Debunked 4 SUV myths in one morning

[JetBlack330i]

So, the family went to Houston for son's soccer tournament.
Our field was the last one, so I drove past the entire parking lot.
I'd say only about 5% or less were minivans. The vast majority were SUVs and trucks.
In our team (14 players), not one single minivan.
Mith #1 debunked: I don't want to drive a minivan because of the "soccer mom" stigma.
Hello??? All soccer mom's are driving SUVs now. The bigger the SUV, the higher the probability that it's being driven by a soccer mom.

Back at the hotel this morning, it was raining fairly heavily.
One of the soccer moms in our team was backing up and got one of the back wheels over the curb and into the lawn. She tried to get it back forward, but the back wheel kept spinning and she dug herself deeper and deeper. She was stuck.
Mith #2 debunked: 99% of people who buy SUVs don't take them off road.
This one did. :p
Mith #3 debunked: Any SUV is more off road worthy than a passenger car.
Hers was a big Suburban. It got stuck in the frickin parking lot of a hotel. How off road worthy is that? It dug itself in that whole probably because of its weight.
Incidentally, my ML320 would not have gotten stuck.
Besides being a true 4-wheel drive, it's got a neat feature where the ABS is used to stop the free spinning wheel and transfer the power to the wheel with more grip. MB made a commercial where the ML was put on a free rolling conveyor (the rolling bars kind), with only one wheel off the conveyor. It pulled itself out. Impressive. :thumbup:

Mith #4 debunked: All SUVs are towing worthy machines.
Someone used his SUV to try to pull the Suburban out.
It didn't work. I didn't see which SUV that was, but probably a smallish one.

I then offered to try with my ML.
One of the soccer parents say "you gonna put it in Low Range?"
"yep" I replied. He must have watched Jurassic Park. :rofl:
It worked like a charm.
A lot of the parents came to me afterward congratulating me and admitted that they didn't think a small thing like that would be able to pull it.
I was kind of very satisfied that I had a chance to use th low range feature. :rofl:

[Mr. The Edge]

The ML is considered small? :eek:
this is Texas

[tgravo2]

this is Texas


:rofl: that is true

[BlackChrome]

Mith #1 debunked: I don't want to drive a minivan because of the "soccer mom" stigma.
Hello??? All soccer mom's are driving SUVs now. The bigger the SUV, the higher the probability that it's being driven by a soccer mom.
:rofl:

Back at the hotel this morning, it was raining fairly heavily.
One of the soccer moms in our team was backing up and got one of the back wheels over the curb and into the lawn. She tried to get it back forward, but the back wheel kept spinning and she dug herself deeper and deeper. She was stuck.
Mith #2 debunked: 99% of people who buy SUVs don't take them off road.
This one did. :p
If she was in a minivan, this would not have happeend. Most, if not all, minivans are FWD! :D

[JetBlack330i]

The ML is considered small? :eek:
Next to a Suburban, yes.

[CoasterLonghorn]

I wasn't aware that anyone considered an ML to be big...guess that's just me.

[cwsqbm]

One of the soccer moms in our team was backing up and got one of the back wheels over the curb and into the lawn. She tried to get it back forward, but the back wheel kept spinning and she dug herself deeper and deeper. She was stuck.


Obviously a 2wd Suburban. Also, the ability to go through goo it very dependent on tires. The tires on a 2wd Suburban are useless for anything other than pavement. Either that, or she just didn't know how to use it.

Its funny that people don't think a smaller vehicle can help a bigger one, yet they don't think its strange that a few people pushing can. Which would win a tug-of-war: three people or almost any car you can think of?

Thankfully, SUV's are starting to fall from fashion. You can't be hip if everyone has got one.

[gojira-san]

Obviously a 2wd Suburban. Also, the ability to go through goo it very dependent on tires. The tires on a 2wd Suburban are useless for anything other than pavement. Either that, or she just didn't know how to use it.Agreed. The 4wd system in the Suburban is pretty good. The Avalanche I used to have uses an almost identical system and it would walk through most any slop.

Its funny that people don't think a smaller vehicle can help a bigger one, I've pulled a couple of bigger pickup trucks out of snowbanks with my Jeep. The right recovery equipment and lots of torque help.

[JetBlack330i]

Obviously a 2wd Suburban. Also, the ability to go through goo it very dependent on tires. The tires on a 2wd Suburban are useless for anything other than pavement. Either that, or she just didn't know how to use it.

My question now is this...
She only had one wheel in the mud. That wheel was free spinning.
Why didn't the other back wheel, which was on pavement, move? Shouldn't both rear wheels be spinning?

[AB]

One of the soccer parents say "you gonna put it in Low Range?"
"yep" I replied. He must have watched Jurassic Park. :rofl:
It worked like a charm.


:rofl:

[Dave 330i]

I drive a minivan evrywhere, including to work. It is practical for out of town trips and hauling things from Home Depot. I don't have that soccer mom's syndrome.

[Desertnate]

Mith #4 debunked: All SUVs are towing worthy machines.
Someone used his SUV to try to pull the Suburban out.
It didn't work. I didn't see which SUV that was, but probably a smallish one.


I'd be curious as to what they used...not only may the vehicle have had a rather puny engine with no torque, but that Suburban may have exceeded the gross towing weight. If conditions were slick and wet, the 2WD may not have done them any favors depending on how deep the Chevy was stuck.

I can tell you our Toyota would have had NO problems moving that sucker what so ever. :angel:

[JetBlack330i]

I'd be curious as to what they used...not only may the vehicle have had a rather puny engine with no torque, but that Suburban may have exceeded the gross towing weight. If conditions were slick and wet, the 2WD may not have done them any favors depending on how deep the Chevy was stuck.

I can tell you our Toyota would have had NO problems moving that sucker what so ever. :angel:
I want to repeat that I didn't see the prior towing attempt.
I was told it didn't work. Maybe they didn't have a good towing cable and used some make shift contraption.
In any event, the mith is debunked. A Honda Pilot (without the optional towing package) is no stump puller, even though it's engine produces plenty of torque. It would have failed pulling the Suburban.

[E90Alan]

My question now is this...
She only had one wheel in the mud. That wheel was free spinning.
Why didn't the other back wheel, which was on pavement, move? Shouldn't both rear wheels be spinning?

No... unless the rear axle has some sort of locking mechanism or "limited slip" feature, this is the normal behavior of an "open" rear differential.

[JetBlack330i]

No... unless the rear axle has some sort of locking mechanism or "limited slip" feature, this is the normal behavior of an "open" rear differential.
Thank you!
So if one could apply the brakes to only that one free spinning wheel, the other wheel would have moved. That's what my ML does. :thumbup:

[TXE39]

Thank you!
So if one could apply the brakes to only that one free spinning wheel, the other wheel would have moved. That's what my ML does. :thumbup:

The traction control system on your Mercedes does that (similar to what Land Rover has now). The diff is still open, but the brakes do the work. Some Chevys have full detroit lockers in the rear - apparently this Suburban did not.

[ride365]

Thank you!
So if one could apply the brakes to only that one free spinning wheel, the other wheel would have moved. That's what my ML does. :thumbup:

yeah with an open diff, power will always go to the wheel with less resistance. your brakes are providing that resistance for you apparently.

[Desertnate]

The traction control system on your Mercedes does that (similar to what Land Rover has now). The diff is still open, but the brakes do the work. Some Chevys have full detroit lockers in the rear - apparently this Suburban did not.

Since it was in Texas and the fact that if the Surburban didn't pull itself out, it is safe to assume the vehicle wasn't a 4x4. You can't even get an LSD on a 2wd Suburban can you? I have seen it as an option on 2wd trucks, but not SUVs :dunno:

[Desertnate]

I want to repeat that I didn't see the prior towing attempt.
I was told it didn't work. Maybe they didn't have a good towing cable and used some make shift contraption.
In any event, the mith is debunked. A Honda Pilot (without the optional towing package) is no stump puller, even though it's engine produces plenty of torque. It would have failed pulling the Suburban.

I realize you didn't see it. I was thinking hypothetically.

I don't know if I would pull anything like a Suburban or 4K+ load with a unibody SUV. I would be afraid of frame damage from the stress of the pull.

[gojira-san]

Since it was in Texas and the fact that if the Surburban didn't pull itself out, it is safe to assume the vehicle wasn't a 4x4. You can't even get an LSD on a 2wd Suburban can you? I have seen it as an option on 2wd trucks, but not SUVs :dunno:Yeah you can get a locking rear diff on a 2wd or 4wd Suburban - option G80, for $300.

[TXE39]

It would be even more funny if the Suburban in question was a 4WD and she didn't even know it...or how to turn the knob to 4HI :rofl:

[Bob330Ci]

A few weeks ago I watched a girl in an H2 spin her back wheels stuck in a snow bank. Finally rocked it out...I kept debating if I wanted to walk across the street and show her where the 4WD switch was, but it was too damned entertaining.

Seems that even in an open diff, possibly a little bit of brake torquing would've been able to equal out the resistance on both sides of the axle and pulled the Suburban out under it's own power. Nonetheless, pretty entertaining to pull out one of those with an ML... :)

B.

[jimb213]

Since it was in Texas and the fact that if the Surburban didn't pull itself out, it is safe to assume the vehicle wasn't a 4x4. You can't even get an LSD on a 2wd Suburban can you? I have seen it as an option on 2wd trucks, but not SUVs :dunno:

My 2WD '95 blazer had a LSD. Positraction, right? of course, the blazer was based off the S10 pickup, so maybe that's why I had it... :dunno:

[cwsqbm]

A Honda Pilot (without the optional towing package) is no stump puller, even though it's engine produces plenty of torque. It would have failed pulling the Suburban.

It depends on how deep it was stuck. The Honda wouldn't have to supply the full pulling power, just the little additional necessary to move the Suburban, since the Suburban can supply a little force itself with the spinning tire. Why else would someone pushing by hand be able to help sometimes?

On the other hand, as a kid I was cleaning driveways with my dad's old graden tractor/snowthrower combination. When the tractor was stopped on the edge of the street, the snowplow came by and buried it. Since I was at the edge of the ditch, I couldn't get it moving, even with the tire chains on it. My neighbor hooked his CJ-5, complete with lockers, to it and tried to pull in low range. Spun all four tires on the Jeep!!! Out came the shovel, and after bit of work, I drove the tractor out.

[blueguydotcom]

I wasn't aware that anyone considered an ML to be big...guess that's just me.

I consider it a boat. perception is reality.

[gojira-san]

ISince I was at the edge of the ditch, I couldn't get it moving, even with the tire chains on it. My neighbor hooked his CJ-5, complete with lockers, to it and tried to pull in low range. Spun all four tires on the Jeep!!!For really difficult recovery situations, you sometimes need a "snatch strap." This is a tow strap that has some elasticity to it. In engineering terms, the elasticity of the strap stores kinetic energy from the recovery vehicle's momentum. The pulling force ends up being greater than using a standard nylon tow strap.

The important thing is that it is not a "dead" pull - the tow vehicle pulls and as the slack in the strap is drawn up, the stuck vehicle attempts for pull forward. The extra force usually can help break the stuck vehicle free. It requires some coordination, and is not a recovery I've ever done, though I have seen it work for others on a trail. It's not one you're going to try with a soccer mom at the wheel of a Surburban in a parking lot either. :rofl:

[crash8168]

So, the family went to Houston for son's soccer tournament.
Our field was the last one, so I drove past the entire parking lot.
I'd say only about 5% or less were minivans. The vast majority were SUVs and trucks.
In our team (14 players), not one single minivan.
Mith #1 debunked: I don't want to drive a minivan because of the "soccer mom" stigma.
Hello??? All soccer mom's are driving SUVs now. The bigger the SUV, the higher the probability that it's being driven by a soccer mom.

Back at the hotel this morning, it was raining fairly heavily.
One of the soccer moms in our team was backing up and got one of the back wheels over the curb and into the lawn. She tried to get it back forward, but the back wheel kept spinning and she dug herself deeper and deeper. She was stuck.
Mith #2 debunked: 99% of people who buy SUVs don't take them off road.
This one did. :p
Mith #3 debunked: Any SUV is more off road worthy than a passenger car.
Hers was a big Suburban. It got stuck in the frickin parking lot of a hotel. How off road worthy is that? It dug itself in that whole probably because of its weight.
Incidentally, my ML320 would not have gotten stuck.
Besides being a true 4-wheel drive, it's got a neat feature where the ABS is used to stop the free spinning wheel and transfer the power to the wheel with more grip. MB made a commercial where the ML was put on a free rolling conveyor (the rolling bars kind), with only one wheel off the conveyor. It pulled itself out. Impressive. :thumbup:

Mith #4 debunked: All SUVs are towing worthy machines.
Someone used his SUV to try to pull the Suburban out.
It didn't work. I didn't see which SUV that was, but probably a smallish one.

I then offered to try with my ML.
One of the soccer parents say "you gonna put it in Low Range?"
"yep" I replied. He must have watched Jurassic Park. :rofl:
It worked like a charm.
A lot of the parents came to me afterward congratulating me and admitted that they didn't think a small thing like that would be able to pull it.
I was kind of very satisfied that I had a chance to use th low range feature. :rofl:
I have a friend who deer hunts every year, he says the new chevy trucks with four wheel drive wont pull themselves out of wet grass. he has pulled more than a few out in the last couple of years.

[Mr. The Edge]

The ML is considered small? :eek:
I drove next to one today...they are small

:dunno:

[AB]

I drove next to one today...they are small

:dunno:

Yea they are small.

[vraa]

Must be real soccer moms.

If I got stuck and my friends got a calls saying I was stuck, I'd have more hp and torque at my fingertips that could not only pull me, but pull a space shuttle as well in no time.

Ah I love my red neck friends.