Mud Tracks

Take Heed

Here we're not talking about water-filled bogs, but length of tracks that can vary from very slippery surfaces, to real mongrels where the wheels sink down to near (or up to) the differentials.

Caution is best.  If in doubt, get out and walk along the side of the track.

Test the track with a nearby stick and walk across it, in bare feet if necessary.  If the mud is that gooey, thick stuff, then get out your shovel and dig an exploratory hole to test the depth down to the harder underlying surface.  However, remember that you weigh a bit less than your vehicle - these initial inspections are just that, an initial inspection.

Look for signs that previous vehicles have got into trouble - cable winch marks on trees, etc.

At this time, put yourself in the frame of mind - what will I do if I get bogged?  Can you see a tree that you will use for winching?  Will you need to criss-cross the track to avoid bad parts?  If the track is long, you may need to look at a few likely winching trees.  Plan ahead.  It's no use getting bogged and then looking for a suitable winching point only to find that you don't have enough cable to reach it.

Look for a way through where you can have one set of wheels on "dry land" and only other set in the goo.

Proceeding Onward

If the track consists of water and/or watery goo, then it may be a good idea to put a tarp over the front, as for river crossings, to stop the muck from going into the radiator.  It will be hard to get the stuff out and once it dries it won't do the radiator any good and the radiator water temperature will quickly rise.

If there are defined wheel tracks, you'll have to make a decision whether to drive along the wheel ruts or on the ridges.  It will depend on what the surface of the wheel ruts is like - maybe the ground is harder in the ruts than driving along the softer, gooey ridges.  Then again, the opposite may be true.

If the wheel ruts are deep, take care that you don't bottom out and wedge your differentials on the mud ridges.

To aid traction, slight movements of the steering wheel backwards and forwards will help the tyres "bite" into the mud.  Don't overdo it - you still want to head in a more-or-less straight line, not zig-zag.  For example, if your hands were at the 12 o'clock position on the steering wheel, then you'd move the steering wheel to & fro between the 3 o'clock and 9 o'clock positions.

Deflating the tyres will give you more surface area to bite into the mud and ride on top rather than sink.  20-25 PSI should be sufficient.

If the vehicle weight concerns you, have only the driver in the vehicle, and if possible remove some heavy objects.  It may be better to walk around a bad section carrying some gear, than have to dig your vehicle out.

Extracting Your Vehicle

Okay, so your travels have been curtailed along a muddy track.

Don't start wheel-spinning.  Once you realise your bogged, stop the vehicle.

Try to reverse.  The ground will have been compacted by your own vehicle, so that exit will be the easiest.  If the wheels start spinning, then maybe the easiest thing to do is aid in the reversal procedure, rather than again try to move forward.  As I said, you came from that way, so you know you can make it.  If need be and sensible (not too muddy), get the shovel out and try to lay some dryer earth under the wheels and back along the track for a short distance just to to give you momentum to reverse.   As I said, let's be sensible - if the track is gooey mud then these measure will be fruitless and will only frustrate you.  Maybe a few small leafy branches under the wheels will help - but don't overdo it, we're not here to clear the land or destroy nature.

The recovery technique depends on the track condition and length.  If you're bogged in a small section, then all you need to do is to get yourself out of that section and then you should be fine.  However, if there is more of the same track conditions ahead of you, then most probably once you get out of your current predicament there is a good chance you'll get bogged ahead, so a tow from another vehicle is required.

For a small section, you need to get traction again.  Maybe you need to place something under the wheels - small branches, for example.  Maybe you'll need to jack up the vehicle and dig away the mud and replace it with harder material.  The use of a hi-lift jack to move the vehicle sideways may be required.

For longer sections of unusable track, you will have to either winch yourself out or get a tow.  The tow can be a standard tow or a snatch recovery.  The snatch recovery is favoured as it puts less strain on the towing vehicle, it is favoured on slippery conditions as the towing vehicle does not have to fight for its own traction at the same time as starting the tow, and it's the best method when one vehicle is bogged and has more of the same track conditions ahead of it.

If you're bogged and can't do a tow or snatch recovery, and there are no suitable winching points (or you can't reach them), what do you do?  You have to make your own winching point.