Thursday, July 17th, 2025, at 5:41 p.m. (PT), we received a request for help with an offroad recovery in Oregon. The requester, David Van Arsdale , submitted the following information: “Bonnie Meadows campground road. 2015 chevy. Silverado 2500HD Duramax. Flat drivers side tire. Am in safe place. Am about 3/4 to campground. / I’m with the vehicle / I can help cover the cost of fuel.”
Our administrator, Al Fontan, contacted the requester and verified the contact information provided, GPS location, and current situation before sending the request to local volunteers. In this particular recovery, we contacted volunteers within a 30-mile radius.
From the group of volunteers contacted, we had Anthony Swartz taking over the recovery. He was 60 miles away, but willing to help. The request was closed at around 10:20 p.m. Anthony later sent us some photos and a quick note recounting the details of the recovery.
From Anthony
It took me around 2 hours to make it to the vehicle from the Dalles. The tire had major sidewall damage and there was no way to patch it. Luckily after searching his vehicle David was able to locate the lug nut key. We lowered the spare off his truck to discover it was not the identical size to his others but close enough to “limp” down the trail. We had to use my jack as the stock scissor jack did not provide enough clearance. When we got it mounted up I added some air to match his other tires. Once we got him back on the trail he was able to make it to camp for the night. Overall mission success, but a great reminder to carry your lug keys, a good jack, a compressor, and a full size spare.
We want to thank Anthony for such great job, not only helping and traveling the distance, but also for sharing with us photos and the story we share here. Awesome job!