R1T recovery needed at Salton Sea (stuck in mud). PSA: have a recovery plan when off-roading

[kylealden]

I won't go on sand, mud, or deep snow without my recovery kit (I shelled out for the Rivian Recovery Kit but some soft shackles, a kinetic strap, a tow rope, and a hitch link will do), a shovel, and a set of traction boards. Generally speaking I keep all of the above in the gear tunnel even when I'm not wheeling - it might not be me who is stuck.

Even then, the best thing you can bring is a second vehicle to extract you or get you to help. Glad you got connected with help! Did Rivian cover the extraction?

As a side note for future folks who may wind up in a similar spot - your floormats may work as a poor man's recovery boards in a similar situation. Maybe an option of last resort in a borrowed truck but it usually beats washing out to sea or spending the night in the snow.

Sponsored

 

[dleewla]

ive seen videos of either the Tacoma or 4Runner digging itself out of deep mud/sand like this with either atrac or crawl control from a complete standstill. you could see the wheels spinning at different rates trying to slowly free itself. its pretty impressive. i cant recall what kind of tires those vehicles had but i think they were A/T offroadies, not specifically mud.

not sure those vehicles would get out of this specific place but at the same time, there's probably some tuning the quad motor needs to improve its off-road prowess. its going to take time as they gather more data and their engineers learn more.

 

[NY_Rob]

I won't go on sand, mud, or deep snow without my recovery kit (I shelled out for the Rivian Recovery Kit but some soft shackles, a kinetic strap, a tow rope, and a hitch link will do), a shovel, and a set of traction boards. Generally speaking I keep all of the above in the gear tunnel even when I'm not wheeling - it might not be me who is stuck.

Even then, the best thing you can bring is a second vehicle to extract you or get you to help. Glad you got connected with help! Did Rivian cover the extraction?

As a side note for future folks who may wind up in a similar spot - your floormats may work as a poor man's recovery boards in a similar situation. Maybe an option of last resort in a borrowed truck but it usually beats washing out to sea or spending the night in the snow.

All great tips!!

An excellent video where this guy buries his spare tire in the sand using it as an anchor to winch his way out! I never would have though of that...

 

[kylealden]

All great tips!!

An excellent video where this guy buries his spare tire in the sand using it as an anchor to winch his way out! I never would have though of that...

Yeah, sand anchors are pretty amazing if you have a winch!

So this one guy is in good shape I guess

 

[R.I.P.]

Yikes. If I were friend, I would be none-too- happy.

 

[s4wrxttcs]

Yikes. If I were friend, I would be none-too- happy.

I have a feeling his friend has the other kind of life that we can only dream of.

If someone wanted to borrow my R1T for a 1K journey I'd look at them like they had lost their mind.

 

[COdogman]

All great tips!!

An excellent video where this guy buries his spare tire in the sand using it as an anchor to winch his way out! I never would have though of that...

Brilliant!

 

[Ralph]

ive seen videos of either the Tacoma or 4Runner digging itself out of deep mud/sand like this with either atrac or crawl control from a complete standstill. you could see the wheels spinning at different rates trying to slowly free itself. its pretty impressive. i cant recall what kind of tires those vehicles had but i think they were A/T offroadies, not specifically mud.

not sure those vehicles would get out of this specific place but at the same time, there's probably some tuning the quad motor needs to improve its off-road prowess. its going to take time as they gather more data and their engineers learn more.

Crawl mode .....in 2016.

Not nearly the same thing as mud filling all tire tread; but Tacoma/4Runner system really does work as shown.

Rivian really does need to intelligently apply power, where and as needed, in common off-road circumstances; adventure and all that. Maybe they will further develop that kind of functionality as a part of a subscription plan? Half-joking.

Don't get me wrong, I love my Rivian and it does about 1000 things better than the Tacoma, but ......"Come on man!"

 

[runwithscissors]

Yeah, sand anchors are pretty amazing if you have a winch!

So this one guy is in good shape I guess

Let me click the slide show arrow just one more time...

 

[Goose]

ive seen videos of either the Tacoma or 4Runner digging itself out of deep mud/sand like this with either atrac or crawl control from a complete standstill. you could see the wheels spinning at different rates trying to slowly free itself. its pretty impressive. i cant recall what kind of tires those vehicles had but i think they were A/T offroadies, not specifically mud.

not sure those vehicles would get out of this specific place but at the same time, there's probably some tuning the quad motor needs to improve its off-road prowess. its going to take time as they gather more data and their engineers learn more.

If it’s stock it was Falken Wildpeak AT3w. Atrac is wild. It sounds like the truck is breaking but it claws its way out of anything.

 

[Forager]

Been there, done that! We all learn this lesson one way or another.

I now have a pretty complete recovery kit: kinetic rope, traction boards, air compressor, tire chains, etc. Fact of the matter is most of that stuff is useless if you are alone, but if you have a friend that’s not stuck it is 10x more useful. Not to mention, it’s way less stressful having someone else there with you trying to get out of a sticky situation.

 

[mwexler2]

Not an expert in off-reading, but from my little experience a critical component of a recovery plan is off-roaring with a buddy.

 

[SoCal Rob]

I can see how that would trick anyone into thinking it was ok to drive on!

I was there recently and it could trick people even up close!

We took friends to Borrego Springs on New Year’s Day and they wanted to see the Salton Sea. (I think of it as… less than scenic but they saw it on some TV show and, hey, it was their vacation.) We took them to the edge of where the water once was and they wanted to walk on the “sand”. (It looked sketchy but, again, their vacation.)

As shown in that pic, the “sand“ was a bunch of little shells plus fish skeletons and mineral/chemical deposits left from the evaporated water. When I stepped on it I was surprised that I sunk in several inches and what was underneath the crust on the surface felt like aerated powdery silt with something spongy underneath. I am not surprised that @quartz had trouble given the weight of the Rivian. I hope airing down would help but these vehicles are heavy so…

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[COdogman]

I was there recently and it could trick people even up close!

We took friends to Borrego Springs on New Year’s Day and they wanted to see the Salton Sea. (I think of it as… less than scenic but they saw it on some TV show and, hey, it was their vacation.) We took them to the edge of where the water once was and they wanted to walk on the “sand”. (It looked sketchy but, again, their vacation.)

As shown in that pic, the “sand“ was a bunch of little shells plus fish skeletons and mineral/chemical deposits left from the evaporated water. When I stepped on it I was surprised that I sunk in several inches and what was underneath the crust on the surface felt like aerated powdery silt with something spongy underneath. I am not surprised that @quartz had trouble given the weight of the Rivian. I hope airing down would help but these vehicles are heavy so…

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I can’t say the Salton Sea would be at the top of my bucket list, but I guess I can appreciate the sad history of that place.

From Quartz’ pics I don’t think any vehicle is getting through that without mud tires and even then it might be a struggle. At least he got out with relatively minor help.

 

[ironpig]

I think the recent rains have made that area far more treacherous than it normally is for any car or truck with 4wd. Glad yo got out ok in the end and had a little adventure. Don't let the snarky comments get you down, it's always the keyboard warriors who would have done everything differently and never make a mistake

Sponsored