Some of the most fun you’ll have offroad is driving your 4WD through slippery sloppy mud.

It’s also a great way to show people that your rig isn’t just a mall crawler and has been offroad at least once.

Other than a good quality snorkel) and a good set of All Terrains or Muddies, there aren’t too many mods you need before you head out for a drive in the mud.

These are our top tips for having the most fun and avoiding damage to your pride and joy off road!

1. Air down your tyres.

You’ve probably heard this one a million times, it doesn’t get any less important, but an aired down set of tyres has stacks more traction offroad, and will increase your grip for steering and stopping.

If you run your tyres at 36PSI on the highway dropping them down to half the pressure will double their contact area, and will also protect the sidewalls from punctures and gashes from sharp sticks or rocks.

To let your tyres down efficiently you should use a purpose made device with an integrated gauge. This way you can check what pressure you are at as you go. Something like the Kwiky tyre deflator makes short work of dropping pressures and will let you set all 4 corners down to the same pressure for the best offroad performance.

2. Wind up your windows, and shut your sunroof

This seems like a no-brainer, but unless you like getting changed halfway down the tracks and have a vinyl interior, it isn’t much fun cleaning mud out of the interior of your vehicle.

We’ve made this mistake many times, and there is nothing worse than getting mud flicked up and into your mouth or mushing it into your seat fabric.

As a quick solution you can always add a pair of Adventure Kings neoprene seat covers, or a set of Adventure Kings Heavy duty seat covers to keep the grunge off, and when you are getting back in a set of Adventure Kings Deep dish rubber floor mats to catch the mud off your boots and keep your carpet looking schmick, these can all be taken out when you are home and rinsed with the garden hose!

3.Top up your washer bottle fluid.

This handy trick has saved our hides many times when heading home from a mud puddle sesh, don’t forget your rear washer bottle too!

A dash of soap and a simple spray whilst the mud is still fresh will make it easier to clear your vision and help you see the road ahead.
PRO TIP: Don’t forget a rag and a water bottle to clean your side mirrors too!  😊

4.Drive with a steady throttle!

Depending on the depth and consistency of the mud, it’s a good idea to keep a steady right boot, this will avoid digging ruts and help to maintain your momentum. Coupled with picking a suitable gear before the muddy section, will save you stacks of embarrassment getting into sticky situations.

This will keep your steering more predictable as well. When in greasy mud, steering inputs can be delayed by a second meaning you can predict the movement of your car with more accuracy and navigate the tricky bits easier with a steady speed.

Pro tip: If you aren’t sure about the depth of the water or the consistency, get out and use a stick to check the depth and consistency. It’s never a clever idea to hit tracks blind and doing this can surely end in disaster!

5.Pick the high ground…if you can
When presented a choice to navigate through muddy sections, water almost always drains downhill (unless in thick clay soil) so pick the higher ground for a shallower alternative (most of the time).

its sometimes not worth the risk to hit the deepest puddle you can find, only to get your vehicle well and truly bogged!

6.Bring a mate (with recovery gear)

Make sure you have a suitable recovery vehicle on hand at all times, even if your vehicle is fitted with a Domin8r X 12,000LB winch you can never be certain of a solid recovery anchor.

Before you get into the deep bits, get your recovery gear hooked up to your rated recovery points, pre-preparing this will save you from a muddy snorkelling trip trying to reach underwater (or under mud) rated points and blindly fumbling with shackles when you don’t make it to the other side!

It’s also a good idea to keep an open line of communication going over the UHF radio this way you and your buddy don’t do a synchronised dive into the thick stuff and simultaneously get bogged up to your windscreens!

7.Air up and double check your vehicle.

When driving through mud there is a lot of water pressure at play, and it isn’t uncommon for things like Number plates to be bent, and bits of sticks and branches getting stuck under your vehicle.

So whilst you are airing up with your portable 12 volt compressor like the Thumper MKII or Thumper Max go over the whole under-body and check that everything is where it is supposed to be and that you haven’t collected any unwanted cargo when you were in the mud.

This is also a good opportunity to check that your indicators headlights and brake lights are still visible to Other road users, especially heading towards dusk, as you could get yourself into trouble if you don’t clean your lenses a little bit.

Get out there and have some fun in your 4WD TODAY!