# stuck in the mud!



## helen.dipn (Nov 10, 2008)

Hello guys!!

This is probably a common problem but has anyone got any good solutions for when your motorhome gets stuck in the mud without having to get someone to pull you out??

And what about those grip mats by Fiamma?? Are they any good??

Thanks

Hel


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## Belgian (Nov 10, 2008)

*Polly put the tractor on*



helen.dipn said:


> Hello guys!!
> 
> This is probably a common problem but has anyone got any good solutions for when your motorhome gets stuck in the mud without having to get someone to pull you out??
> 
> ...


Ask Polly, she's an expert in these matters


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## Deleted member 2636 (Nov 10, 2008)

helen.dipn said:


> Hello guys!!
> 
> And what about those grip mats by Fiamma?? Are they any good??
> 
> Thanksn Hel



The yellow mats from Fiamma are made from the off-cuts of Satan's discarded under-crackers. In my book they are one of the most useless items that I have ever wasted my money on. Every year millions of innocent Motorhomers, Caravanners and Tenters are persuaded to buy them on the basis of "You never know and they don't take up any room" etc etc
I really would have thought that by now every soul would have been on message about the vile things

The bread tray idea is really the best and they do work. Make sure that no-one is standing behind the vehicle when you use them though. I have seen them come flying out.
Best thing is two together and plenty of zip ties to join them


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## Deleted member 2636 (Nov 10, 2008)

Its just a shame that the aluminium perforated plate costs such stupid money. I'd love to get my paws on that stuff but its over £100 per strip - and I'm not strong enough anymore to lift the real PSP


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## Deleted member 207 (Nov 10, 2008)

I have four fibreglass waffles from Scorpion Racing, my wife insisted that I buy them and a Tirfor hand winch if I persisted in driving off bitumen roads - which I do with alarming regularity - you have to push your limits!!. We had intended on driving through Russia last year so they were bought for that part of the trip.

The waffles come in handy as levellers, but are an overkill for only that use. Currently they are covering holes that my bloody dog keeps digging whilst she's on heat - its like the Great Escape here at present.

The Tirfor has come in handy for pulling a lot of things out of the ground - tree stumps mainly. Its never been used to pull the camper out.

Once any vehicle gets down to the chassis rails its time to give up on self recovery and get a vehicle with a winch. Avoid "snatch straps" on campers as they put tremendous forces on the chassis and can end up cracking bodywork on coachbuilts.


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## Polly (Nov 10, 2008)

Hia
been there and done it so to speak (I'm not an old hand)
I bought the yellow mats then returned them after following a good thread on this subject.
Bought some black rubber mats from the £ shop (only used up to now to wipe muddy feet on)
Acquired 2 bread trays and painfully (with the help of a glass of red and a saw)cut through them to give me 4 (I'm good at maths as well)
But I threw them into a skip after being stuck a few times and them not helping me.(prone to came in MUDDY fields)
I have now got a fettish for tractors been towed out twice this year and admired 2 more at other muddy meets.
BUT at Hayfield It wasn't me who needed a push!!!!!


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## undersiege (Nov 10, 2008)

Polly said:


> Hia
> been there and done it so to speak (I'm not an old hand)
> I bought the yellow mats then returned them after following a good thread on this subject.
> Bought some black rubber mats from the £ shop (only used up to now to wipe muddy feet on)
> ...



What are these "bread trays" you refer to?


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## Deleted member 2636 (Nov 11, 2008)

http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?i...nw=106&prev=/images?q=Bread+trays&gbv=2&hl=en

You only want the base of them. You need to cut around that bit fairly carefully because the outside edge helps to provide rigidity.

Polly says 





> Acquired 2 bread trays and painfully (with the help of a glass of red and a saw)cut through them to give me 4 (I'm good at maths as well



It is better to keep them as one piece: What you are trying to do is spread the load as well as provide some dry(ish) for the van to get a grip on. You need to have the ridged bit facing out to get the best results.

Mine have got me off the mud countless times and got Frogs off the sand as well - I like to help our Continental cousins...


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## janeandbob (Nov 11, 2008)

Hi we were at a Rally at billing at the weekend, parked on our bread trays about 15' back from the road, reversed on to my level ramps so we could get the trays from the back wheels, and put them in front of the others, then jus keeped moving them foward. once on the road off we went watching all the others stuck and being pushed and towed. I'm still smilling know.  Bob. Get some bread trays.


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## Polly (Nov 11, 2008)

Hia
Thanks ***** for the tractor link


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## Deleted member 2636 (Nov 11, 2008)

baloothebear said:


> http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?i...nw=106&prev=/images?q=Bread+trays&gbv=2&hl=en
> 
> You only want the base of them. You need to cut around that bit fairly carefully because the outside edge helps to provide rigidity.
> 
> ...




 Is hould have said that will need four trays to do this - and bucket full of cheap zip-ties


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## helen.dipn (Nov 13, 2008)

Thanks for all your suggestions....it seems like quite a few of us do park in grassy places!!

I have a vague idea what a bread tray is but not a clue as to the other things mentioned. I was pulled out the other day by a tractor using the tow bar of my van. 

Thanks all for saving me ££££ on grip mats.

Hel


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## fencer (Nov 13, 2008)

***** said:


> I have never fancied having my pride and joy towed off a muddy field by a tractor as damage can happen.
> Have you noticed that the towing eyes are never in the centre
> In my opinion, towing in these kind of conditions can twist the chassis as it is a much different situation to towing on a nice smooth road


Those towing eyes are in fact 'Tie-Down Points' whereby the new-vehicle is strappped down during transit to the showrooms / retailers. They do double as towing hitches though.  Before you become permanently bogged down in soft sand or wet earth, try removing your spare wheel and using it as a base upon which to place your 'lifting-jack' as it spreads the load over 15 or so inches and will not sink into the softest of sand etc. When you have raised the vehicle place something firm beneath the bogged-down wheel and proceed from there.  If its simply wheels slipping upon wet grass then let some air out of your tyre until its realy soft the tyre provides a bigger foot-print. But dont forget to re-inflate when upon harder ground. Oh and dont forget to pickup your spare wheel afterwards.


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## Deleted member 2636 (Nov 13, 2008)

***** said:


> Thanks, but I have changed more wheels than I care to remember (truck super singles)  and to get the spare wheel off my van is a major job.
> I carry 3 jacks and blocks to put under the jack and I also carry a piece of heavy truck floorboard to spread the load.
> Self sufficient I am



Have you ever tried these lifting bags that inflate of the exhaust? I haven't - just wondered if you had


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## Deleted member 4053 (Nov 13, 2008)

*lifting bags*

only used them on london type Taxi
made elementary mistake of not chocking wheels.
taxi rolled forward and punctured the bag on some Sharp bit underneath
THUMP! however had not removed wheel so got away with it.

I would think that the right size bag would lift van easily to get board in

however take note of above!

weez
Tony


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## fencer (Nov 13, 2008)

***** said:


> Thanks, but I have changed more wheels than I care to remember (truck super singles)  and to get the spare wheel off my van is a major job.
> I carry 3 jacks and blocks to put under the jack and I also carry a piece of heavy truck floorboard to spread the load.
> Self sufficient I am



Hi *****, I had the same problems in extracting the spare-wheel off my van too! Some kind person had jammed a 17inch spare wheel into an area designed for a 15inch wheel only. Luckily I was on hard ground when needing the spare. After struggling to release the useless spare-wheel for over an hour I learned a valuable lesson. Being a fibreglass moulder, I made a spare wheel house on the back of my van that was only accessible from the interior -- thus making it more difficult for thieves to lighten my van. Self-empowered i am. Best regards.


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## Belgian (Nov 13, 2008)

baloothebear said:


> Have you ever tried these lifting bags that inflate of the exhaust? I haven't - just wondered if you had


Does these really work Baloo ?
(it reminds me to a sort of 'Endlösung' !? )


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## Deleted member 2636 (Nov 14, 2008)

regarding the inflation bags



Belgian said:


> Does these really work Baloo ?
> (it reminds me to a sort of 'Endlösung' !? )



I haven't used them but the rescue services think that they are excellent. They wqould be the answer for mud if you think about it. I'll ask some off-road loonies that I know if they have tried them - watch this "       " space


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## n8rbos (Nov 14, 2008)

*getting outta mud*

hi,
hope this helps you! has me many times. rock your vehicle by quickly changing from first to reverse and vice versa! keep doing until you get a momentum going and when you got a good momentum put in to 2nd gear and drive out using the torque of 2nd!if it fails retry, if you find you're going forward then keep going to hard ground

the mistake a lot of people make is to put their foot down and keep it down!


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## Tony Lee (Nov 14, 2008)

> Have you ever tried these lifting bags that inflate of the exhaust



These need to be used with care though as they can be VERY dangerous. 

That said, I have carried one for 30 years and used it several times. Once in central Australia when the rangerover went down to the floor in thick black mud (after a rare flood) and several times with the Suzuki bogged in sand (because it is always too much trouble to let the tyres down BEFOREHAND)

Need to know where under the vehicle they can be used without damaging either the bag or the vehicle - but they do save a lot of effort and excel in circumstances when a jack can't be used.


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