Driving in heavy mud?

Pretend you are a logger and throw on some chains. You can leave them at the end of the driveway for the trip back in... LOL

 

You didn't get stuck if you got out.

On the other hand...
Back in high school me and a friend were looking for makeout spots.
Not for us, but for each of us with our girlfriends - so don't get it wrong.
This was down around Half Moon Bay in CA. There abouts.
This was back in 1973, by the way. (you'll need that info later, for the car)

We came to a road that had a sign that read 'Dangerous but passable', and we thought - very cool.
Well, it was raining that night so it was a little muddy.
We went down this road, looking for good spots to hide, and in the process got stuck.
The rear wheels just slid down into a little ditch and we couldn't get out.
To top that off, the battery died so I could not even start the car. It might have had something to do with a killer set of lights that I had installed. One million candlepower each, amber spot beams - and you did not want to be high-beaming me in the opposite lane for too long.
I guess I should have upgraded the alternator and battery as well?

So we walked through the mud down to the nearest town, about 4 miles away, to obtain help.
We called 3 tow truck companies, and they just laugh at us. Their trucks can't do that road in these conditions.

As we were 'pondering' our situation a few cars pull in.
Fancy cars like a BMW's and such. One was a Range Rover.
They see us, and our mud caked lower halves, and ask what happened to us? We tell them.
They get a good laugh, but they happen to be coming to the aid of another friend who also got stuck in the mud.
We are offered the deal of helping out with their rescue, and in return they would help us.
Sure thing, let's go.

So we travel to where their friend is some miles away.
It was hard to believe the scene, especially after we saw the end.
We get to a little dirt, well mud now, road with tire tracks leading in.
The tracks are going from one side to the other and back and forth for perhaps 200 yards along a twisty road.
They had to be 6 or 7 inches deep.
This person was really trying to get up that road!

Then we see the vehicle.
It is a little 2 seater.
A Lotus Élan.
For those that don't know it, look it up.
A very small, and very expensive, sports car.

All of these people were the kids of the rich and famous (well, maybe famous), and they all had fancy cars to play with.

Well, even the Rover couldn't help in this situation.
They picked the kid up, and then brought us back to my car.
By then the battery had recovered enough that I got it started and pulled myself out.
But not before someone had stolen those killer lights I had installed.

That particular place came to be known as DbutP, and provided one or two make out spots that were safe from prying eyes... most of the time... on dryer days.



Yes, I had some fun and interesting times in high school.

 

As long as you keep the wheels moving, feathering a light throttle
you can get through some mud. Its not an atv so don't hammer through it. Don't let the wheels cake up. And don't stop!

Also, when your done playing. Wash the mud off the under carriage as it holds in moisture causing rust and wearing away at the elctrical system. Don't be a hillbilly and leave your truck sit with mud for a year because its the "in" thing. Get her clean and dry.

 

Short of tying stakes to the wheels and using chains I wouldn't bother. I'd get my other truck and go muddin'. Also sand is far worse. Not unlike driving in 2+ feet of snow. Just keep straight don't ever turn sharp... only because this causes a severe dig in that rocking might not be able to help get unstuck. Oh, the stories I could tell... The mud and sand is deceptive as what felt hard and solid a second ago can suddenly have a sink that bogs down the drives too far but it sure did look flat a second ago!

 

I have put a truck in first gotten out and used a shovel to clear off the mud in front of the tires.

 

Sounds like you did it right. I always try to get as little tire spin as possible. In some situations you just have to hit it hard (if you'll be unloaded coming out) and pray for the best. Other times there'll be a few inches of mud with a solid layer underneath. I had one like this and then my truck just sank. So I asked to contractor and he said "oh yeah they dug a big hole there and backfilled it" whybhe didn't say anything while he was spotting me backing in, after I told him I was probably going to get stuck, I will never know.

 

Glad you clarified that, I was starting to worry lol.

 

If you're getting bogged down and you start getting "the hop" that's pretty much it. Unless you're only a couple feet from solid road I'd call it quits. That "hop" is responsible for snapped axle shafts, blown diffs and dropped driveshafts. With really heavy mud on hills and such, its sometimes its better to just get something hooked on to the front before you even start. An extra half hour to get someone to give you a pull is cheaper than a dropped driveshaft.