By Hap on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Last weekend buddy and I took my MaxII 18hp down a creek which I had been down before w/ no problem, however this time was a dissaster. Two days before we went to the creek there was a flash flood and the water was about 15ft deep vs its usuall 1ft deep like it was when we went down it last wkend. I guess the sand had been washed around alot and was very loose. About every 30ft the max would bottom out in the loose sand and we would spend 20 minutes reversing and so forth to get it unstuck. The wheels never stopped turning but they merely dug a whole. It seemed as though the max was floating on the sand. My buddy has an argo conquest and we both feel that any atv would have had equal trouble with this very loose sand. We eventually had to leave the creek and just finish the drive in the woods. Other than a winch does anyone have any driving tips on how to make it through conditions like this?

Thanks,

Hap Henley

By matt435 on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Here we go. More Max's in the Creek. hee hee...

By David Keeso (Argomag) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

In my past experiances with deep mud and silt (what you find at the bottom of a small lake or stream- much like muckky sand) you have to go super slow. I have never seen an amphibion such as ARGO or MAX go through this stuff with ease. I avoid mud and wet muckky sand because I ALWAYS, ALWWAYS get stuck. One option is try different tires with a more aggressive tread pattern to get some propulsion, and grip. One other option is make sure the weight in the front and back are pretty equal. This way, the vehicle is level whilei in water and all tires are working equally. The argo is front heavy, so adding weight in the back submerges the back wheeles more and gives it more propulsion. However, too much tire in the water gives you backwards momentum while you are driving forwards. What you need to really do is equal the weight and drive into a very calm lake or something that is not too deep but deep enough that the wheeles don't tough the bottom at any point other than where you enter and exit and just test how the vehicle responds to where the weight is and the amount of throttle that is ideal for water.

By Roger Smith on Unrecorded Date: Edit

You're either driving or floating, or both. Floating is a good thing, as opposed to sinking:)

Cables/straps/rope/winch/come along/paddle/waders/spare parts/tools/first aid kit/fire extinguisher/cell phone

By Midwest atv's #1 since 2000 (Hustler) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Hap, there is no way we can tell you how to go through there without being there. Experience will tell you how to get through areas like what you discribe. The best way would be going to the rides that get posted here and then ask questions and watch others that go through a bad area. You will see some have a very hard time going through and even get stuck. Others will go through with no problems at all. Experience is where its at.

With that said, most of the time, you don't want to spin any tires so go slow. you don't want to lock up one side when turning. Hope this helps you out.

By Timothy Schotanus (Mudbuster) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

I'm called mudbuster because I love the mucky stuff. Ramona's hole at Humphry is my favorite playing ground. I don't always make it through, but most importantly I ALWAYS have fun trying. There is no golden rule for the mud,you just have to feel it out as you go. If your in the north east we should ride sometime.

By Howard on Unrecorded Date: Edit

I went in to a pond near Clay City IN. at least I thought it was a pond, the water was clear and there was an easy entrance and an even easier exit this was my first time in the water trying out my max I putted around for a couple of minutes and was ready to come out so I go to the opposite end of what I thought was a pond and tried to come out in a spot that looked like it was sandy it actually looked like a beach on that end of the pond I got in to the sandy area but it wasn`t sand it was bottomless silt at least it seemed to be bottomless we couldn`t go any further and we couldn`t seem to go back either what we had to do was start rocking it side to side while in reverse and it finally came out I think the pond was actually an oil catch pit!

By mike martindale (Wetsu) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

a 6in. lift kit and 33in tires,and a waterjet might do the trick. wet silty sand is in no other words a bitch. i was riding on the river here in ks.( sand bars ).got to them just fine rode for about 4 hrs.went to leave and got hung up coming through a waterhole,the tires dug out the sand and i got high centered.even tho i was still in the water.when i got out to push,water was about a foot deep. bythe time we got the argo out,i was up to my chest.this all took about 30 mins.( i didn't have my winch then ).
if your going to drive in the sand keep your head about you.if it looks bad, it is probably worse than it looks.sloooooow is the key word,if you start to hang up you may still have a chance to reverse,and get out.unless the current is behind you ( you are riding in a creek right?).
practice,practice,practice.experience is a good teacher. when in doubt go around. and remember getting stuck is half the fun.

By Travis Johnson (Akmaxman) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Dont know if this will help you down there but here in alaska we have some really boggy areas that are like quicksand and you are just floating in the mud we made some grapple hooks with 20'of rope and toss it out with just a pull and some throttle you can get over to good ground and crawl out this gets me out most of the time the rest i get wet and hook up the winch but its no fun if you dont push the limits of your buggys

By Hap on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Thanks for everyones input!

Hap