Jeep Cherokee Rescues a 2WD Hyundai Tuscon
Matt’s Towing & Recovery documents awesome adventures of a Jeep Cherokee rescuing people stuck on trails.
Utah, as most Jeepers know, is a haven for off-road enthusiasts. For Matt, the frontman behind YouTube channel Matt’s Towing & Recovery, finds joy in every second of his job. After all, any proper Jeep owner would find joy in off-roading for a job. In what looks to be a 1998 Jeep Cherokee, Matt takes calls from stranded travelers and treks the trails to rescue them. Though the specifics of Matt’s Jeep build aren’t known, it’s clear it’s lifted a few inches and sports a surely long list of modifications to handle tough trails under stress.
Winder’s Towing Inc., the towing company Matt works for, is a family owned towing and recovery shop founding in 1981. So, for almost 40 years, the Winder’s name has been on the side of recovery vehicles. It wasn’t until March of this year that the adventures that followed suit were recorded on a YouTube channel. In a tense and very entertaining new video, Matt traverses a tough Jeep trail in Toquerville, Utah, to rescue a stranded driver and his rented (yes, rented) Hyundai Tucson.
The scenery getting to the scene of distress is absolutely stunning. What is equally stunning, though, is watching Matt bowl over boulders like they are nothing. Clearly his experience in the Cherokee makes him the right amount of confident. As Matt approaches the top of a rocky hill, he notices a man standing to the side of the road waving him down. Matt and his passenger/co-worker, Ed, are quick to take him in as they crawl forward to the Hyundai.
The trail to the site is tough. The recording device in Matt’s hands bounces every which way as the terrain grows tougher and tougher. Surely, the passengers in the car are begining to wonder just how exactly a stock Hyundai Tucson was able to drive over such hefty obstacles. Then, Matt decides to break the ice with a story. Apparently, when Matt was younger, he’d taken a 1964 Rambler 440 through the exact trail, which is notably less capable than the Hyundai.
“I was able to get it back out, but the motor was completely ripped off the mounts and just laying sideways in the engine bay,” says Matt. “We got it put back together though, and got a lot more miles out of it.”
‘I don’t know how you got through here without dragging the bottom out of [the Hyundai].’
Despite the impressive feat, the passengers remain silent. So, on they go. As the terrain gets more and more unsettling for Matt with large and protruding boulders, it is Ed that breaks the silence.
“I don’t know how you got through here without dragging the bottom out of [the Hyundai],” says Ed to the Hyundai driver. The driver says solemnly that he’d read online thatany SUV could make the trail. Clearly, he’d been sadly mistaken. Matt chimes in and says, “Yeah, we’re going to have to roll some rocks to get you out of here. But don’t worry, we’ll get you out.”
Then Matt and Ed roll up to where the Hyundai is beached. Collectively, they express both concern and respect for the little SUV being able to get down the hill without sustaining more serious damage. The Tuscon hasn’t lost any vital fluids, there is no damage to the drive train, and to everyone’s surprise no serious paint damage. When Matt takes a peak underneath, he is even more shocked by the discovery that the Hyundai is actually 2WD. However, underneath, a lot of the plastic shielding that came stock with the car is just about scraped into oblivion.
The Hyundai, crossed up from attempting to turn around, is severely stuck. According to the driver, he’d made it down the hill and it was at that point he’d realized that the trail might be a little more than he was equipped to handle. As he was turning around to attempt to go back up the hill, he’d gotten stuck. Hence the call to Winder’s Towing Inc. After evaluating the situation for a few moments, Matt and Ed decide that the best way to rescue the Hyundai is to simply tow the SUV back up the hill.
‘That was a little bit more work than I expected. I didn’t think he’d have a two-wheel-drive Hyundai Tuscon down there!’
After hooking up the tow line to the front of the Hyundai, Matt gives a brief lesson to the Hyundai driver as to what not to do, and they crawl up the hill.
Pulling another car up a loose, rocky hill combined with the pulling to the right from the tow line, Matt has some trouble with large rocks heading back. The Cherokee doesn’t break much of a sweat though — it is clearly in capable, experienced hands. After a few tense moments of Matt crawling over a boulder that was sitting along the edge of a trail, they come to the obstacle both Ed and Matt dread most. A large boulder that rises from the trail that is most definitely too high for the Hyundai to conquer.
So, to combat this natural road block, Matt hops out of his Jeep and uses other rocks to make a ramp for the Hyundai. Without much effort, the Hyundai pulls through. After that, it is smooth sailing for the rescue party, and as time rolls slowly by, eventually the Hyundai is cut free and goes the rest of the way back alone.
“So, that was a little bit more work than I expected,” Matt says to the camera. “I didn’t think he’d have a two-wheel-drive Hyundai Tuscon down there!”
Despite the extra time and effort it took for Matt to get that rented Hyundai from the treacherous Utah trail, his Jeep made the job look easy. It just goes to show, though, that just because a trail says SUV-friendly, it doesn’t mean it’s friendly for two-wheel-drive SUVs. Read the terrain carefully. It also helps if you have a Jeep.
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