Tundra towing like a tractor yesterday

[tractorgp]

My son was out on the road to the Cape Race, Newfoundland light house (that's where the Titanic made radio contact after iceberg hit) with the intentions of getting some drone shot video footage. He got stuck in the snow and with no cell phone coverage in that area he set up a makeshift antenna and dug his ham radio outfit out of the box and managed to make contact with a ham in Ohio. That ham called me here in Newfoundland on landline phone and filled me in. Took 2 hours to get there but only about 15 mins to get tow line in place and get him pulled out. Here's a video my wife shot from passenger seat of my Tundra.

 

[GolfAddict]

Dad to the rescue!! Bet he was sure happy to see you drive up.:thumbsup:

 

[tractorgp]

Dad to the rescue!! Bet he was sure happy to see you drive up.:thumbsup:

Looked happy to see us alright. Actually we picked him up a mile or two or so from his truck as he was walking out the road to keep warm and if necessary reach the nearest community a few more miles away

 

[texasjohn]

Great tale of technology, family and Tundra towing. I love how it takes several different straps, chains, cables to get the desired length...kinda the way I do it!!

 

[tractorgp]

Great tale of technology, family and Tundra towing. I love how it takes several different straps, chains, cables to get the desired length...kinda the way I do it!!

I took everything I could find that might make a tow line. Had no idea of the exact nature of the problem as the ham radio link was poor and the only word that came through clear was "stuck". Could have been sand, muck, snow, or water or some other problem. I ended up using all the tow lines I that I took and had just enough total length, about 50 feet, to let the Tundra stay on the gravel to make the tow.

 

[Johnny g]

Very smooth recovery, also nice push bumper on the Chevy.

 

[Morning Wood]

You should give your son a shovel for his birthday. Then he could have saved you and your wife a lot of time

 

[Mendonsy]

Being a fellow Tundra owner I have no doubt it hardly even noticed the Chevy being hooked on.
I have had to pull my daughter's Sprinter van out of two driveways that she got stuck in this winter. It weighs almost a ton more than my Tundra, but is absolutely helpless in snow.

 

[tractorgp]

Very smooth recovery, also nice push bumper on the Chevy.

Yeah it worked surprisingly well the Tundra tires didn't slip at all. That Chevy is a heavy old thing he bought from Ontario Hydro mainly to tow his Argo around when he's here in Newfoundland.

 

[tractorgp]

Being a fellow Tundra owner I have no doubt it hardly even noticed the Chevy being hooked on.
I have had to pull my daughter's Sprinter van out of two driveways that she got stuck in this winter. It weighs almost a ton more than my Tundra, but is absolutely helpless in snow.

I'm on my 3rd Tundra and I agree with you that they work good and are known for reliability.

 

[tractorgp]

You should give your son a shovel for his birthday. Then he could have saved you and your wife a lot of time

Think you're kidding but in reality a shovel would not have helped much in that particular snow and ice. Matter of fact I'm thinking that the icy base and hard and soft sections of snow would have even been a challenge even for my BX to clear.

 

[mark02tj]

Pretty resourceful for your son to rig up the ham radio!! He was trained well to THINK rather than panic in situations like this.

I had to chuckle though - at 50 seconds into the video, he gets out his keys and unlocks the truck to get in. Was he worried about someone else getting into it way out there? :laughing: I know - probably just habit to lock it when he gets out of it.

Glad it all turned out OK.

 

[k0ua]

If you know the info, I would like to hear more of what he used for an antenna/rig, what frequency, mode,etc. I didn't see anything on the truck , no trees for antenna supports. I have VHF/UHF radio in my truck, but that would be pretty worthless if you were in the middle of no-where and out of range of a repeater or any other stations. That rarely occurs around here in the more settled regions of the lower 48, but up there, I don't know. I have often thought about putting HF gear in the truck, but the antenna's are larger and more obtrusive.

 

[tractorgp]

Pretty resourceful for your son to rig up the ham radio!! He was trained well to THINK rather than panic in situations like this.

I had to chuckle though - at 50 seconds into the video, he gets out his keys and unlocks the truck to get in. Was he worried about someone else getting into it way out there? :laughing: I know - probably just habit to lock it when he gets out of it.

Glad it all turned out OK.

He had his expensive drone and of course the ham radio gear on board and he walked a mile or two from the truck towards civilization. Although the road is in rough shape for regular trucks and cars ATV's have no problem. He was walking with a jug of water and a big stick

 

[tractorgp]

If you know the info, I would like to hear more of what he used for an antenna/rig, what frequency, mode,etc. I didn't see anything on the truck , no trees for antenna supports. I have VHF/UHF radio in my truck, but that would be pretty worthless if you were in the middle of no-where and out of range of a repeater or any other stations. That rarely occurs around here in the more settled regions of the lower 48, but up there, I don't know. I have often thought about putting HF gear in the truck, but the antenna's are larger and more obtrusive.

I will try and get that for you later today. I know his gear was in a large plastic box and not installed in the truck. Should see him later today. He might have some drone footage too but only guessing. OK just checked Facebook post by my son - ham operator from W. Virginia (I said Ohio before and don't know where I got that from). Call sign K8NY. My plan is to get a thank you to him asap.

 

[tractorgp]

If you know the info, I would like to hear more of what he used for an antenna/rig, what frequency, mode,etc. I didn't see anything on the truck , no trees for antenna supports. I have VHF/UHF radio in my truck, but that would be pretty worthless if you were in the middle of no-where and out of range of a repeater or any other stations. That rarely occurs around here in the more settled regions of the lower 48, but up there, I don't know. I have often thought about putting HF gear in the truck, but the antenna's are larger and more obtrusive.

Here's a drone view of the truck stuck in the snow. He had a 25 watt transmitter operating on 17 meters when he contacted K8NY. He rigged up an end fed dipole by just locking the end of the antenna in the window of the truck. He heard K8NY good but K8NY not hearing him that great. You can see the rig on the ground with the antenna hooked to the truck in this video. He has since emailed K8NY thanking him for the help
https://youtu.be/oGcJdrNHzz4

 

[k0ua]

Here's a drone view of the truck stuck in the snow. He had a 25 watt transmitter operating on 17 meters when he contacted K8NY. He rigged up an end fed dipole by just locking the end of the antenna in the window of the truck. He heard K8NY good but K8NY not hearing him that great. You can see the rig on the ground with the antenna hooked to the truck in this video. He has since emailed K8NY thanking him for the help
https://youtu.be/oGcJdrNHzz4

A very resourceful guy. He is the kind of guy you would want on your side when things go bad. I looked at Bob/K8NY website, and it is a good thing he has a good antenna and tower to pull out your sons weak signal.. But 17 meters is great band, and is the one I would have chosen first for this type of makeshift operation. You son definitely has some skills.

 

[tractorgp]

A very resourceful guy. He is the kind of guy you would want on your side when things go bad. I looked at Bob/K8NY website, and it is a good thing he has a good antenna and tower to pull out your sons weak signal.. But 17 meters is great band, and is the one I would have chosen first for this type of makeshift operation. You son definitely has some skills.

Yeah he seems to like that band a lot. As a side note I was hoping that I could report that he held the antenna up with the drone during his moment of need