To start, my Yarbo is lovingly named GO-4. GO-4 is a reference to the movie Wall-e. GO-4 is the autopilot and captains assistant and does what they tell it to do. With that being said, here we go.
Let me tell y'all about the adventure I had with GO-4 last night. You see, I live in a suburban area, neighbors houses nearby. One neighbor loves to complain about everything, and I hate confrontations with her. Therefore, I won't run the auger late at night.
With that being said, last night my oldest daughter was celebrating valentines with her boyfriend (they are both 18), and she was going to be home around 11:45 p.m. This was too late to run the auger, so I figured no biggie, I can go into plow mode and at least get the driveway cleared so the boyfriend didn't pack the snow. I also thought I am going to manually do this job, as the way Yarbo plows my driveway is horribly inefficient (though smart), and seeing I had my truck and the daughters car in the driveway, it would have piled up the snow next to the vehicles.
Let me tell you, the depth perception from the cameras at night can be tough to judge distances. My property sits on a corner lot, with large ditches wrapping the outer edges for drainage. I am not talking little ditches either, these things are steep and have been a mowing pain in my arse since I moved in.
Well, GO-4 didn't malfunction, I did. I sent it too far near the ditch and in almost slow motion I watched as the camera dipped down below the horizon. Yup, GO-4 was now looking down at the bottom of the ditch, full of snow. I tried all the techniques I knew to reverse my way out of this, however as an avid gamer and someone who also recreates with motorized vehicles I knew my fate was sealed. It was a physics lesson that I didn't sign up for, but drove myself in to.
As I sat on my couch, looking out at GO-4's lights illuminating my ditch, I thought of a strategy to get it out. Yarbo actually does well in the unpacked snow moving forward with the auger fully up. With that power, I decided to attempt the climb out.
You can't climb straight up though, it would require the upmost skill of traversing up the hill. Gravity is strong on those slopes. To my surprise, it was working. I was thinking I was out of the situation with hopefully none of my neighbors seeing this embarrassment.
GO-4 was climbing, treads spinning (without studs) and my excitement was growing. nothing was going to stop me. My excitement quickly grew to heartache as the snow, seemingly out of no where, built up quickly in front of the camera. I knew this was going to be a problem and I wasn't going to be able to crest the hill with that in front of me. No sweat, I can back down and reposition, right?
Nope. I turned too tightly and ended up high-centering GO-4. The snow packed up under the core and raised the treads off the ground. We tried, diligently, over and over in attempt to wiggle out of my situation. Did it help? No. Absolutely not. I was stuck. No, I got GO-4 stuck.
GO-4 isn't light. The core with the snowblower is rather heavy, but I'm a big dude. I can lift the core, so no worries. However, it's now 12:30 a.m. The spinning of the GO-4's lights caught the attention of a neighbor with 6 kids at home. All of those kids share 2 bedrooms. I had an audience. I had to go outside and rotate GO-4 and get it back on solid ground.
With my head down low, and preverbal tail between my legs, I donned my winter gear and headed out. There was GO-4, resting peacefully. The headlights almost giving me a warm smile face. Thankfully it was in the mid 20's, which in Wisconsin isn't bad at all! I only had a light jacket on. With a little muscle, I got GO-4 going. Now that I was next to it, I could easily walk it out. Which I did.
So you're thinking, this is the end right? No. GO-4 was snow covered. The dock was covered. GO-4 tried with all its might to dock, but after 3 attempts, it couldn't do it. But you know what? GO-4 earned a night in the heated garage and a wall outlet. That'll do GO-4, that'll do.
Let me tell y'all about the adventure I had with GO-4 last night. You see, I live in a suburban area, neighbors houses nearby. One neighbor loves to complain about everything, and I hate confrontations with her. Therefore, I won't run the auger late at night.
With that being said, last night my oldest daughter was celebrating valentines with her boyfriend (they are both 18), and she was going to be home around 11:45 p.m. This was too late to run the auger, so I figured no biggie, I can go into plow mode and at least get the driveway cleared so the boyfriend didn't pack the snow. I also thought I am going to manually do this job, as the way Yarbo plows my driveway is horribly inefficient (though smart), and seeing I had my truck and the daughters car in the driveway, it would have piled up the snow next to the vehicles.
Let me tell you, the depth perception from the cameras at night can be tough to judge distances. My property sits on a corner lot, with large ditches wrapping the outer edges for drainage. I am not talking little ditches either, these things are steep and have been a mowing pain in my arse since I moved in.
Well, GO-4 didn't malfunction, I did. I sent it too far near the ditch and in almost slow motion I watched as the camera dipped down below the horizon. Yup, GO-4 was now looking down at the bottom of the ditch, full of snow. I tried all the techniques I knew to reverse my way out of this, however as an avid gamer and someone who also recreates with motorized vehicles I knew my fate was sealed. It was a physics lesson that I didn't sign up for, but drove myself in to.
As I sat on my couch, looking out at GO-4's lights illuminating my ditch, I thought of a strategy to get it out. Yarbo actually does well in the unpacked snow moving forward with the auger fully up. With that power, I decided to attempt the climb out.
You can't climb straight up though, it would require the upmost skill of traversing up the hill. Gravity is strong on those slopes. To my surprise, it was working. I was thinking I was out of the situation with hopefully none of my neighbors seeing this embarrassment.
GO-4 was climbing, treads spinning (without studs) and my excitement was growing. nothing was going to stop me. My excitement quickly grew to heartache as the snow, seemingly out of no where, built up quickly in front of the camera. I knew this was going to be a problem and I wasn't going to be able to crest the hill with that in front of me. No sweat, I can back down and reposition, right?
Nope. I turned too tightly and ended up high-centering GO-4. The snow packed up under the core and raised the treads off the ground. We tried, diligently, over and over in attempt to wiggle out of my situation. Did it help? No. Absolutely not. I was stuck. No, I got GO-4 stuck.
GO-4 isn't light. The core with the snowblower is rather heavy, but I'm a big dude. I can lift the core, so no worries. However, it's now 12:30 a.m. The spinning of the GO-4's lights caught the attention of a neighbor with 6 kids at home. All of those kids share 2 bedrooms. I had an audience. I had to go outside and rotate GO-4 and get it back on solid ground.
With my head down low, and preverbal tail between my legs, I donned my winter gear and headed out. There was GO-4, resting peacefully. The headlights almost giving me a warm smile face. Thankfully it was in the mid 20's, which in Wisconsin isn't bad at all! I only had a light jacket on. With a little muscle, I got GO-4 going. Now that I was next to it, I could easily walk it out. Which I did.
So you're thinking, this is the end right? No. GO-4 was snow covered. The dock was covered. GO-4 tried with all its might to dock, but after 3 attempts, it couldn't do it. But you know what? GO-4 earned a night in the heated garage and a wall outlet. That'll do GO-4, that'll do.
