Newbie Stuck in the Mud Story / Misconceptions (1 Viewer)

[Thingfisher]

I've had my 2000 LX470 for almost a year now. I've never taken it off road, but it's been great on some of the rough ranch roads I drive on fairly often. Well yesterday I took it "off road" in the sense of driving off pavement onto a completely flat grassy area that I thought could be used for parking at an outdoor event I was going to (all the paved parking spaces were taken). Well, thinking all is invincible in my hundy, I swing off the pavement onto the beautiful St. Augustine turf and arc back around to the driveway. Problem is about 3 feet from the driveway I start sinking in the South Texas gumbo. Due to heavy rainfall in the past week, the ground was really wet and I got stuck. No problem I think, I'll just lock the differential, shift into low, and show everyone else who was starting to get stuck that the hundy was the master of this domain. But it was not to be. Wheels just kept spinning, getting deeper and deeper. I finally gave up and had AAA pull me out. Moral of the story (for me at least) was that just because you have a beast of a vehicle, it doesn't guaranty you can traverse over everything. Since then, I've been reading posts of how to evac from mud and now I know why this forum is called what it is. My story was nothing compared to some of the mud evac stories here. So now I know. Color me enlightened. It doesn't sound like there is a magic driving secret to getting out of mud. You just have to avoid it or have the hi jack lift, winch, boards or other tools.

 

[bucfl]

Lol

When you have no traction you get stuck. I got stuck in front of my dads house. Had been raining all day and grass was really wet. Just kept spinning tires. Stuff happens

 

[sleepycruiser]

I got stuck in my back yard in my 80 trying to show off to my wife and daughter. I had to pull the 80 out with my 100. It was on a wet hill. Oops!!

 

[Flipped Bezel]

It doesn't sound like there is a magic driving secret to getting out of mud. You just have to avoid it

No magic secrets here but there are some time tested tricks out there that can get help you through the wet stuff...you just have to know when to use them. I grew up in "gumbo" country.

Did you bottom out...or try airing down your tires a little once your momentum stopped? Sometimes getting a slightly wider footprint can get you just enough of a toehold to get moving again. Have to be careful not to go too low and get roots/debris stuck in the tire bead. May not help you much once street tires skin over the tread with mud or clay though.

You did good by locking the diff but I've usually had better results in mud with a higher gear than in 1st gear/low range. Wheel speed is the key along with tires that have an open tread block pattern to help clean themselves. Try to keep moving as slow as possible but as fast as necessary to keep your momentum going. When in doubt...REVVV it out!!

Avoid stopping/shifting if possible and start in 2nd if necessary...later model Cruisers have a switch that prevents the tranny shifting down to 1st. This can be really useful if you wheel in loose sand or if lower range gears have been installed in your T-Case. Just use your gear shift lever on 2 if you're not sure.

If you find yourself in deep ruts ground clearance is your best friend. Also try to keep your front wheels as straight as possible. Turning usually slows your momentum and will cause your tires to plow creating wider ruts and root down deeper when spinning at slow or no movement.

about 3 feet from the driveway I start sinking in the South Texas gumbo

Oh and post pics...I know you took some while waiting on your tow to arrive. Lol.

 

[Thingfisher]

Flipped Bezel, I didn't bottom out, and I didn't think to air down the tires. I had just aired them up to 36 that morning (that seems to be my sweet spot for ride comfort/mileage). The tow truck winching me out couldn't get to me straight on, so pulled from an angle. I was being pulled more sideways than forward and had to rev it high to get enough traction to finally make it out. I left some pretty impressive ruts, and threw copious amounts of mud on a number of other vehicles. Sorry I didn't think to take pics...it was not my proudest moment.

 

[Flipped Bezel]

It happens like that sometimes lol. Especially when you least expect problems...

 

[MTKID]

I wonder if something like this would help for how little space it may take up in the vehicle?

https://www.amazon.com/TruckClaws-I...cr_arp_d_product_sims?ie=UTF8#customerReviews

I had a set of the generic max trax and I felt the tire slipped on them too much. Plus they took up so much space (with a RTT taking up the entire roof rack), that I sold them.

I have found the more I build my truck, the more stuck I can get But I have learned how to get myself unstuck with lots of experience stuck in the snow.

 

[Manhattan]

We've all been there. The first time I went 'wheeling, my passenger had recently won a mud bog competition... like had a trophy and everything. He taught me two things (well, it may have been more than two... but I remember two of them)...
1. Go as slow as you can but as fast as you have to. This is for all terrain. For mud, don't use a running start. If you aren't going to make it, why let the momentum get stuck deeper?
2. In mud, saw the front wheels side to side. Not lock to lock - that creates resistance. Just turn 3:00 to 9:00. This uses the shoulders of the tires and shifts the weight of the truck around - a bit of the rocking effect.

But, and it's a big but - don't count on street tires to work in mud. They just don't.

All that said, it sounds like you did the most pragmatic and considerate thing - getting pulled out. There's a chance, after multiple attempts, backing up, sawing the wheel, spinning a lot... you could've "succeeded" in getting out... and succeeded in destroying that beautiful St. Augustine turf.

 

[RND1]

Thanks for sharing. I had a similar experience but in snow. Went off a plowed icy dirt road to turn around in a field that had a 1" ice layer on top and 12" of snow beneath. As soon as I broke through, my KO2's just spun. Aired down all the tires, shoveled out the front end, and put flyash at the back of all 4 tires and reversed my way back to the road.

In your situation, I think the only thing that would have worked was a winch (which you may or may not have) or maxtrax.