woodlandfarms said:
Well, it is raining in the PNW. Big surprise I guess. But where there is land there is tractorin' to do... So how does everyone deal with traction on the mud. Chains? Other things? We have a lot of clay so it gets slippery quick....
I have been stuck many times and mostly in mud. I deal with it in the following ways:
1. Call a tow truck - I did this once on my Kubotoa 4 wheel drive with bar tires.
2. Carry a winch or comealong and pull the tractor out by tying one end of the rope up several (6) feet on the tree. This helps lift the PT up as you pull. Very important factor here, you must lift. This is my number two choice and I always carry a comealong, electric winch, and boat winch and straps. A high lift jack can also be used. I most often use the boat winch. I welded one to a 2 inch receiver tube. See picture attached.
3. PT Wiggle - Steer left and right as you apply power to the wheels. This is my number one choices, if it works and it does a lot of the time.
4. Use an attachment (minihoe is best) to pull or push myself out. The 4 in 1 bucket can be lowered and then opened and rotated to push the PT backwards. Other attachment may also work. You can also lift the front up with an attachment (bucket is good) and put logs or whatoever under the front tires. This sometimes works. Usually the back tires are also buried by then.
4a - Always have an attachment on if you are in possible stuck situations.
5. Look at the situation and realize - I am going to get stuck in "that", is it worth it to go there. I can usually predict now when I will get stuck.
6. Don't cross a wet area very many times. The more you drive over it the worse it gets.
7. Don't drive too close to ditches, sometimes you will slide in.
8. I have bar tires and have never tired chains. Others have.
9. Two or even 6 inches of mud will not really stop you, most of the time. When the bottom of the PT scrapes, that is when you get problems. I have a swamp, so I see more mud than most.
I hope this helps.