose cut up, with a longitudinal cut along the hose to fit over sharp edges. The best would be old fire hose, which might be hard to come by if you're not a fireman or work in a refinery or chemical company.
 

chipper

Member
As you seem to have already guess, hooking up to the frame is always optimal. If you don't have sliders to hook up to, you can loop a tree saver around the frame rail and that'll work too. If needed, hooking up to the roll cage will work as well but I would try to keep the attachment close to the B-pillar. I know some will give me shit for having one but, I also carry a short heavy duty chain with a standard hook on one end and a grab hook on the other. This allows me more options and so long as you're doing a nice, slow recovery and NOT jerking the rig around, it'll get the job done safely.

I just went back to your Recover Gear must have thread, Great read by the way, to take another look at the chain your talking about, with the ends on it that you stated. So I could understand more clearly what it looked like
ImageUploadedByWAYALIFE1427216605.534248.jpg
Is something you made up yourself or purchased? And how short is it 3'?I'm gonna throw one in my bag also, may just need it one day.
 

Brute

Hooked
As you seem to have already guess, hooking up to the frame is always optimal. If you don't have sliders to hook up to, you can loop a tree saver around the frame rail and that'll work too. If needed, hooking up to the roll cage will work as well but I would try to keep the attachment close to the B-pillar. I know some will give me shit for having one but, I also carry a short heavy duty chain with a standard hook on one end and a grab hook on the other. This allows me more options and so long as you're doing a nice, slow recovery and NOT jerking the rig around, it'll get the job done safely.

actually having a chain in your recovery bag is a good idea...we used one in conjunction with a Pull Pal and a snatch block to pull a rather large rock that was part of a rock slide onto a narrow shelf road off the trail in order to continue...
 

Rhampson3

New member
When to pull the spark plugs?

I apologize for asking a silly question in such an old thread. You say that removing the spark plugs and turning over the engine isn't always necessary. How do you know when it isn't needed?
 

WJCO

Meme King
I apologize for asking a silly question in such an old thread. You say that removing the spark plugs and turning over the engine isn't always necessary. How do you know when it isn't needed?

It's not worth the risk to not do it, IMO. If there is liquid oil in the cylinders, starting the engine and attempting to compress the oil could result in a bent rod and expensive repairs. However that doesn't mean it HAS to be done. This guy about 3 weeks ago rolled his UTV. I told him to pull the plugs and he declined, but his vehicle started up fine with some blue smoke but never did any damage. I still feel it's better to be safe than sorry.

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Rhampson3

New member
It's not worth the risk to not do it, IMO. If there is liquid oil in the cylinders, starting the engine and attempting to compress the oil could result in a bent rod and expensive repairs. However that doesn't mean it HAS to be done. This guy about 3 weeks ago rolled his UTV. I told him to pull the plugs and he declined, but his vehicle started up fine with some blue smoke but never did any damage. I still feel it's better to be safe than sorry.

View attachment 283585

Yeah it seems like pretty cheap insurance.
 
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