Stuck in the mud

[Heath Bar]

Got to Joshua tree today. Didnt realize the rain had hit so hard here also. I found a free campsite on a dirt road as usual. Got about a mile in and have found myself deep in the mud. The ground is very saturated still leaving puddles in the former tire tracks after the rain hit four or five days ago. Hoping the sun comes out hot and brifht in the morning for an easy dig out. Theres not a lot of material around like branches and rocks. Also it being dark didnt help my motivation to get dug out tonight. I happen to grab an off roading manual from 1975 at the wonderful slab city library. Been sitting in my car reading looking for tips. seems like my plan of attack once the sun comes up to take my hatchet (unfortunately no pack shovel available) and dig the entire car on all sides because all tires are equally sunk. First im going to dig all around the car.Then deflate tires a little bit to create some extra surface area. then i have to find all the material i can to basically build myseld a road outta here. Was initially pissed I didnt give myself enough momentum to get through the sloppy areas. You live and you learn. Sitting in my car now with plenty of supplies and water its actually kind of peaceful not having an option to move without a good plan of attack. Stars still look beautiul and this one sloppy slow down will stop me from taking on other sketchy turrain in the future. Being the dumb ass I am, i didnt come prepared with wood planks or a tow hitch on front to pull my ass out. Pray to the slab gods the sun is fucking bright and hot tomorrow morning! While reading the 1975 manual i cam accross a picture of a land cruiser dug in about as bad as my 4 runner is now. the caption read " the driver came back after 4 days when the area had dried to retirive his vehicle". hahaha great news. I am driving and automatic and think if old betsy here was a manual i could finagal my way outta here. If your ganna make dumb driving decisions at least be prepared to with tools or the will to get dirty and dig. I guess thats the only option. Im going to sleep absolutley covered in mud. No joke i could not lift my feet when walking throufh the slop. Im glad I got stuck in a real swamp spot and didnt just high center like a fool. If anyone has any 4 wheel tips lmk! Really me being stuck came down to not wanting to dig in the dark. SUPER FUN TIMES haha. Gatta love playing in the mud.

 

[Dmac]

I have been in similar situations! You'll get a better handle on it when the sun comes up, good luck! Take a picture or two so we can see.

 

[Heath Bar]

I have been in similar situations! You'll get a better handle on it when the sun comes up, good luck! Take a picture or two so we can see.

ok I will in the morning before i get started and take some progress shots. this place is a cool fucking forum. great to share with like minded peeps

 

[Multifaceted]

this place is a cool fucking forum. great to share with like minded peeps

It's addicting.

 

[todd]

I've had luck with jacking each side up one at a time and putting fill in the holes where the tires were. but if your in the middle of a swampy area then it probably doesn't matter if you can get traction in just one spot.

 

[Tude]

heh I totally feel for ya!!! Hope you are able to get some dry stuff and put under the tires etc.

Ex husband and I had a jeep we built up - mudders, struts, blueprinted motorn (actually went through a few of them), full roll cage (that was used 4 times) and lots of extras - we used to enter it in competitions (why do they refer to women's races in mudding events at that time as "powderpuff" events. Hmmph). Anyway - a good time always was to go mudding after last call. Worst time was 6 vehicles go and get stuck in the early winter in upstate NY - well it WAS mud upon entry and of course we were all shit faced. We all walked up to the front road and got rides, but the next day was a bitch as all the mud froze. hehe expensive fix to get them out.

Oh and no more after last call rides for me.

 

[todd]

tude lets go *muddin* (wink wink)
that was always an excuse to go make out when I was in high school..lol

 

[Grubblin]

What Todd said. I've had better luck jacking all four tires and putting branches, rocks etc underneath them. You'll still have to dig a little but not as much. All this assumes that you aren't bottomed out too badly to get a jack underneath. For what it's worth, after this time, a hi lift jack can be worth its weight in gold.

 

[todd]

hi-lift jacks should be MANDATORY for all expected off road trips. ive even used them to move a large tree by attaching a small tow strap that was blocking a logging road.

 

[ped]

might be time to think about getting a come along and ground anchor

 

[Heath Bar]

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[Heath Bar]

Didnt have much luck digging out. The slop was way to deep and the puddles where definitely going to be sticking around for at least 4-5 days. Ran into some smart guys with a lifted dodge and a winch on the front. Turns out there weren't out there by coincidence. They told me they havent seen rain this hard in years and the ground so saturated. also informed my dumb ass im on a lake bed. I dug all morning and collected as much material as i could. not a lot around. found some heavy concrete pieces that got me rocking back and fourth but only moved me out of my original hole about six inches forward. into another new section of slop. thats this photo. if u can see the back tire it has a nice hole behind it. so as of this point im not goin anywhere till it dries which could be a week. Back two these guys. i didnt notice at first they were working for a tow company so i though i mite get some free help from another off roader. Long story short. I paid 150 for these guys to drag me about a hundred yards to dry sand. seemed like the best option since they were already out there. apparently pulling people out all morning. would have been risky to leave the car and go camp somewhere else with all my shit in there. i guess it was worth it. i think i would have been alright with a small lift , and that hi lift jack would have been useful. also idk if anything would have worked because i had no way to get traction. so idk im out. dug for at least a few hours. it was
all clay. fuck it. at least im out. seems like there wast much i could do without bigger tires and a lift or another person to pull me. cheers.


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[Heath Bar]

I've had luck with jacking each side up one at a time and putting fill in the holes where the tires were. but if your in the middle of a swampy area then it probably doesn't matter if you can get traction in just one spot.

todd your right. i would have been moving two feet an hour but never gaining any traction


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[ped]

http://www.bushwinch.com.au/accessories/the-bush-ground-anchor/

or

http://www.gemplers.com/product/227...2212!&ef_id=VSagyQAABeAMaQzA:20161229032820:s

 

[Tude]

Dam dude - just looking at your pic of like a big ole sloppy acre mess! Glad you are clear now though!!

 

[Grubblin]

That's a rough stuck. The come along pictured works wonders as well and its about 40 dollars cheaper than a 48 inch hi lift. You can jack the truck with a hi lift and you can use it as a come along so I still prefer the hi lift. If you look at the hi lift pic posted you can see the torque on the main bar when it gets that high. You have to really know how to use a hi lift if you get it so that you don't get seriously injured or killed so watch plenty of videos and read up on it. That, hi lift, picture was an extreme example, probably to sell the jack but they can be dangerous. Happy 'wheelin!