Ugh - got stuck in the mud story

[tuffr2]

Interesting my DW asked how well a dually truck would go in the snow. I told her not well.

The next day I go to pick up my bumper pull trailer that is being stored in my neighbors mowed field. Well it is spring and the grass/ground is softer than I like.

Well - to make a long story shorter I was moving fine, right until the time wheels started to spin. I am pulling a 7,000 trailer. I put the truck into 4wheel low. I do not even move 1" as I dig about 2" into the soft turf. I put the truck in reverse. Wheels just spin. Now I am 3" deep in the soft turf now turning to mud.

A friend gets his friend with his backhoe. We hook chains to the truck with the trailer still connected and to the bucket of the backhoe. The backhoe then goes thru a digging motion which pulls the truck and trailer forward about 8' to 10'. We repeat this process 3 times until the truck now covered in mud is on more solid turf.

I was surprised that a backhoe could pull a 9,000lb truck and 7,000lb trailer so easily just by using the bucket.

But when you get stuck in the mud you get mud everywhere once you start driving on the road. I could hear mud hitting the wheel wells...after 2 cleanings I think I have 90% of the mud off the inside rear tires...ugh.

Advantage for SRW, it is easier to clean mud off the rear tires...

[jesilvas]

Guess you don't have mud tires huh?

[caissiel]

Happened to me once.
I felt so ashamed having a GM 4 x4 pulling me out of the mud hole.
I turned out one of my front hub was unlocked.
A 4 x 4 with only 3 wheels traction is worst then 2wd.

[JudyH]

4 wheel drive is 4 wheels stuck, when dealing with mud.

[ChallengerRN]

4 wheel drive allows you to get stuck further from the road.

[Big-Foot]

Having been in a very similar situation, I've felt your pain...

Originally Posted by caissiel

Happened to me once.
I felt so ashamed having a GM 4 x4 pulling me out of the mud hole.
I turned out one of my front hub was unlocked.
A 4 x 4 with only 3 wheels traction is worst then 2wd.

Unless you had some really special limited slip / locking MoJo going on with that front differential, having one hub unlocked meant that even the hub that was locked did you no good as the differential has to have both locked in order to apply any torque..

[Dog Folks]

One absolutely truth of driving a dual rear wheel truck:

If the wheels spin AT ALL, you are stuck.

[tuffr2]

Yep, as soon as the wheels started to spin I was instantly stuck. I was actually surprised at how fast the truck stopped forward motion. There was no warning, just forward motion then no forward motion.

Now I am more worried about camping on BLM land. Sand and dirt can turn to slippery mud with just a little rain.

My truck is a 4 wheel drive but is not the 'off road' version. I think the 'off road' version might have a locking rear diff. But with a trailer not sure even that would pull thru a wet soggy grass area.

[Gordon Dewald]

Your truck looks like mine. I made the error when I ordered mine to keep it with ribbed tires instead of lugs. Well as it turns out my mileage is great, no tire noise on the highway and stuck if someone spits on the road or a snow flake falls in the vicinity.

Next set of tires will be M&S.

[jamesrxx951]

That happened to my sisters husband a few years ago. He had a Ram diesel that he got stuck in the mud in the back yard. They connected the back hoe to it and then that got stuck. So with the back hoe connected to the Ram my sister grabbed her 6.0L F350 and a longer tow strap. Pulled both of them out at the same time. I thought for sure there would have been 3 vehicles stuck.

[Ray,IN]

For mud you must have mud-grip tires, tires labeled M&S are deceiving. When you read the fine print they say they are for a maximum of 3" snow and light mud with a solid bottom/base. This is because that tread is not self-cleaning like true mud-grip tires. BTW, you will not like mud-grip road noise one bit, especially when towing or hauling a heavy load; and you get about 1/2 the mileage from them vs rib tires.

[Gordon Dewald]

Originally Posted by Ray,IN

For mud you must have mud-grip tires, tires labeled M&S are deceiving. When you read the fine print they say they are for a maximum of 3" snow and light mud with a solid bottom/base. This is because that tread is not self-cleaning like true mud-grip tires. BTW, you will not like mud-grip road noise one bit, especially when towing or hauling a heavy load; and you get about 1/2 the mileage from them vs rib tires.

Agree 100%. Should have known when I got stuck in my flat driveway with about 4" of packed snow. Have ribbed tires on a 9,000 lb F450. Drove into the yard from the highway so the tires were warm and parked. Hour later went out to move the truck and the little bit of heat had iced the snow under the tires. Had to work the truck to "get out". It was a humbling day in snowville.

On the bright side the ribbed make better mileage, are quieter and ride smoother than the lug tires. Just fall and spring can be problematic as we snowbird.

[wandering1]

So what kind of "bumper pull trailer" are you talking about? A cargo trailer, a tent camper, a pop up camper, or a travel trailer? 4 wheel drive in mud doesn't work when you are towing 7000 lbs of dead weight.

[JIMNLIN]

Originally Posted by wandering1

So what kind of "bumper pull trailer" are you talking about? A cargo trailer, a tent camper, a pop up camper, or a travel trailer? 4 wheel drive in mud doesn't work when you are towing 7000 lbs of dead weight.

For pulling equipment or any service trailer or a RV in and out of a muddy work site the 4wd is the only option that will work for this purpose.

My 4x4 one ton DRW trucks had to pull our 20k GN trailers with equipment and materials into construction work sites. I kept mud terrains on both 4wd trucks . Tires says it all..
When it dried out then our 2wd trucks with HT tires worked fine