Driving through Mud

Mud can be described as wet, soft, earthy matter. There are several types of it. However they all have one thing in common, they are formed by a mixture of soil and water in a ratio that turns otherwise firm ground into a soft, slippery surface. Mud appears in countless variations dependant on where you are at the time. There is heavy clay, soft peat and gritty loam, shallow and deep, wet and sticky and they all result in loss of grip on the vehicle tyres, especially those vehicles that are not equipped with Mud terrain tyres. If you have any doubts get out and have a look at what you’re dealing with. A five-minute recce now could save you hours of recovery later. If the route is clearly too difficult for the vehicles in the group, make a judgement call and turn around. If however you feel it will be possible with care, follow the techniques outlined below to obtain the best from the vehicles. Instruct your group to select low ratio (if you have not already done so) and for vehicles equipped with a centre-locking differential to engage that as well. Tell them to close all the windows as mud will invariably fly everywhere and you don’t want it in the cab. It is important to maintain forward momentum, drive as fast as is necessary, but as slowly as possible. By that I mean fast enough to maintain forward momentum, without risking losing control or racing unnecessarily. Second, third or even fourth gear should be used dependant on vehicle and gradient. The reason for this is to minimise wheel spin, by reducing the available torque to the driving wheel, whilst maintaining enough power to keep the vehicle moving. Once the vehicle is underway it is generally not a good idea to attempt a gear change, as this will cause a lack of momentum. Therefore select an appropriate gear that will allow you to complete the muddy section without the need to change gears. Do not fight the vehicles chosen path. It will find the path of least resistance, but over steering in the opposite direction can result in the vehicle veering off your chosen course. You should avoid harsh acceleration and steering movements. If your wheels begin to spin, then ease off the throttle slightly to allow them to regain some grip without slowing down and losing forward momentum. Deeply rutted tracks will require significantly more momentum than would be required in shallow mud or ruts, which offers a lower resistance to movement. For vehicles equipped with traction control, it is important to keep the engine revs fairly high as these systems rely on sensors detecting wheels rotating at a certain sped to operate effectively. If the vehicles tyre treads fill up with mud they will in effect become slicks, offering little or no grip at all. Spinning the tyres up will sometimes, but not always throw the mud out of the tread and allow the tyre to regain grip on the surface. In really gloopy, sticky mud this is unlikely to work for anything other than Mud terrain tyres and even then it is not guaranteed. If the tyres cannot bite down into the ground to find grip, it is going to prove difficult to maintain any momentum.