6 Ways To Get Your Car, Truck, or SUV Out Of Mud

Regardless of if you drive a car, truck, or SUV, anything can get stuck in the mud. 

And it always seems to happen at the worst possible time.

Fortunately, there are all kinds of ways to get out of the mud and moving again.

How To Get Your Vehicle Out Of The Mud

The best ways to get your car, truck, or SUV out of mud are to rock it back and forth, use solid objects like wood or rocks in front of the tires to gain traction, use a towel or t-shirt if you’re in a pinch, use a winch and a nearby tree, pull it out with another vehicle, and turn off TCS.

So if you find yourself stuck in the mud, don’t stress yourself out trying to come up with a way to get out.

Some of the ways to get unstuck are easier than others, but no matter what, one of the methods below should get you back on the road again in no time.

Why does rocking your car back and forth help?

Before getting into why rocking your car back and forth will help get it unstuck, you’re probably wondering what this means in the first place. 

To rock your car back and forth, simply swap between reverse and low gear while accelerating in both directions. 

So you should move forward a bit, put it in reverse and move back a bit, and so on.

The goal of this method is to create enough space for your car to really gain momentum and propel itself out of the mud.

This is arguably the easiest method of getting your car unstuck because all you have to do is go forwards and backward little by little. 

Just be careful not to spin your tires in either direction or else you could bury yourself even further!

How do solid objects like wood or rocks help gain traction?

This one can go hand-in-hand with rocking your car back and forth and should be your next try if the above method didn’t work on its own.

Depending on where you are when you get stuck in the mud, you should try to look around the area for anything solid like wood, logs, or rocks. 

Gather these materials up and start laying them down right in front (and/or behind) the drive wheels.

With some solid objects like these to grab onto, your tires have a much better chance of gaining traction in either direction. 

Ideally, you’ll be able to add a little bit more each time you move forward or back so that, eventually, there will be enough of a surface for the tires to grip. 

This is certainly doable by yourself, but it’s certainly much easier with another person helping!

How can you get your car unstuck with a towel or t-shirt?

This one might sound a bit strange at first, but a regular bath towel, t-shirt, or even a pair of pants can give you the traction that you need to get out of the mud. 

This method is fairly simple, you just need to slide the fabric through one of the spokes on your wheel(s) and then wrap it around the tire. 

Since this drastically alters the surface of the tire as it spins, it can be just enough to give you the traction you need to start moving.

This one can really come in handy if you get stuck in the middle of nowhere and you have no other way to get unstuck.

If you happen to have something like a piece of wood in the back of your truck, putting that in front of the tire before trying to move will make it work even better!

What’s the best way to use a winch to get your car out of the mud?

Sure, you probably don’t have a winch on your Toyota Camry or Honda Civic, but you might have one on your truck or Jeep! And if you do, then it could be the secret to getting yourself unstuck without having to call a buddy or AAA. 

For this to work, there needs to be a tree (or something similar) nearby to pull yourself against.

Simply let the cable of your winch out and then wrap it around the nearest tree before hooking it back to itself. 

Once secure, slowly start operating the winch to pull yourself free. 

You can simultaneously put your vehicle in gear to assist it, but it’s often better to just leave it in neutral so that you don’t run the risk of digging yourself in deeper.

Just like any other time that you’re using a winch under high tension, make sure that all passengers and bystanders are not near the cable while you’re pulling yourself out. 

To make it a bit safer, you can drape a blanket or jacket over the center point of the cable to absorb the energy if it does happen to snap.

Is it easy to pull your car out with another vehicle?

If all else fails, the best way to get your car out of the mud is to pull it out using another vehicle. 

If you have a family member or friend with a bigger vehicle (ideally a truck), you can have them attach a tow rope to your vehicle and slowly start pulling it out. 

To avoid damage to either vehicle in the event of a breakage, a nylon tow strap is often a better choice than something like a chain.

There are two things to keep in mind while pulling your car out of the mud with another vehicle. 

First, make sure the second vehicle doesn’t get stuck in the same mud. 

If so, you very well might have to call another person in to pull both vehicles out! A longer toe rope can help with this so that the pulling vehicle can stay further away and only drive on roads or hard ground.

Secondly, make sure you’re attaching the tow rope to locations on both vehicles that can stand up to those forces. 

Don’t just wrap it around your bumper or it could rip it right off. 

Most vehicles have designated tow locations, so try to find yours to avoid an expensive headache.

Just like with the method above, make sure that nobody is out of the vehicles and standing anywhere near the toe rope or chain while it’s under tension. 

While practicing any of these methods, the safety of everyone involved should always be the number one priority.

Why does it help to Turn off traction control?

Isn’t the traction control system (TCS) on your car supposed to help gain traction?

Why would turning it off make it easier to get unstuck from the mud? It might seem a bit counterintuitive at first, but if you understand how these systems work, then you’ll see why disabling it might be enough to make all the difference.

Traction control systems are usually tied into the Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS) which applies brakes as necessary to the drive wheels when the vehicle begins to slide. 

But if you’re stuck in the mud, the system might think that you’re sliding on snow or ice and start applying the brakes. 

When the brakes are applied to these wheels — especially on vehicles with positraction or limited-slip differentials — it kills any and all momentum that you’ve gained trying to get out. 

By simply turning off traction control, the wheels might be able to spin enough (and keep spinning) so that you can get going without having to do anything else.