Lost the starter on the beach Saturday.

Good Samaritan gave me a rope tow to the blacktop.

Today, the tow truck came, hooked it up, and started dragging it
the mile or two to a repair shop.  Front wheels off the road,
trannie in neutral.

About two hundred yards into the trip, the tow truck starts
bucking like an amusement park ride.

Oops.... Forgot to disengage that 4wd.....

Got the new starter in there, but it was a looooong drive home
listening to the noise the drive train (diff?  Locker?) was
making as the result of that cruel and unusual punishment.

Something in there is obviously toast.  I just hope it isn't too
expensive.

But the whole thing made me think:  driver stupidity aside, what
if one loses an alternator on the beach - instead of a starter -
and the battery gets sucked dry?  

Even if one thinks to disengage the 4wd, it seems like that's not
gonna happen with a dead electrical system and an automatic 4wd
engagement/disengagement system.