Creative Improvising/Field Craft

[Hoss50]

What are your best creative improvised fixes out in the field to fix things?

I have many under my belt, but this picture is the one from this year's elk hunt to get us all the way home from Young to Phoenix on our elk hunt. 

On a rutty rocky road I blew the carrier bearing/center support bearing in my driveshaft. 

Some tie wire doubled up kept the bearing in place long enough to finish the hunt, get the meat to the processing trailer, and haul my trailer back to Phoenix. 

An old Mexican guy i used to work with in Colorado taught me the trick to use a cordless drill and screwdriver to make twisted tie wire which is way stronger. 

 

[muledeerarea33?]

A vice and a screw driver can make twisted tie wire. Once in my Jeep I broke the frame near the front shackle. Lost steering and was in river rocks. Used a come along, ratchet strap, T post, and wire to pull the frame back and hold it in place. Made it 30 miles back to the house.

[Delw]

In washington we used to carry a raw potato for radiator leaks when we were out 4 wheeling. and yes it works.  the heat swells potato after you mash it in the radiator

[Outdoor Writer]

Fixed a 2" hole in a top radiator hose by cutting up a soda can and wrapping it around the hose, using duct tape to hold it in place. Fortunately, the hose was a smooth one rather than one of those corrugated types. We were only 50 yards away from Pinto Creek for the water refill but had to use a couple more empty cans to do it. It took a while. 

[ctafoya]

I broke a coil over on my rail at the dunes. Used a 4x4 and a ratchet strap to keep everything held together till I got back to camp to reweld the mount. 

Used carb cleaner to blow a tire back on the bead while four wheeling. 

Used a strand of barbwire to replace throttle linkage that fell off. 

There is a lot more but I just cant remember everything 

[Hoss50]

I have had many over the years in addition to the above which I had to do 3 times to this truck. Since the last elk fix, I replace the driveshaft with a 1pc so no more carrier bearing to fix... 

I have had to use 3 truck batteries connected together with jumper cables, and use those with a stick welding rod to weld a steering arm onto a knuckle to get a truck off a mountain.

I have used a 25' tow chain to hold up broken transmission crossmember.

We have used a speak wire as a throttle linkage in a VW bug.

Etc.

[knothead]

Because I am not the most mechanically inclined person all my fixes look and sound like what has been described so far.  Maybe I have some hidden talent and didn't even know it?  My dad was from Arkansas and mom West Virginia so you might say I have some red neck in me.

[Hoss50]

I thought of a few more from last deer season.

We got all the way to Kaibab and when we parked to grab food a snack at Jacobs we realized we had a leak in the main water line under the camper. We tied some of that "flex seal" stick on patch tape. It worked if the area was dry, but it was wet and wouldn't stick.

We ended up cutting pieces off the hose I use to fill the trailer with water to slide over the cracked poly water lines under the trailer and used hose clamps to seal the ends.

My buddy also dropped his main rifle for the hunt and had to use the backup which is a 13lb 300 win mag with heavy barrel. It sucks to carry on sling because the barrel is so heavy it makes the rifle want to invert and go barrel down all the time, and it sucks. He decided to make a homemade safari sling to carry that pig with. He used 550 cord for the sling, and then covered it in more of the above mentioned water fill hose for the trailer for padding. It was ghetto has heck, but it worked...