I was stuck with both rear tires in a muddy place. Fortunately with some help, the car, while being driven, could be pushed out of the ruts. The manual suggested a jack-up point way under the truck bed- I could not have made it under there. Can I safely use another jack-up point, more accessible? If not, I will need to call for a wrecker service.
Those are pretty accessible jack points. About as good as it gets.
No matter though. If you were in the mud, the jack would mostly be driving itself into the ground.
If you think this is the kind of thing that might happen a lot, buy or make yourself some traction boards to keep in the bed.
I’ve used trailer hitch as jacking point before. A newer hitch should not be rusty or collapse. An empty truck box is not heavy
Not sure why you are trying to jack up a vehicle in mud, but most off roaders use an electric winch to get unstuck, normally attached to the front bumper/aftermarket bumper or frame somehow, a come-along works too… Or as stated, they use some traction boards if no trees are close enough or no other trucks around… Or using a shovel, dig down some and throw some rocks or something for the tires to grip to…
But 1st thing is 1st, you have to have someone pushing and just floor it slinging mud all over them… at least it will make your day better…
If you have a factory trailer hitch, it is welded to the frame so you can use it as a jacking point.
Not sure how you got stuck, don’t care but if you are at risk of getting into this situation again, I’d suggest that you invest in a set of tow hooks and a tow strap. Then it will be easier for someone else to tow you out.
If this could happen a lot and a winch is justified, be sure you also get a tree protector.
When I got stuck in my truck, it has always been in deep sand, not mud. Truck is 4wd, so not easy to get stuck in mud in it. To get out of the sand when 4wd doesn’t work, I didn’t ever try the jack idea. Seems difficult to do, dangerous, and unlikely to work. These are things I tried that turned out to be successful, eventually:
- Reduce the weight by unloading the cargo
- Shovel to build the wheels a small, even ramp to climb.
- Place limbs, dry dirt or sand, tree trimmings, etc, near the wheel to drive over and help provide traction.
- Climb out in 2nd gear rather than 1st, helps prevent wheel spinning.
One of the key things in sand is air down to about 20psi. Best to do it before even getting into the sand.
Good point. Good reason to carry an tire -pump of some kind, so can re-inflate. I never had that much foresight … lol …
When I lived in Arizona, I has several friends who 4-wheeled in the desert and sometimes the dry river beds were just too sandy and they would get stuck. And if they went out after a rain, the “dry” river beds were often a quagmire… Since there are few trees to hook onto and winch themselves out, they carried a “Boat Anchor” that would they hooked onto the winch and it would easily sink into the sand (or mud…) and give them a solid point to winch themselves out. The folding (military surplus) shovel, besides the obvious reasons, might also be needed to dig the anchor out.