Stuck in mud best ways to get out

[aighead]

Lots of good advice for getting unstuck. Chains did not work for me last time, but they were maybe just too weak.

I'm going to add that it may not be a bad idea to throw on that seatbelt too, if you don't normally wear it. My last time stuck I used the hoe to lift my back wheels out but that had me up in the sky pretty high and it was scary, even with outriggers down close to the ground. My front wheels were also very deep and I felt like I needed to turn the steering wheel a bit as I was able to slide sideways with the hoe side. There was a fair amount of trying to do 3 things at once, so you do a little of each and crawl your way out. What worked for me was lift the back up with the hoe and swing sideways as much as I could, then set the outriggers down, so I didn't slide back into the original hole, repeat that a bunch, hoping the big tires find some purchase, then shoving with the loader bucket while pulling with the hoe.

I'd say as you learn about unsticking it won't be uncommon to spend hours figuring it out. I tend to try for a bit then either just sit and take a break or walk away from the machine for a bit.

Also, learn to get unstuck, even if it takes hours. Looking at your space this won't be the last time it happens. You can also practice by just moving the machine around without driving. You don't have to practice by actually being stuck. Get that feel for swinging the machine around with the hoe and pushing with the loader, but kind of at the same time.

 

[aighead]

!I forgot to mention when you lift or pull or push, move those levers REAAAALLLLY slow, especially the swing!

Maybe, if you aren't very good at slow movements with the swing lever, you sit and practice that with each hand (while not worrying about actually getting unstuck yet), because you may end up needing your "normal" swing hand to control pushing with the loader bucket while swinging or doing something else. Fast swinging when your hoe bucket is the only touching the ground and you are 4 feet higher in the cab gets sketchy real quick.

I've tried to get used to moving any of my levers as little as possible to get the slowest, most precise movement I can. Millimeters at a time. I've, thusly, gotten way closer to things to save myself picking up a real shovel.

 

[jimmynoshow]

It crosses my mind to put a winch on mine , anyone ever done that ?

 

[aighead]

I haven't heard of it but if you could find a spot where you wouldn't have cable running across hydraulic lines maybe it'd be ok. I think I was using 4000lb rated chains (granted from Harbor freight) and they broke like they weren't even there on my last stuckedness. A cable (rated much higher) I'm sure would be better.

You may also find, as you grow more experienced, that the challenge of getting unstuck is kind of fun. Not fun enough you go swamping on purpose but very rewarding to get out of.

 

[Delmer]

Learn to use the tool before trying to re invent it. A winch on a backhoe is the last thing that would cross my mind.

 

[HarleyHappy]

No winch, but what I did do in Tennessee, dealing with that slick mud when it gets wet, with a 4 wheel drive Cat backhoe, that I was sick of getting stuck everywhere.
I found a Budd rim and made a collar that bolted right over one of the back wheel studs that stuck outside the rear tire and rim by 8“.
When I got stuck, I would break out chains and wrap the around that Budd rim and chain to a good tree with a snatch block and I could put it in reverse and that chain would wrap around that drum like a winch.
I kept taking it off, when I didn’t need it but just ended up leaving it on, it was so handy.

 

[MG84]

It crosses my mind to put a winch on mine , anyone ever done that ?

No need for a winch, just get proficient at operating the machine and situations like your original post will only be a minor inconvenience. An experienced operator could have had the machine out of that stuck in literally 5-10min. In 23 years of running backhoes I’ve never had one stuck bad enough I couldn’t get it out under it’s own power.

 

[jimmynoshow]

Thats how we started this post , everything an experienced operator does in 2 min takes me 20 min ,and my limited time up there , next spring I’ll get better at it . Im going to do what one gentleman said “practice getting out when not actually stuck, i got maybe 4-5 hrs exp on the machine and as i said my buddy fell in the mud twisted his ankle and just wanted to go home , guy with excavator is supposed to be there this morning getting it out , hopefully they did and don’t have any problems, also, like I said, I figured it would be cheaper just to pay them rather than me messing around another 4-5hours and possibly breaking something .right now She’s ready to work in the spring , as soon as she gets out of the mud.

 

[digger doug]

I got stuck several times in my skid loader, so I finally installed a rat tail (the hook point was under the back, and very hard to get a chain to while submerged)

Have not gotten stuck since, so have not needed it.....

 

[jimmynoshow]

Looks like a complete waste of resources this trip, they absolutely could not get it to start , they didn’t warm the oil pan and didn’t try either, the guy I bought it from said it was a xxxxxxxxxxxx to start in the winter , I guess I’ll go back up there in a few months and see if I can get it running

 

[skyking1]

@digger doug that is how Murphy rolls
I have one stuck story from the Dam Job that is funny.
It was nothing like most sites, down in the cut. They chased rotten rock to get to a good interface to pour the concrete, so it had dips and holes and in this one area, a wicked 40' long slope in both directions. I went down it once.
I started in slowly and after awhile the tires just started sliding on the slick rock, both downhill and sideways.
I got off the brakes and goosed it, and then the downhill tire came up against a knob and she rocked up high on two wheels, hung there for what seemed like eternity, and then rocked back down. The pucker factor was as high as I had seen in my young career.
I did what was needed down there and then it was time to back up out of there. I did have an extendahoe, but he outrigger rubber pads were gone. Normally you just don't care on a dirt job but when you are trying to set yourself on steep slick rock, that rubber would have been very welcome.
I found a little edge up there and hooked it with the moldboard on the bucket all stretched out. I sucked in the stick and tucked up until I was right on top of that. Then I set the outriggers down and locked the brake (2WD) and got the front bucket hooked in as best I could, and released that hold. I tried that and failed several times, sliding all the way back down to that knob I mentioned above, the pucker knob.
There was just nothing else to hook onto in the middle of that slope.
the drillers had an Ingersoll Rand rock drill with a little winch on it up on the bench, and I got a winch assist out of there

 

[skyking1]

Jimmy I have a strong suggestion to make. Get your battery charger and generator and a can of ether and the heater and whatever you think you might want to get it started and get back up there.
Take 6~8 pieces of scrap plywood with you.
Lift the front end up with the front bucket and put two pieces under those tires.
Do the same on the back tires. Level out the mud and get the plywood flat, and set it under there.
Put he machine back on the now unstuck tires. If it wants to sink bad, take a couple more pieces and leave the outriggers down so that it is just about level with the world.
Come back when it is hard frozen and drive it out. I am presuming that it gets that cold where you are.
If you don't get it out of the mud now it is a real PITA and you end up waiting till the melt and then you have the mud again.
Frozen into the mud like that is bad for those back tires.

 

[jimmynoshow]

Thats what my buddy who fell said , thats what we’re going to end up doing, will bring the bullet heater generator for oil pan some either and do it when ground is frozen , i think they got it out of the hole , the right front tire looks up

 

[skyking1]

It is the back tires I am concerned about. If they get frozen in you are really hosed. My solution requires 2 trips. This is the price for pride of ownership. Go get it up before those back tires get locked in. While you are at it, bring the battery home with you when you get done.
When it is good and hard you can drive it out with ease, but not if it is locked in the ice.

 

[jimmynoshow]

Ok , and i always take the battery with me home so shes charged

 

[MG84]

Once you get it back on firm ground and have some time to play with it, do take time to practice some of the moves as suggested. Not only are some of these techniques useful for getting a machine unstuck, but also for regular everyday digging tasks.

For example, you need to get proficient at pushing the machine along with the hoe, which is the only efficient way to move forward when trenching. Also needed when lifting/pushing yourself forward to jump over an open ditch or trench. Next is lifting the machine and pivoting it side to side with the hoe. This is used to quickly square up to parallel sides of a wider hole or trench (say 6-8’ wide) as you are digging it. Also useful for getting yourself on or off a trench you are straddling. Lastly using the hoe and loader together to lift and walk the machine, useful for getting up and out of deeper excavations with straight walls.

Some of these are pretty advanced techniques and situation you
may never need, but others you’ll encounter regularly. I see it all the time where new operators just view a backhoe as a tractor with a couple attachments on it. Don’t be the guy who digs a few feet of trench, spins the seat around, lifts up the outriggers and loader, and puts it in gear to move ahead a few feet lol.

 

[colson04]

Don’t be the guy who digs a few feet of trench, spins the seat around, lifts up the outriggers and loader, and puts it in gear to move ahead a few feet lol.

I'm that guy, but I never had any formal training on advanced techniques either. I bought my Deere 310A from my grandpa, who used it to dig trench for irrigation pipe. He dug what he could reach, spun around, pulled forward, re-set and continued. I'll have to practice sliding myself forward for trench work, as that would really speed up the process.

@jimmynoshow , do what @skyking1 said and get that hoe above the mud. If those rear tires freeze in and you go jarring on it, they could lose a bead. Then you're in a worse situation that requires a mobile tire guy on top of getting it free.

 

[Old Doug]

I'm that guy, but I never had any formal training on advanced techniques either. I bought my Deere 310A from my grandpa, who used it to dig trench for irrigation pipe. He dug what he could reach, spun around, pulled forward, re-set and continued. I'll have to practice sliding myself forward for trench work, as that would really speed up the process.

I ran a skid steer with a back hoe attachment. It was a pain the hoe wouldnt move the skid steer so you had to get out of the seat climb down in the skid steer back it up get back on the other seat and dig some more.

 

[skyking1]

^ yes Doug, me too, one time only. That cured me.

 

[digger doug]

Looks like a complete waste of resources this trip, they absolutely could not get it to start , they didn’t warm the oil pan and didn’t try either, the guy I bought it from said it was a xxxxxxxxxxxx to start in the winter , I guess I’ll go back up there in a few months and see if I can get it runningView attachment 299937

This is "Stuck" ^^^ ???