What to carry for if you get stuck in the mud

[Jac Sprat]

We are shortly to head off to France for our first big trip in our new moho. We have already had a few wheels spins with the mud on our own drive and wondered what people took with them to free up mud spinning tyres if you happen to encounter it. Clearly we won't be choosing to camp in a soggy field but it could happen anyway. Any tips?

 

[Minxy]

The above is one reason why I would NEVER let ANYONE borrow our van ... sister in law asked hubby once .... NO! Don't think she was expecting such a resounding reply!!!!

 

[Jac Sprat]

@Minxy Girl
I think I am much more likely to get the moho stuck in the mud than anyone else in the family!

 

[tonyidle]

designed for the job
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sandladders £33 inc post for 2

The pair I ordered as a result of your recommendation arrived today - nice, confidence inspiring, kit. Thanks.

I normally tow a Smartie on a trailer so carrying them isn't an issue. They are large and quite heavy so anyone contemplating purchase needs to consider where they'll carry them.

 

[scottie]

Try the matting that is used in Council play parks, ie the stuff they place at the bottom of slides. I have one that is cut up into 4 pieces, about 4 foot long by 15 inches wide They are about an inch thick. I haven't seen anything on my travels that beats them. I uses them all the time even in summer, and they sit nicely between the driver and passenger seats, when not in use. vehicle, citroen relay van conversion.

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[JockandRita]

Try the matting that is used in Council play parks, ie the stuff they place at the bottom of slides. I have one that is cut up into 4 pieces, about 4 foot long by 15 inches wide They are about an inch thick. I haven't seen anything on my travels that beats them. I uses them all the time even in summer, and they sit nicely between the driver and passenger seats, when not in use. vehicle, citroen relay van conversion.

Sounds good Scottie, but where do we get the matting from? Have you got a link please?

Cheers,

Jock.

 

[Minxy]

Try the matting that is used in Council play parks, ie the stuff they place at the bottom of slides. I have one that is cut up into 4 pieces, about 4 foot long by 15 inches wide They are about an inch thick. I haven't seen anything on my travels that beats them.

Sounds good Scottie, but where do we get the matting from? Have you got a link please?

Cheers,

Jock.

Not wishing to cast aspersions but .... think about it ....

 

[JockandRita]

Not wishing to cast aspersions but .... think about it ....

I'm no longer a Local Authority employee Mel, so don't have access to a source of materials, and I'm not really that desperate enough find a local play park, whereupon I can extract the rubber matting.

Cheers,

Jock.

 

[GAVLAD]

I've hit a set of these from EBay.
They pack into a small canvas carry bag.
They're snow chains designed for a car/van so good for mud.
They come in difference sizes and are easy to fit.

 

[TheBig1]

snow chains work well in mud however, when you discover you need them, invariably the wheels tyres and arches are smothered in mud. its a VERY messy job fitting and removing chains in mud

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[GAVLAD]

I think if you're stuck in mud, it'll be the last thing on your mind. You'll just want to get out.

 

[Gorse Hill]

Sounds good Scottie, but where do we get the matting from? Have you got a link please?

Cheers,

Jock.

The local kids playground

 

[GAVLAD]

Aldi are selling matting which links together and worth considering.
They start selling on Thursday 17.March

 

[funflair]

I've hit a set of these from EBay.
They pack into a small canvas carry bag.
They're snow chains designed for a car/van so good for mud.
They come in difference sizes and are easy to fit.

View attachment 96774

Last time I saw them used in the mud, the first sign of any traction and they went ping, ping, ping, ping and all flew off, possibly should have been a couple more ping's but you get my drift.

Martin

 

[GAVLAD]

Will let you know after Chester

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[JockandRita]

Will let you know after Chester

I'm hoping you won't even need to consider fitting them at Chester Gav.

See you there.

Cheers,

Jock.

 

[GAVLAD]

I'm hoping you won't even need to consider fitting them at Chester Gav.

See you there.

Cheers,

Jock.

So am I Jock - we had to be towed on last year on arrival as the front end dug in.
I blame the missus as she was sat up front at the time! (But don't tell her that )
See you there (you'll hear us coming as we have the Talliban leader with us - 2.5 year old daughter, going on 22!)

 

[Peter Sansom]

When I had just bought our van I parked it on grass facing downhill. Wrong thing to do! Had just spent ages cleaning it and when I tried to reverse it...well, guess what? In the end the man who sited the statics on site brought a couple of those huge boards they use and after much struggling, mud spraying and blue smoke, blue air managed get out. Van with aforesaid mud sprayed all up nice clean sides. Two dirty great ruts in the ground. Answer: a) don't get stuck in first place b) if you do, any of the previous suggestions on here. My Fiamma boards just shot out from under, fortunately no one was near to get whacked by one. I couldn't even get towed out as there was nothing on the rear of the van to hook on to

 

[scotjimland]

Haven't read the four pages so may/probably be repeating..

Tried all the home brew ideas, bread trays, mats etc .. all work to a degree ..

have now bought a pair of Tracmats, .. use them to park on if the ground is soft or wet..

can find them a bit cheaper on ebay

http://tracmat.com/index.php?

 

[barearse]

We rented a m/h 7 years ago as a try out.After our 1st overnight @Pitlochry,we needed their tractor to pull us off.Later that same week ( such fun! ) it took not one but two Landrovers two extricate us from the mud of Applecross during a rather wet August.

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[Jabberwocky]

You can use your starter motor for getting out of mud

You do need a strong battery though, just start the engine in gear and it may be enough to get you unstuck, 2nd gear rather than first.

Good technique if you drive into a flood and kill the engine.

 

[Zigisla]

Well I have most of the gear posted above save the tracmats, but trying to roll onto the traction mats spun wheels now bogged down. So, if you have all the gear doesn't mean you ain't gonna get stuck. Still peeing down so will try to find a friendly tractor driver in the morning. Grass is reasonably dry they said. And I believed them.

 

[yoko118118]

Hi Jac I brought a pair from eBay £9.99 a yellow set had to use them yesterday here at Weston Park well worth the money. With the weather forecast will be using them to get off as well on Monday lol.

 

[clanjones]

Having read this thread today and had a chuckle I think I have found the ultimate solution to the problem in Landry France, this morning (my son has a Defender). No mats required!

 

[scotjimland]

Well I have most of the gear posted above save the tracmats, but trying to roll onto the traction mats spun wheels now bogged down. So, if you have all the gear doesn't mean you ain't gonna get stuck.

Tracmats should be used to park the van on BEFORE it rains.. not afterwards.. they won't sink, and unless conditions are really bad you should be able to drive off with enough forward motion not to get bogged down..


so there is no ambiguity.. these are Tracmats

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these are Fiamma, IMO and experience, a waste of money

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[Zigisla]

Tracmats should be used to park the van on BEFORE it rains.. not afterwards.. they won't sink, and unless conditions are really bad you should be able to drive off with enough forward motion not to get bogged down..

these are Fiamma, IMO and experience, a waste of money

Couldn't agree more. They were great for the folding camper but useless for the MH. I needed to be pulled onto my traction mats and they worked really well. Didn't chance driving so booked farmer Mike and he made very light work of it.

 

[Jac Sprat]

So glad we took advice from here and bought track mats. We are in Langres France and it's been raining for hours. We just used the trac mats to help a guy get his massive Knaus van off the soggy grass. They were very grateful. It showed us they work a treat and hopefully racked up some good karma for us being helped in the future!!

 

[golly]

I got some trackmats off Ebay last week, I (touch wood) have never been stuck yet ! but this year we are going to use more CL/CS sites so wanted to be prepared, going to park with them under the driving wheels.

 

[Jac Sprat]

Have to say we were very happy to be able to rescue a huge van that got stuck on the grass in Langres France using the sand ladders recommended here!
Whoops senior moment!
Already reported that !

 

[Melvin]

Having been stuck a few times we saw these , www.griptrack.co.uk , on a stall at the Peterborough show and bought them on impulse . Have not used them yet but they look like they should do the job.
I

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[rangi]

What to carry if you are going to be stuck in the mud?
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Something very large, and green, with large knobbly tyres, diesel, about 350hp minimum, and with JOHN DEERE written in large letters along the bonnet.