Mud season advice from a guy at the transfer station changed my tire strategy

Last April I was slipping all over my own driveway in Berlin, NH. The frost was coming out of the ground and my truck kept sinking into ruts I dug myself. A retired logger at the transfer station watched me curse and said, you gotta let it dry out a week before you drive on it, or you're just making soup. I thought he was nuts, but I parked on the road for 8 days. When I finally drove up, the ground held. I always thought chains or bigger tires were the answer, but it was just timing. Now I watch the forecast and wait until the top 2 inches dry out, even if it means lugging groceries from the street. Anyone else have a trick for early spring mud that doesn't involve paving over half the yard?

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charlie_allen6d ago

Buddy of mine up in Littleton tried the opposite. He got sick of waiting and put on those wide paddle tires, thought he could just power through. First decent thaw, he buried that truck up to the frame in his own side yard, had to call a tow truck that also got stuck. Took him and the tow guy three hours with winches and planks to get both vehicles out. Next spring he just parked at the end of the road too, same as you. Now he keeps a old wheelbarrow by the mailbox for hauling his groceries up, says it beats digging.