Frannie Posted November 1, 2014 Share Posted November 1, 2014 So last night, my Zed and I had a bonding experience. I, perhaps foolishly, decided to park on her a grassy verge. She's waited patiently on this verge a few times before whilst I check my horses, and the reason she's on the verge is because she's too low to get down the track without clouting various bits of her undercarriage. However, last night, she decided that it was not in her interest to return to the tarmac. Ten mins of rocking back and forth on the clutch proved fruitless as her fat boots slid fruitlessly around and merely made the situation worse. I tried to push her off the verge (me 9.5 stone, her 1.6tonnes). No joy. Then darkness fell. I tried to shove a flattened cardboard box under the wheels. She spat it up into the wheel arches and refused to budge. Just as I decided I would have to find a handy tractor to tow her off the grass, a truck came down the track (amazing as it's a dead end track in the middle of nowhere). Swallowed my shame, and pulled my best Olive Oyl impression (imagine heyulp, heyulp - it was that bad!) and the 3 lovely chaps very kindly used a shovel they had in the back (didn't dare ask why!) to remove some turf and then shoved us unceremoniously back into her natural habitat. EM-BARR-ASS-ING! Gave me an excuse to give her a good clean today though, as there appeared to be a fair amount of mud spatter... So, things I have learnt; 1. The Zed doesn't do off road, even if said off road is flat and inoffensive 2. The Zed has a VERY fiddly cover on the towing eye. So fiddly, in fact, it didn't get used 3. Some people are very friendly and helpful, and won't take the p*** out of you for being, well, a complete girl. 4. As I now know, turning the traction control off may have helped in my quest to escape the green. 5. I am having to make some significant compromises in my life for my Zed and I LOVE IT!!! Anyone else had similar issues or are you all far more sensible 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hensh65 Posted November 1, 2014 Share Posted November 1, 2014 I thought i was a light weight at 11 stone thankfully my car didnt see anything green under its feet! Lucky the guys came, i could imagine i woukd have spat the dummie out and clocked 100mph trying to get it out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZEUS Posted November 1, 2014 Share Posted November 1, 2014 I can't reverse off my gravel drive in the winter in mine as its on a slight slope. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMballistic Posted November 1, 2014 Share Posted November 1, 2014 Good read that Frannie and glad you got the Zed out eventually even if it was because some strange men helped. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frannie Posted November 1, 2014 Author Share Posted November 1, 2014 I can't reverse off my gravel drive in the winter in mine as its on a slight slope. LOL, that's a good excuse for not going to work though I thought i was a light weight at 11 stone thankfully my car didnt see anything green under its feet! Lucky the guys came, i could imagine i woukd have spat the dummie out and clocked 100mph trying to get it out! Ha, I'm a 5'10 slim female so not overly lightweight! And yes, I did have a bit of a 'moment' before I realised that if I had got it out, I would have likely gone straight through the hedge behind at an ungodly rate of knots Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frannie Posted November 1, 2014 Author Share Posted November 1, 2014 Good read that Frannie and glad you got the Zed out eventually even if it was because some strange men helped. Haha, yep - not something to tell my Mother! I did find out where they'd come from and drop a case of beer round today to say thanks though - might have spread the zeditis a little as one was very taken with the car! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMballistic Posted November 1, 2014 Share Posted November 1, 2014 Good read that Frannie and glad you got the Zed out eventually even if it was because some strange men helped. Haha, yep - not something to tell my Mother! I did find out where they'd come from and drop a case of beer round today to say thanks though - might have spread the zeditis a little as one was very taken with the car! That's very nice of you. I'm sure they didn't expect that and appreciated the gesture. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hensh65 Posted November 1, 2014 Share Posted November 1, 2014 I can't reverse off my gravel drive in the winter in mine as its on a slight slope. LOL, that's a good excuse for not going to work though I thought i was a light weight at 11 stone thankfully my car didnt see anything green under its feet! Lucky the guys came, i could imagine i woukd have spat the dummie out and clocked 100mph trying to get it out! Ha, I'm a 5'10 slim female so not overly lightweight! And yes, I did have a bit of a 'moment' before I realised that if I had got it out, I would have likely gone straight through the hedge behind at an ungodly rate of knots i thought you were being funny with being a complete girl. My bad 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyser Posted November 1, 2014 Share Posted November 1, 2014 haven't got mine stuck yet - have towed one out of the pedestrain railings for someone though At least all ended well for you. Spot on for dropping the beers round 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frannie Posted November 1, 2014 Author Share Posted November 1, 2014 haven't got mine stuck yet - have towed one out of the pedestrain railings for someone though At least all ended well for you. Spot on for dropping the beers round I presume you weren't using a zed to tow a zed?! That would be a step towards practicality I can't currently imagine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyser Posted November 1, 2014 Share Posted November 1, 2014 haven't got mine stuck yet - have towed one out of the pedestrain railings for someone though At least all ended well for you. Spot on for dropping the beers round I presume you weren't using a zed to tow a zed?! That would be a step towards practicality I can't currently imagine No a 4x4 but had to give up and get another mate with a bigger truck and winch as the Zed had the nearside wheel jammed back in the arch - not a pretty sight - all fixed now though 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coyoteboy Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 Somewhere, somehow I imagine a Z posting to an internet forum complaining about its owner humiliating it 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brillomaster Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 think that's humiliating... once a couple of winters back when there was actually snow, I made the mistake of trying to reverse out of my parking space at home, then drive to work. The reversing went ok, then when it came to trying to move forward again, the zed was having none of it - thus leaving me stranded in the middle of the car park, blocking my gfs car in and unable to go any direction except backwards. ended up reversing further and parking on the snow covered grass, which was a mistake... no matter what I tried, it would not be moved! tried a really slow release of clutch in third gear with no throttle, still span the wheels, tried dropping the pressures to 10psi, nothing, putting old carpets under the wheels, still nothing, even with three people pushing! In the end I had to sheepishly ask my gf for a tow from her 1.1 litre Peugeot 206 - she was convinced her tiny city car wouldn't have a chance of pulling out my zed, but nope, her little car that could pulled me out no problem. The trenches I dug with my rear wheels are still there two years later. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mudman Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 Horses no good for pulling out Zeds ? Works in the movies 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AliveBoy Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 If you ever get stuck again, chuck the floor mats under the rear wheels. It will provide enough grip to get you moving. In the snow I have two long lengths of carpet to throw under to get moving, it's more challenging as there may not be somewhere suitable to stop and pick them up for a few hundred yards, so I tie them onto the car and drag until I can stop 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frannie Posted November 7, 2014 Author Share Posted November 7, 2014 If you ever get stuck again, chuck the floor mats under the rear wheels. It will provide enough grip to get you moving. In the snow I have two long lengths of carpet to throw under to get moving, it's more challenging as there may not be somewhere suitable to stop and pick them up for a few hundred yards, so I tie them onto the car and drag until I can stop Thanks, that was something that I didn't think about. Nor did I consider turning off the traction control.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frannie Posted November 7, 2014 Author Share Posted November 7, 2014 think that's humiliating... once a couple of winters back when there was actually snow, I made the mistake of trying to reverse out of my parking space at home, then drive to work. The reversing went ok, then when it came to trying to move forward again, the zed was having none of it - thus leaving me stranded in the middle of the car park, blocking my gfs car in and unable to go any direction except backwards. ended up reversing further and parking on the snow covered grass, which was a mistake... no matter what I tried, it would not be moved! tried a really slow release of clutch in third gear with no throttle, still span the wheels, tried dropping the pressures to 10psi, nothing, putting old carpets under the wheels, still nothing, even with three people pushing! In the end I had to sheepishly ask my gf for a tow from her 1.1 litre Peugeot 206 - she was convinced her tiny city car wouldn't have a chance of pulling out my zed, but nope, her little car that could pulled me out no problem. The trenches I dug with my rear wheels are still there two years later. Thank you. I'm feeling a bit better after reading this! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coyoteboy Posted November 7, 2014 Share Posted November 7, 2014 Ahh my old pug 205, 145 tyres would drive out of any where leaving all the high powered cars stranded in winter. Loved it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chirag1988 Posted November 8, 2014 Share Posted November 8, 2014 Almost embarrassed myself earlier this week! I was due to take the zed for a service over at Japex, and it was a chilly morning so I thought I'd start her up to get warm while I load up a few bits and pieces I was taking along for the service. Now usually I keep her in gear and I sit down in the car and start her up (you can see where this is going...) But this time I just opened the door, stuck my left leg in to depress the clutch and start her up, completely forgetting she was still in gear! Took my foot away and instead of stalling, she just shot out of my drive like a bullet! My daily was parked across the road and luckily I managed to get my foot out and slam the brakes and she stopped inches from my polo! I jumped in, put her in neutral and waited for a few minutes to let it all sink in...safe to say I would have been in tears at the mangled wreck of both my cars I was surprised she didn't stall when lifting off the clutch instead of shooting forward! Luckily there wasn't another car coming down the road otherwise that would have been disastrous! The incident still sends shivers down my spine whenever I think about it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frannie Posted November 8, 2014 Author Share Posted November 8, 2014 Eek. That's not even funny in hindsight but glad all ok! Lucky you didn't run yourself over at the same time :o Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JetSet Posted November 8, 2014 Share Posted November 8, 2014 (edited) Caroline and I were touring around The States in a rental back in 2002. The car was a Stratos (not a Lancia sadly) some American mid size car. We were in New Mexico, somewhere near to a place called Window Rock, quite a remote and mainly unvisited area when it happened. We were both dying for a toilet break but the vegetation was sparse and after many miles eventually I spotted a couple of trees close to the side of the road with sufficient cover. I pulled over onto the verge which was mainly broken rock and gravel....failing to notice until the last minute that the verge wasn't wide enough for the car and that it sloped into a 3 feet deep drainage ditch. The verge was a bit wet from an earlier thunder storm and the rental slid into the ditch, the front end completely at the bottom of the ditch, the rear end about half way down. So there we are in the middle of nowhere with no mobile phone and no one to pull us out. After a few minutes panic I took a good look at the ditch and noticed that about 50 yards behind the car the ditch levelled out to just a few inches. So I clambered back in, shoved it into reverse and after about 20 minutes of sliding around extricated the car from the ditch. Didn't see a single vehicle the whole time we were there . The car was completely caked in mud but we were able to continue. I also managed,once again in a rental, to get bogged down in a sandy ford in Monument Valley, had to be towed out by a passing 4wd who luckily had a sturdy rope with him. Pete Edited November 8, 2014 by JetSet 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wendy Posted November 9, 2014 Share Posted November 9, 2014 I have done this too - most embarrassingly. Usual sort of thing for the foolish things too - midnight - on a tiny country lane that I had to turn around on. Pitch black as you would expect at this time ! and I reversed back just a few inches too far, dropping onto the wet grass verge. I stopped got out and checked and really thought I had been lucky and would get out of this if I was careful. No, I was shocked, as I so carefully did not put on masses of power, but seriously no grip. At this time I really did not know where the Traction Control switch was and no looking for it in the heat of the moment located it either. The male friend who I was with - gingerly asked if he might try - knowing I would not take kindly to this, nor would I even be impressed if he got it out. I know, I know !!! So a very mixed up emotion when he did not succeed either. One I was still in this dilemma, Two - Yes !!! He did not manage it either. Fortunately I did have some of the canvass style shopping bags in the boot, (knowing I had to get some grip from something - ( due to a similar experience in the Bordeaux Forest - which is very sandy in a 36ft, 6 Ton double axle American Motorhome some 20 years earlier - another story) so we dug these under the rear wheels as much as was possible - and I eventually got some grip and naturally a muddy, grass covered car and amusing tale to tell Despite now being very late when I got home, I immediately read up on the location of the Traction Control. It certainly makes you feel better to know others have had sinilar antics in their cars too - and also manage to resolve the issues without too much pain !! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
350zedd Posted November 9, 2014 Share Posted November 9, 2014 Caroline and I were touring around The States in a rental back in 2002. The car was a Stratos (not a Lancia sadly) some American mid size car. We were in New Mexico, somewhere near to a place called Window Rock, quite a remote and mainly unvisited area when it happened. We were both dying for a toilet break but the vegetation was sparse and after many miles eventually I spotted a couple of trees close to the side of the road with sufficient cover. I pulled over onto the verge which was mainly broken rock and gravel....failing to notice until the last minute that the verge wasn't wide enough for the car and that it sloped into a 3 feet deep drainage ditch. The verge was a bit wet from an earlier thunder storm and the rental slid into the ditch, the front end completely at the bottom of the ditch, the rear end about half way down. So there we are in the middle of nowhere with no mobile phone and no one to pull us out. After a few minutes panic I took a good look at the ditch and noticed that about 50 yards behind the car the ditch levelled out to just a few inches. So I clambered back in, shoved it into reverse and after about 20 minutes of sliding around extricated the car from the ditch. Didn't see a single vehicle the whole time we were there . The car was completely caked in mud but we were able to continue. I also managed,once again in a rental, to get bogged down in a sandy ford in Monument Valley, had to be towed out by a passing 4wd who luckily had a sturdy rope with him. Pete The important thing is though.............did you manage to take a leak!! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spursmaddave Posted November 9, 2014 Share Posted November 9, 2014 Not everyone gets upset when they get stuck http://www.carstuckgirls.com 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
350zedd Posted November 9, 2014 Share Posted November 9, 2014 Lived on the side of a hill at one time, watched in horror as my car rolled down the drive across the road and demolished a neighbours 2' wall. Could have been worst as there were children walking past going to school! Good job the wall stopped it, as they had a picture window down to the ground, and the car could have ended up in their lounge. Embarrassed to say the least, but no one hurt, rebuilt the wall for them, and car was ok as it was only moving slowly. After that I always CHOCKED THE WHEELS!!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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