I've been offroading in my 98 F150 ORP for over a year now, and just two days ago was the first time I got stuck, and boy did it SUCK.

Here's what happened:

Some friends are in from out of town, and I'm taking them on some very light wheeling. So light that I didn't even grab my "supplies". I usually carry a come-a-long, high lift jack, ropes, gloves, ****** strap, etc, etc, but didn't grab it because I wasn't planning on doing anything hard core.

Anyway, I see a new trail, well, more of a dirt road where they are running water lines for a new subdivision (1200 houses!). We go until we hit some construction, and start to head back and check out some side roads. Well, we head down this big hill, and see some mud at the bottom, we all look at it, decide it's OK, and I put it in 4 high, get up to about 15-20 MPH, and we head in. The mudhole had no standing water on top, and was only a couple of feet longer than the truck.

So we head in, get 3/4 of the way through, and then the truck stops like someone grabbed us from behind with a tractor or something. I tried backing up a bit, and the truck just dug itself in more and more. We tried all sorts of sticking rocks under the front end, etc, etc, but we were stuck, so we called the wife to bring us the equipment I should have had to begin with. Lucky for me, the place we were stuck was 25 yards from the freeway, so I had my wife meet me on the side of the road with the stuff. I also called my dad who has a Cherokee 2wd.

So, at this point, the truck is stuck good, the front of the truck is literally sitting on the ground, and the rear axle has enough dirt in front and behind it so that you can't really even see it. The tires weren't even touching the ground.

My day shows up, and we make some pulls with the Cherokee, and the truck doesn't even move at all. We were trying to pull the truck backwards, because the 2wd Cherokee couldn't get around to pull the truck forwards. So anyway, we finally use the come-a-long tied to a tree and get it so tight that two guys are pulling it and can't move it. Then we use the hi lift jack to jack the back end of the truck up (screwed up my bumper in the process). With the truck still jacked up, we start pulling again, and finally move it about 8" backwards. The jack falls, etc, and we reset everything, and start doing it again. The truck isn't moving at all, and finally my dad starts getting these 10 foot runs with his Cherokee on the ****** strap. He's getting a 10 foot run, then the ****** cable expands 5 feet or so, and his jeep just stops dead. While he's doing this, I have the truck in 4wd, in reverse, laying on the throttle. After about 10 minutes of this, the truck finally moves, and we're out. We dredge a nice flat spot where the front end of the truck just drug along the ground, so that tells you how buried we were.

Now, why did I get stuck? Well, that's the easy part, this is in Georgia, and it was in white clay, it looks like cement when it dries. As soon as I hit the deep part of the mud, the truck just plain sunk up to the frame. I am running the Pro Comp AT tires on 33" size, and the front end of the truck has been cranked about 1" or so. I think the MT version of the tires may have helped a little bit, but I'm not sure since we jut plain bottomed out in the mud.

We also noticed that only one of the front tires was spinning. The rear has an LSD, and both were spinning just fine, but only one front tire would spin, and of course it's the one without any traction. I think a locker may have helped, but I'm not sure if the frame is bottomed?

I'm really not even sure if a lift would have helped. Most lifts I see drop the front lower subframe for the IFS down as much as the lift, so it would have still been about the same height. Of course with a lift I could have had larger tires that might have helped.

I know that a Winch would have been the easiest way to get me out, and it would have done the job no matter what. But I'm interested in not getting stuck again. That sucked! It took 3 hours of running around in the mud in my work clothes with 4 people helping, and I had to buy everyone dinner.

So, basically what I'm asking is what I should do next to keep this from happening again? I already plan to get the MT version of the Pro Comps when these wear out. I'd rather not lift the truck anymore, since the tires get expensive, not to mention the price of the lift itself. Should I get a rear locker? Should I get a front locker first?

(I am planning on getting an add a leaf for the rear of the truck, and raise the front and rear up another inch or so to try and help out a little.)

Or would I have been screwed no matter what without more height, and do I just need to get a winch and be done with it?

Any input is appreciated! Thanks!

-Jay
1998 F150 SC 4x4 ORP
33x12.50 Pro Comp AT's on stock ORP wheels
1" torsion bar crank
RS5000 shocks in rear, fronts on the way
VGX brake pads
K&N air filter
transgo shift kit
JL sub and Kenwood amp
custom modified front bumper by ditch
custom modified rear bumper by stump

 

Get a front locker first. You probably only engage the front wheels while off road so you should never have the problems that a locker introduces on the pavement with the front wheels.

A suspension lift will get more of the truck out of the mud even if the pumpkins are still the in the same place and from your description, that in and of itself, might of made it easier to extricate.

I hate to say it but from what you are describing, the only way to really avoid getting stuck like that (at least more of the time anyway) is to get the lift and taller tires with a more agressive and open tread pattern. That kind of mud just requires clearance and tractor tire type treads (paddles).

Of course, a winch although not keeping you from getting stuck would have made extrication about a 1/10 as long. Get a decent winch (8,000 lbs) with a 150' of cable, ****** block, etc. and pull yourself out of just about anything. Given what you described about the front end being more buried than the back, you may want to consider a cradle mount and putting on a front receiver. That way the winch stays out of the mud (and also doesn't affect entry or exit angles) and in the bed until you need it and you putit on in the most convenient/effective place. The down side is hefting the winch while sloggin through the mud.

Good luck,

Chuck

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2001 Gen I Screw Lariat
Air Raid, Superchip

 

imud,
i have to disagree with you on the front locker. have you ever tried to steer a truck with a locked front end? not very fun, this is why the arb's are so nice, you can simply unlock when into a tight turn. i would seriously consider a good limited-slip for the front before getting locked.

jayntguru,
sorry to hear about your luck, but you learned a valuable lesson as you said. no matter how light you're planning on wheelin-take your recovery equipment. i learned this lesson the hard way, also, many years ago. a winch is a great thing to have, but very pricey. really consider how much you'll be using one before you drop a grand, or better. your money, just giving you something to think about. something i learned about having a winch, suddenly anytime your buddies are going wheelin, you're invited. trust me on this one. lol! good luck with your decision-remember a lot of the old-timers say "you haven't been wheelin til you've been stuck". as a guy that has been stuck too many times to count i can say this and laugh. later, Rich.

------------------
-1999 F-150 4X4 XLT SC
-4.6, auto
-3.55LS
-Westin chrome nerf bars
-dual straight pipes
-goodyear mt/r 265/75/16
-hikerdadrich@aol.com

 

jayntguru, don't worry, I was in the exact position as yourself a year ago when my truck was still stock. I was in Montana, we were early to check in to the Hotel so we went for short trip into the hills. I had none of my equipment and we came across a short hill with some mud (10 feet in lenth). We looked at it and said no big deal. Next thing the frame of the truck is sitting on the groud and when we opened the doors they scraped along the ground. I had my cell phone, but the police could not find us. We tried puting dead trees under the tires but could not get any traction and broke a valve stem off. To make things worse and don't tell anybody this, about 4 hours later somebody finally drove by and we were pulled out by a Dodge dually.

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98 5.4L, 4" Rancho Suspension with 33" BFG on 16" Weld Racing Rims, Chrome Brush Guard, Stainless Stell Steps, Alpine Stereo with 4 5X7 MB Quards run by an Alpine approx. 400 watt amp and 4 He2 Rockford's 10" subs run by a 800 watt Rockford amp, and CB and Scanner

 

hikerrich, F-150's have hubs in the front, hence, a locker won't affect your steering at all. Although, ARB's are always good.

jayntguru, to get out of that, you would definately need a winch, it works wonders. To not get into that situation, get a lift and 35" tires, at least a goodyear MT/R, or a super swamper ssr. Don't waste your time with ProComp muds, they're not that great. Also, to go through the mud, AT's suck and will get you stuck more than you'd like.

 

Thanks for the tips guys. I went wheeling again this weekend (with all of my tools this time!). ANd I was doing some experimenting.

I was pulling up to these impossible hills that I knew I couldn't climb, just to see how far up I could get before the truck would stop. Every single time, only one front wheel would spin.

Then I did some "mud dragging" with some volunteers watching the tires for wheelspin, same thing, only one front tire spins.

So, it looks to me like a front locker or LSD of some sort is in order.

http://www.truckperformance.com/prod...1998&sf3=F-150

Anyone used one of these before?

Thanks!

-Jay
98 F150 4x4 ORP with some stuff
http://www.nx2k.com/truck/

 

roland,
i was speaking of steering off-road. they is a huge difference in steering with a locker and without, no matter where you are driving. try to make a tight corner and see how much backing and pulling up and backing again you have to do. we used to weld the spider gears on all our farm trucks (lincoln lockers). i have driven trucks with locked front ends for years, and know what i'm talking about. with an arb you can disengage it while off-road to help with the turning. thus, this is the best choice if funds allow. unless you are slogging through field after field of mud you don't really need to lock your front end, a good ls will be all a person needs. Rich