Question for those who hate mud.

[bigjim350]

Of all the forums and websites I visit I notice lots of people HATE playing in the mud. I am wondering way so many people feel that way. Some folks say cause it breaks stuff, and get the jeep too dirty. And sure it does tend to break some things, but the major breaks come when your crawling on rocks. Sure it gets dirty, but nothing compared to the body damage from rocks. Also the biggest problem you usually run into if you "f" up while in the mud is getting stuck. If you "f" up in the rocks the results can be much worse. Now im not bashing rock crawling, I enjoy that very much. But lots of the crawlers are always whining about mud. So to you mud haters, why?

[4.3LXJ]

I guess they just don't like to get dirty.:sad0147:

[JENSSEN]

I don't hate mud persay,... But I prefer the challenge of the rocks and obstacles. I think that with the mud I really just get bored , it's fun once in a while but I don't hunt it out. One other thing is I do hate getting the Alberta mud off , it's a PITA think I still have some on the undercarriage from my first trip out

[OverEasy]

Other than what Jenssen already said, I to find the difficulty of rock to be more entertaining to me. I just don't like having to do maintenance checks after every time I go out and get back. (draining diffs, trans. . .) Not only that, I just hate riding around in a muddy vehicle, not to mention just about all the washes around here frown on you washing your vehicle off at a car wash. :rolleyes: I understand where they come from though, the inconsiderate people who can't clean the bay behind them ruin it for most.

I wouldn't say I hate mud, just don't like it. When I first got into the sport, that's what I was into. Then I got introduced to the other side of things. I just liked crawling over obstacles a lot more. I also found that after the initial build, I kept more money in my pocket staying out the mud.

Don't get me wrong. I love a nice technical, off camber, muddy rut or trench to play in. A wet, muddy hill climb or decent can be right challenging as well! I, for one am just not one to go out to trails that are known for mud holes. I will gladly take the bypass no matter how big or small, deep or shallow. ;)

[JeepinOutfitters]

Of all the forums and websites I visit I notice lots of people HATE playing in the mud. I am wondering way so many people feel that way. Some folks say cause it breaks stuff, and get the jeep too dirty. And sure it does tend to break some things, but the major breaks come when your crawling on rocks. Sure it gets dirty, but nothing compared to the body damage from rocks. Also the biggest problem you usually run into if you "f" up while in the mud is getting stuck. If you "f" up in the rocks the results can be much worse. Now im not bashing rock crawling, I enjoy that very much. But lots of the crawlers are always whining about mud. So to you mud haters, why?

The cleaning/car washing gets expensive (have my own pressure washer now so it's not that huge of an issue anymore). But yeah, a lot of it is just the hassle of cleaning the mud off. If you get in really deep stuff there's also the chance of getting muck in the interior, which gets really nasty.

And yes, personally I think there's a greater chance to break something in mud than in rocks (can't hydrolock a motor or fill your alternator with mud in nice dry rocks). There's also a greater chance of getting stuck in mud, and it's a much bigger PITA when you go vs getting hung up on a rock.

And like JENSSEN and OverEasy I prefer the challenge of rocks.

That's not to say I've always disliked mud...

circa 1996
http://jeepin.com/miscweb_album/images/dirty1.jpg

I just prefer to stay out of it when possible now and play on something more, solid. :D

http://jeepin.com/photos/d/14175-5/IMG_1896.JPG

[bigjim350]

I understand the challenge aspect of it. And as far as washing, interior, etc...never wash mine anyways. Guess im just not picky. I dont care what the terrain is, ill wheel it. My jee is not built for any one terrain. Its not perfect for any one kind of wheeling, but good enough for all kinds.

edit: will also add that I play in deep mud and deep water very often and have only had to replace one alt. Have never had to drain tcase,diffs,tranny, or motor because of mud or water

[bigjim350]

And like i said, im not trying to say one type of wheeling is better than another. But i have noticed on many forums,(not so much on this one) that people go out of there way to bash mud wheeling.

[steph74]

I don't like or hate any of them... I like to go up a mountain trail and be able to play in a mud puddle if I want, or to just try to get up that rock, or to just be there to enjoy the scenery.
I do not have one ounce of competition fibre in me so I cannot care less about challenges.
My Jeep is not built and would not be able to do any serious rock crawling or mud wheeling anyway....

One thing I heard and I don;t know if it is true because I have no experience in either... is that rock crawling is more technical for the driver and less forgiving of the slightest mistakes... but who knows maybe the ones that say that are the ones that imagine mudding as being just crossing a mud pit repeateadly.... I am sure that driving in a muddy trail in a russian forest after snow melt is as mush technical as doing a Moab trail for exemple

[4.3LXJ]

I don't dislike any of them. In fact, I like all of them. And I will throw in two that haven't been mentioned, snow and sand. I like them all, and I have been building my XJ to do it all well. I think a lot of preference depends on proximity. You can love rocks but if you have to drive 500 mi to find some good ones it kind of takes the fun out of it. Same with any other type of wheeling. But then again, it might be worth the drive to Moab. Mud can be hard to get off. My undercarriage is beginning to turn a bright orange/red from the mud around here. My exhaust looks like it is painted that color from the factory. My engine is turning that color too. Some don't like sand because it gets in everything, but that is what vacuums are for. In my opinion, it is how you prep your rig that determines whether or not you have fun. I have never lost a diff or tcase from water or mud. A simple breather hose takes care of that. But I have learned my less from over tiring my drive train though. So I can say, yes I have broken more parts in mud than rocks, but I got smarter in between.

[cantab27]

mud and rivers is what i do...some trails we run are hill climbs so come summer are a challenge when dry with ruts and such..winching and such to get each other through is half the run.....
http://i469.photobucket.com/albums/rr52/cantab27/jeepin%20and%20bits/jeepclub053.jpg

some mud is worth the effort just for the views..

http://i469.photobucket.com/albums/rr52/cantab27/jeepin%20and%20bits/jeepclub025.jpg


and as for washing them ..well thats easy

http://i469.photobucket.com/albums/rr52/cantab27/jeepin%20and%20bits/73228_1566514437589_1077266167_1567880_4658794_n.j pg

[cantab27]

as for damage,,,, deep water has bitten me more than once...

[Joliet Johnny]

As someone running a stock XJ I fear getting stuck on rocks more than mud. But we have alot of stinky mud here and I dont think it would be fun to have to hook up a tow strap to escape that either. Snow is my favorite so far and because mine is a DD and I live in IL it seems to be smart to build it for snow/rain. I also think it is fun to drive into the road covered with about 1ft of water and find large puddles to splash. I think if I ever get serious I will build mine to drive in streams.

[alwaysxj]

I like the rocks, but I do live in Utah and they are every where....
I like to run through the mud once or twice then it gets old. The rocks in Utah seems to always give you something new to play on.
But I guess if I did not live in Utah I would like mud, I guess.

[bigjim350]

Well when im talking about wheeling in mud, im not talking about some mud hole in a feild. That would get boring after a while. I'm talking about trails littered with big and deep mud holes. Not all of the holes are full but some have 3'-5' ledges you have to climb up. I promise you wouldnt get bored.....just dirty :D

[4.3LXJ]

I hear ya Jim. When I lived in OR, land of the temperate rain forest, if you did not wheel mud, you did not wheel much. It would take us a whole day to get less than 10 miles. But I used to do it in the Mighty Mite in less than an hour. :D And stay clean

[bigjim350]

Thats the way it is here for sure. If ya dont wheel in mud, you dont wheel here. And I don't understand the folks that hate mud so much they would rather not wheel, than wheel in the mud. And I totally understand the folks that live near rocks prefer the rocks. But it don't matter where you live you can find mud somewhere. As for sand wheeling, I can only do that at the beach, and its already too crowded with wranglers :) I do think snow wheeling would be a blast though.

[4.3LXJ]

You just haven't been to the right sand. On the OR coast there are large areas with long beach runs and large dunes. It is a blast to drive or watch. Horsepower rules. And you can do all the things you get cited for anywhere else.

[RADesignsProducts]

Well around here it usually breaking the law tearing up some land owned by the USFS or the State Parks Dept., bad deal there. It just seems wrong to tear up the ground and make a mess of it.
That and I prefer not to get stuck, not to destroy my rig with mud packed in everywhere is a good reason. Breaking parts is breaking parts that is just in how you drive where ever you go.
I prefer snow wheelin' it's clean, I don't break stuff(normally), I go where most anyone else can't and no one cares if I tear up a snow drift.:D

[jccatt]

The local mud here is sandy and stuffs brakes. It sets like cement. Last trip 3 trucks got there radiators clogged and over heated. One so bad it was killed. Altetenators, srarted motors, regreasing cardans. Give me a dent anyday. So the reason I dont like mud is the cost and time to repair.

[rugidone]

The local mud here is sandy and stuffs brakes. It sets like cement. Last trip 3 trucks got there radiators clogged and over heated. One so bad it was killed. Altetenators, srarted motors, regreasing cardans. Give me a dent anyday. So the reason I dont like mud is the cost and time to repair.

We get alot of that here in the mud, its quite sandy and it just destroys joints, bearings and its difficult to get it all....every mud run, my jeep goes to the shop and on the hoist.

On that note, do they make wheel bearings with a grease fitting yet???? :D

[bigjim350]

Don't know why so many people have such bad luck with mud. Mine goes in the mud most weekends and never gets cleaned. Bearings and u-joints are still going strong after two years of wheeling it. I'm sure mine not being a DD helps.

[bigjim350]

What ticks me off is the local people around here(mostly NOT xj guys). When we try to plan a run to one of the two parks here I here alot of the same stuff. "Mud breaks stuff, hard to clean, bad for the land etc etc." Well what are we supposed to do. Cruise the mall or save up money for months just to take the jeep 500 miles to a place with no mud?

[4.3LXJ]

An off road park is an off road park. If you have objections, turn your head and don't look.

[Firemanray]

Mud is dirt, dirt is dirt, you can't tear dirt up. Look at Shilo Ridge, it's been there for at least 15 years and the erosion just makes it more interesting. Bring on some mud!!! You just gotta be from East Texas: "It's a mud thing"!!

[bluedragon436]

I have to say that I stick with the mud, as there is no rocks or any realy trails to run without having to drive 2.5-3hrs... and I don't mind doing that drive for some good trails, and hanging out with folks.. but can't do it every day.. so I still play in the mud most of the time..

[jeepxj95]

i like snow the most. can do it more often ( just have wait for winter) dont have to worrie about much besides bad gas mileage lol followed by trails then mud. havent been on sand yet but that will change. silver lake the 27th. havent been on rocks yet want to try it tho. oh and i dont wash my xj its a jeep thats what rains for. get more nods and thumbs up when its dirty anyways.

[Mudderoy]

Mud is a blast, it's just a real pain in the a$$ to clean.

[bluedragon436]

That's why I don't bother to clean mine.. the only reason I washed mine right before I left was because I didn't want to get some stupid ass ticket for leaving my muddy Jeep in the parking lot on base for four months.. Other than that I usually just let the rain wash it off, all over the parking lot.. The only part of my Jeep that ever really gets any love is the interior.. and that is just because it is pretty much spotless especially for a 98'

[ice_cold]

Snow for me, but then its a given up here. Rivers? We do it different:
http://i1109.photobucket.com/albums/h425/ice-cold1959/IMG_0252.jpg

We wait till its frozen.....

[LizardRunner]

guess I'm a conservative wheeler, I haven't broken so far. The trails I find usually have a mix of dry dirt, rocks, wet dirt, swamp, gator holes etc. I just muddle along and go where ever the front end takes me. If I get stuck, well arkansas has lots of trees so all you have to have is a winch and tree strap or two. usually I find a creek to cross and that washes up the undercarriage fairly well till I get to the pressure washer. most of our mud is called gumbo or buckshot really slick and will suck you down if you aren't moving at the right speed. This year we had several snows deep enough to go play in, that was freaking fun!