Okay - yesterday it snowed pretty good - after a pretty good rain in the morning - well my mom called me to go so if I could get one of her friends out of a ditch - I knew where she was and I knee she would be stuck pretty good. It was a dirt road that is used as a short cut by alot of folks but the end of the road always gets pretty nasty with runoff. She has slide into the ditch on the right side and was in pretty deep. I backed up to her and hooked up a chain - I knew as soon as I started that I probably wasn't going to be able to get her out - my tires weren't clearing - I didn't expect them to very well - the mud was THICK! But I tried giving it gas to get them spinning hoping to throw some mud and try to get some traction - I could only get to about 1800RPM's before it felt like the body was going to shake right off the frame - the shaking was bad - I have heard about a people having the "4x4 shakes" but I had never experienced it - though I haven't put my truck into anything this bad since I have had it. It was shaking so bad that I could see the hood shaking and it really felt like thebody was going to jump right off the frame!

Now I am going to take it in next week to the dealership and I am pretty sure they are going to say it is the leveling kit - which I seriously doubt - because there are tons of dodge's who arn't having this problem with a leveling kit. I think this is something that I just haven't seen yet because I hadn't put it into this sort of mud as of yet.

Any thoughts or advice?

Thanks

 

Were you in low range? I would say it is because you were "hammering" the sh^& out of your rig.... when trying to pull something out that is pretty stuck, take your time and don't just try to jerk it out..... that kind of thing gets chains/straps through your back window and I have seen that be pretty darn ugly... When over powering it is pretty normal to see a "bounce" that is your rig trying to do more than she should.4 wheeling is a lot more than your truck, there is a lot to know about how to drive her. (no pun intended)

 

I know all that - and maybe I didn't mention it in my previous post but it continued to do it when I had unhooked. I unhooked and when pulling away got myself stuck in the same ditch - I left it to help the tow truck get the lady out and when I got back in mine - trying to get out of the ditch it would still do it - not as violent in 4HI as it was in 4Lo - I too thought initially that it was shaking that way because I was hooked up to 5000 pound brick that wasn't moving (which I am sure was the reason) but it did it again unhooked in 4HI as well. I was able to get out no problem it just took alittle longer - and in all the different trucks and 4x4's that I have owned I have never experienced this which is why I am concerned about it.

 

i don't think it's a big deal man...

yes we're draving rams, but they aren't bulldozers. if it does that "shake/bounce" thing when you're not hooked up to a brick wall, then u might have an issue. i dunno though...

 

That happened to me in a 4X4 when I had an open rear.

Is your rear diff open or lsd?

 

it's the OEM lsd - I have had the shakes when hooked up to another vehicle trying to pull them out - but never this bad - and never when I was not hooked up - maybe I am over reacting.

 

Maybe so and maybe not.... my friend had an older Dodgeyears ago that would do the bounce even in 2wd once and awhile.... ended up being bad kingpins in the front end.... his front end broke and he went over the embankment and he doesn't have to worry about any of that anymore, not even breathing.

Better safe than sorry dude, what if something goes down at 75MPH? I'd at least get it up in the air and put a bar on it, maybe if you know someone at the local tire shop....

 

Yeah I knew someone that was killed having a hook go through his rear windsheild. I use loops, but if youre using hooks its good to put a jacket in the line.

Never had the shakes before even when I was going cold turkey on coke. LOL.

4lo can really f your engine up. If you couldnt get it out in 4hi then 4 low won't help you either, it just ****fs more torque to the rear wheels. If youre already slipping its not really gonna do much.

 

Chongo,
I've always hooked up to the front end of the truck (if 4x4) in that situation. The weight of the engine helps with the traction, and it doesn't cause the suspension to load and squat as much.
Plus you can see exactly what is going on. Gentle tugs with the strap to act as a rubber band usually breaks the other vehicle free, then once free, SLOWLY, GENTLY pull them out. If the tires spin, basically your done. Stop,pull ahead a little, bonce it on the straps until it loosens up some more, and you get yourself on better ground, then slowly pull them out.

Pre-loading the suspension gives the truck a lot of coiled energy that isn't transferred to the load, and once you get the tires spinning, they get a running imbalance in them and then you get the shakes---it'll rattle the teeth outta your head.

I'd suggest going to a car wash a cleaning any remaining mud out of the wheels and such, then checking the shocks to ensure to you didn't unload a seal and spew all the hydraulic fluid out.

Just my .02---hope it helps