If you drive a truck, then the odds are that at some point in your driving life you'll get your tires stuck in the mud. This is especially common during the winter when ground is frozen for a period of time and then thaws suddenly. At that point, you may drive on the once-frozen ground and realize it is soft only when your tires become stuck. Read on to find out what not to do when stuck in the mud and one good option to try to release yourself before you call a towing company.
Don't Rock Your Tires
It is often a first instinct for many truck drivers to try to "rock" their tires out of the mud when they first become stuck. They first accelerate forward, then drive backward, then repeat over and over. Why is this bad? First, this only digs the tires much deeper into the mud, and they become more and more embedded. This makes the problem worse and makes any future attempts at getting unstuck virtually impossible.
Also, and more importantly, rocking can damage the truck transmission. The last thing you want to do is damage an important part of your vehicle that may cost thousands of dollars to replace or repair just to avoid a small tab from a tow truck company.
Do Try Sand or Floor Mats for Traction
While you may not currently carry a bag of sand in your truck, it is a good idea to start keeping one handy. If you have access to a bag or two and your tires are not stuck too deep, you can place sand in the tire tracks of your truck, then get inside and hope the sand gives your tires the traction they need to grip to allow you to drive straight out of the mud.
If you don't have sand on hand, then you can instead take all four floor mats out of your vehicle and wedge each one under the front of each of your tires. The floor mats will provide similar traction to the sand (or more depending on your mats) to help you get your tires up and going. Once unstuck, you will of course have dirty floor mats, but they can often be cleaned to look like new again. There are also special traction pads you can purchase from many auto shops to have on hand solely for this purpose.
If you try these tricks and are still stuck, then just call a truck towing company. Keep the number of one in your cell phone at all times to be prepared for situations like this when driving.
Share16 October 2015
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