What to carry for if you get stuck in the mud (1 Viewer)

[Jac Sprat]

We are shortly to head off to France for our first big trip in our new moho. We have already had a few wheels spins with the mud on our own drive and wondered what people took with them to free up mud spinning tyres if you happen to encounter it. Clearly we won't be choosing to camp in a soggy field but it could happen anyway. Any tips?

 

[DBK]

Attach the pooch to the front of the van and throw a ball as you let out your crutch....works every time! !

He's considering that suggestion.

Taken a moment ago.

 

[TheBig1]

Attach the pooch to the front of the van and throw a ball as you let out your crutch....works every time! !

so the dog is scared of your "crutch" then

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[Old Soldier]

so the dog is scared of your "crutch" then

OOOPS. !! Bloomin smell checker!

 

[Old Soldier]

He's considering that suggestion.

Taken a moment ago.

View attachment 96431

I guess that's a "No" then!!

 

[DBK]

so the dog is scared of your "crutch" then

Being a typical male dog he has a great interest in them. How Scotsmen with kilts cope I have no idea!

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[JockandRita]

How Scotsmen with kilts cope I have no idea!

It's the swing of the hefty "bone like phallus" which puts the dogs off even attempting to have a go.

Cheers,

Jock.

 

[sdc77]

Another way to help prevent getting stuck is at your next tyre change fit all season or winter tyres. They provide much more grip on mud.

 

[Chockswahay]

Hi @Jacksprat I notice you have been asking a lot of valid questions recently and hopefully received the help you were looking for.

Can I just add that you may never feel quite 'ready' for the trip, however take comfort that once underway many of these issues will simply fade away.

Enjoy your trip and do not worry. If you wait until you feel completely ready you may never get away in time

Have fun (we did, and we were new to it all 3 years ago)

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[Jac Sprat]

Thanks yes we feel ok about heading off. We already did one week which went fine. It's the crossing over to Ftance which feels like the next level ! This forum has been so helpful. Thanks for the reassurance.

 

[bubble63]

a cheap pair of snow chains!!!

 

[Minxy]

Streetwize Twin Traction Tracks for Snow Sand and Mud £25 Amazon

I don't think they'd last long with the weight of a MH on them.

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[unimog]

I always carry a rope and shackles or ratchet strap in all my vehicles, something at least 6 meters long . Over the years I have helped several people out of trouble .Nothing worse than being in a position to offer help and not having the right equipment to hand .
Also have a good look around your vehicle and see where it is practical to attach a tow rope both front and rear without doing any damage .

 

[Jabberwocky]

A light right foot helps as well, use the torque of the engine not speed of the wheels, a Diesel engine on tickover still produces enough torque to get you out of a sticky situation. Lowering the tyre pressures helps as well but you do then need to re inflate them.

 

[bubble63]

I always carry a rope and shackles or ratchet strap in all my vehicles, something at least 6 meters long . Over the years I have helped several people out of trouble .Nothing worse than being in a position to offer help and not having the right equipment to hand .
Also have a good look around your vehicle and see where it is practical to attach a tow rope both front and rear without doing any damage .

Don't you just hate those clever dicks in 4WD's

I got stuck in a field, in a car, towing a loaded car transporter, the Landrover driver couldn't wait to help me out

'Shall I disconnect the trailer?' I asked, tentatively

'No don't bother it will come out as one',

It did........

mmmmmm......... nobody likes a clever dick

[only joking]

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[Jac Sprat]

We may be on our own though! No land rover in sight. March in France might not bring out the cabinets.
Have ordered the sand ladders now so feel better

 

[HymerB544]

I never carry any extra gear and like many if not most Funsters, I have never, in 10 years of motorhoming, got stuck in the mud...though I've seen plenty who have. Best advice is if you MUST go onto grass make sure your exit route back to terra firma is downhill. After the winter we've had, it doesn't take much rain to turn what looks like dry ground into a bog.

 

[sdc77]

We're in France in March and have no concerns at all. You will be fine

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[icantremember]

I have never, in 10 years of motorhoming, got stuck in the mud

You can't have been at Peterborough show in 2012 ( or was it 2013? ) then!

 

[PeteH]

You can't have been at Peterborough show in 2012 ( or was it 2013? ) then!

AND, 2002/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10/11? I cannot remember when Peterborough wasn't wet?

Seriously, the Bread crates are Cheap, sometimes Free if you know where (Nudge! Nudge!). Work well too. I used to put up to 9t of R-V on them for a week at a time, and still move off with a GENTLE right foot and keep it going once moving, "Walk" the ground first., and try to be one of the first through the gate!. Get someone to stop the traffic, and you just keep moving. Recover the Crates later!. another thing I now do is level the Front end (yes I now have a Fiat!) by reversing up the ramps. That seems to help too.

Pete

 

[pigginchilli]

This has worked very well for me on the occasions I have bogged ours down. Frankly nothing is going to help better than this. Make sure you have a good supply of beer in the van.
But why I hear you ask!
Well, when you get stuck, walk around the site and locate someone who owns a Landrover Discovery, or even better a Defender. Ask them nicely if they would mind freeing you up, whilst holding 4 cans of said beer in your hands. Works every time.

The last time we got bogged was on the camping field at the Spa grand prix. We had our breakfast whilst watching many motorhome owners launching anti slip mats and bread trays around the field with their front wheels. The nice gent in the Discovery had us out in a jiffy

What a brilliant reply! We got stuck on new years eve at the station at ribblehead, We only got our van in september and didnt realise it was front wheel drive, I did manage to rock back and forth and after 30 mins managed to get un stuck! what i didnt realise that lots of other motorhomes had been watching it all, lots of the girls commented later in the pub, but no blokes , No idea why?

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[olley]

I second the snow chains.

 

[bigtwin]

a cheap pair of snow chains!!!

I'll second that - used them three times in 5 years; once on snow and twice on grass.

Ian

 

[****]

designed for the job
Broken Link Removed

sandladders £33 inc post for 2

Not a nice looking camp sight that.

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[DanielFord]

Don't you just hate those clever dicks in 4WD's

I got stuck in a field, in a car, towing a loaded car transporter, the Landrover driver couldn't wait to help me out

'Shall I disconnect the trailer?' I asked, tentatively

'No don't bother it will come out as one',

It did........

mmmmmm......... nobody likes a clever dick

[only joking]

The pulling power of the Defender is unbelievable! I have watched one pull an HGV up an icy slope when we had the heavy snow a few years back.
Also, at the Spa GP where we got stuck, we watch someone in a Mitsubishi pickup 4x4 try to rescue a stranded motorhome, it failed spectacularly. The motorhome was eventually rescued by the same chap who rescued us in his Disco, pulled him out, and it made it look effortless, no wheel spins at all!!

 

[TheBig1]

Not a nice looking camp sight that.

I have seen worse over the years at regional rallies and some campsites

a while back i had a clutch fail on my motorhome on a bank holiday weekend. the rac towed me to billing aquadrome and dumped me on the only available grass pitch. come Monday morning the garage sent a large wrecker to fetch the van. he had one hell of a job extracting us from some very sticky mud

 

[DuncanH]

The pulling power of the Defender is unbelievable! I have watched one pull an HGV up an icy slope when we had the heavy snow a few years back.
Also, at the Spa GP where we got stuck, we watch someone in a Mitsubishi pickup 4x4 try to rescue a stranded motorhome, it failed spectacularly. The motorhome was eventually rescued by the same chap who rescued us in his Disco, pulled him out, and it made it look effortless, no wheel spins at all!!

Was that at Spa last year ? Was an interesting Monday morning.

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[K9Brian]

If you have a bit of rope and a couple of bits of wood available you could try this.

 

[DavidG58]

one thing for sure, once you have bought the means to escape you will probably no longer need them, I am sure most of these devices are bought by those that have been stuck and learnt the hard way

 

[DanielFord]

Was that at Spa last year ? Was an interesting Monday morning.

No, couple of years ago now. But Monday morning is always amusing

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[HymerB544]

You can't have been at Peterborough show in 2012 ( or was it 2013? ) then!

Icantremember.........being there. Actually I was fibbing. A few years ago, before we moved down to Cornwall I phoned Henry's on the Lizard. It was January and he has always said, if you ring up I will open even if there is no-one else there. I did, he did, and he put us on a pitch halfway down the site, level, but definitely uphill to get off the site. It being Cornwall, it rained. Three days later when I tried to drive off the pitch I couldn't get any traction. He came down with his old trusty Landy, hitched us up and tried several times to pull us off, but ours is a 4 tonne van and it was only after three or four attempts, with me keeping the van in low gear and the engine just turning over that we managed between us. That, I swear, is my only "mud moment". The funniest one I ever saw though was a few years back at a site just north of York. We were pitched on hard-standing around a central grass area. It was very wet. One afternoon a big Autotrail came into the site and to my surprise drove straight into the middle of the grass area, and promptly got stuck. The driver revved the nuts off the engine and only succeeded in digging in, until the front wheels were half under the mud. He jumped out, swore, kicked the bumper and looked around. He was a young lad and explained he had borrowed the van from his father in law and is was his first time out. He knew the water tank was empty, had spotted a tap on the grass and thought it made sense to park next to it! The site owner brought his tractor and with the lad at the van wheel and his mates pushing behind, got free, splattering the pushers in mud in the process. The grass area. Looked like the Somme and probably still bears the scars.