Hi All

I recently got stuck with my H3 when going though a ditch that was full of Mud
The back wheels got stuck in the Mud and would just turn and the front wheels could not pull me up to the top of the ditch.

I was a little dissapointed that my H3 could not get through as some other 4x4's did with the rear diffs locked all 4 wheels would just spin, I do however believe my tyres [Goodyear Wranglers where partialy to blame].

What be the recommeded tyre pressure for this type of obstacle?

 

it would depend on your tire size, but anywhere from 12 to 18 psi seems typical. the trick with mud is to keep the tires spinning the whole time. this maintains forward momentum and cleans the mud out of the treads. tires definitely make a difference, but i have no idea what a goodyear wrangler looks like, so couldn't say if they're good in mud or not.

 

If you were at full tire pressure that would be a big part of the problem. Lower pressure= a bigger tire footprint. Like Shorty said, in mud you want to keep your momentum up and having a bigger surface for grip helps. Without beadlocks I run 16-18 psi in mud and about the same in deep sand.

 

If you had the stock Wrangler RT/S, that's a big part of the problem. They have small grooves and hold onto the mud vs. shedding it like a good MT tire. I just got rid of mine a few months ago and I noticed a big difference in offroad handling.

 

Yep, those tires are part of the stuck problem. [&o]

 

What tire did you go with? I put off buying the winch bumper until I get new tires. I'm interested in going up to a 35" tire on the stock rim. Looking for feedback from other owners.

 

I think that he is running the same tires as I am. BFG A/T's, NOT the best off road tire but they are a hell of alot better than the stock Wrangler RT/S! A decent compromise tire if you not spending ALL of your time off road IMO. Noticed a big difference just in the mud (haven't been in anything else yet)

 

I'm a proponent of airing down, but in mud it's not going to make as much difference as it would with sand or climbing ledges etc.

There's two camps when it camps to mud. Wide high flotation tire to ride on top, or a tallnarrow tire to cut through the goo and get down to the more solid part. Which works better depends on the mud.

As for the other vehicles making it through.... where they IFS or SFA? Mud tires or street? V8 or I4? ***** to the wall or slow and steady? Long wheelbase or short? Virgin off roaders or experienced veterans? There are tons of factors at play. Personally, I'd rather have my K5 in mud than my H3, even with it's open diffs.

Of the12 or soH3s and H2s that tackled this muddy ditch, I think only 2 or 3 made it through.

[IMG]local://upfiles/2893/9951C17160CD412DB36654F431AF6437.jpg[/IMG]

 

When my lease is up and if I decide to buy it out, I will definitely be changing the tires out. I have the stock wranglers on right now, which are great for normal driving, but even in the snow up here they slip, however a lot better than the stock ones that came with my Jeep. I noticed they do hold a lot of the "whatever" you are going through whether it be snow, mud or dirt.

I did look at the Wrangler MTR and the BFG mud t/atire for my jeep cherokee when I was looking for tires and they looked like a decent tire for on-road AND off-road driving. Some off road trucks I have been in, it feels like you are driving on the moon on the highway with them and the noise is ridiculous.

 

Bad tires are a huge difference. Think of an athlete with the wrong shoes, like a track star in heels. The most embarrassing moment of my 4 wheeling life was this picture where it took me four tries to get up the hill. Heck the range below was almost all stock and I think he got up with out even breaking traction.Bad tires + bad driver = embarassment. But I can say I leaned more that day with that one little hill than I did the rest of the weekend. Should have put my other set of tires on, should have listened to the spotter, andshould have not thought that my vehicle was so bad I could do it my way.And again I know you were dissapointed but everyone that wheels gets stuck and makes mistakes. Get ride of those tires you have asI hated them on a vehicle I did have. And my opinion is like Steve #1, tire pressure alone may have not been the culprit here.