Attacking Silt

[petepecas]

How do you go thru silt?:confused:
If you get stuck in silt, How do you get unstuck?:mad:
Of course, lets assume it's you alone, and no third party help around, Ok?:eek:
Oh, no winching either!!:p

[Blanco]

4 Wheel drive helps alot I'm sure. :cool:

[petepecas]

Yes, it does, most of the times, but I mean,
Do you, close your eyes and floor it?
Do you, stop, get out, pick a line?
C'mon, give out the secrets!!
Don' be stingy!!

[Blanco]

Do you, close your eyes and floor it?
:eek:

[OldStroppeTeam]

It's all about momentum and tire speed. Sometimes you just have to go for it ! Stay on the edge if possible. Use vegetatation where you can..Carry a full size shovel, not the folding GI type.

[chupakabras]

:D:D, been there , done that..

if you get stuck on a silt bed, 4x4 helps a lot, but it doesn't mean that it can't happen, if you get stuck, the easiest way is to go back from where you came, you already clear the track, if you want to go forward you will have to dig in front of the wheels to clear the track, well, .. , you have to get off you truck,and see what's going on, it will be for sure that the wheels are on the air, not touching the ground, so you have to dig out your truck, sometimes you can use your jack to lift your truck and dig better, to clear the chassis, differential or whatever that is making your truck to get stuck, once you clear all that the tires will be touching harder ground, so, you have to be easy on the throtle first, once you gain speed then step on it,. i got stuck once a few years, the 4 wheels were on the air, it was a scary moment but was able to get it unstuck, so, that was the one and only time,

so avoid getting stuck on a silt bed, if it caught you by surprise, step on it and search for harder ground, look for low bushes,avoid others deep groves, unless your running withhh 37" tires, ours are 33, so, do your homework, before the race try to mark on you route course the danger zones, silt zones, clifs and stuff,.

[chupakabras]

Yes, it does, most of the times, but I mean,
Do you, close your eyes and floor it?
Do you, stop, get out, pick a line?


floor it but neverr close your eyes,

if you are able to see it on time, before you get stuck,not neceserally go out, just talk with your co and decide together,. it will save you a lot of time, its better to loose 3 minutes insted of hours,..

[chupakabras]

forgot, this one is better, GO OVER IT,. hahaha
this was my first experience with a silt bed, i said, wtf, what's that, never saw one before,. my bro was driving,. glad he wasn't new on that like me, as soon as he saw the silt, he floor it and we hit something beneath,, was awsome....
http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j46/javiscancino/ChupaKabrassf250.jpg

[Yikes]

Awesome picture!

[locopny]

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j46/javiscancino/ChupaKabrassf250.jpg


the ground just exploded beneath you...awesome.

silt sucks. I believe its best to keep moving...even if you cant see. other than that- I dont know a whole lot.
:p

[AngerIssues]

OK, I'll give my two cents.

1) avoid driving in the lines the others have created, if you can. This isn't always do-able... depending on the terrain. Drive over the bushes, like someone mentioned above, or just pick a new line. There is a silt bed out near Jean (Primm) that has been used for a million races. It usually heals up well, but 1/2 way through any race it's back. I'm telling ya, it is possible for this thing to 1/4 mile wide at times. Each person picks a new line, and the width of the silt bed just grows and grows. It's awesome to see after the big races are over.

2) NORMALLY, with 35 and 4x4 you can continue on where others have struggled, but I have 3 important notes on that.

2a) You can hit something you never saw.... see photo above. Rocks are your biggest fear. I destroyed my rear-housing once on a rock, buried in the silt, that I never even saw. You can't slow down, because you do need the MOMENTUM. Ya just have to floor it and pucker up. Often the silt will push "up" and entirely douche your face, and you are literally blind until it clears. PUCKER FACTOR 10.

2b) As Cam can attest, even the big boys can get stuck in the silt, when THEY COME ACROSS ANOTHER VEHICLE who is struggling or already stuck. If you've decided to stay in the ruts (or been captured by them), and your 4x4 is working well, that is all great until someone ahead of you is kicking up dust... you can't see... you try to keep your momentum up... you still can't see... it's getting thicker... you think you are right ON this person, you slow down, you hit them (and pray they aren't out of the car trying to jack/shovel). That is how Rob Mac and Mark Post got stuck pre-running at Primm. 37's (at least), and their pre-runner is basically a TT with plates. Anyway, once you are stuck IN the ruts, good luck getting out and hope like hell you don't catch someone else (it's also how I ruined my bumper at the 250 last year, and took myself out of the race - due a 2x4 who was getting stuck in the silt).

2c) OK, so you've managed to avoid the rocks, and didn't catch another vehicle... you are doing well in the silt, and then THIS happens (btw, this has only ever happened to me once so I was pretty blown away). If the trenches are getting very deep, but the non-used portions are very crusty from rain and NOT being mowed down... you can find yourself completely high-and-dry centered, with your front diff and rear diff sitting on the crust, and your tires just spinning as if you were on a "lift". I had good momentum too, when suddently, the crust just GRABBED me and I came to an amazingly quick stop. URCH. I could have easily picked another line, the silt bed had just started, but I have never had this happen, and here I am getting over confident in my 4x4 and 35's. Oh... and by myself. So - avoid just picking the lines and following the others, whenever possible.

Now: on to getting unstuck.

1) if you are in a bad situation, stay in the race truck. I've had guys blast by me in the silt, and others can attest... when you are stuck in the thick stuff... the dust is in the air, I've had cars go right past me that I NEVER EVEN SAW. Heard 'em... practically felt them. Let the stuff clear a little and then see what you can do. I've thought of those orange cones before... to put behind me if it happened again, but I don't know if another racer would see them in the silt.

2) when it's clear, you better have a good shovel and a jack that you can use on something BESIDES your diffs. They are completely inaccessible. I'm talking about a handyman-type thing. That is what we carry, and buy the LONG one... 'cause you will use every inch of the 4-footer. Your jack will sink in the silt too, of course. Rocks or wood will help. Jack up the car, put something under the tires (rocks, sticks, floor mats, your co-dawg, whatever)... and dig out whatever is holding you up. It probably isn't the tires, but more the diffs and/or frame. I found that walking the direction I wanted to go (usually backwards, as posted by someone else) and using the shovel to fill in the trenches and knock down the crust helped a LOT. Anyway, get all ready and do the best you can, spend 5 extra minutes and try to do it once, not a half-a*& job. Give it heck and see how far you make it!

Truth be known, I did this at least 4 times in my scenario above, but only moving 5-10 feet each time. I finally decided to just jack all 4 corners up, put a lot of junk under each tire, and managed to get the front wheels turned. I jacked the front up to the right as best I could, jacked the rear to the left, and just drove the heck out of the stupid ruts.

Mind you, this was 4 in the morning, at this year's 1000, after pulling out countless other people and not having slept for two days. Because my "put duties" were done, I did pack a cooler full of beer :o). As the two EB teams can attest to, I was pretty much a WRECK at RM870 by the time they got there. (I'd do it all over again!)

ken

[straightaxle]

The 4x4 in this class is a distinct advantage if you use it carefully. It is best like was said above to "read" the silt as you come to it. Even if you pre-run, it usually looks completely different when you get there due to all the race traffic that has gone through already. I have found it is usually hard to get up out of the ruts once you commit to the main trail, so you need to know it is not going to get deep enough to high center the truck. Like Ken said, the truck will stop in only a few feet one the tires are off the ground. Momemtum will help, but if its deep enough, you will be stopping. If it looks bad, or you just can't see, I think it is best to stop or decide an alternate route immediately. There are often lines off to the side that are not as bad. This is how the class 11 guys do it. Bushes will give you traction, but not trees! If you stop, do it up off the trail, because there will be someone come blasting through from behind. You can also cut diagonally across the ruts sometimes to get through a bad spot, and once again, momentum will help you make the crossing. Typically the silt in Mexico is in a narrow spot, with trees, bushes, fences or cactus lining the sides. In Nevada, it is in wide open areas, like dry lake beds, and the you have a 1000' to find an alternate route.

Once you are stuck, there are a million variables on how you can get out. Usually there is not anything to winch from, but we were able to wrap a tow strap around a big cactus in Mexico one time and use a come-along to pull the front of the truck over enough to grab the edge and pull itself out. I have seen racers with winches mounted, but most of the time there is just nothing to hook to, you would be there forever burying a sand anchor device. Digging and jacking like Ken said. In Mexico, there is suprisingly a spectator nearby. These people know the area, and they are often willing to give you a hand. Carry a handful of cash with you, it is well worth it! Everybody wins. At the 1000 this year, there were at least two locals with tractors in different spots.

Best advice is like was said above, be patient and think if you can before just leaping in blind.

[petepecas]

Thank you all for sharing, summarising, I got:

4x4 helps a lot
Read you approach line
Avoid ruts (if possible)
Have stuff to aid traction (old rug, wood, rocks?)
safety first, stay in 'till dust settles
Try to keep momentum.

I have experienced a couple of bad stucks in silt in my time, just wanted to get other suggestions, aka, tricks.

I would only add, when racing, try to run with +/- 25 lbs. air pressure on your tires, if you do get stuck, I've gotten out airing down to about 10 lbs...
Mis dos pesos...

[Bronco billy]

I dont have the experience these guys do but one thing I have figured out is dont follow some body to close or follow somebody that doesnt look like they will make it because when they stop you stop.

[billy1911]

you should carry some old carpet to put under your tires if you get stuck It works awesome its free and you can lay on it to work under your rig

[chuck]

Of the 5 baja 1000 starts we have had we have never even come close to getting stuck. This year I started driving around RM625 with my new co-driver Jake. We had only gone a few miles when we came to a slit bed. We run in 4x2 with the hubs locked and I was bragging about how the EB never had any trouble in the silt and how we have pulled lots of people out bla,bla, bla when I drove into a track that looked flat in the bottom but was very soft where the wheels go and firm in the center. In 10 feet or so we were high centered with all 4 wheels out of the silt. It took a few min. to get the spares and jack out. I put a spare behind the bumper and used the jack handle to lever the bumper up enough to get the other spare under the bumper with the jack on top of it. I put the first spare on top of the second one and was able to get enough silt under the tires (by hand)to get the rear diff. out of the silf. let the jack down and drove out, made a U turn and parked beside the hole. Packed up the jack and spares and was on our way, it took a little over an hours. What did I learn? I plan to have a shovel and a hi lift jack in the future. Also found that silt packs well under wheels. Stay out of the ruts if possible. Brag after the race.

[fj40]

You may see a class 3 if you pay attention....
YouTube - Silt Beds
YouTube - Mini silt bed, Baja 500/05
YouTube - Utah Silt Beds
Look at the left side....
YouTube - Silt
Two Part Saga....
YouTube - RECORD Ens-SF 275 2006 Cars Part 2
YouTube - RECORD Ens-SF 275 2006 Cars Part 3
The Hit from a diferent view....
YouTube - Ensenada - San Felipe 275 [2006] [ Parte 3 ]