Once stuck don’t spin the wheels as this will only dig you deeper. Get out and assess the situation as a little spade work taking off a knob or making a ‘track’ for the wheels to follow may be all that’s required.

If lack of traction is the problem try a higher gear, a gentle throttle and moving the steering wheel from the 11 o’clock to the 1 o’clock position so that the tyre sidewalls can find extra grip.

In deep ruts, digging the centre mound and filling in the ruts will improve your position two fold. Early spade work and a few minutes invested in digging may get you out first time.

Often it is easier to reverse out, as you have wheel tracks to follow rather than pushing through new soft ground.

Fern, brushwood, sacking or similar material placed in front of the direction of the wheels will assist in giving traction. Sand ladders or steel/aluminium planking will assist if placed under the wheels and if necessary can be moved to the front or rear wheels again.

These help spread the vehicle’s weight over soft ground and are handy to have but extremely bulky to carry.
 

To read the full story in the May 2015 issue of NZ4WD go to Zinio.com (on sale April 20) or purchase your own hard copy at the Adrenalin store.