Recovery: Its Inevitable When You Drive Like Me

Mud and sand you say?

$130 Maxsa 20333 Heavy-Duty Escaper Buddy Traction Mats for Off-Road Mud, Sand, & Snow Vehicle Extraction and Recovery, Bendable, Unbreakable, Orange, 2 Pack

https://www.amazon.com/Escaper-Traction-Off-Road-Extraction-20333/dp/B00AV2HONS

Traction boards are always a good cheap option.

 

I usually scout and hunt by myself and like the peace of mind of having a winch on the truck. I went with a SSO slimline winch mount and a Smitybilt X20 with synthetic winch line. It did lower the front of the truck about 1/2 of an inch.

 

Yep, just ordered these. They are light so that greased the wheels toward buying them.

 

I like mine. They aren't perfect for every situation you described, but they are almost at "Fuck it, why not" pricing it's hard to say no. They are extremely handy to have when you need them though.

 

That's just it for me. It's peace of mind.

I don't want my son to be stuck way out there, deep in the woods with many hilly miles to walk even to a cell phone signal.

When I was younger it was just me and my friends, and honestly we didn't care (about anything). And there were usually several vehicles so if one went down it wasn't as big a deal. Now it is different: I want some ultimate fall back plan.

 

It is one of those tools that you rarely need, but damn when you need it your sure as heck are glad that you spent the money to have it. I had to leave my new 2017 Tacoma just this last Elk season when my hunting trailer pulled me off the trail in the snow. Lucky for me I only had to walk about a mile before I came upon a group of fellow hunters cutting wood that had a F250 with a 12,000 lb winch. They wouldn't take a dime, just pay it forward.

 

I am gonna have to get me some of those.

 

While working for the Forest Service, we had a Griphoist cable wire puller that pulls any length cable through jaws in it and it was rated for 3-tons. It could easily pull trees and boulders, pull open wrecked car doors, plus recover our Type-3 fire engine from the mud with it. That model costs two grand now, and there are some used ones on EBay for a few hundred dollars. There are also new generic copies of it available online like this one. These could easily take the place of a winch:

$1,050 JET 3-Ton Grip Puller with 66-Foot Cable (JG-300A)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001DJAUU...t=&hvlocphy=9031498&hvtargid=pla-313231068686

 

This is pretty dang heavy, but it looks like a pretty serious piece of equipment. The only issue I have with it is that the weight is actually beginning to exceed a winch with synthetic rope. Need to think about this.

 

So the aluminum bumper is just as strong for recovery?

 

Yep! The fabricators take that into account and they’re usually designed a little differently. Now, aluminum won’t take the same beating as steel, but it doesn’t sound like that’s what you’ll be doing with it.

 

Mobtowns hidden hitch in the front is a much cleaner (to me) application than the Curt type hitch that hangs below the bumper and reduces clearance. And looks ugly.

With a winch that mounts in the receiver carried in the bed, you now have a winch you can work from the front, or the rear, depending on which is the better choice for the situation. And no permanent weight hanging up front.

http://mobtownoffroad.com/product/3rd-gen-tacoma-front-recovery-bar/

 

I'm selling a SDHQ hidden winch mount if you're interested in going that route..

 

I'm out of the industry now, but in marine salvage I used every kind of winch you can think of. There's no replacement for a Tirfor. Also called a Griphoist or Tractel. Except for laziness (which is a legitimate complaint) I don't know why anyone would permanently mount a winch on their rig when you can do it all with one of these, and then turn around and use it to fell a tree or whatever.

 

I disagree that laziness is the only reason. People build their trucks for different reasons, so a winch may absolutely be a legitimate need. Speaking for myself, I built my truck as an off-road play toy, so I’m using my winch about once a month on average to get myself or someone else unstuck. Doing it manually just isn’t feasible.

 

Yeah, there’s a lot of people who couldnt carry that type of weight or pull a lever that way, so I see how an electric winch is also useful. But permanent mounting off the front isnt that useful for solo trips either. That’s why using a reciever mount with forward and rear reciever hitches is a good option. I do like the option of being able to winch from the front and rear of the truck- you know what I’m talking about if you have ever been stuck pointed downhill without the ability to turn or going forward.

Edit: @AgingDisgracefully - I also have a Curt front end hitch- love it for maneuvering my trailer around very tight corners, and it offers a 6-ton straight pull recovery point.

 

How does this company stand up, https://www.wyeth-scott.com/ ?

 

Those are nice, I think its the same brand also used on some of the other Forest Service engines and the maintenance crew had those too. Their limit is the cable length due to the spool, plus the deadweight lifting capacity is calculated using the pulley block, so the distance is half the total cable length. The Griphoist option gives you no pulling distance limit- you can use any length cable with it since it pulls the cable through it and out the back end. Ours had a 60-foot cable.

 

That type works, it's just annoying having to deal with the kinked wire that corkscrews and wants to spring back and turn into a bird's nest on the spool.

Amsteel blue won't last out in the sun but otherwise it's good rope. I would only trust synthetic rope in a very controlled situation though. Snag it on a rock during a recovery and it'll part in a hurry.

 

You have a bunch of options if your not wanting a full on bumper imho the hidden tow hitchor or slim line bumpers are the way to go. The maxtracs are great another idea invest in some sliders great door ding protectors also an a highlift jack to add to your recovery options.