Stuck in the mud

[turnkey4099]

That front tire doesn't look it in the picture but it was stuck. The mud was thick and heavy and it was preventing the axle from moving. Both rears were on relatively solid but slimey ground. The R4's were just spinning. I could get it to go a bit forward but not backward. Going forward just made the front dig in deeper.

I have an 'unsticker' in my PU for just such happenings. It is two covers off a lawnchair, one of those with the springs inside. Insert one edge as far as possible under the tires and out you come (as long as you aren't buried). The springs and etc., provide grip against both the tire and the surface.

Harry K

 

[MadReferee]

Now here is a lot of mud. I was out today "grooming" the other end of the mud hole my son got stuck in. As you can see, the mud sticks to everything.

 

[MadReferee]

Now here is the mud hole, or mud area if you will. It's about 100 yards long and 10-25 yards wide. I just finished leveling it with the hope that it will dry out and be good and ready for some planting in the spring. The mud is anywhere from 6" to 24" deep in spots. The average depth is about a foot, at least that's how far the dozer sinks in when traversing it.

 

[jbrumberg]

MadReferee:

I also live in NE. The readership who do not live in glaciated areas do not fully comprehend nor appreciate mud. I will probably get stuck within the next 3 weeks "finishing" my driveway project. R-1's work much more efficiently "goowing" forward than backward. I will probably try the "FEL Crawl" method of extricating myself. Maybe I should start taking pictures. Jay

 

[BobRip]

Mad

Looks like there was no effort to use the FEL. I believe that would have got this out.

I agree. Use the bucket to push down and lift the front wheels up. Then roll the bucket to push you back combined with the wheels driving you backwards. Repeat this several times and usually you will get out. This does not work if the mud is so soft that the bucket sinks in real deep. I don't really call this situation stuck. Of course I was not there and it might be worse that I can see from the pictures. It sure is nice to have a bull dozer though.

 

[jwstewar]

Mad,

Glag to hear to go it out. That dozer sure made it easy.

But the FEL would have gotten it out. No, I have an area like that. I've been stuck in it several times. Usually the loader just ends up pushing a big bunch of mud up in front of the loader or if trying to go forward pushing a BIG bunch up under the front of the tractor in turn burying it more. My extractor isn't near that reliable at moving it. I have to rely on my Silverado. I think I've only been stuck once or twice the truck wouldn't pull it out and then I had my neighbor with his 36 HP Long and R1s pull me out. Of course, I've had to pull him out to with my little NH TC24 and R4s.

 

[Duke4AZ]

Hands down, two toys in one day for same project . . . the dozer was the way to go. Certainly don't want to get those boots muddy. That stuff looks like a lot of fun to wash off of something. Good luck getting the dozer clean.

Now, had toy number two not been available, and you did not want to tear the drive line out of the Saab, you might have had to sacrifice that load of wood. I believe the wood spread perpendicular to the edge of the bucket would have provided the support needed not to sink the bucket in the mud when you raised the front end. However, as with all armchair quarterbacking, actually being there can add another dimension that photos just don't show.

I sure do envey you guys that live in the NE. Some very pretty country you have there, mud and all. Just a bit different here in the SW. We have ugly mud too, but wait a few hours or at worst a day or two and it becomes pretty tame and managable . . . at least until it gets completely dry and turns to rock.

 

[Duke4AZ]

Oh, jsut curious, ever get that dozer stuck? Got pics?

 

[MadReferee]

It took about an hour to get it relatively clean. It still hasn't dried yet.

I do have a Jeep Cherokee that would have pulled the Kubota out if I didn't have the dozer.

I have never gotten it stuck but it's always in the back of my mind. The loader crawlers have those low profile flat tracks that are good for turning on a dime but not so good for pushing and getting unstuck.

 

[8561]

My father owned Mad's bulldozer for about 25 years and we managed to get it pretty stuck once. As you might expect, Dad did the loader crawl until it was freed up. Once the undercarriage on one of those starts to unweight the tracks, you're a dead man.