Stuck stories

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el_kab0ng

New member
I see alot of great pictures from off roading adventures folks take, but I'm curious how many of those stories resulted in some sort of situation where you got stuck. I have a '16 T4TE on order for use out at a ranch of mine where mud/sand is a common occurrence (especially with the 60" of rain we've gotten out there this year!).

I hate to admit it, but the county road leading up to the property is the most common place for people to get stuck (I've had to get pulled out once already this year in a 2WD and made it through with a rented 4WD, but only just). If the road wasn't used for farm trucks causing quite a bit of damage, it wouldn't be so bad out there and the county is too poor to gravel it.

In any event, has anyone here been stuck in mud before in their T4 and what methods did you use to get out?
 
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Gave her hell...
When in doubt, pedal it out! Unless your in like a swamp or something really nasty our 4Runners will make it through just about anything if the right driver is behind the wheel. I have surprised myself and my friends several times when we thought we were going to get stuck. Mine is just a simple 2wd with big tires and my friend has a 4wd jacked up (tad bit of performance mods) bronco he got stuck in a hole in front of me and it was either back all the way out this long ass trail we have been riding for 30 minutes or go through it. So after he winched himself out i backed up about 25 ft from the beginning of the hole, then slammed it. I came out just fine, the truck was covered head to toe in mud even on top (P.S. Don't do this with the sunroof open, you'll have mud all inside).
 
Been stuck in mud once or twice, but never on flat ground. Just shallow mud in creek beds... but it was steep and off camber. It is crazy how slick some mud can be. The stuff I was in was like ice. no steering or anything.

Once your tires gum up good they are pretty much useless in the mud (unless you have mud terrains). Compared to 2wd... You will be much better off but mud can get just about anything stuck (depending on how deep it is and what the grade is). Momentum is pretty key in mud. Once you sink... it is hard to get going again.

Good tools for frequent encounters with mud...

- Mud terrain tires. .. makes a huge difference but you have to keep them spinning. The key is they are designed to shed it.
- Rubber boots (for when you have to get out in it)
- MaxTrax (these are great in mud if you do get stuck)
- Shovel
- Hi lift
- Snatch strap + another vehicle to pull you out
- Winch
- Land Anchor (if no trees around to winch from)

Rear locker also makes a big difference in mud. TE has one, but not sure if it will work at the wheel speeds required for deep mud.

My guess is you won't have any problems if you shed the stock tires and gt something a bit more aggressive. MTs would be ideal, but you sacrifice a bit of MPG and comfort on the road.
 
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Great information and I definitely intend to swap out the factory stocks for something that can handle what I'm worried about. I don't intend to rock climb or do much trail running, so that should narrow the field for the best ones.

For those of you with winches, what sort of rig do you run and how often do you see yourself using one?
 
In my old 2WD pickup I got stuck more than I care to admit. Once I was stuck on flat ground in about 2" of super slick clay mud within arm's reach of pavement. I just couldn't get the traction to lift the front tires the few inches needed to get on solid ground.

In my 4R, using the definition of ceasing forward progress, I got stuck briefly once. I was so deep in mud I could have reached out my window and touched it. Trying reverse did nothing. I put it in 4Lo, activated A-Trac, and gunned it. It slowly clawed its way out (store-brand Cooper AT3's). It's not as good as full lockers, but A-Trac is pretty impressive.

A power winch and bumper is on my long-term purchase list, but still a ways out. Currently I have an 8-ton hand winch and an assortment of straps. Normally I try to avoid taking chances with deep mud, but this time I missed the bypass trail because I was in a hurry.


Since you know you're going to be in mud and sand, and you said you were planning on upgrading to MT tread tires, I also recommend going bigger. Bigger and wider tires are much better in mud and sand. http://www.toyota-4runner.org/5th-gen-t4rs/156378-going-bigger-5th-gen-tire-fitment-guide.html

Plus everything wfo9 said.

If you're interested, TRED is running a kickstarter for their new design: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/evolvenpd/tred-pro-total-recovery-and-extraction-device-for
 
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I would not mess with a winch unless you are 100% sure you will be using it frequently.

It adds a bunch of weight (which requires new springs up front) and it also introduces some safety concerns if the vehicle is in a front end collision. The only way to mount one is to replace the stock crush cans... If mud is your only obstacle (on pretty flat ground)... carry some maxtrax and call it a day.
 
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wfo9 said:
I would not mess with a winch unless you are 100% sure you will be using it frequently.

It adds a bunch of weight (which requires new springs up front) and it also introduces some safety concerns if the vehicle is in a front end collision. The only way to mount one is to replace the stock crush cans... If mud is your only obstacle (on pretty flat ground)... carry some maxtrax and call it a day.
Click to expand...

This is knowledge you can use! :tea:
 
Stuck in the Mud

This is all good info. In Grand Staircase Escalante NP last June we stayed off the dirt roads because it was raining every other day and I did not have gear to get us out of mud. The locals wouldn't drive them if they could and they all had big 4x4 trucks.
When I was a lot younger, a kid, we used to get the tractors and our old Willy's truck stuck in the mud. Occasionally we'd use a high lift jack to lift the tractor or Jeep and put planks under the wheels. Once we got the DC-8 caterpillar stuck in a gully full of mud and the drain culvert was plugged up. There's no lifting a DC-8 so my brother stripped down to his shorts and crawled in the culvert to clear it out. We shoveled water and mud for a while and the Cat finally crawled out. Most of that was in Shasta County, CA and a friends apple ranch in San Luis Obispo, CA.
Here in So Cal we have a lot more desert sand than mud. I'm prepared for sand but not mud. My plan is to carry a shovel, come-along winch, strap and maybe the MaxTrax.
Thanks for all the info.
And @wfo9, what can you use for a land anchor? I could use one to self assist in the desert when there's nothing to anchor a winch to. I've thought about this but the only thing that comes to mind is a big steel stake and a sledge hammer.
 
DesertCanyons said:
This is all good info. In Grand Staircase Escalante NP last June we stayed off the dirt roads because it was raining every other day and I did not have gear to get us out of mud. The locals wouldn't drive them if they could and they all had big 4x4 trucks.

When I was a lot younger, a kid, we used to get the tractors and our old Willy's truck stuck in the mud. Occasionally we'd use a high lift jack to lift the tractor or Jeep and put planks under the wheels. Once we got the DC-8 caterpillar stuck in a gully full of mud and the drain culvert was plugged up. There's no lifting a DC-8 so my brother stripped down to his shorts and crawled in the culvert to clear it out. We shoveled water and mud for a while and the Cat finally crawled out. Most of that was in Shasta County, CA and a friends apple ranch in San Luis Obispo, CA.

Here in So Cal we have a lot more desert sand than mud. I'm prepared for sand but not mud. My plan is to carry a shovel, come-along winch, strap and maybe the MaxTrax.

Thanks for all the info.

And @wfo9, what can you use for a land anchor? I could use one to self assist in the desert when there's nothing to anchor a winch to. I've thought about this but the only thing that comes to mind is a big steel stake and a sledge hammer.
Click to expand...


http://www.pullpal.com/

There are some others out there too.
 
DesertCanyons said:
And @wfo9, what can you use for a land anchor? I could use one to self assist in the desert when there's nothing to anchor a winch to. I've thought about this but the only thing that comes to mind is a big steel stake and a sledge hammer.
Click to expand...

A log or spare tire buried a couple feet down.
 
jwkilgore said:
Since you know you're going to be in mud and sand, and you said you were planning on upgrading to MT tread tires, I also recommend going bigger. Bigger and wider tires are much better in mud and sand. http://www.toyota-4runner.org/5th-gen-t4rs/156378-going-bigger-5th-gen-tire-fitment-guide.html
Click to expand...

Weirdly enough, I've read where narrower tires are better for sand/mud because they can get down to the hard pack easier than wider tires which can float on slick surfaces.
 
What Black-FL4Runner said. I was assuming something like beach sand or swamp mud where there is no hard pack within a reasonable distance. But if that's the case where you are, then you're right.
 
el_kab0ng said:
Weirdly enough, I've read where narrower tires are better for sand/mud because they can get down to the hard pack easier than wider tires which can float on slick surfaces.
Click to expand...

I think this is very situationally dependent. I've generally found wider tires to be better in almost every situation other than on the highway. In my opinion ground pressure is the single best predictor of offroad performance. Lower is better. The only time I would choose a narrow tire is if the choice is between a taller narrow tire and a shorter fatter tire. Otherwise I'd go for the tall fat tire for almost anything offroad.

And FWIW - that choice does happen. Most people who haven't run large offroad tires don't always realize that just rolling a set of 38.5x16.5 bias ply tires at 3psi takes a lot of power. A 4cyl toyota pickup probably could not move in high range 1st gear. (I know - I've tried - it won't do it.) You'd need to be in low range just to get enough gear reduction to move at all. So in that situation you might opt for a narrower 40x13.5 or 38x12.5 tire for lower rolling resistance.
 
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Jetboy said:
I think this is very situationally dependent. I've generally found wider tires to be better in almost every situation other than on the highway. In my opinion ground pressure is the single best predictor of offroad performance. Lower is better. The only time I would choose a narrow tire is if the choice is between a taller narrow tire and a shorter fatter tire. Otherwise I'd go for the tall fat tire for almost anything offroad.
Click to expand...

Exactly, and the only reason for the taller narrow tire is that it becomes a much fatter tire on the ground when aired down....and has less rolling resistance when aired up for hwy.

I went out wheeling the other day with a kid in an older TJ with open diffs (they are very light), but he had some big old style MTRs that were (35x12.5x15 i think) on it. At first I was worried about the open diffs in the terrain we were on. I had to pull him up one really steep climb at the very beginning, but after that he was golden with almost no traction problems at all. My truck would never have made any of that with fully open diffs and no other traction aids like atrac... Weighting these rigs down with heavy gear is no good... It is necessary for over-landing.. but I don't think most appreciate how much it kills capability. The only way to offset it is more tire/float and we are pretty limited there as well. Plus it does kill road performance. No easy way to have it all in one vehicle.

Non dedicated rigs like these are a combination of compromises. They can't be ideal for any situation. It's best to aim for just being barley adequate for what you plan to do with it. It is a tough balance.
 
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BlackWorksInc said:
Those are cool! I actually got bored one day and doodled up a design for a "land anchor deployment device" which was basically a mini cannon that launched spikes into the ground... maybe I should make it one of these days.
Click to expand...

............Ok Mr. Bond :cheers:
 
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