Help! Stuck in the mud!
Hi all,
New to motorhoming, we stored it on grass. Went to recover it today, to have a nice break in Brighton, but we are completely stuck in the mud. Wheels just keep on spinning, and we keep trying to wedge things under to no avail. RAC garage came out, couldn't help, said we probably need two tow trucks; one to tow us and one to tow our tow when it goes down in the mud!! It is behind a building at a 90* angle to the nearest concrete. Any helpful suggestions to free it without vast expense welcome or anyone around with a tractor, (not necessarily today:)?! We are London N13.
Thank you!!
Jim and Anne.
Comments
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Dreadful position to be in! Once this is over, buy a pair of plastic grip mats, and park with your front wheels nearest to any hardstanding.
In the meantime, you will almost certainly have to dig behind or in front of the drive wheels to create a gentle slope. You will also need grip mats to shove under the wheels. You will have to do this even with a tow. Once you get the motorhome moving, don't stop until you reach tarmac!!
Take heart! We were once towed out of the mud on a small French farm site by a 'Kangoo'.
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Last person to help in these things but would a vehicle with a winch attached be able to help
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Whoops!
J&A, I think you will need a specialist vehicle recovery company. Not a garage but a recovery specialist. It won’t be cheap😟
I see this thread is duplicated in Motorhomes. ET has made a similar suggestion.0 -
….and the duplicate seems to have gone 🤷🏻♂️
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Despite advice (some from caravanners) just to pay the 'Stupid Tax' and and get heavy equipment in, it's still worthwhile getting a big shovel and start digging recovery trenches. You might even be able to get out of the mud by yourself. But STOP if you start sinking further!
Is there clear ground in front of your motorhome, or are you having to reverse? Will a towing vehicle be able to attach a bridle to your front towing bracket?
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I agree DD, either an off road Club, or contact a farmer. Both are likely to have winches. The 90 degree angle will be a challenge, and it might be painful to watch. Up here, folks just take apart a dry stone wall to build a ramp, but that has its challenges and risks. If you do decide to contact someone, they might need to know how much outfit weighs, and what sort of ground clearance you have. And a winch/tow anchor point. Good luck with it. Proper bridging boards (rigid type) will help as well.
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I have seen advice on another Forum to use plastic bread trays to produce the equivalent of the matting grips. A variation on this approach [thinking this through as I type!] is to visit a local Garden Centre to buy either the plastic moulds for making the stepping stone concrete slabs, OR the multi chamber honeycomb grid that can be filled with gravel to stop the stones 'walking' on banking and similar
A couple of moulds, filled with a couple of bags of the cheapest stone chippings available, perhaps combined with a bag of sharp sand and some concrete aggregate to act as 'sacrificial bulk' in the existing mud to give a rudimentary base for the plastic 'formers' to rest on, just might work, and would be relatively cheap
Steve
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We use Sand Ladders as well, but you do have to be very careful, they tilt up on exit, and can rip off delicate underneath bits on low slung, longer wheelbase vehicles. We never did find our tank drain tap…….😂
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I’ve successfully used a couple of plastic bakers trays under the drive wheels to get me out of trouble. Just cut out the sides, dig a small trench behind each drive wheel and shove them in against the tyre. Next use the Aussie trick of deflating the tyres by about 50% to increase the footprint and adhesion. Drive or reverse out very gently and keep going! Remember to inflate the tyres when finished.
NB don’t let anybody stand where the trays might fly out and hit them!
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Some caravanners have been to the dark side and then seen the light again
Just note the Ops post that the solid surface is at 90degrees to where he is stuck behind a building
And as we do not know how much space he has any advise is probably a guess as to how to help
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I’m not sure it matters what type of LV unit someone has when they offer advice.
I based my own comments on the fact that the RAC man said 2 tow trucks would be necessary as this indicates the situation is far from simple. I think it’s probable the MH needs to turn or perhaps be dragged/lifted sideways and that’s not likely to be achieved with a spade and bread tray. There is much we don’t know for sure.
JVB is obviously of similar opinion.
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Were I asked in a similar difficulty, in my past life, to suggest a solution I would have said " Flight, could you have this truck extracted from the mud, please?". However, my advice, as an experienced motorhomer, is judged to be pointless
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I appreciate that you wanted to use the 'van for a weekend very soon BUT if there is a chance of hanging on for a while ~~ do some research on when the E & W cricket team returns from Aussie-land.
Hi-jack all of 'em & drive them under your powered wheels with a sledge-hammer or over-sized mallet then when you are out just call Council Refuse Dept to recycle them !!
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I would have thought so. A few years ago - at Christmas, I towed a very big Moho off an extremely muddy CL with my Touareg. He'd managed to bury it almost up to the axles! Engaged low ratio and diff locks and it came out easily.
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Difficult to give advice without seeing the situation but I cannot see cut up breadboards being a solution! Rather than paying a high price for a specialist tow out you could consider making a roadway out of sheet material .e.g. 8 x 4ft sheet ply. Jack the vehicle up to get the first sheet sheet under the drive wheels. You may get away with just two sheets, moving the back one to the front until on firm ground.
peedee
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A ‘bakers tray’ made of heavy duty plastic acts as matting. A ‘breadboard’ is more useful for making toast. In essence it’s the same approach as your solution, but a couple of cut-down trays are easier to stow than large sheets of plywood! As stated, I and others have tried it and it can work - just a suggestion intended to be helpful.
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