Old 4x4 vs UTV for mud?

I drive a 3/4 ton with lift and 35s on it. Still scared of some spots on my lease. A half ton stock 4wd and a dually got stuck since I've been on the lease. The dually just plopped into a mud hole and game over.

What's more likely to get through mud like that, a Side by side or an older jeep/truck with a good lift and tires. Technically my truck probably as capable as the older jeep but much heavier. Rather get stuck riding in a sacrificial vehicle so I can get myself out and to depend on help.

Get a winch on whatever you decide to use. Sounds like you might need it.

Original style Toyota 4x4, or early model bronco

Lighter the vehicle the better it will handle the mud.

UTV is definitely lighter but seems like their body clearance is low even with large tires.

My vote is for a UTV. But then I have a winch on mine. Having a winch guarantees you that you wont get stuck.

Lol!! I like the way you think!!!!

I have a pasture that was flooded for most of last hunting season. It is on way to one of my blinds, so I need to cross regularly. NO WAY would any 4 WD vehicle get across it without rutting it to pieces, or burying them up to the axles. UTV however is perfect. I probably crossed that field a hundred times while flooded, and only once even needed to switch to 4WD on my mule.

Agree with what's said above. A 4WD UTV with diff lock will go places that most 4WD trucks, SUVs would never make it (unless heavily modified with lift, lockers, larger mud tires, etc)

UTV ... if it gets stuck, leave it and you still have your truck to get home

Fully agree. I've driven my Mule through stuff in 2WD that my truck wouldn't have a prayer of getting through or over in 4WD. Other great thing about it is that it's nimble and small enough that I can usually find a way around anything I don't want to go through. That's harder to do with a full-size truck.

Trucks/Jeeps/etc. have their advantages but off-road capability ain't one of them.

Are y'all saying a stock UTV has a better chance then a lifted 4x4 with 35 mud terrains? Not talking about a full blown mudding truck but the ones you see on thebstteet everyday.

I have two non-modified 4WD vehicles, and neither would get across the pasture I referenced without getting stuck. It has sat under 6" of water for many months and the soil is like pudding. On the other hand, I can cross it easily on the Mule, and only once needed to drop into 4WD.

A modified mudder jeep or truck could probably get across, but I would be left with ruts in the pasture that would be a pain to deal with once the field dries.

If it was my choice I would get an ATV not UTV. Unless you need to haul more than two people. My Honda Foreman with front and rear racks can haul two people with three bags corn on front and four or five on rear. Not talking about a mud run with that much.

Stock for stock, yes. I'd say that.

You can start modifying one or both, but then you'll start breaking stuff and having maintenance issues. I think you'd be shocked what a stock Mule or Ranger would go thru w/o breaking a sweat.

That's a foolish guarantee.

This guy proved that wrong.

You missed my point....if you have one, you will never need one. The guy in the photo above must be a democrat Only a democrat will have all the tools to get something done but will still want someone to help them.....a handout if you will.

He did come and find us and ask for help but a jeep with a 8klb warn winch snatch blocked to him and tied off to another jeep that was tied off to a tree never moved him.

A winch doesn't guarantee anything.

Mud sucks.

Yea not trying to go anything like that, I hope.

But how did he get out then if you couldn't winch him out?

[/quote]


He did come and find us and ask for help but a jeep with a 8klb warn winch snatch blocked to him and tied off to another jeep that was tied off to a tree never moved him.

A winch doesn't guarantee anything.

Mud sucks. [/quote]

A jeep with a 8Klb winch and snatch block rating at 16klbs tied off to whatever could not pull out a 1500lb UTV......Ya well not only was the UTV owner a democrat....so were both the jeep owners....and the damn tree. That is ridiculous.

I got my truck stuck once, pretty deep with practically no tread.
Friend with a jeep pulled me out with a 8000 lb winch. Winch wasnt strong enough, so one person controlled the winch, they backed their jeep up and I floored it.
We got it out no problem. Sometimes a winch alone won't do it, but it definitely helps.

It was more quicksand than mud. He needed a backhoe to pull him up and out. But I'm sure y'all could have done it vs a couple of guys with built jeeps that wheel every other weekend.

Been stuck in both. Utv was easier to get out.

Yes sir . I would rather have old iron any day .

A small correction if I may...

A winch doesn't guarantee you won't get stuck any more than an umbrella guarantees it won't rain. A winch CAN help make sure you don't remain stuck. Of course, don't go into a mud hole without a suitable winch point in reach or you are just screwed.

To answer the question, at our ranch we have 4x4s, tractors, dozers, UTVs and ATV's. When it is muddy, we leave all the heavy stuff put up and use the ATVs and UTVs. They simply are better for the job. They go through the soft stuff better and don't tear the place up. Nothing pisses off a landowner more than ruts everywhere after a rain. We lease one piece of our property to hunters. If they brought in modded off-road trucks and tore the place up, we would have new hunters next year.

I've got a little S10 to get me around when it's cold... man that heater is nice!

I vote in the mud a utv/atv will walk circles around any truck be it a lifted 3/4 ton or a lifted Tacoma. The weight is on the utv's side.

UTV for me. I pulled out a Chevy stuck in a creek (along with another UTV to help). Each of us have 4000 lb winches. My UTV has the highest ground (stock) clearance of any on the market - Mahindra mPact 750 single cab. With a long wheelbase on the UTV crew cabs they are a bit more likely to get stuck. No way I would drive a 1/2 or 3/4 ton truck lifted or not with mud tires through the soupy swampy mess. I go to hunt, not rut up roads or spend time trying to get unstuck. Plus a UTV can get you through alternate routes around mud holes that a truck can't.

I guess most people will just find a way to make whatever they have work.

If I'm starting from zero, it would depend on the type of "bad spots". For something like what's in the pic before, I would want a lighter, lifted and locked full size 4x4. It would straddle that mud hole better, but it wouldn't turn on a dime like that side by side.

Yes, I know "lighter" is tough for a full size, but that's just what my Jeep Wagoneer is. At least compared to a modern pickup. My Wag weighs 4400 lbs stock. About 4150-4200 lbs when I'm through with it. Fully locked, and I would put some Swampers on it for terrain like that.