Felt bad for a guy at the ramp today.

[m.qualls89]

Went out to test mhy boat out after I sealed all the leaks the mechanic left from replacing my transom. (Its sealed from what I can tell) but There was a guy trying to get his boat out of the river as it had just started pouring rain out of nowhere. He was trying to get up the ramp with a newer dodge ram half ton with a hemi. The ramp was slick and try and try he couldnt get traction. So I offered help as I have a 4x4 F-250, he said he would let me help if he couldnt get up the ramp in another try or 2... 4 or 5 trys later I was leaving because he obviously didnt want help but my brother in law (big guy 300+ lbs) hopped on his hitch and got him just enough wait to ease up the ramp. The SCRRAAAAAPPPPEEEEEE :facepalm: he forgot to raise his outdrive. I just felt bad for the guy.

 

[jigngrub]

Re: Felt bad for a guy at the ramp today.

There's nothing like the stress and pressure of being "that guy" at the ramp!

Some days you eat the Bear, and other days the Bear eats you.

That ol' boy is getting an education and will only get better with time.

 

[emoney]

Re: Felt bad for a guy at the ramp today.

"Pride comes before a fall...". I'm sure he was both stressed and embarrassed, but he didn't need to be and should've taken the help. We all get a little stubborn sometimes.

 

[acarter92]

Re: Felt bad for a guy at the ramp today.

Just wasn't his day, I have them all the time. Sometimes I even feel bad for myself :facepalm:

I guess his truck was 2 wheel drive?

Austin

 

[sublauxation]

Re: Felt bad for a guy at the ramp today.

Did his Dodge have one of those stickers in the back window with the guy peeing on the Ford Oval?

 

[countryboy26047]

Re: Felt bad for a guy at the ramp today.

I feel I have to defend dodge here lol. Two years ago, I hooked up to a guy with a 2x4 F-250 to pull him up a slick ramp.. I was in my '00 4x4 Dakota. Lucky for him I ALWAYS leave a logging chain in the bed of my truck.

 

[MRS]

Re: Felt bad for a guy at the ramp today.

I have 01 2500 Ram 2x4 5.9 diesel with limited slip. Starts to slip tap brakes and stops the spinning and pulls it right up the ramp.

 

[m.qualls89]

Re: Felt bad for a guy at the ramp today.

Ya his was 2wd... I made it uo fine in 2wd but i wasnt hammering it and i suppose my 3/4 ton probably has lower gears than him.

 

[jigngrub]

Re: Felt bad for a guy at the ramp today.

It's not really Ford or Dodge, it's 2 wd and 4wd... love my 4x4!



... but Ford is better

 

[m.qualls89]

Re: Felt bad for a guy at the ramp today.

It's not really Ford or Dodge, it's 2 wd and 4wd... love my 4x4!



... but Ford is better

I agree with both lol. But lets not start a brand war lol.

 

[countryboy26047]

Re: Felt bad for a guy at the ramp today.

The one thing most of us forget though, is regardless of 2x4 or 4x4.. One of the biggest, if not THE biggest factor in situations like this, is the tires on said vehicle. I actually tried three different make/model tire on my dakota before I found the ones that seem to work best for my use, consisting mainly of trail use when I cut/haul my firewood where I'm taking my truck down paths in the woods; the occasional use in the winter time if the roads are too bad to take our car out; and of course towing my boat.

That being said, before my dodge, I owned a '97 Toyota Tacoma standard cab, 2.7l 4 banger, 4x4 short bed... now THAT thing would go ANYWHERE with pretty much ANY tire type lol. I used to call it my little billy goat lol.

It's not really Ford or Dodge, it's 2 wd and 4wd... love my 4x4!



... but Ford is better

And to think, I USED to like you.... lol j/k

 

[UncleWillie]

Re: Felt bad for a guy at the ramp today.

I have found that most people are very uncomfortable asking for help from strangers.
If you really wanted to help him, just do it, If he really did NOT want your help he would have told you.
Don't make him ask for help. Make him refuse it!
Your brother in law didn't ask if he could stand on his hitch, he just did it! And the help wasn't refused.

If you had backed your truck in front of him and pulled out a tow strap and said, "Where is a good place to attach it?", Chances are he would point out some tow hooks, and everyone would have been happy.
You would have the satisfaction of helping, He would be out of the rain, and he would not have had to look helpless by asking for help.

The old joke is that real men can take direction, but they will never ASK for directions.

 

[m.qualls89]

Re: Felt bad for a guy at the ramp today.

I have found that most people are very uncomfortable asking for help from strangers.
If you really wanted to help him, just do it, If he really did NOT want your help he would have told you.
Don't make him ask for help. Make him refuse it!
Your brother in law didn't ask if he could stand on his hitch, he just did it! And the help wasn't refused.

If you had backed your truck in front of him and pulled out a tow strap and said, "Where is a good place to attach it?", Chances are he would point out some tow hooks, and everyone would have been happy.
You would have the satisfaction of helping, He would be out of the rain, and he would not have had to look helpless by asking for help.

The old joke is that real men can take direction, but they will never ASK for directions.

I did ask but wasnt going to unhook my boat in the rain to pull him up if he refused.

 

[UncleWillie]

Re: Felt bad for a guy at the ramp today.

I did ask but wasn't going to unhook my boat in the rain to pull him up if he refused.

You may have missed the point.

If you really wanted to help him, just do it, If he really did NOT want your help he would have told you.
Don't make him ask for help. Make him refuse it!

Please don't take this the wrong way...

A couple of rhetorical questions ...
Would you have felt worse driving away and leaving him in the rain, or unhooking your boat only to have him refuse?
Did you really want to help or did you just want relieve the guilt by asking?

 

[lrak]

Re: Felt bad for a guy at the ramp today.

Personally I'd refuse help from a total stranger in this case too. Have you ever watched amateur vehicle recovery videos on youtube? A third of them end badly.

The risk of having a stranger stomp on the gas pedal with a slack chain and damage my frame is too much to risk when I'm only slightly stuck on the ramp. I'd rather go dig some sand or put my floor mats under my wheels.

 

[86 century]

Re: Felt bad for a guy at the ramp today.

Most of the time in cases like this it's the driver they just floor it I guess they are climbing a hill with a load and can't for the life them take off easy.

I would agree a 4wd suburban in low(for the wife)is the only way to fly.

Every body knows a ford or Chevy if you have a gas truck will give it to the dodge as bad as that hurts for the diesel all you haft to do is carry a spare transmission around with you.

 

[haulnazz15]

Re: Felt bad for a guy at the ramp today.

Personally I'd refuse help from a total stranger in this case too. Have you ever watched amateur vehicle recovery videos on youtube? A third of them end badly.

That's also because nobody likes to post a video of a recovery that worked well, it doesn't get many views. Seriously, a tow strap on the front bumper won't cause any catastrophes as long as the slack was taken out and both trucks are being easy on the throttle. Since he was barely stuck on the ramp, it wouldn't have taken more than a slight nudge from the truck to get him moving.

In any case, as far as brands, this situation has nothing to do with it. During an ice storm a few years back, I once saw a Dodge 4x4 in a ditch, with a 3/4 ton Chebby 4x4 towing him out, connected to a Ford 3/4 ton towing the Chebby. All 3 brands connected together in order to pull the Dodge out of the moderate ditch. When all 4 wheels are spinning on all 3 trucks, it was kind of funny to see, but they got the Dodge out. Only wish I'd had my camera!

 

[oldjeep]

Re: Felt bad for a guy at the ramp today.

Must have been an older dodge, my 2wd 09 Ram can't spin unless you turn off the traction control. If you completely lost traction it would just sit there with the brakes on - which isn't really better than spinning but if you hit the button on teh dash you can roast the tires to your hearts content.

 

[jkust]

Re: Felt bad for a guy at the ramp today.

Must have been an older dodge, my 2wd 09 Ram can't spin unless you turn off the traction control. If you completely lost traction it would just sit there with the brakes on - which isn't really better than spinning but if you hit the button on teh dash you can roast the tires to your hearts content.

I bet your truck is like both of mine (ignoring my 4wd) where you have traction control and stability control as distinct systems. Traction control just applies brakes to individual wheels but stability control among the many things it does is reduce power to any individual wheels where needed (ignoring the mechanical locking differentials as well). You can shut each of the systems off for any situation you may encounter or if you just want to have some fun. I haven't been challenged by a ramp yet but I'd shut off the traction control first since it doesn't let you move and get momentum while the stability control allows you to move and doesn't let any tires spin (again ignoring the manual locking differentials that seem to be overkill given the electronics). You could shut it all off and all I'd have is mechanical locking differential and the AWD kicking in.

 

[snowman48047]

Re: Felt bad for a guy at the ramp today.

Been there. Years ago I had a little 14' fiberglass something I was trying to load on the trailer on a river. I had this hooked up to a Chevy Cavailier front wheel drive, 3.1, with a stick. I know, stupid. The current was so strong it pulled the boat, trailer, and car backwards into the river before I could even let the clutch out. Thank god a guy hooked a strap from his van to my car and pulled me out, while his son steered my car and I held the boat in place over the bunks. He didn't ask if I wanted help, he could see I was starting to panic and just stepped in. I offered some money but he refused. It ended well. I have since had nothing but 4x4 trucks and larger boats...