Stuck in the Mud

TheHollands! · June 12, 2015, 07:32:50 AM

It's probably happened to most of us, but this one my wife caught on film. Have a gander...
https://tillersandtravelers.wordpress.com/2015/06/07/stuck-in-the-mud/

Lostranger · June 12, 2015, 08:19:16 AM

Hey Craig,

Glad to see that you got out. You are dramatically more willing to venture off the hard surface than am I. I wish you well with that. Traditional hillbilly wisdom teaches that good judgment comes from experience. Experience comes, of course, from bad judgment.

Wishing you folks the best.

Jim and Beverly

TomC · June 12, 2015, 08:57:33 AM

One of the advantages a Crown or Gillig 40ft school bus has with powered tandem drives. Good Luck, TomC

Lee Bradley · June 12, 2015, 09:41:41 AM

Who said you can't off-road highway coaches.

Scott & Heather · June 12, 2015, 03:12:30 PM

Wowzers. You guys have guts. You go places with the bus I would never go. Time to get some aggressive tread.

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HB of CJ · June 12, 2015, 06:50:09 PM

Sorry you got stuck. I once did donuts in 6" of soft snow in my Crown 10 wheeler. Just locked up all 8 wheels with that dash mounted inter axle lock up air switch. Fun but dumb.

The few times I had to chain up with that Crown 10 wheeler was an experience as when locked up, the front end did not want to steer. The Bus wanted to just go straight.

I also once took the Banana Boat, (her name) onto the hard packed sand beach at Crescent City CA. The front end wanted to bog, the drivers did just fine. Big fast turn a round.

Difference in the chassis I guess. Crowns forever. HB

TheHollands! · June 12, 2015, 07:58:05 PM

First time we've been stuck, had been parked there a week on the farm and it started raining the last few days we were there. Fresh eggs and Raw milk right on your doorstep is about the best place to have a bus parked. Happy it wasn't too much work to get moving. Craig

Lin · June 13, 2015, 09:05:40 AM

If you decide to park like that again, you could put some lumber on the tires to avoid the possibility of sinking. You could also use some long planks to walk free of the muddy area.

Dave5Cs · June 13, 2015, 02:43:46 PM

I pickup six big truck Mud flaps. I put them in-front of the tires and drive up on them. When its time to go it just walks out.

Seangie · June 14, 2015, 08:59:57 AM

Nominated for the best bus video award

Iceni John · June 14, 2015, 10:20:26 AM

Quote from: Dave5Cs on June 13, 2015, 02:43:46 PM
I pickup six big truck Mud flaps. I put them in-front of the tires and drive up on them. When its time to go it just walks out.

An old fart desert rat I knew used to keep two rolled-up lengths of old fire hose in his car, and he said it never failed to work for him. How about scaling up this idea for a bus using lengths of conveyer belt? Mind you, it would be better to not get into that situation in the first place. I always keep several bottle jacks and some lengths of 6 x 8" pine in the bus for wheel changing, so maybe they would help when stuckness happens, but maybe not if the ground is too soft?

John

buswarrior · June 15, 2015, 09:02:23 AM

You really want a tow or recovery strap added to the mix if a chain is involved.

Way too many parts torn off by a jerking chain!!!

Happy coaching!
buswarrior

Lostranger · June 15, 2015, 09:54:45 AM

Quote from: buswarrior on June 15, 2015, 09:02:23 AM
You really want a tow or recovery strap added to the mix if a chain is involved.

I STRENUOUSLY recommend against using both a chain and a tow strap. A broken chain attached to a taut tow strap can easily become a lethal projectile.

Jim

Scott & Heather · June 15, 2015, 12:40:18 PM

Yep. Roof of my land cruiser is proof of that. Tow strap snapped and chain hook came flying up and landed on the roof of my truck. Left a nice dent.

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Ed Hackenbruch · June 15, 2015, 03:08:33 PM

If at all possible when parking in a spot where the ground may be soft or get soft due to rain,....park facing the direction you need to go and with a slight down hill slope. If the person towing you doesn't understand the concept of using steady and even pressure on the strap, cable, chain, or whatever else you are using to pull it out.....don't let them help you!!! If they back up and get slack and try to jerk you out they will either cause damage or injure somebody. Case in point....after i got my bus i found out that the tow hooks on my bus had both been broken off. I suspect that the PO had gotten stuck somewhere and gotten yanked out. Two weeks ago the flange on the yoke on the tranny broke as we started to take off from a stop light. Took me 12 days to get parts and put my drive line back together. Upon closer inspection i can see where there has been a crack in part of the flange for many years.....i figure that they were probably also trying to rock the bus back and forth while trying to get it out. Very surprising that those flanges aren't thicker considering how much our buses weigh and the torque involved in moving them.