Some of the best and most informative off-road videos on YouTube come from off-road recovery specialists getting out and helping and rescuing people. In this case, it’s Trailmater Offroad Recovery out in the Moab desert rescuing a side-by-side that rolled on the Moab Rim – a tough eight-mile trail for off-roaders that is loved by hikers. The side-by-side needed towing out after its roll as an axle had broken, and a spare axle isn’t something people typically carry. What’s most entertaining, though, is watching Trailmater get its highly modified tow truck up to the spot with a trailer. Then back down again.
Rock Crawling With A Trailer Is No Mean Feat
Rock crawling is a skill, and this trail is well known for being a tough one without pulling a trailer, let alone a trailer with a four-person side-by-side strapped to it. As well as big rocks and ledges to deal with, some of those ledges have to be negotiated while sidehilling. That means at times the truck and trailer rig are moving laterally across a steep slope. It’s a recipe for any vehicle rolling over, let alone a tow truck with its particularly high center of gravity.
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Don’t let Rory Irish from Tralmater’s casual attitude while chatting to the camera fool you. This video is a masterclass in everything from precision positioning of the tires, environmental awareness, to the use of controls like gears and line lock, and clutch control and throttle feathering. Particular highlights to look for are navigating a Z turn (like an S bend but a lot tighter and sharper). There are even moments where it looks like he’s putting his wheels where they shouldn’t be, but Rory is straight-up on another level.
The Right Equipment, Not The Most Expensive
It’s almost impossible to figure out what the Trailmater truck is just by looking at it. At its core, Trailmater is a 1982 Chevy one-ton pickup that was once a K30. It’s got a modified transmission and diffs, axles, two extra rear wheels, Fox shocks, and a lot of extra bracing, as well as a roll cage. As the story goes, it was built from parts bins at Irish’s other business, Moab Motorsports.
Trailmater was, at one point, heavily damaged during a rescue mission. But Irish and Trailmater are beloved, and were helped to get back into action by a GoFundMe campaign and a tour operator. The trailer looks fairly straightforward and, again, heavily modified with extra bracing for strength as it takes a huge amount of punishment.
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What’s important to note here is that Irish is out there rescuing people over and over again in a vehicle built for purpose. It doesn’t have the latest and greatest tires, fancy self-adjusting suspension, or any electric or software assists you’ll find on modern off-roaders. This guy is out there with a basic but mechanically sound and beefed-up rig that he fully understands, and he knows how to drive it in such an extreme environment. We just wish he would wear the belts when he’s in the driver’s seat because some of the Trailmater channel videos are anxiety-inducing enough already.
H/T: 4Low
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