BOGGED EXTRACTION

G'day mate,

inital thoughts...

letting your tyres down is a good start. this may be anything from 8-22 psi thereabouts if it doesn't work, let them down further. Dig out front and back so you can reverse and have some compressed sand to drive forward and out over.

don't forget to pump your tyres back up for the blacktop.

If you feel like you are going to get bogged stop and reverse and try again. Do not keep going you will dig your tyres in. If you have to dig go backwards…they say reverse is your strongest gear.

First off try not to get stuck in the first place.

To do that let the tyres down, between 20 and 15psi.

Make sure that you are in 4WD

Keep the momentum up

Don't turn the vehicle sharply. Make the turns are as big a possible

If you have to stop, park the vehicle facing down hill.

Drive in the other vehicles tracks, the sand will be already compacted.

If the vehicle starts to slow to a stop don't spin the wheels trying to get out. You will only start to dig in.

If the vehicle stops or is bogged, dig the sand away from all around all 4 tyres. If the vehicle is sitting on the sills or under body, dig the sand from there as well. Dig as much sand away as possible. The more sand is cleared the essayer the vehicle will be able to drive out.

Try a little AC/DC. Rock and Roll.
Drive the vehicle a bit forward and then a little back.
Slowly increasing the length of the track that you are making.
This will compact the sand and will able the vehicle to drive out. Don't spin the wheels or you will end up bogged again.
How much of a track that you will have to compact will depend on how soft the sand is and how quick you can get the momentum up again.

Most times you will have to be dragged out by another vehicle, so don't go alone.

Wayne

As above regarding avoidance.

But the reason softroaders get bogged in sand is because of clearance. Digging around the tyres won't help - you've usually got to get the long handle shovel in from the front and back to clear underneath when the belly is sitting on the sand.

Step one let tyre pressures down if they are not down already and check you are in 4wd properly. Seems like common sense but the number of people who get stuck because 4wd is not correctly engaged is more than you would think. Make sure you do this first or you will just dig yourself in more. Try reversing up the tracks you have made. This is usually easier than moving forward through soft sand. If that does not help you may find that the underside of the vehicle is resting on the sand. If this is the case and you only have a shovel you need to clear the underside of the car enough so you get some real traction and allow the car to move. As for ramps it depends on the sand etc. That is why the suggestion to back up if possible, you have a ready made compacted ramp. If you are in waterlogged suspended sand none of this will work, it is then snatch or winch.

Steve

the best way out is not to be there in the first place with no recovery gear or additional cars.
i have a fairly capable 4wd but when i'm on my own in sand i try to stay clear of any unneccesary action in soft sand.
however, one the best ways is to reverse out of your own tracks after letting the tyres down and removing any sand blocking their track and diffs etc.
another tip is to reconise your vehicle is struggling and the correct time to stop (without braking- sand will do this for you) before you get in too deep.
not easy, but you can then get out and decide whether to reverse out or get in more trouble.
i have been in many bad bogs in wet and soft sand and do not think i would have got out without a snatch or winch, no matter how much digging was done.
by the same rule, i was with a group and would not have attempted most things alone.
sand driving is fun and stretching the limits of your vehicle is fun, but not alone.
hence, you will be given advice on joining clubs, safety in numbers ra ra ra.
eg how do you dig out a car, stuck horizontaly on a very steep soft sand slope, near its roll-over point when a snatch is impossible or will almost certainly result in a roll-over?
cheers
howie
the real answer is how long is a piece of rope, cause most bogs are slightly different.

Thanks to everyone for your advice,
This is the main reason i posted this topic, i wanted a varied amount of information from experienced people.

And no i would not go out alone, though still you can not have too much information on anything, especially if youre in trouble.

Cheers guys

Get some of these: www.maxtrax.com.au/

We often go alone and as a result get bogged without a vehcile to snatch us out way to often and its hard work. I'm seriously considering these to get me out of trouble.

All good advice above but there is one method of getting out of sand that seems to always be overlooked - pushing. Let the tyres down as suggested and then if people are available try pushing first it is often the quickest and easiest way to get going again. We have pushed out cars up on Fraser and Double Island Point with only four or five people that were sitting on their bellies while cars full of idiots were laughing and telling us we were wasting our time. They stopped laughing when it proved to be pretty easy to push them out. This is particularly useful if it is going to be difficult to get a car into position for a snatch.

Tim.

All of the above is very good advice, but one piece of advice seems to be missing...

Know what the tides are........people who want to make artificial reefs go below the high tide mark on an incomming tide...get bogged and viola, instant reef.
Get a tide chart and keep it in the vehicle at all times.

meow.

rick.