Friday, July 12, 2024, at 4:41 p.m. (ET), we received a request for help with an offroad recovery in Michigan. The requester, Brandon Barbour, submitted the following information: “I am stuck in soft dirt going down a hill and need help being pulled out. I am in a Razor XP 1000 2 seater SxS. I really need some assistance / I’m with the vehicle.”
David Mrak, our general admin for Offroad Portal, handled the coordination of this request, contacted Brandon, and verified his GPS coordinates and situation before sending the request to local volunteers within a 30-mile radius.
Less than one minute after sending the text message alert about the request to local volunteers, we got Paul asking questions and a few minutes later getting engaged on this request.
He invited a friend, Russ, who lives close by the area. Paul and Russ got together and worked on this request. By 7:43 p.m., Paul updated us.
Paul explained that Russ got the SxS out but got himself stuck in the process. Paul got Russ out, and after that, everybody was heading home.
Paul a few days later, sent us this quick note:
This was a very straightforward recovery. He broke rule #1 in my book – wheeling by himself. Russ used a quick winch recovery to get him on solid ground. Unfortunately, Russ got dragged into an awkward spot, so I had to winch Russ back up onto flat ground. The staff at Holly Oaks ORV Park were very easy to work with; they knew the guy was stuck and let both Russ and me into the park to help without paying admission.
We want to thank Russ and Paul for helping on this recovery. You guys did a great job.
If you would like to receive a text message when we get a request near you, create your account here: offroadportal.org/signup