water crossings are also a bit easier with an auto tranny than a manual. put it in low range and go, typically somewhere around 10 mph. with a stick on teh other hand you have to be in teh appropriate gear BEFORE hitting the water. shifting under water can let water between the flywheel and clutch and will act like little bearings and not let the clutch fully engage. It will once it dries out, but when it's wet and you nail the gas and barely move while crossing a creek, that is a SUPER BAD feeling.

Haven't had my X seriously stuck yet, but my worst stuck I was wheeling alone in a scout II. Went up over a rock and lost a bead, truck slid and high centered the passengers side on a boulder. all i had was a shovel, so i started digging. took me two days to move enough dirt from under that rock to get it to sink low enough that i could drive off.

Justin