I was sitting at work earlier and a friend called and told me he was stuck. He drives an Isuzu FRR that is a mobile shop that's used to repair semi-trucks on the roadside.

I hopped in the 12v and drove to his location, and saw that he pulled in the slightly sloped grass next to an 18 wheeler (semi was on the pavement) and slid off the road, downhill a few feet, and buried himself up to his axles. He weighed in at over 20,000lbs earlier today!

I hooked a chain to a rear tow hook on his truck, and to my right front tow hook (they're rated at 5500lbs, but I've proven them to be MUCH more robust that that before). I threw the truck in 4 Low and put it in reverse. I would have rather pulled the other way, but didn't have room to turn around, so I did what I had to do. The shoulder was wet pavement with scattered micro-gravel, so I didn't have the ideal surface to pull from either.

I eased the clutch out and raised the revs, and all 4 of my tires began hopping, but the truck was moving! I was attempting to control the wheel hop, by pressing the clutch in again and starting over, but every time I did the truck would slide back down the decline. The tires smoking, I realized I needed more speed, to keep the truck from just continuously sliding back down the decline. I would have to pull from 4 High! I put it in 4 high, and gave it another go. The truck continued sliding down the decline, but as I approached red line in reverse (about 10mph - about half that in 4 Low) I had enough speed to get his tires back onto the pavement! The trucker standing by watching the show was thoroughly impressed!

It was a successful pull, albeit tough! Most importantly I got the job done without breaking anything!

 

Better to pull from the rear.......tranny is stronger.