Show how you mount your traction boards

And the finished product


Keeps all original holes in the traction boards, easy to convert back to factory and the boards actually rest on the wheel well. The 3.5" screws I think will give me the ability to mount four boards. Gotta wait for another group buy to pick up two more.

The only drawbacks are 1) getting the screws in the right place, 2) the screw threads scratch up the holes pulling them on and off, 3) the wing nuts hit the MaxTrax (when tightened) making it not perfect and 4) the difficulty of finding the exact positioning (screws don't like to be mounted in the side rail cut outs and it's really close on the front most screw).

I don't plan on removing mine, so 1 and 4 are moot. I could put a .5" inside diameter sleeve over the bolts to prevent the scratching or dremel the threads. As for the wing nut hitting, you can still get it tight, it just takes a few extra turns with it hitting on one side.

 

What about some heat shrink tubing?

 

You might be on to something here... If it were thick enough, that would do the trick. Cheap enough to try.

 

If you need it thicker, you could try shrinking one piece of heat shrink tubing over the threads. Then add another piece of heat shrink tubing over the first and shrink that one too. Build it up as thick as you need it by adding more heat shrink. When you're done, trim the ends so the tubing looks good. I'm not sure how durable the heat shrink tubing is for this particular application, but it seems like it should work. If you try this, let us know how it works out.

 

X bull

 

First member on here I've seen to pack stair treads instead of the nylon recovery boards!

I used a borrowed set of metal stair treads back around 1995 from a mtn family to unstuck my 85, worked great! No wheel spinning and both axles were buried in a mud bog meadow. Truck pulled right out quickly.

Please share any experiences using metal stair treads for recovery, I almost bought a couple of 48"x12 stair treads the other day.

 

DIY for the win! (Or is that DIM "Did It Myself"?)

Anyway, home made roof rack with a couple of aluminum blocks with bolts that I cut the heads off of - that way the threaded end goes thru the aluminum. Drilled for pins and bungee’s to keep 'em from rattling in the wind. If I measured right the studs are long enough to carry 4 - though I've yet to use this set of 2 so we'll see. I made sure to mount them the right way up

Still wrestling with a tidier tie down for the spare tire - not sure what to do with that yet...

 

I like securing them to the back of the tailgate ...

 

I’ve been using psp (pierced steel plank) for a long time. First saw it used in the army. Invented for muddy conditions.

It works pretty good as a traction board. It digs in and grips the ground really well. If you have even basic welding skills you can make it better but stock is fine. The metal traction nubs on the steel grip tires really well and don’t burn off (looking at you maxtrax).

Being metal, care needs to be taken during placement to minimize the chance of them slamming into the body when they load up, but that’s something I’d do no matter what my boards were made of. Digging to get the board in proper position is a matter of course.

I have more of a euro outlook to off-road. Where they shine for me is using them for bridging....some cribbing underneath and good to go.

If you end up going this route, make sure to grind off the sharp edges and any burrs on the ends. Then sit back and feel slightly smug for having a set of boards that cost sub $75, are better performing than a plastic board and the only maintenance ever required is accomplished with a hammer and spray paint.

Cheers

 

I used a broken canopy for materials to make the frame mount for the traction boards.

 

Hard to beat that testimonial right there!

 

I've got mine mounted using the Maxtrax pins on top of the aluminum roof I added to an All-Pro OffRoad Modular Pack Rack. No noise, nice & tight and easy to get down when standing on the rock rails. The All-Pro crossbed rack for the Action Packers is directly below and the Maxtrax pins were cut down to avoid smacking my head into the excess bolt. So far, so good.

 

Damn near perfect fit.

 

That truck.... So.... Clean....

 

What brackets/hardware are you using to secure the aluminum panel. They look like some else mounts to them.

 

There are nine single point L-track tiedown points that go through the aluminum panel and the bed rack cross members, three on each side and three up the middle. Instead of using regular flush mount hardware, I left myself the option of carrying a kayak or my Gazelle T4 tent & cot on the roof if needed and having a variety of tiedown options. I've added another view. The whole thing came about when I ditched my RTT and still wanted a partial roof over the bed.

 

Pretty much what I did with mine when I made them.

 

I bought RCI hi-lift mounts. The XBull screws fit through the bracket perfectly. I used the XBull hardware and mounted my boards on the header rail. Since there is only one hole in the mounting bracket, there was a slight sag. I put the plastic XBull brackets on the front of the boards and it straightened them out. I ran a cable lock through the handles for theft security. There is a little flex, but after road testing it, I never heard any bouncing and couldn’t see the boards moving at all. The plastic brackets are bending a lot. Tomorrow I’m going to go buy two small metal brackets and they should be good to go.