Dumb question from newbie -- could I make it through mud like this?

[Dan Lee]

Last year, I bought a 2008 LX with 20" Cooper Discovery HT+ tires. I have no experience driving off pavement except for the few times I drove on trails (dry / summer) just to get my feet wet. It's my first truck / SUV.

I was driving lakeside on dry loose on hardpack when I came across a section that looked like this. I didn't bring any recovery gear with me and nobody else was really around. So, I played it safe and drove around the mud. But I am curious if I could have made it through something like this.

Is this something I could drive through easily with my tires? Or is something a little more aggressively tread indicated? I wanted to try it but was worried I'd get stuck with no one around to help. Looks like wheels can get pretty deep into the mud.

 

[Markuson]

Impossible to definitively say with just a visual.

That mud could sink 3 inches...or 3 feet & prior tread marks could be new or old.

Things are NOT always as they appear. Ask how I know.

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

Enough momentum and you can cross a 10' deep pond

 

[Sandroad]

You were wise to go around, given you were alone and had no recovery capability. Live to fight another day.

You can often tell a lot by how deep the previous tracks are, if they are recent. In this case, I agree with @Markuson that's it was hard to tell without seeing things more closely. Aggressive tread may not help in sticky mud anyway, because the tread voids fill up and make a smooth tire. What you showed in the pic can be worst case, so I'd leave it to the mud-boggers and drive around. Save you a mess at the car wash too.

 

[Willy beamin]

I made that mistake last December. Sank up to my rear bumper in what “looked” like a little mud
Puddle

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

If you cant walk it you cant drive it.

 

[Dan Lee]

Thanks guys. Yea, was hoping for some sort of rule of thumb like "can't walk it, can't drive it" and other such stuff. I thought it might be difficult to judge by pic but it's all I could do. To me, it actually looked worse than the pic.

And I guess that's good advice above -- play it safe if I have no recovery contingencies. But I would like to perhaps try it if I had some recovery help available. Good to know my limits and also perhaps build some skills in case I came across something like this where there are no other options but to get through it (about the only thing I could do then perhaps is get all my recovery gear out and ready for someone to help me when I get stuck).

Willy - those pics are valuable. The trail didn't look like anything concerning to think it led to getting stuck up to your bumper. The little patch is deceptively treacherous.

In any case, I'm glad I drove around that section of mud now. I'll keep my man card for now.

 

[Markuson]

Further illustration:

This spot looked completely flat/dry.

But just underneath a dry crust on top? Hopeless, impassable PUDDING.
Even in the photo here it looks dry...but it was sticky goo that immediately filled treads.
Dirt can be incredibly misleading.

Judging by this photo...you'd think it's mostly dry:

But...
One of my wheels was literally entombed. You can see my finger marks where I started to scrape it out.

Insane stuff.

 

[mcgaskins]

Isn’t the name of this website ih8mud?? There’s a good reason for that! It sucks! It can be incredibly deceiving and there’s no way we can say from a picture what’s safe or not, and like you can gather from our comments we couldn’t tell you for sure even if we were there in person!

Here’s a couple pics of some nasty looking stuff I idled through last year. There were a bunch of logs at the bottom of it that made traction no problem, but it could have been a really bad stuck situation. Interestingly a 100 directly behind me snapped a CV at this very spot, so it’s a YMMV kinda deal.

This next pit however was a different story. Everyone got stuck except the one guy who was willing to put his gas pedal through the floorboard

 

[Mutant]

Just go for it. Best way to learn.
You will remember next time.

 

[Markuson]

Just go for it. Best way to learn.
You will remember next time.

I dunno... More like best way to ruin your trip...or in some cases even ruin your truck.

Ask @kreiten 's bro about the "puddle" in Moab that ended up submerging/filling his 100 with stanky mud-water.

Learn from the mistakes of OTHERS where you can.

 

[mcgaskins]

Just go for it. Best way to learn.
You will remember next time.

A long time I was wheeling with a buddy in his ultra clean built 3rd gen and we were in a situation where the truck was off camber dangerously close to flopping on its side. It required a delicate touch to get out of there, and some old hippy hiker dude came out of nowhere and yelled “JUST GUN IT BRO YOU GOT NOTHING TO LOSE MAN!!”. Right - except the entire driver side of the 4runner

 

[Dan Lee]

Great pics guys - it really helps! The ground doesn't really look all that bad in the pics. In my inexperience, I might have attempted those crossings without much thought. But knowing that it was still challenging despite your having more capable configurations and also experienced skill sets will make me extra cautious and wary of muddy sections especially when no recovery help is available. I'm doubly glad I didn't test the mud.

 

[mooneywa]

I'd rather be at home, wishing I was on the trail than stuck on the trail wishing I was at home.

 

[Mutant]

I dunno... More like best way to ruin your trip...or in some cases even ruin your truck.

Ask @kreiten 's bro about the "puddle" in Moab that ended up submerging/filling his 100 with stanky mud-water.

Learn from the mistakes of OTHERS where you can.

Like I said, he will will remember next time

 

[Mutant]

Seriously though, I don't think a 200 LC is the best learning vehicle for a newbie offroad. Your expectations will be unrealistic when you offroad a different vehicle later. Ideally, get a beater truck and learn all of the hard lessons in it. When you tear up something it won't break the bank.

 

[NMNORSSE]

The best way past an obstacle is to avoid it entirely if you can.

The only thing I can tell from that picture is that 1) if I had followed those tracks my truck would get muddy; and 2) there was a way to get to the other side by driving further from the edge of the water that probably would have avoided the mud.

Cleaning mud from rims and undercarriages takes work. It might be fun to drive through, but if you have to lock up your truck and hike back through it to where you get enough cellphone signal to call for a $300+ tow truck, it won't seem worth it.

You made the wisest decision possible. Someday you won't have a choice and you'll get an idea of what your rig can do in mud. Hopefully you'll have friends nearby with a winch or tow strap, just in case...

 

[Dan Higgins]

I got stuck in my previous vehicle, a Land Rover LR4, because the snow "didn't look that bad". Different scenario, same wisdom. If you don't know what's underneath then don't go. Testing snow depth, being sure what is under the surface of a stream crossing, knowing whether the surface will hold up or whatever. I just decided to go for it. I didn't have recovery gear. I didn't have anything but a little army shovel. If it weren't for a couple of adventure motorcyclists that came up the road and were bigger, stronger and half our age we would have been there over night. As it was it took 3 hours to dig a trough, get it off the compacted ice and get out. (I went out the next day and bought a Hi-Lift and ordered a couple of MaxTrax. But the more important lesson is to not go if you don't know.)

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

I got stuck in my previous vehicle, a Land Rover LR4, because the snow "didn't look that bad". Different scenario, same wisdom. If you don't know what's underneath then don't go. Testing snow depth, being sure what is under the surface of a stream crossing, knowing whether the surface will hold up or whatever. I just decided to go for it. I didn't have recovery gear. I didn't have anything but a little army shovel. If it weren't for a couple of adventure motorcyclists that came up the road and were bigger, stronger and half our age we would have been there over night. As it was it took 3 hours to dig a trough, get it off the compacted ice and get out. (I went out the next day and bought a Hi-Lift and ordered a couple of MaxTrax. But the more important lesson is to not go if you don't know.)

View attachment 1675682

View attachment 1675688

View attachment 1675689

It a Land Rover so getting stuck is expected be glad its was still running

 

[mcgaskins]

I got stuck in my previous vehicle, a Land Rover LR4, because the snow "didn't look that bad". Different scenario, same wisdom. If you don't know what's underneath then don't go. Testing snow depth, being sure what is under the surface of a stream crossing, knowing whether the surface will hold up or whatever. I just decided to go for it. I didn't have recovery gear. I didn't have anything but a little army shovel. If it weren't for a couple of adventure motorcyclists that came up the road and were bigger, stronger and half our age we would have been there over night. As it was it took 3 hours to dig a trough, get it off the compacted ice and get out. (I went out the next day and bought a Hi-Lift and ordered a couple of MaxTrax. But the more important lesson is to not go if you don't know.)

View attachment 1675682

View attachment 1675688

View attachment 1675689

Lot of lessons here, but I just want to point out that ADV riders are some of the most bad a$$ people you will meet on the trail. Usually they're super cool and willing to lend a hand even though they're the most exposed and have the least capacity to carry things like spare tools and parts. I was riding my CRF250X on Steel Bender in Moab a couple years ago solo at dusk (bad idea), and when I went to turn around before it got too dark I realized I was missing my GoPro that was clamped onto the rear fender. My wife had just given it to me a couple weeks prior for my birthday and I had absolutely no idea where it had gone missing since the trail had been extremely bumpy. Out of the blue a crew of 2 guys and 1 girl on big KTMs came flying up the trail from the opposite direction and stopped to chat. I told them I just lost my GoPro and they immediately took off riding far faster than I could, and about 10 minutes later one of them met me on the trail again with my GoPro in hand. He just said "here you go bro ride safe!". I tried inviting them out to dinner, drinks, whatever to say thanks, but they weren't having any of it. I know there are plenty of squids out there, but by and large bikers are some of the best people on the roads and trails.