# grip tracks



## pacific (Dec 17, 2007)

With all the talk of mud and being towed off at Easter, I wondered whether people use grip tracks, and if so what the best way to use them is? Do you park on them when you arrive, or do you put them in front when you are trying to get off, or maybe they are something that doesn't see the light of day from the back of the locker??
Peter


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## solentviews (May 9, 2005)

I do not believe the grip tracks are a lot of good. I obtained a bread crate and cut it in two. This made getting out of the mud easy when I got stuck last year. I just wedged crate under front wheel and drove out no problem.
Ian


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## elbino (May 9, 2005)

Having carried grip tracks for 4 years, they were still in the bag......until yesterday. And they got me out of a very very muddy storage field that looked like the Somme after I had finished. But I got out, albeit slowly as they had to be replaced 4-5 times until I found better ground, but I was on my own, the van was covered in mud as well as several other vans as I passed. I had always been slightly sceptical but they got a 4000k van out of a huge swampy field in about 20mins.
Today I picked up a set of mudflaps from Fiat as I am sick of cleaning the bodywork where it bulges behind the cab doors which seems a big problem on the new XL250 Ducato as it gets very dirty just in poor weather.....getting stuck in fields results in a very big cleaning job

ps I used them after I was stuck, not having parked on them...just hammer the yellow track under the wheel(spikes into the ground) and roll the track out


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## Wizzo (Dec 3, 2007)

I have found that if you are on flat ground and haven't used levelling ramps the biggest problem with any ground that is slightly soft is that the wheels sink in slightly and it just means that initially you are trying to move yourself out of 4 little ruts which can be difficult, add a bit of wet grass and it becomes near impossible. If you are up on ramps then providing they are facing the right way they can be used as a sort of launch pad.

I would think that anything flat and reasonably firm under the wheels would help. Thin ply wood maybe? Drill 2 holes to peg it down if necessary. Using 2nd gear to give more torque helps as would dropping the tyre pressures considerably to give more surface area. Using reverse too is always better than first gear - a) it is usually a slightly higher ratio and b) when you are reversing it transfers much of the load onto the front wheels - the opposite of what happens when you try and drive out forwards.

JohnW


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## thegreatpan (Oct 29, 2007)

Any chance of a photo of the cut down bread tray jobby?


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## zulurita (May 9, 2005)

I have grip Mats and whilst they may not be totally effective they did get us off the Clent Hills site when we went to the NEC in Oct.

It had rained heavily and a motrhome that left before us had left deep ruts so I was very concerned.

On arriving at the Clent Hills site I had voiced my concerns to the warden when he was sitting us on the grass, lowest point of site. Oh no you will be fine the ground is rock hard!!! On returning from NEC as it was raining heavily we only just made it to our pitch.

Well on morning of departure I went to the warden and said we may have a problem. The response was LESS than welcoming!

Anyway I put grip mats in front of wheels and managed to move a little distance before getting stuck. With no offer of help from the warden I proceeded to put the mats under the wheels again and just about managed to get to the hard surface, not helped by a slight rise in grass area to the hard surface.

I for one think the Caravan and Camping club do not do enough to service the needs of us motorhomers. The Caravan Club tends to have sites with more hardstandings.

What also annoys me is that even though I voiced my concerns the warden did not do anything about it, even when returning in heavy rain. There were one or two places that could have been used as a temporary measure overnight and caused less damage to the club sites grass.

I made a complaint to the C&CC but they did not even have the courtesy to reply!! The clubs moan about motorhomers wild camping etc but do not always cater for the motorhomers needs.


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## Auchmill (Oct 1, 2007)

There's the yellow plastic ones made by Fiamma which recently I found useless - had to get towed out. May work better if you park on them to avoid sinking as mentioned above. I've invested in the other type which is like a rope ladder and mentioned by elbino. I think these may be more useful.

Unless you have mud-plugging tyres and a 4x4 a van is going to get stuck on wet, soft ground. Even tractors can get stuck - believe me, I know.

But like a lot of things, prevention is better than cure.


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## THEPOET (May 1, 2007)

If the ground looks anyway like its soft or going to be soft, I use grip mats and park the front (drive) wheels on them. Try and park so that you face the closest bit of hardstanding/road.

If the van is on ramps, I place the mats behind the ramp so that I can role back down on to the mats then remove the ramps and drive away. (Not forgetting not to stop until you are on hard ground, then recover or have your 'assistant' !!!!!!!!! :lol: recover your ramps and mats.

I have used the breadbasket method before also, very effective.

Just my penn'orth

Pete


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

We've carried the yellow Fiamma grip mats for years now. We've never used them to get us out ( I'm paranoid about parking on boggy ground !) but have lent them out many times to motorhomers, caravanners and car drivers. They've always worked. They are quite useful to put under the levelling ramps even on firm grass as they stop them marking the grass when the edges cut in.

In Innsbruck we could have made a tidy amount charging for their use. What I liked about that site was that everyone who used them carefully washed and dried them after use, even though they knew others were waiting. 

G


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## viator (May 1, 2007)

Auchmill said:


> There's the yellow plastic ones made by Fiamma which recently I found useless - had to get towed out. May work better if you park on them to avoid sinking as mentioned above. I've invested in the other type which is like a rope ladder and mentioned by elbino. I think these may be more useful.
> 
> Unless you have mud-plugging tyres and a 4x4 a van is going to get stuck on wet, soft ground. Even tractors can get stuck - believe me, I know.
> 
> But like a lot of things, prevention is better than cure.


Lairt up tae the aixles nae doot


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## wobby (May 1, 2005)

How about this, don't know where you'd buy them from though.
www.autoproducten.nl/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=52&products_id=253

Wobby


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## viator (May 1, 2007)

wobby said:


> How about this, don't know where you'd buy them from though.
> www.autoproducten.nl/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=52&products_id=253
> 
> Wobby


Just watched the YouTube video they look great, thanks for that.
viator


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## viator (May 1, 2007)

Hi wobby,
Found them here www.campingshop.it if you buy 2 the price is about 63.20 euros each. I reckon sliced bread has just been re-invented.
viator


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## 104477 (May 13, 2007)

Even after parking on the plywood pads that we carry to prevent sinking into the mud we got stuck. Tried 2nd gear and reverse to no avail so put the snow chains on. Out in no time! 
Our problem was, I think, due to the deep tread pattern on our tyres being full of mud, so no traction was possible.
One tip for using chains though, when you stop to take them off make sure to turn the wheels to full lock left or right to make accessing the connector easier. (for front wheel drive vans)

Rob


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## Auchmill (Oct 1, 2007)

viator said:


> Lairt up tae the aixles nae doot


How did you guess? An acquaintance lost one in a bog once - it got stuck and after a day or two it just opened up and swallowed it whole.


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## wobby (May 1, 2005)

Hi Viator

That wouldn't be to bad if it weren't for the state of the Pound

Wobby


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## Friant (Feb 10, 2008)

We too have carried the yellow Fiamma grip mats for years and have used them to get out of trouble (mud and sandy ground) on a few occasions.
We've just bought a pair of the Milenco mats as they look even more robust - sturdier construction and deeper grips - they are excellent.


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## pacific (Dec 17, 2007)

Thanks everyone for the replies, there's always loads of experience out there to draw on. Lets hope we don't need them much this year!


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