Recovery Q&A and help.

Ok cool. Yeap I could not see it.

 

For the record, there are 2 sets of maxtrax on each tire at that point. So not sure if only 1 would work for each side

 

The other driver should have a light throttle application assisting in the direction of recovery. The other driver should have the front tires turned to assist the direction of recovery. Once freed, the recovered vehicle should be the 1st to slow the recovery vehicle to prevent collision. If the recovered vehicle has a questionable driver/skill a substitute driver should be in place. The recovery driver should be the one making all the calls as his vehicle is at the most risk for additional damage.

 

Another example:

AWD jeep went off into ditch



It was a decent grade going downhill (away from the camera).

Assess the situation:

no front recovery... easier to have gravity help you
rear recovery he had a hitch, perfect. Didnt see any other points. The driver suggested using the loops next to the hitch receiver where the chains hook to... NO, they are not built for that, and will deform or break if you pull on them.
Highway tires, pretty useless for any grip
The picture doesnt show it well, but the ditch was a good 16" lower, frozen dirt under the snow.




Had I attempted to use a snatch or recovery strap, there would have been no way for him to get grip, I would have just pulled him down the road in the ditch.

I used the angle illustrated which wasted some pulling, I should've moved the snatch block closer to his truck to pull him sideways from the start. I was hoping his tires would grip some... they didnt. I used multiple trees because I was using the 30' recovery strap and needed to get the snatch block close to that side of the road. All the trees were plenty large enough to hold it on their own.

But as his truck got closer to the snatch block, it pulled him more sideways and out of the ditch.

The road was snow covered, so I put maxtrax under my front tires to get grip or else it would've probably just pulled me towards him.

I could've put maxtrax under his tires which would've given him grip, or linked a couple and he possibly could've driven out without the winch. But, you are at a very high risk of that person just peeling out and melting your recovery boards, which voids the warranty. If it was me, or someone I knew that would listen to instructions, I would've tried maxtrax first.

If he was able to put it into RWD, I would've had him do that and slowly turn the tires in reverse while I pulled sideways which would get the rear to rotate easier and keep the front from driving down the ditch like it did.

 

This is great info! Just got a winch and all this info is super helpful, was gonna take a class so i dont mess up my rig, people, or myself...i have it installed in my apex allpro bumper, any tips on cleaning since taking my bumper off is not a real option

 

Another great read, i love the use of pulleys

 

Sorry i missed this, what are you trying to clean??

 

Well we wont ask you to... you cant even take a pic without cutting your dome open

 

Great thread with tons of good information! Definitely saving this on the iPhone.

 

Another recovery from last night/this morning.

There is a rocky section (where all the grey rigs are parked) and a widened trail area to the cliff side (bottom) that at this point is loose sand. The trail is well off camber, and the sandy area is even more.

The jeep was sitting at 27 degrees to the side.

Jeep tried to go on the sandy area, ended up off the trail. If we were to pull it straight back it'll likely roll. Apparently before or after them, someone else in a pickup ended up off the trail, and went backwards down the cliff skidding down to a road below. Its a very steep slope, at least they were able to keep it straight. I got the pleasure of going up a ways, turning around to get in position, which then meant I got to back 500+ feet down the narrow/rocky trail in the dark after we were done.



We tried to set a pull pal where the middle rig is, but it would not catch.

Two front lines kept it from rolling over while rear one pulled it back onto the trail. I was right side, connected to the little stock hook on the bumper (one of the reasons we wanted two on the front/side). Middle rig snatched off my bumper and back to the frame. Rear was attached to the hitch receiver.


As is usual.. picture looks like something easy that you could drive out of, but it was not happening.

 

Hey is there a thread strictly about winches? Like what ones people have had problems with and which ones are solid??

I saw at HF a badlands winch for a solid price

 

This one might have some info for you.
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/show-us-your-winches-not-your-wives.263278/

 

perfect this is what I wanted!

 

Happy to help!

 

Attached U.S. Army Field Manual 20-22 (10/1962). Contains a lot of very useful information about rigging and recovery, much of which has been covered but some of which has not. For example calculating terrain factor (coefficient of friction) on various surfaces and gradient resistance for slope recoveries. Also shows several techniques to self recover, use wheels as winches and field engineering to utilize logs for bridges, hoists, A-frames, jacks, etc. It also talks about how to deal with a thrown track, should you ever find your M60 Patton has done so.

 

This seems a like a good place to ask this.
Basically for offroading are these two extra buttons worth it? The two on the bottom row.



I am looking for a dclb 4x4, I am currently only looking at 09-11 as I dont like the 12> interior and <08 they didnt have these buttons. I understand that one turns off the airbags that go off if you start tipping over and I cannot remember what the other does at the moment, something about traction I think. It is worth limiting it to only those years and not looking at 07 and 08 models since they do not have these buttons?
Thanks