By mike fanslau (Buckadanorth) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

This 6 x 6 discussion board has been very helpful as i've investigated and purchased an Argo I/C 8 x 8. I've noticed that just about everyone says "it's not IF you get stuck, it's WHEN you get stuck. So, I'd like to prepare my machine, and myself for the time(s) when I get stuck. What better source of knowledge could there be that all of you folks who've been there, done that, and found ways to A. Get out B. Avoid getting stuck in the first place through wiser driving, or improvements like tires, or tracks.
OR C. Equipment to carry (besides the winch) to help get out of your "stuck-spot". Thanks, Buck-ada-north

By Roger Smith on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Oh, this will be a long and interesting thread, hehe.

I learned a little trick this weekend in my Response. Wandered out into a pond/mudhole and the ice stopped forward progress. I was also a little high centered and couldn't swim backwards. I had the luxury of being a hundred yards from my friends house whose land I was on; I waited for him to come out and look for me. I got tired of waiting, stepped to the rear compartment, feet at the back, leaned over the seat and operated the controls while rocking side to side. Came out pretty quick.

The Response was nose heavy, I unweighted the front off the mud bottom with the weight shift to the empty rear compartment, and added traction to the rear. Sure beats sitting on the bench churning the wheels.

a paddle or pole for deep water
tow straps, extra cable, snatch block, come a long for when the winch is on the wrong end
shovel
ground stake when nothing to hook winch to
thin vinyl waders
tools
flashlight
etc
cell phone

optionally, just ride with a buddy to save your ass :)

By John Martin on Unrecorded Date: Edit

The buddy system by far is the best if you are going to do some extreme wheeling, start looking if you haven't got one!

By newmax on Unrecorded Date: Edit

I got stuck a few times. The first time i got stuck was when I first got the machine. It was last winter, i was riding on the snowmobile trails. It was going fine until i came to a road crossing. i crossed the road and had to go over a large snow bank about 6'. i didn't know what was on the other side, once i got over the bank the trail was only 1 snowmobile wide. it was a large field so i only went a few feet and decided not to try to keep going. as soon as it tried to turn around my tires sunk right in and that was the end of it. I had no winch at the time so i had to walk home (4 miles) to get some wood to put under the tires. It took a while but i got out.

By Dave Johnston on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Use a long rope...tie one end to the Argo, the other to a SOLID fixed object as far away as you can get...Go half way between the Argo and fixed object. Push sideways on the rope...most effective at first with deminishing returns up to a 45 degree angle. At that point...shorten and retie the rope...Something to do with vector forces...It is one of the oldest simple tools around but is never mentioned when they discuss the pully, wedge, and ramp. Good luck.

By liflod (Liflod) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

One thing that I do when I go riding is carry my cell phone and leave the keys to my truck somewhere on my truck. That way if I need help I can call someone to get in my truck and come rescue me or at least meet me half way!

I have also heard someone mention using a rope, tying it to a fixed object and wrapping the other end around the axle and or tire and using the rotating axle as a winch. I have not tried that yet , but its something to keep in mind.

Another idea I have in case of lack of traction, is to wrap a ratchet strap around the tire and use the ratchet part as a big traction lug.

By Kenny on Unrecorded Date: Edit

From liflod (Liflod):

>I have also heard someone mention using a rope,
>tying it to a fixed object and wrapping the
>other end around the axle and or tire and using
>the rotating axle as a winch. I have not tried
>that yet , but its something to keep in mind.

This was standard equipment on Willys M38 used in the military... There was a spool attached to the center of the wheel hub with a rope threaded through it and voilą! A portable winch!

Be carefull though, the rope may get very tangled around the axle and may be impossible to remove or cut away if you put too much tension on the rope. You may end up having to take the axle appart to remove the rope...

Another idea is to use a come-a-long or a high lift jack as a winch. the only draw back is that the cable is very short on the come-a-longs (about 5 feet)!

But like John said, the buddy system is the way to go! Just be safe!

By newmax on Unrecorded Date: Edit

I have another story about getting stuck. I was going down a river and followed it to a part where is was very shallow. most of the way it was fine and fun. I came to a section that was almost dried up. it was very muddy. very mushy. i came to a sudden stop, i sunk right in ti the belly and that was all she wrote. I had to winch myself out about 60 feet. One problem i ran into was that i bought a winch that does not have roller leads. and unless you are pulling straight on the cable digs into the side of the winch. Once i got myself out there was no way i could go back. so i had to climb a very steep embankment. I made but i was scared. make sure you carry extra cable or rope with you incase you are far away from any trees to hook onto. I have foung that there is no comparison between the tracks and the 26" tires. The tracks are far better.

By Dave Johnston on Unrecorded Date: Edit

I have seen a rim, minus tire used on a jacked up car as a poor man rope pull in a rural area for skiing...however it had no tension to speak of.. Using your axle to pull may result in a bent axle. If you are going to try it...Go from one axle to the tree, around the tree and back to the axle on the other side...Two pulling axles should be better than one at distribution the pull.

By Dave Johnston on Unrecorded Date: Edit

I have seen a rim, minus tire used on a jacked up car as a poor man rope pull in a rural area for skiing...however it had no tension to speak of.. Using your axle to pull may result in a bent axle. If you are going to try it...Go from one axle to the tree, around the tree and back to the axle on the other side...Two pulling axles should be better than one at distribution the pull.

By newmax on Unrecorded Date: Edit

I had a new expirence today. I was out on the mountail top today and heard a loud noise. I stopped as soon as i heard it. I opened the floor boards and there was a pair of pliers jammed in the middle sprocket. The chain had come off. Luckily there was no damage that i could see. I loosened the chain tensioner and put the chain back on. and made it home. the chain is a little bent. not sure if i should replace it or not. if so does anyone know how much the front chain is. and what size chains are they?

By Acadia on Unrecorded Date: Edit

I was cruising down an old woods road at a good clip when my bigfoot started slowing down to a crawl. I put it in low gear thinking I'm on very soft ground. I didn't move much faster. So I popped the hood looking for a bad belt slipping but that wasn't it. Then I noticed the Tarp on the back floor was gone. Gone right around the double center sprocket. It was a 4 by 8 foot tarp and I spent 2 hours with a small swiss army knife picking away eneough tarp to get myself home!

By swomp stuck on Unrecorded Date: Edit

One time in swamp type bog I went over a 10inch log on a diagonal and then turned left, that made me straddle it. Well the log fell between two standing trees about 8 inches wide and I thought I could just squeak through, I was wrong. the max couldn't fit through by a couple inches. so what's a guy to do? i put it in reverse and backed up. the root ballhad come out of the ground when the tree fell over, but i failed to notice it, so when i tried to back up, the max just kept butting up against it. So back and forth i went, there was no turnning as i couldn't get one set of tires to grab the log from that shallow angle. I then wrecked my trans, I mean I lost the abilty to turn right, I broke a band, bummer! my buddy hooked the tow rope to the log with the other max on the scene and snapped the mostly rotten log, and i was free but i was still in a swamp and had a two hundered yard river to cross and could not turn right unless I did a 270 degree turn to the left. I made it home but on the way back the drain plug come out of the other max. Feet were wet and the belts had stared slipping and the slower they went the faster the water gushed in but it made it across . It was so loaded with water it couldn't make it up the bank of the river with out a hand. that's just one of my stories.