</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I have about 6-7 acres of swamp on my place. I get buried in mud on a regular basis. If the 4WD and the FEL can't get me out, here's what I do..
Take a 2x6 about 8-10 ft long.
Chain one end to the left rear tire.
Chain the other end to the right rear tire.
Put the tractor in low and drive over the board.
The board acts like the paddle on a paddlewheel boat.
BE VERY CAREFUL. Once you drive over the board, it will come up and hit the tractor if you go too far.
You may have to reposition the board and drive over it several times before you get to solid ground, but it works very well. It will even lift my tractor with the 6ft bushog attached.
I have driven through some stuff I couldn't even walk through on foot using this method.
I keep two pieces of chain just the right length with hooks attached to both ends and a board about 3 feet wider than my tractor for just this purpose.
P.S. This method will usually cause a coating of mud to cover the operator. )</font>
I'm sure we'll all agree it isn't the safest thing, but I did it a few times with my old Ford 600 (2wd and no loader). Now with 4WD, a loader, a better understanding of where my mucky swamps are located, and some hard-earned respect for the weight of a tractor, I luckily haven't had to try it lately. It also works with logs, and in some cases a separate short log chained to each wheel. A single board works well when backing up, but if you need to go forward you have to first tunnel through the muck to get the board in front of both wheels. Nothing can compare to the awesome spectacle of the tractor slowly and proudly rising up out of the swamp under its own power, especially after a few hours of cursing and trying other methods. (If we really weren't meant to do this, they wouldn't have put openings between the wheel center and rim to slip the chain through!) But seriously, do go very slowly and carefully because what goes around, comes (back) around...