Paint your traction boards ?

This is what I was thinking. If it’s purely for aesthetics mounting on the side of the truck, then sure. I feel like most people who have these don’t actually use them (me included, they’re gathering dust in the garage).

 

Few people need to recover their vehicle every day ... or even the stuck-trucks of others. But it also sucks to need them and only have a carpet mat as a traction board.

 

I have used mine once for snow recovery, and another time to “build” a bridge to try and get through some 4 foot deep water holes where a slip in would have left me stuck on the frame.

They are handy devices for sure. Color coding? Nope, makes the truck look too hokey…

Okee dokey..

 

Which brand of traction board and how did they hold up taking the weight of the truck? A comparison by 3 or 4 crazy people willing at least, if not not trying, to destroy the boards found the cheaper ones crack disastrously as "bridge", where MaxxTrax ("hell, no, ain't paying $300!") served well.

 

Poor mans recovery tool. Everyone should carry a couple.

6 foot long sticky non slip yoga mats. I also line the back of my pickup bed when I load my camping gear so that it does not move around.

I have used them twice now for winter off roading before I got the maxtrax. Ice covered compact snow and zero traction in 4wd. Both times got me out. They perfectly stick to the ice so you can get moving.

There are a lots of these mats, make sure they are the sticky ones. Many are just padding and slip around.

 

I've seen both used. The difference is that you know the maxxtrax are gonna get 4 or 5 trucks through no problem. You know this. The other ones may. But you don't know for sure. My cheap boards have been my primary board for 3 years and have worked fine but I do also have a set of maxxtrax for when shit goes to shit, as they say.

 

This is a bit old, but perhaps still valuable.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SntXKcKKvW8

I suggest picking a color that is easy to see in the terrain you use them in. White would be terrible in snow. Brown/black terrible in mud. They get buried. Remember to throw the strap to the side so it doesn’t get buried as well.

My TRED Pros are light green which is not ideal, but that was the only color they had at the store. I’d chose blaze orange if I had the choice.

I don’t mount mine. I just throw them in the pickup bed. They hang out there year round. I’m old school like that.

 

They are maxtraxx. They did not carry the weight of the truck. I piled huge boulders and logs and dirt under them and the maxtraxx just to prevent slippage into the holes.

 

That is the one. Fun to watch, even if old!

 

True ... those "testers" assumed raw strength for the sake of the test just for grins. Supporting the board a bit makes sense.

EDIT: That makes a good case for a shovel as well.

 

One other note… paint is likely to get shredded upon first use. It makes no sense to paint them. At the very worse it will make them more slippery. Traction boards are not jewelry.

Additionally, I don’t think polymers (plastic) are typically painted. It’s dyed. (plastic automobile panels are a notable exception) Whatever you paint it with, check that that it will adhere to the material.

 

Shovel is the barest of necessities. I am remote solo on all of my trips so I do like to be prepared.

I have 300 pounds of gear in my toolbox. Full size shovel, multiple axes, saws, hammers, rachet sets, ropes, 5 foot long pry bars, 14,000 pound cable puller, 2 full size fire extinguishers, all tools for off road repair and survival.

I am astounded when locally I see guys head out into the woods in 4x4 pickups, with an empty bed and not a bottle of drinking water and zero food.

Lots of rescues of those guys by the Okanagan Search and Rescue team. Every winter they pull guys out who are stuck in snow mobiles, side by sides, 4x4s. I am out about 15 trips every winter. I got stuck 3 times this past winter and got myself out each time.

I basically drive a trail until I can go no farther, then park it and get out and go for a hike. Love the quiet in the woods in winter. The early spring snow of course the worst for getting stuck.

 

These are mine. They are rust coloured now.....