We’ve seen plenty of tricky off-road recoveries, but this one is among the most dramatic and scariest. This Ram 1500 TRX had to be dragged out of a ravine after tumbling down a massive cliff. The occupants somehow survived, but the truck suffered a much worse fate.
The recovery was performed by Moab Motorsports, and as you can probably guess, this crash occurred in the expanse of Utah’s legendary Moab region. Documented by the company’s Trail Mater YouTube channel, it starts with a view from the trail on which the truck fell. Folks, that drop is no joke. See the twisted black mass amid all the rocks? That used to be a TRX.
Extracting the wrecked TRX certainly wasn’t easy, as it wasn’t simply a case of hooking up an off-road tow truck and driving away. Various permissions were required to cross land and venture off-trail into the area where the truck ended up. The company needed to submit a plan for reaching the truck and recovering it while preserving the landscape. And when all was said and done, the company needed to literally cover its tracks to prevent curious off-roaders from exploring areas that are decidedly off-limits.
As this 34-minute video shows, they succeeded. Step one was to literally drag the TRX up the rock wash it had fallen into. This caused the least amount of damage to the landscape, as water already carves out the canyon on a regular basis.
Step two sees the company’s off-road towing rig come into play. This truck has a short wheelbase – great for maneuverability, but can get dicey when pulling something as massive as a TRX. Steering is tough, especially over hills and rocky areas. Slowly, the Ram is brought back to the road where a standard tow truck can take over.
The driver of this Ram 1500 TRX and his dog were injured, but both will reportedly make a full recovery. Considering this truck literally tumbled down a massive cliff, it’s amazing they’re alive at all. During the tow, the Ram’s window sticker was found, showing a price tag of $96,185. As for the cost of the recovery, Moab Motorsports did it free of charge.
