Last week it snowed 4 days in a row but it was what I call a cute snow. Snow that doesn't accumulate.
Today it started like that and I remember standing at my window thanking God for such a lovely sight.
Then, 4 hour later, it started sticking.
And now we have lots and lots of snow. The irritating kind.
My doorbell rang at 2 pm and it was the man who owns the perfect arena on the hilltop by us. He had run his truck off the road by our pasture. He said, "BY the pasture, not into it!" That's a relief, cuz last Friday we spent too much money having 3 fence posts repaired and set in concrete.
He asked me to help him get his truck into 4WD. I said, "Did you say, sorry, do you mean you don't know how to activate the 4WD?"
He had no idea. How odd.
The snow was pouring down on us.
He said since I had truck experience in America, I might help him.
I said "Does your truck have a gear shift in the cab, or do we have to manipulate the wheels?"
He didn't give me a clear answer but when we got there, and his Ford Ranger (small truck) was 10 meters away from our newly-improved fence, but stuck in both mud and snow.
He pressed a button on the truck that had an engine symbol on it. I have no idea what that is for, but he said it was to switch to 4WD.
I saw the gear and said, "You want 4L. It stands for 4WD LOW and while you're stuck, that's the right one."
He said, "I don't know, I'm afraid of damaging the gears if I do it wrong."
I thought well no way am I gonna take the truck out if he's afraid of hurting his own truck...so I said he should look in the manual, or upon arriving home, on the internet.
I offered to call a cab for him, which he refused. It's only a 30 minute walk to their place.
He walked home in the blizzard, with two loaves of bread getting snowed on too.
I wish I had more trust in myself. I could have put the truck in gear and gotten it out of there, I'm pretty sure, even though I've never driven a Ford.
Update Saturday AM:
This morning his wife got the truck out, and as she used our newly-shoveled driveway to turn around, I stopped her to chat. She said, "Men, they can't do anything!" (which is the opposite of how I feel). I confirmed that the 4L was the right gear, and she said, "Can you believe it, he has such a nice vehicle, and doesn't know how to use it!" Well maybe he will now: )
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
.JPG)
6 comments:
It is strange that he didn't want to figure out the truck. We're having a snowstorm now but it should soon all melt away
Aw, I'm sorry you didn't get the chance to be the hero, but I understand your reticence. I was hoping the end to this would be that he was so grateful for your help, that he told you to use his arena any time. I love the 4WD in my truck. Before I got this truck, my truck had to be pulled out of the mud by a little Toyota with 4WD. I was so in love with that little truck.
Teresa, I remember your snow photos. I really prefer 2-season Seattle: )
KB, My first truck was a Chevy 2500 and it wasn't really capable of much, and I had to be towed a few times. Once, out of ridecamp, someone attached the back of their horse trailer to my truck, with my trailer still attached, and pulled all three rigs up a muddy mountain. Then I got a 3500 Silverado and my life was perfect. Nothing like love for a truck: ) I have a photo of my truck in my tackroom/shed. Did you say you had to be towed by a Toyota, was it a Rav4 or a LandCruiser? A Rav4 can pull a 2 horse trailer in Germany!
The truck was just a little Toyota. It was back in the '90's, and my F 250 truck was one of those 4 door lo-o-ong beds that took half the state of Texas to turn around in. I was at a dressage clinic (no horse) and had to pull over to let someone with a trailer pass by, and I got stuck in the mud. The husband of the gal hosting the clinic got his small 4WD Toyota truck (not big enough to haul a trailer) and pulled me out. I have an '03 F150 4WD King Ranch edition now that I love. I do love a good truck, too. And tractors. :-) My dogs love to load up in the truck and go for a drive around the pastures.
If his Ranger is a 1999 or newer, the 4WD switch is in the cab: 2-H, 4-H, and 4-L. No locking hubs, no "engine" symbol. Super easy.
I've driven Rangers for years, and have one in my driveway right now. The 4x4 works a lot better if you throw a hundred pounds of something in the bed.
Sorry about your sn*w, though. We had blue skies today, rain now. March: in like an...octopus? Out like a....(n)other octopus?
I'm the same way. Even if I know how to do something for myself, I second guess when it comes to helping someone else, especially when it involves something expensive that I could never afford to fix or replace!
Post a Comment