Don't end up in a situation where too much welly and not enough forward movement causes you to be dragged into the mud. Make sure, too, that you have chosen a route that will keep your vehicle level across. This is very important, as you must keep a similar weight upon each wheel, across each axle, to give about the same grippage or slippage on each side of the vehicle. Start bouncing about and your wheels on the higher side, or as they come out of ground, will spin away aimlessly, getting you nowhere.

Once the wheels have broken the surface, you will have the added problem of a greater area of each tyre being in contact with the ground. The mud, bog or sand will enclose the tyre in front, each side and behind. This will become very power sapping. You will quickly lose your reserve power and as you dig yourself down, your axle diffs and chassis will soon be down in the mire. If you do have to cross an area like this to the other side, either be certain you can get through by carefully choosing a safe route or find an alternative way round!

Soft areas probably cause more headaches than any other 'stuck' situation. You will need a good winch, a very good ground anchor and a team of two or three other vehicles, plus people to get you out. The best advice is not to try the impossible, as you are sure to get well and truly stuck!

If you do, get out and assess the situation. Can you reverse out backwards? Would a push help? Or some digging? Using reverse gear in low ratio might dig you in further. Try using high ratio four-wheel drive or low ratio in overdrive to minimise the dreaded wheel spin.

Be careful where people are concerned when they offer to push. It's so easy to get trapped behind or under one side, should they slip or fall over as you start to move. Recoveries should be carefully co-ordinated.

Make sure you know where your strong front and back towing points are, should you be about to be either winched out or recovered with a tow rope. If you are about to be recovered with a Kinetic Energy Recover Rope (KERR), make sure your 'recoverer' and yourself know how to complete the recovery safely. If you have never used a KERR rope before, read the instructions first.

Keeping up a steady speed often ensures good progress

'T' - stakes brought into play

 

Index [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] ]

(c)Goodwinch Limited 2006