muddy conditions

one other thing - u can swing the front wheels to and fro if ruts narrow but i'm sure u'll get further good advice - 'appy slidings

Kevin,

Do yourself a favour. Next time it's been raing for a day or to, make a trip to a 4wd park, or one of your mates paddocks (if your lucky enough to have one with a farm), and get out there and experiment. The first time you drive in slippery conditions, all the dry weather tactics go out the window, so it helps if you have been able to have a bit of a practice in controlled circumstances in the slop. Try a bit of throttle steering, and maybe master a little bit of handbrake work. I have learnt some of the most important things by just having a play, and of course, making a few mistakes.

Get used to the feel of driving your vehicle in the mud, then try a few excersises, like a little hillclimb, maybe a few drifting turns, and in no time, you'll feel more than confident of piloting your truck through those terribly sloppy conditions, that will no doubt confront you one day on your travels around Oz.

PERSONAL EXPERIENCE IS BY FAR THE BEST TEACHER.

Good luck, and have fun!!

Tristjo.

Not to drive on it would be one consideration, but leaving that aside:

- LOWER pressures. High pressures work as well in mud as they do in sand. 20psi is good.
- The handbrake trick is for vehicles with a rear LSD only, and then only in extreme conditions as it does cause excess wear. Do NOT do it when everything is sliding, you'll only make matters worse.
- Use the highest gear you can. Second low is a good starting point, depending on the gearing and torque of the vehicle third may be possible. I've not driven an 80 but I expect 3rd low
- Wind the windows up first.
- Walk the mudbog.
- Attach a snatch strap to your recovery point, hang the strap in a window, wind the window up.
- Don't be afraid to use the right boot, but try and keep things smooth.
- Avoid braking. If you need to go somewhere, you'll best go there by gentle acceleration so the tyres pull and bite, not by lifting off the accelerator and trying to turn.
- Wave the steering wheel from left to right frantically, this gives the side lugs a chance to bite.

hth

--
Robert
http://www.gpsvehiclenavigation.com/

First thing to do when things turn bleep y and wet is to get those tyre pressures down to about 20 psi. Even with road tyres this will help enormously, and can be the difference between getting up that hill or not. Wheel chains are a godsend in slippery mud/rock conditions. There are not too many circumstances where you will not get out of with chains on. Traction is awesome. Provided that you do not deliberately spin up the chains, they actually do less damage to the track surface than a spinning tyre does. A wheel chain that is being used correctly will only leave an indent of the chain in the track surface, provided you do not induce wheel spin. Chains have saved my bacon many a time, far more effective than diff locks and certainly preferrable to a long,arduous winching procedure, up a greasy, slippery incline. But what many knockers do not take into account, is the added safety and traction afforded the vehicle ON DOWN SLOPES, where danger of the vehicle running away is very real. Yes, chains are a very,very useful piece of kit, that unfortuneatly, have copped very negative press in years gone by, mainly by those who have never really been in the serious terrain positions to correctly judge their effective usefulness.

OK... my interest is piqued here guys.... tell me more about the use of chains.. types, uses, safety concerns etc... I have never even seen a set in real life, so am completely ignorant on there use. I always assumed they were for snow driving(?) When fitted, do they damage the tyres at all?? I run 33" Pro Comps on my GQ, and "may" never go far enough into the rough to need chains to get out... but "ya-never-know!!" LOL

Apart from lower tyre pressures I can also suggest the original 'Joey' which is the 'extra wheel' attachment that can be bolted onto any 6 stud axle front or rear - also can be used as a winch or offset to act as a jack to lift the vehicle out of a bog. Brilliant device - gives untold confidence for the sole adventurer - very simple but amazing extra traction, won an Aust design award - been off the market for a few years but may be available soon on Explore Oz - watch this space.

kezza

The question from Bonz was a curly one and requires me to answer with several parts. Firstly, I use ex-army ladder type which I brought 25 years ago and have since modified the binders to a more user-friendly, over-centre type latching device.Certainly, more modern designs are now available, ie "v" chain and diamond pattern. "v" chain will bite in more than normal chain. Diamond pattern will give you superior lateral or sideways grip, but on hard rock on decents their do tend to skid down more than ladder. Swings and roundabouts.
Secondly, yes obviously four chained wheels provide more traction than two chained wheels. But is probably overkill, here's an example.
25 years ago, the tracks in the high-country of Victoria were generally in a harder to drive state than they are today (thats another story) and also the vehicles we had to use were less capable than today, viz crash-box Nissan's and 3-speed cruisers and series 2 LR's etc, etc, but my point is, we were able to drive those hard tracks in bleep y trucks with no more than the rear wheels being chained. Up to you. Thirdly, whether you put them front or back is an option you need to consider as the driver of that vehicle and differs with the environment you need to cover. Certainly, if I was looking at climbing a steep, wet, rocky, off camber climb, I would put them on the rear because the rear wheels are doing 70% of the work in pushing the truck up hill. Conversely, if I was faced with a windy, snow covered twisting track through large gum tree's, I would fit them on the front because my priority is now accurate steering response to miss those tree's!
All of the above does not take into account the few vehicles around that have full time 4x4 but cannot lock their centre diff. You could argue that what the hell are they doing there in the first place, with such a lame duck vehicle, but nonetheless an unlocked drive is not going to give drive to the wheels with the grip, in this case the wheels with the chains.

Folks,

Ive been using chains for years and have also fitted a front airlocker to my TX Prado (I'll fit a rear one too when the LSD wears out) and I agree that the chains used properly do far less damage to the tracks.

However, with a centre Diff lock I reckon fit them to the front for ascents (where you need to control your line on the hill) and on the rear for decents to stop the back end from trying to beat you to the bottom of the hill.

When I have a rear diff lock I'll probably play with one on opposite corners (IR Front right & back left!)

I avaiod bog holes whereever possible as the chains just churn them up even more unless there is a solid base down there somewhere.

Gazza