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[stcyr]

Hi. I'm afraid I'm asking for tips as opposed to offering them for the moment.
Wondering: what do you all use to extricate your vehicle from a 'sticky' situation, along the lines of bases cut out of bread crates and suchlike???

 

[Wildman]

to get out of mud a simple guide.
1) don't park on mud
2) if you have to get a rear wheel drive and have a set of town and country tyres
3)should you have made the unfortunate mistake of buying a frontwheel drive make sure you park on breadtray bases or something similar.
4) ensure before commiting to park there is someone else around with a landrover or tractor failing that snowchains would give you grip and destroy the field.
5) Ensure you have a tow hook on the front of the vehicle.
6) goto 1.
Good luck

 

[slobadoberbob]

As Roger will remember at Shepton

As Roger will remember from Shepton, one of out campers..Gary and Barb managed to bog down 16 tons of Holiday Rambler RV.. it was pulled out using the rear hitch (Americans normally have Reece towbars at the rear) .. it was pulled out by Bill (Landylover) using his Land Rover.. with his windh and a ground anchor as in a tree... this got the RV free, but it still needed after the weekend to move forward (few RV's have a front towing point on A class due to the front skirt).. The air was dumped in the suspension, jacking pads and mus mats got the RV rolling.. 20 on lookers.

For those that know Bill, he often has his Land Rover (he hauls an fifth wheel unit with it) available to help others that have got them self stuck in the mud.

But as Roger has said.. best way not to get stuck is to use common sense and check where you intend to park.. use mud mats if you have them under the drive wheels.

Bob

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[pappajohn]

if on a sloping pitch and the ground looks like it may turn 'sticky' then try to park facing downhill towards firm ground.
a lot easier setting off downhill.

if on level ground, try to face the firm ground/road.....a shorter distance for the drive wheels to go when you do find traction

forget the grip-mat type aids.....unless well pegged down they travel a long way and can cause serious injury when the wheels start to spin and throw them from under the wheels.

cant beat bread trays :thumb:

 

[slobadoberbob]

I cannot work out how the new ladder type will work

if on a sloping pitch and the ground looks like it may turn 'sticky' then try to park facing downhill towards firm ground.
a lot easier setting off downhill.

if on level ground, try to face the firm ground/road.....a shorter distance for the drive wheels to go when you do find traction

forget the grip-mat type aids.....unless well pegged down they travel a long way and can cause serious injury when the wheels start to spin and throw them from under the wheels.

cant beat bread trays :thumb:

Having seen the new rope type ladder mats at various shows for arounf the £40 mark I was wondering how they can work.. seems they have to be pegged down so they get dragged under the tyre? I can see how it will work on front wheel drive, but have my doubts on rear wheel as you would need to find a way to peg them down between the wheel base.

I have a couple of commerical rubber type gripper mats.. but so far i have managed to park in such a way that mud is not an issue.. when you have to use a wheelchair, you do think about the issues if you get stuck in mud.. mid you I wish someone would make snow chains for a wheelchair.... I know they do for the power type but not the push type I use on a site normally.

Bob

 

[stcyr]

All great tips - so far we've always got out of awkward situations under our own steam, touch wood. We're not actually in the habit of getting stuck if at all avoidable - - but we just acquired a transit van (not as a camper, we've got a Dethleffs) and it's parked by us in the field we've been camped on for the last few months. It's been persisting down for the last week or two and the transit refused to make any forward progress without 'destroying the field'. As the trip wasn't important I couldn't be bothered to go looking for mats/planks/crates etc. so went back in and opened a bottle
Been looking at all the plastic mudmats etc available commercially but they all seem flimsy/expensive/short etc. Stray bread-trays or generous bakers are thin on the ground round here so I am seeking ideas for substitutes! (Substitutes for the mudmats that is, not for the bakers)

:thumb:

As a matter of interest has anyone tried those fabric 'snowchains'? Thinking about the winter now ...
The commercial rubber matting sounds good, slobadoberbob.

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[JeanLuc]

First, try and keep out of mud; second, choose a rear-wheel drive motorhome if possible; third use a higher gear not first (if automatic, use a very light right foot); fourth switch off ASR as it will cut the engine power as soon as a wheel spins and you'll get nowhere.
If you have a front-wheel drive van, it may be easier to reverse up wet grassy slopes as that throws most weight onto the driven wheels.
I use sand / bridging ladders from this supplier:
http://www.duratread.co.uk/sand_bridging_ladders.html
Bread tray bottoms are fine but strictly speaking they remain the property of the bakery and are marked as such. I am told they occasionally mount industry-wide searches and prosecute 'theft' so I played safe.

 

[Reallyretired]

I have a set of these

http://www.griptrack.co.uk/grip-track.html

I've never had to use them but are advertised as being good. I have rear wheel drive (Mercedes) but the majority of eurovans use the Fiat base. I have had several and they slip on wet grass never mind mud. Best always try to face down any slope there may be, and once you've got moving, stop for nothing till you're on a firm surface.
The plastic grip mats are pretty useless and as someone has already mentioned can be dangerous.

 

[Snowbird]

Look closely just below the front bumper and you will see a towing eye.
Reese hitch at the rear and a tirfor and you can get out of anywere.

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[stcyr]

Thanks for the links!
I agree about the rear-wheel drive thing; we had a 1986 Merc 608 until recently and she'd go ANYWHERE. In the Dethleffs (yes, front-wheel drive, Fiat) things can be less certain but we still got out of Glastonbury this year with no probs. The LWB transit is hopeless on flat soggy grass though. Probably it'll cope better with some weight in the back...

We've been trying to think of something like bread trays, light/strong etc., but without the prosecution element!

:thumb:

 

[stcyr]

Look closely just below the front bumper and you will see a towing eye.
Reese hitch at the rear and a tirfor and you can get out of anywere.

Indeedy, been looking at winches recently. Used to have a massive old Tirfor that my father used to use to hoist his caravan up a steep drive with years ago. Would be a bit weighty for the Dethleffs which only has limited carrying capacity - the old 608 would cope with anything you put in it, even a cubic metre of oak logs we took up to Derbyshire for son's woodburner, and still be well within its max weight. :Sad:

The griptrack and duratread products look good!

 

[Landy lover]

As already said far better to ensure you are not in the mud in the first place but often that is easier said than done - winches are usefull things but you have to have a fixing point on the vehicle and a convenient tree or fixed point to hook up to to self recover and don't know what it is about life but a tree never seems to grow in the right place!!

As said I have a Land Rover - they are made for the job but when you look at the weight involved with my winch and special bumper heavy duty double batteries and all the other bits needed in total is about 250 kilo - there are lighter winches but lighter generally equals less capability and if you are stuck then there is a lot of drag. Below are two links to usefull mud mats which should help and get you out of all but the most serious situations. Dont forget the more you try and carry the more of your payload is taken up.


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OR

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[pappajohn]

with a little patience and a lot of work you can make anything drive off mud !!!!

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[Popeye]

I've never had too much of a problem with it...........

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[yodeli]

Sorry if I put my word as i don't have a motorhome:Blush: but there is something i don't get .... "don't park on mud" .... I have quite a big garden in front of my house and the soil is very very hard... you can park on it no problem..... except IF there is one of these big storms! Then within an hour, the garden changes into a lake. So i would think that any place looking safe could really turn into a nightmare during the night without you knowing it , just normal rain all night and .... you'll be stuck in mudoh:


Amicalement

Frankie

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[dave newell]

On the one and only occasion we got bogged in with our old Highwayman I pushed gripmats as tight under the front wheels as possible then deflated the front tyres and simply drove out. It had been bogged in soft mud up to the wheel rims for three days.
I've used the same procedure to drive FWDs in deep snow, on one occasion passing five 4x4s that were stuck going uphill.

D.

 

[Wildman]

Sorry if I put my word as i don't have a motorhome:Blush: but there is something i don't get .... "don't park on mud"

Amicalement

Frankie

it was a joke you ffff

 

[Jim]

I think there is a bit of Rear Wheel Drive snobbery among some motorhomers Because of the way motorhomes are loaded, often with a very large proportion of the weight on the rear wheels, RWD vans do handle better on wet grass and light mud. Given a lot of mud RWD will get as stuck as any other FWD vehicle. With little weight on the front wheels even the slightest gradient and a bit of wet grass can have FWD vehicles spinning, its just a matter of knowing what your vehicle can handle and giving it a little thought before you park up.

Any vehicle can get stuck. One vehicle that gets stuck more than any other is the 4WD Landrover, it gets stuck because it drives in conditions where getting stuck is highly probable, but there is no shame in having a tow out I have recovered a couple of motorhomes in my Landrover and funnily enough they were both RWD.

Lots of people panic when stuck then make the same silly mistake over and over. Too low a gear and then spin and dig a hole. The biggest tip I can give is If your wheels are spinning in a motorhome :shout:STOP, once they are spinning, to continue just makes things worse and everyone gets splattered. Try reversing out, changing direction or getting something under the wheels for a bit of traction, just don't keep revving!!

I know people that are paranoid about getting stuck, they would rather stay at home bored than go out and risk it. They think a tow would damage their motorhome. Don't worry about it, it happens rarely and no one who ever got stuck is still there! Every euro motorhome tows easily and I've even seen them recovered with a small quad bike.

A bread crate and common sense works wonders and mostly that's all you'll ever need:thumb:

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[grumps147]

Having seen the new rope type ladder mats at various shows for arounf the £40 mark I was wondering how they can work.. seems they have to be pegged down so they get dragged under the tyre? I can see how it will work on front wheel drive, but have my doubts on rear wheel as you would need to find a way to peg them down between the wheel base.

I have a couple of commerical rubber type gripper mats.. but so far i have managed to park in such a way that mud is not an issue.. when you have to use a wheelchair, you do think about the issues if you get stuck in mud.. mid you I wish someone would make snow chains for a wheelchair.... I know they do for the power type but not the push type I use on a site normally.

Bob

Bob,

I know there were always a lot of wheel chair users before we had the recent conflicts, but sadly as we are now getting even more perhaps this will justify someone investing in some research and trial production.

Sounds like the kind of thing a university student might want to do as their project in materials/technology courses - I wonder??

I bet you are not the only one wanting this.

I hope something comes along soon.

 

[slobadoberbob]

Coconut matting is as bad

Bob,

I know there were always a lot of wheel chair users before we had the recent conflicts, but sadly as we are now getting even more perhaps this will justify someone investing in some research and trial production.

Sounds like the kind of thing a university student might want to do as their project in materials/technology courses - I wonder??

I bet you are not the only one wanting this.

I hope something comes along soon.

Just as an a side to the mud issue and running on a bit with wheelchairs getting stuck in mud.. snow and mud are not the only bad things.. even worse is a coconut mat often in side doorways.. that is like driving in to quicksnand .. pure hell.

Perhaps it is because I know I will be faced with a massive issue if I did get stuck.. Bill is not always there to shout to for help... so I have to think and that is what I feel a lot of motorhome or RV owners do not do before they park up... you do not see many drivers or co-pilots get out and inspect the ground before the motorhome or RV drives on.

While motorhomes may be not as heavy RV's can be anywhere from 4 tons to 20 tons and they do sink in mud or churn the grass up. The owners / drivers may have had to take an HGV or a licence to suitable, but I doubt any had training in getting on or off grass and mud? Not a requirement of an HVG test I am sure.

I sat at Shepton earlier this year and watched as many European and RV's arrived and parked up. Did not see one inspect the ground and a lot had a problem when it was time to go home.

Some will recall my concerns over being in the show ring at Lincoln last year.. I worried about that. often people would say not to do so.. in fact Jim's words were no one was there a year later from being stuck in the mud. But I was very pleased to see on arrival at Lincoln we were on good hard ground.

It is a factor all drivers need to think about, and not to have to rely on good 'Old Bill'

Bob

 

[philk]

Mud

A rear wheel drive vehicle gets weight transferred backwards on its driving wheels when accelerating, but we are talking about being in mud not racing away from lights.

I recently went to Renault uk where they were showing us the new vans. Their drivers took fwd and rwd through mud with no preference. Engines sit forward of the front wheels and the fuel tank is there too plus two seats and peeps

An off road course teaches you to fool your diff by braking with one foot as you release your clutch, both wheels will then drive. Not all vehicles will do this even with asr and esp off, but many will.

Philk

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[dave newell]

RWD is certainly not immune to traction issues, especially in mud. Our present motorhome is a 4200kg Iveco Turbo Daily ( actual on road weight of around 3300kgs) and we tow a 4 wheel box trailer at around 1150kgs so close to 4.5 tonnes total outfit weight. At the Cheshire show this year we opted to wait till Monday morning before heading home. The field was a complete bog, in places mud was a foot or more deep. We were at the lower end of the field and facing downhill when the exit was uphill. I scouted out a route giving us as wide a circle as possible to turn round then traversed the incline diagonally, once inline with the exit I bunged it in third and gave it big licks. We managed to get off the field in a huge shower of soft and sticky stuff but we made it.....just!

The important element is experience I think, I learned to drive on farm fields at the age of ten so low grip situations don't really bother me. You need to be able to assess any given situation and have contingency plans, always.

If we had got stuck at Cheshire I am confident we could have got ourselves out by deflating the four rear tyres, it just takes time to re-inflate them.

D.

 

[Xabia]

I carry a set of Jeko snowbelts. Very light as they are basically plastic straps and they will get you out of mud, snow or sand. They won't damage your tyres either.:thumb::thumb:

 

[littlehouse]

mud

Ask Cheynne UPMARKETHIPPY he had just the thing came in handy at Whitby:thumb::thumb:

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[scally]

I have a tow hitch front and back and an electric winch in me locker, plus I park on mats (if I remember )
neverbeen stuck yet ( bet I do now tho)

 

[jonandshell]

Always carry a box of beer. It's guaranteed to get you out of the mud.............






-Just give it to a passing tractor driver!

 

[motorhomelover]

Link Removed

these are cheaper and do the same job £55 is a lot of money
less than £20 for these :thumb:

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[stcyr]

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these are cheaper and do the same job £55 is a lot of money
less than £20 for these :thumb:

Yes, saw these, look good, light and pack up small. :thumb:

 

[pappajohn]

One vehicle that gets stuck more than any other is the 4WD Landrover, it gets stuck because it drives in conditions where getting stuck is highly probable, but there is no shame in having a tow out
I've even seen them recovered with a small quad bike.

Agreed Jim, of course quad bikes are excellent off road and the torque is usually very high for a small engine.

my 1000kg jeep was stuck here overnight, it could not get out of this hole due to the almost sheer climb out and no weight on the N/S rear wheel to reverse out and as you can see....not a tree in sight to winch off.

lesson learnt... don't go off roading alone oh:

got a workmate to bring his farm quad.....10 mins it was out.

 

[yorkieman]

forget the grip-mat type aids.....unless well pegged down they travel a long way and can cause serious injury when the wheels start to spin and throw them from under the wheels.

cant beat bread trays :thumb:

Yes, I found that today. When the wheels were spinning it took the grip-mats straight through the mud and flung them out under the front of the van. It could have been dangerous.

That said, I reckon they're very useful for putting under the wheels just in case it later gets muddy as at least they might help you to get enough traction to get moving.

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