THREE COOL THINGS FOR VEHICLE RECOVERY

By Paul Strubell of Dirt Orcas – 3/8/19

This edition of Three Cool Things will focus on vehicle recovery.

Freedom comes with a price. Often getting unstuck will require you to spend a little money in advance so you have the right tools for the job when the time comes.

Getting stuck is a natural part of exploring places where the road turns rough. Here are a few items that you’ll want to have on-board to help safely recover your vehicle in the event of a bog.

Editors Note: Some of these items require a second vehicle in your party to be effective. Some can be used to help with self recovery when you are alone. Use your heads.

1) Maxtrax MKII’s – $350 – Sometimes you can get away with a lessor knock off product that does the job well at a fraction of the price. In this case, the research suggests that this might be one of those times you just bite the bullet and spend the money for the good stuff. Plus, you’ll have the added benefit of instant street credit. Alerting everybody on the roads and social media that you might want to drive off-road and grill something on your Scottle at some point. 😉

2) ARB Snatch Strap – $59 – A snatch strap is different from a tow strap and it’s important to know the difference so you don’t make your recovery attempt worse. A snatch strap is made of nylon and is meant to be elastic so you can literally yank the vehicle free from its situation. Using the added power of the elasticity to dislodge the vehicle. A tow strap is much less elastic and designed to pull a vehicle to a safer location to do some repairs but not necessarily free it from a stuck position. Both can do a reasonable job for most applications but if you are truly bogged, use a snatch strap to yank yourself free. If you are looking for a competent tow strap, I like this one from Rhino because it will do the job but not break the bank.

3) D-Rings Shackles – $30 – One of the most important things about vehicle recovery is the recovery point on the vehicle. Read your owners manual or some forums about the best recovery points on your vehicle. Adding a simple D Ring Shackle hitch receiver will simplify things on the back end. This one is fun because it has some red shit on it.

Bonus Tip – Get yourself a decent shovel. You’ll be able to self recover in most cases. You could get by with using your Maxtrax’s as a shovel for sand or snow, but having a real shovel will ultimately really pay off if you are in a stickier situation by yourself. Any shovel will do, but I like this style because it will stow easily in the back of an SUV.

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