Oh, and many thanks to the anonymous camper with the proper tow strap and tug out of the mud pit. ...
If you get stuck again two tricks:
1. Lower the tire pressure of
the TV. You can go down to 15 to 20 PSI with no issues without
trailer. Trailer attached you may want to keep the tires at 23 psi or
so. Be sure you have a way to inflate tires afterward. I carry CO2.
More for inflating after offroading.
2. Use both feet to control
brake and accelerator pedal. The brake pedal is to stop the spinning
wheel. Keep your RPM around 1800 to 2000 while applying and releasing
the brake pedal slowly, and repeat. Every situation and vehicle is different but
with some practice you will most likely be able to inch your way out of
being stuck. The method is called the "poor mans locker". Some trucks
have a limited slip differential. The above method can still help.
The truck could get out fine using the rocking method. It just couldn't get out of the swamp with the camper hitched up. The site had a slight upward angle to the paved road (hard to see in picture). The camper had sunk into the swamp (tires where board is floating). I must say, the 4x4L mode on the truck disables the skid-traction control module and was a nice feature. That said, I thought about lowering the tire pressure like my Dad does on the beach with his 4 Runner, but was hesitant since my tires are the stock hybrid road/all-terrain thingies that come standard on a new truck. 'No tread, no traction' was what I was thinking - rem this was pre-coffee. BTW, I never unhitched when I originally parked, so didn't put down stabilizers or jack. I can't imagine the depth the Lego blocks would have sunk down to! Talk about goo! I was ankle-deep in it.
It rained again last night and I'm still on relatively dry land this morning (yay!). I did take a picture early this morning of the swamp I was in yesterday morning..... you can see a board I tried to use floating in the water in one pict lol. I returned it to its owner (permanent resident of the campground next door).
Mud Pit Overview aka The Swamp after another night of rain. Twas a completely under water the morning before:
Innocent-looking Mudmonsters at new campsite:
Tire Evidence - even after sprayed down and a night of additional rain:
I don't think I mentioned it, but the bottom third of gray water outlet cover looked like it plowed through the water and muck a little bit. I was surprised the cap strap was still attached to the cap and outlet. The two sites to the right of The Swamp looked as if some people backed in and may have had a little trouble getting out (ground dwellers - no campers). The street was one way and it's obvious they had to steer down the wrong way to get out of their mini-swamps (like I did).
Thanks V! I'm glad my pride and patience were the only victims. Things easily patched-up with doublestuff Oreos. I had my Friday the 13th on Thursday the 12th.
Today I saw S.U.N. It was rumored to exist and it's true! I also found a place to eat that had homemade mashed taters with awesome gravy, pulled pork BBQ and homemade applesauce. Nothing like comfort food and a pending nap in the sun.
2017 820R Retro Toy Hauler from 2015 Tabitha T@B from 2009 Reverse LG Teardrop (but a T@Bluver at heart)
Indoor and outdoor kitchen, coffee and O.J. while DW sleeps in. Indian Boundary Campground, Cherokee Nat'l Forest, Monroe County, TN.
Edit: Someone private messaged me a question about this campground; here is a link to my review of Indian Boundary Campground: http://journal.uswildflowers.com/?p=11376 It does include some T@b-specific comments...
At last, got everything back together and took out T@boo for her first trip with our new TV (battery cutoff switch both on the TV and on T@boo, a brand new battery on board and a Prodigy RF brake controller).
T@BOO - 2016 Outback Max S in New Mexico towed by 2016 Toyota Highlander (soon)
A great big thanks to Sara for organizing another great, relaxed T@B rally over Mother's Day weekend! It was great to see old friends as well as making new ones.
We were at Olema RV Campground near Point Reyes National Seahore an hour north of San Francisco where we look forward to returning to for our October rally ( hosted by Jeff.)
kghart - That's a nice, clean looking T@B. Cyclonic - But if I need a passport it means I have to plan ahead and you know that ain't gonna happen. I plan once and pretty soon I'll have to get into detailed spreadsheets like a couple people we know :-)
I used to live in Delaware (now home in Colorado), and know the four corners of the wonderful state of VA well...I have good friends who retired in Roanoke. I stay in touch despite the fact they bought a big Airstream ;-)
J.D. & Sue
Durango, CO 2014/15 S M@xx : "Dory's HabiT@B" Keep on swimming...
I'm not even close to done yet, I have since added links to the campgrounds, links to campground maps, GPS locations, links to the activities, and nightly costs. The green highlights are where reservations are already done, the rest will just go unreserved in case I decide to change plans.
I pass it along to my wife, some friends and the cat sitter so they have a good idea of where I will be at any given time.
States the T@Bpole has camped, so far Nathan & Becky... 2013 Ford F150 FX4 TAB HLR... 2012 LG T@B T@Bpole. Sterling, VA
All of these wonderful places, but everyone has to start somewhere... Our first foray in our new camper at Willow River State Park in Wisconsin. It is located about 10-15 miles from the Minnesota border, near Hudson Wisconsin, my wife's hometown. We were celebrating her ## birthday and her imminent retirement. Had a wonderful time...
@TerryV6, we all start somewhere. Most of our camping is at private campgrounds, often not the most lovely of places, but sometimes they are, and often they are very convenient to where we really want to be.
Yours looks like a really nice site compared to our site two weeks ago.
States the T@Bpole has camped, so far Nathan & Becky... 2013 Ford F150 FX4 TAB HLR... 2012 LG T@B T@Bpole. Sterling, VA
Comments
1. Lower the tire pressure of the TV. You can go down to 15 to 20 PSI with no issues without trailer. Trailer attached you may want to keep the tires at 23 psi or so. Be sure you have a way to inflate tires afterward. I carry CO2. More for inflating after offroading.
2. Use both feet to control brake and accelerator pedal. The brake pedal is to stop the spinning wheel. Keep your RPM around 1800 to 2000 while applying and releasing the brake pedal slowly, and repeat. Every situation and vehicle is different but with some practice you will most likely be able to inch your way out of being stuck. The method is called the "poor mans locker". Some trucks have a limited slip differential. The above method can still help.
Durango, CO
2015 S Outback
It rained again last night and I'm still on relatively dry land this morning (yay!). I did take a picture early this morning of the swamp I was in yesterday morning..... you can see a board I tried to use floating in the water in one pict lol. I returned it to its owner (permanent resident of the campground next door).
Mud Pit Overview aka The Swamp after another night of rain. Twas a completely under water the morning before:
Innocent-looking Mudmonsters at new campsite:
Tire Evidence - even after sprayed down and a night of additional rain:
2021 T@B 320S Boondock “The T@B”
Towed by a white 2019 Ford F-150 4x4 Supercab, 3.5L V6 Ecoboost “The Truck”
Thanks V! I'm glad my pride and patience were the only victims. Things easily patched-up with doublestuff Oreos. I had my Friday the 13th on Thursday the 12th.
Today I saw S.U.N. It was rumored to exist and it's true! I also found a place to eat that had homemade mashed taters with awesome gravy, pulled pork BBQ and homemade applesauce. Nothing like comfort food and a pending nap in the sun.
2021 T@B 320S Boondock “The T@B”
Towed by a white 2019 Ford F-150 4x4 Supercab, 3.5L V6 Ecoboost “The Truck”
New nickname = "Lucky Verna".
2021 T@b 320 Boondock "Mattie Ross" | 2021 T@b Nights: 239 | Total nights in a T@b 455 | 2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee L Overland | T@b owner since 2014
Edit: Someone private messaged me a question about this campground; here is a link to my review of Indian Boundary Campground: http://journal.uswildflowers.com/?p=11376
It does include some T@b-specific comments...
u
States the T@Bpole has camped, so far
Nathan & Becky... 2013 Ford F150 FX4 TAB HLR... 2012 LG T@B T@Bpole.
Sterling, VA
At last, got everything back together and took out T@boo for her first trip with our new TV (battery cutoff switch both on the TV and on T@boo, a brand new battery on board and a Prodigy RF brake controller).
We were at Olema RV Campground near Point Reyes National Seahore an hour north of San Francisco where we look forward to returning to for our October rally ( hosted by Jeff.)
San Rafael, CA
Check out that nice TV of MMike's and Nerdy! Glad the T@Boo got a trip out.
I'm home safe back in MD with the Mudmonsters. Furmonsters at home were happy we arrived safely.
Love all the picts!
Mancos State Park last Friday/Saturday...
J.D. & Sue
Durango, CO 2014/15 S M@xx : "Dory's HabiT@B" Keep on swimming...
First trip in our "new to us" 2005 Dutchman T@B to Coopers Rock State Forest, West Virginia.
States the T@Bpole has camped, so far
Nathan & Becky... 2013 Ford F150 FX4 TAB HLR... 2012 LG T@B T@Bpole.
Sterling, VA
Cyclonic - But if I need a passport it means I have to plan ahead and you know that ain't gonna happen. I plan once and pretty soon I'll have to get into detailed spreadsheets like a couple people we know :-)
States the T@Bpole has camped, so far
Nathan & Becky... 2013 Ford F150 FX4 TAB HLR... 2012 LG T@B T@Bpole.
Sterling, VA
J.D. & Sue
Durango, CO 2014/15 S M@xx : "Dory's HabiT@B" Keep on swimming...
MOUSE-KE-T@B
2007 Dutchmen T@B Clamshell #2741
2022 nuCamp T@B 320 CS-S
2021 F-150 502A Lariat SuperCrew, 3.5 EcoBoost 4x2
Harvest, AL
I pass it along to my wife, some friends and the cat sitter so they have a good idea of where I will be at any given time.
States the T@Bpole has camped, so far
Nathan & Becky... 2013 Ford F150 FX4 TAB HLR... 2012 LG T@B T@Bpole.
Sterling, VA
States the T@Bpole has camped, so far
Nathan & Becky... 2013 Ford F150 FX4 TAB HLR... 2012 LG T@B T@Bpole.
Sterling, VA
Moderator's note: Photo edited for size.
2016 NuCamp 320 T@B Max S
T@bbey Road
Appleton, WI
Yours looks like a really nice site compared to our site two weeks ago.
States the T@Bpole has camped, so far
Nathan & Becky... 2013 Ford F150 FX4 TAB HLR... 2012 LG T@B T@Bpole.
Sterling, VA