This article was inspired by the horrific experience I had in Oman while I was while camping at the beach. As you may all know that safety is always on top of everything. What is the point of counting how many digits you have in the bank when you can't enjoy it safe and sound? So, I always ensure that my family and I put safety as a priority.
However, there will always be times that things just don't go as planned. There are always unforeseen and unexpected events that come your way while you thought that you had everything covered. As in this matter, it is always best to have a back up by learning as much as possible before dealing with these issues.
Here are some of the solutions that I've experienced and learned it, to prepare & help you out from similar situations;
Create Friction/ Traction
You'll know your car is stuck the moment you realized that the tires of your vehicle are spinnings when you accelerate but, the vehicle remains stagnant. This is because your vehicle loss grip on the ground to keep moving forward. In order to solve this, try to look around you for wooden sticks, branches, carpets or anything with a rough surface that you could stick it in front of your tires to create a traction to stop the tires spinning and eventually sinking even further into the sand. After you're done with this step, slowly accelerate in order for the tires to hold on a grip and slowly move away from the sands.
Get Your Gears Ready
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The last thing you need is to get your tools ready for the worse. Always be prepared rather than feeling sorry later. Having all the essential tools like a shovel, tow straps and a lift-jack definitely sounds like a safe plan. Just in case you're hitting off the road alone, it's always nice to have a strap ready so that you can ask for help if there are any cars pass by.
Mental Preparedness
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Everything starts with how you see and think of the situation or the things that happened. Your actions are a direct reflection of how you process the information in your brain. The first thing you need is to give yourself some space to think and not be to panic. Being panic is the worst thing that you need to worsen the situation. When you panic, you feel that you're short of breath and it affects your mind and thinking, resulting in poor judgment and slows down our thinking process.
When your vehicle is stuck, try to take a moment to breathe and calm down. Try to analyze what happened and how it happened, sometimes it's just because you've accidentally pushed in a wrong gear or just ran into a hole. The key is to stay calm and don't overthink.
Free Your Tires
This is actually the most important trick that everyone's need. As long as you know your tires are stuck in the sand, you need to be prepared to get your hands dirty, whether you like it or not. If you do not have any tools with you, try to find something that you can use to free your tires even if it's with your bare hand. Try to dig until the bottom of your tires reappear on the surface, so that your tire doesn't clog up when you move. Be aware that you should dig the front tires if you want to move forward and vice versa if you need to reverse. Don't just dig blindly without knowing which direction you want to go.
Lower The Tires Pressure
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The only reason why your vehicle isn't working while you're on the sand as it has a different behavior than bitumen roads. Most of the time you're stuck in the sand because of inertia, which is a physic term stating that moving objects remain moving while stationary object will just stand still. This means that if you're stuck in the sand, you will remain stuck if the negative inertia apply. When you reduce the pressure of the tires, it means that you've increased surface contact of the tires and the ground. In a simple term, it means when your tires are deflated by 25% of its original pressure used on a bitumen surface, you've maximized the opportunity for the tire touching the ground for the tire to rotate, allowing the car move in a moving inertia. Rather than pushing away the sand without deflating the tire on the sand, now your vehicle is accelerating with a mimicking surface of the bitumen.
Know Your Car
Study your car before bringing it to a place where there are potential that you'll be stuck. Most of the time, we worsen the situation is because we have no clue about the car and how it works. When your car is stuck, always remember to try different gears and accelerate slowly until it starts moving again. From the last experience, I've learned that we should always put our car in 'N' neutral gear first before switching it to 'D' drive gear. Sometimes, the vehicle doesn't move due to a faulty relay or its because of the internal electrical problem in gear switching. Learn more about the car whether you're googling it or by reading the manual before hitting the road.
Posted from my blog with SteemPress : http://explorernations.vornix.blog/2018/08/10/methods-to-unstuck-your-vehicle-from-soft-sand/