Learn from others mistakes, like mine!! Don't drive in the yard....

[Daniel Long]

stuck in mud....

Sigh, I manage to make more work for myself this winter!!

[Lakota Wolf]

Ouch!!!! Been there, done that, and your not alone. Just when you think your home free it's squish time with a little sink and spin. But look on the bright side, years from now you will have a good camp fire story.

[Daniel Long]

My wife's reply was: "why don't you just leave it till Spring?" I can't do that! I got myself into this mess and by gosh I'm going to get myself out of it (with a lot of extra mess and goof ups in the mean time). That 454 really gets the wheels moving and digging fast.

It just gives me an excuse to do more work in the yard with the backhoe and excavator (detention pond is coming...). It's all good and 20 years ago I  would have flipped out completely.

[Rick Faunce]

Dan, Many years of driving heavy tow trucks I have done my share of mud recoveries of heavy equipment. I would like to point out a couple things here to try to save you from causing yourself anymore grief. The deck will NOT hold that kind of weight, especially in wet ground, you will just move the posts and it will not take much pressure at all to do so. The chain you have on the passenger side wheel, be very, very careful that does not snag a brake line or e-brake line if yours are back there, not only will it break the line but it will tie up into a knot under there and then you will have even more issues to deal with. I have seen that one many, many times. I hate to say this but you need to get both of those rear wheels up higher and have a solid clear path forward or you will only travel a couple feet and sink again. The passenger side is not the only drive wheel, it just happens to be the one with less traction at this time. You have an open differential so if you get more traction on the right then the left will turn. This can sometimes be accomplished by partially applying the emergency brake but only if you do not have the brake on the driveshaft. Do not try using the brake pedal because the front brakes apply first and that will be detrimental.  You really need something heavier than that vehicle or at least close to the weight of it and on solid ground to anchor the winch to. Waiting a couple days for the ground water to drop would also help.

[Daniel Long]

Rick,

Those are all good and solid points of caution and advice! My deck is anchored 4' in the ground with the four 6x6's so they are my best point of leverage. With an engineering education I tend to overbuild.  I have been very careful about the chains due to exactly your point and many folks don't even think about that.

I just need to not be so impatient and as you say, make a clear path forward. That's advice for much more than just pulling an RV out of the mud! :-)  Its getting cold again and I've managed to raise up the rear, put stone in the holes under the tires. Hoping the freeze will create a more stable roadbed with the stone.

[Daniel Long]

The one I had available isn't big enough. It's one of those Bobcat types (not a real backhoe). She'd get sucked under the wheels of the Allegro!

[Jim Stoltz]

Oh man that sucks. It's in there pretty good. I'd probably have tried to pull it out with my truck, and have broken that too. I'm looking forward to your extrication video!

I was really worried about parking mine in the yard at my new place but it turns out you can't dig down more than a couple of inches before you hit rock. I have no idea how they were able to dig a basement for my house. Since I'm on a mountain the challenge is the steep grade rather than mud. I have it precariously perched on some homemade ramps. It's scary when I drive off of them - feels like it's going to flip over. 

Here's a pic I took today. It looks like the jackstands I put under it sunk a bit but otherwise it seems okay.

[Daniel Long]

I hear you on the tilt! I've driven her around the yard and there are a couple of spots before you reach the driveway and every lean is just exaggerated sitting so high. Looks like an Impala hiding back there.....

the chrome rims on your Allegro look amazing! Mine has the fake caps on it that are falling apart. I may just repaint the rims in the spring.

[Rick Faunce]

Dan, A Bobcat can make a very good anchor! Angle the front bucket about 30-45 degrees and power it into the ground and stop, now attach the tow strap from the winch to the front of the bobcat and pull. It may din in a bit deeper but after that it will go nowhere and as long as the puller has the strength then the RV will come out. Agreed that the bobcat itself will not pull it out, they have very little traction on their own. The key is to NOT spin the tires, it would be nice to have a powered winch so you could just pull it out at idle in gear.

[Rick Faunce]

Was hoping to see a solution once I got out of the hospital but I don't see the end result? So did you ever get it out?

[Daniel Long]

She's finally out!! I wound up doing a couple of things (three actually) to get her on stable ground. Winching her, jacking her up completely off the ground on the rear end to fill the holes and place planking there for support. installing traction mats.

Once I did all that (with the ground a bit frozen, that helps) I was able to get her out of the mud. I did have a detour replacing a transmission intercooler line issues. No more yard parking unless have those old steel mats.

You can check out the idiocy which is my RV life at: www.thelonghauler.com

[Lakota Wolf]

Awesome write up on your The longhauler link.. That turned out to be a project all of its own.. Mud is never fun to work in or even around. I have used those Metal planks, and to me they was a bit heavy to move around,, Being a full timer, we drag everything with us. I have used 2x10's with 1x2's grabbers every 6 inches for when I have to park in muddy RV parks,, Use them under the wheels of the 5'er and under the wheels of the truck,, and being cut to 4 ft lengths,, they fit nicey in the back of the truck.. And no matter how muddy or not muddy it is,, I still look like a 3 year old after playing in a mud puddle,, head to toes,, but hey,, at least my hands are clean.lol   Glad you got it out and shared your adventure.. happy motoring to you and yours.

[Daniel Long]

That is a great tip! Yes, I found that the most frustration was not having a solid base for the tires to roll onto. Those plastic strips were okay but no match for the mud.