I got my car stuck in the back yard.

BAHAHAHAHA! I'm sorry, that's funny right there...

Are your neighbors pointing and laughing? I would be, but I would also be helping. You would also have a new hilarious nickname.

Tractor pulled it out and car is in the house. Crisis averted. Tow truck driver bitched about calling me for 30 minutes while sitting outside, when all he needed to do was ring the doorbell. Threw him an extra $20 anyway.

I already had a reputation from pulling a trailer around with a lowered Miata in a southern town. This isn't helping.

Do you have any more in-progress pics? Thanks for posting this, i think it brightened a few days with comedy.

Vigo wrote: Do you have any more in-progress pics? Thanks for posting this, i think it brightened a few days with comedy.

Sorry but I didn't get a picture of the tractor pulling it out. He was disgruntled because he had to sit outside for (actually 15 minutes) calling me, so he was in a hurry. Car is now in the garage.

OSULemon wrote: Tractor pulled it out and car is in the house. Crisis averted.

Car is in the house sounds like another crisis

is this one case where Miata is not the answer?

AWD Miata? Keith, paging Keith to the white courtesy phone please.

I've never seen the carpet trick work. I HAVE gotten fed up and hooked 30 feet of tow straps to the back of an 80hp civic and pulled a full-size dodge pickup out of the mud.

mad_machine wrote: is this one case where Miata is not the answer?

Miata with off road tires probably would have worked just fine. Or a torsen and full tread on the snows.

You got off light, I could have started a forest fire with that scenario.

I never would have shared this story with the internets...

miatame wrote: I never would have shared this story with the internets...

No sane person would. I would not have told my entire workplace if I had known nobody was going to help me anyway.

Idea # 1: Short lengths of rope tied around the tire (through the spokes of the rim) will kind of simulate chains. Ensure they are tight enough so as to not catch on your brakes (if there is room to get the rope through).

Idea # 2: Carpet remnants as traction mats. Works WAY better than 2x4's. (side tip, if stuck in snow, try your floormats as traction mats)

Idea # 3: Got a wife/SO/friend? Hitch yourself to a rope going to the baby teeth. Have light person in car trying to drive out while mushing the "dog team"

on Ideas 1 and 2, slow wheel speeds required.

Has the carpet thing really worked for anyone ever? All I've seen it do is shoot out or catch on fire.

Yup ,floor mats

if it makes you feel better, a few years back I got our 4Runner stuck in our side yard. Big uphill, with a sideways slant as well. very wet red clay soil. stock crap-o-la highway "all terrains".

In 4wd I managed to slide it backwards down into a fencepost, lol........quite embarrassing, luckily nobody saw it :)

Inspiration, perhaps?

Ah you southerners,is that even snow on the ground there?.We get frost that heavy up here.

I would've loaded the trunk and aired the tires down to around 10lbs,you'd be amazed at the difference combined with a little rocking action from the clutch or help from a buddy pushing to get it moving.

If you're in the south I would have just waited a day for the snow to melt!

Awe, don't feel bad. I got my wife's Xterra stuck in my back yard on slick grass and soft ground. Had to call about six tow companies before somebody would come out since it was pretty far off my driveway and the truck was hooked to our camper. I HAD to get it out (and washed off) before she got home, ya know? (Yes, I felt super stupid too...)

It appears that there is a road downhill from where you are. Why not just clear some brush and take a run down to that road?

pinchvalve wrote: It appears that there is a road downhill from where you are. Why not just clear some brush and take a run down to that road?

I thought about that, but there's some obstacles that would be difficult/impossible to remove. When AAA said they wouldn't cover a backyard extrication, I thought pretty hard about that, though!

"Uh, yes...it just slid into this ditch. From the road. Not my back yard, that'd be stupid."

Once upon a time, I did something similar.

I think I left it there for a bit, then pulled it out with my 2WD truck. Adventures!

The blessings of owning a 4x4 GMC Jimmy and a 4x4 F350...and a 30' tow strap.

Once upon a time, when I owned zero 4x4 vehicles, I got my 2wd Suburban stuck in the mud about a mile from the road. I was young, dumb, and stupid, as they say. Luckily, a guardian angel was watching over me. As I went hiking through the woods I stumbled (almost literally) over a good-sized chunk of chain-link fence that had been rusting there for God-knows how long. After extricating it from the weeds which had overgrown it, I dragged it back to my truck and shoved it under the rear wheels.

The truck drove out of the mud like it was on dry tarmac.

That Saab pic reminds me of what happened to me and my Volvo 122 a few weeks back. I pulled into my unplowed driveway a bit too enthusiastically and drifted right into about a foot of snow. Rocking was useless. I left the car there and the next morning pulled it out with the Jimmy.