Getting unstuck: safe vehicle extraction

[29chico]

Starting with this very well done write up on using a high lift jack safely when unsticking your rig:

http://expeditionportal.com/jack-of-all-trades/

 

[highdesertranger]

thanks chico I will read it later. are you coming to RTR? highdesertranger

 

[Every Road Leads Home]

Great article. I love my Hi-Lift jack, ive gotten out of a few jambs with it over the years, including my boat. I used to beach my boat and surf cast where I grew up. If I fished too long, the tide would be on it's way out and my boat stuck on shore. Hi Lift got me and my boat back to floatable water more times than I can count.

 

[29chico]

I'm hoping that folks will chime in with extraction tips of their own, links to good relevant info as well as questions about vehicle recovery/extraction that they want to learn.

I need to get an extraction kit together to work with both the winch on the front of the rig and a high lift jack.  So input on kinetic ropes/straps, tow straps, snatch blocks and so on would be appreciated.  Also, since I tend to overkill things, what is realistic about being prepared w/o going overboard on gear would be helpful.

 

[SternWake]

My van came with a bumper jack, and could lift the tires well clear of the ground.

But the Dust got to it one time, on a tire blowout on washboard. I could not get the jack to lower no matter what I tried. This was in Baja, and some Mexicans drove by and saw me struggling trying to get it to lower. One said to Piss on it.

WD40 didn't work, but the piss did.

I have not gotten my van truly stuck. Recovery has been relatively easy, even using tiny bottle jacks in stages to slowly lift ass end and put wood under the tires. That time My van was parked on softish Dirt while I was on the other side of country, and it rained a lot and the van just sunk into the dirt.

My 'method' when getting from A to B were not getting stuck, and that was usually about Airing down, and momentum, and walking the course when getting bogged was a possibility. Also not having to back out uphill.
Straighten out front tires, Move all loose sand from in front of them, Drop tire PSI to as low as 12PSI

 

[sushidog]

Cool. Thanks for the link. On the subject of not getting stuck I will share the wisdom I've learned from many years of hare and hound and enduro motorcycle racing in the swamps and bogs of Louisiana.

1. As SternWake said, momentum is king. If you can, get out and walk the mud hole first, choosing your line and strategy. Try to approach the mud hole as fast as possible in a straight a line as you can get, (I like an outside line, avoiding ruts from previous attempts). The faster you can safely go, the less chance you have of getting stuck. Most people get stuck because they go far too slowly.

2. If momentum is king, traction is queen. To avoid wheel spin (which will only dig you down, not propel you forward) after you drop your air to around 15 psi (you can go to 10 psi if you have beadlocks), put your transmission in the next higher gear you think you need. In other words if you think you need first, put it in second. This will provide less torque to the wheels, reducing wheel spin. Be gentile on the throttle too after you enter the bog, and aggressive before you do so for the best chance of getting through. Being familiar with your equipment's capabilities is most important - knowing what you can and can't do as a team. As you get more experience you will get stuck less, both because you will get better at crossing the bog, and you will attempt less questionable mud holes, as your judgement will improve and you will have a better idea which ones are passable and which ones are not.

BTW, don't forget to air back up afterwards to avoid damaging your tires.

Chip

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

Starting with this very well done write up on using a high lift jack safely when unsticking your rig:

http://expeditionportal.com/jack-of-all-trades/

That's a good article, but I would supplement it with viewing several of the Youtube videos on HiLift Jacks.  Some people learn more from watching a good video than from reading a good article.   People need to understand that, valuable as a HiLift is (and I own one), it can injure, maim or even kill you if used carelessly and incorrectly.

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

I'm hoping that folks will chime in with extraction tips of their own, links to good relevant info as well as questions about vehicle recovery/extraction that they want to learn.

I need to get an extraction kit together to work with both the winch on the front of the rig and a high lift jack.  So input on  kinetic ropes/straps, tow straps, snatch blocks and so on would be appreciated.  Also, since I tend to overkill things, what is realistic about being prepared w/o going overboard on gear would be helpful.

The number 1 extraction tool everyone needs to carry is a good shovel.  A full size shovel is often easier to use, and less work, than one of those military surplus folding entrenching tools.  But sometimes the E-tool will get into place it would be hard to get the full size shovel so owning both is not a bad idea.

Overland Journal did an article several years ago on recovery kits.  There recommendations for a BASIC winch based recovery kit was:

2 or 3 bow shackles
a winch line damper
a tree/rigging strap
a pulley rated for TWICE the winch power (A 10,000 lb. winch needs a pulley rated for 20,000 lbs.)

For an ADVANCED kit, add the following:

More bow shackles
a second pulley
a second tree/rigging strap
a 60 to 75 foot winch line extension
a Pull-Pal ground anchor

 

[29chico]

Cool. Thanks for the link. On the subject of not getting stuck I will share the wisdom I've learned from many years of hare and hound and enduro motorcycle racing in the swamps and bogs of Louisiana.

1. As SternWake said, momentum is king. If you can, get out and walk the mud hole first, choosing your line and strategy. Try to approach the mud hole as fast as possible in a straight a line as you can get, (I like an outside line, avoiding ruts from previous attempts). The faster you can safely go, the less chance you have of getting stuck. Most people get stuck because they go far too slowly.

2. If momentum is king, traction is queen. To avoid wheel spin (which will only dig you down, not propel you forward) after you drop your air to around 15 psi (you can go to 10 psi if you have beadlocks), put your transmission in the next higher gear you think you need. In other words if you think you need first, put it in second. This will provide less torque to the wheels, reducing wheel spin. Be gentile on the throttle too after you enter the bog, and aggressive before you do so for the best chance of getting through. Being familiar with your equipment's capabilities is most important - knowing what you can and can't do as a team. As you get more experience you will get stuck less, both because you will get better at crossing the bog, and you will attempt less questionable mud holes, as your judgement will improve and you will have a better idea which ones are passable and which ones are not.

BTW, don't forget to air back up afterwards to avoid damaging your tires.

Chip

Those are some good points about not getting stuck.  Just nothing about vehicle extraction/recovery.  There is a recent thread, see link below, that addresses exactly what you are talking about.

Link:  https://vanlivingforum.com/Thread-Traction-not-getting-Stuck

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

For those of you who may have heard that if you can't find a tree or a rock to use as an anchor, you can bury your spare tire; and were wondering how that works, here's a pretty good picture.  As you can see, it's a lot of work.  And no, that's not me in the picture.

 

[29chico]

That's a good article, but I would supplement it with viewing several of the Youtube videos on HiLift Jacks.  Some people learn more from watching a good video than from reading a good article.   People need to understand that, valuable as a HiLift is (and I own one), it can injure, maim or even kill you if used carelessly and incorrectly.

Very true, good vids would be helpful.  I'm just pretty sure that at my current point of learning about these extraction/recovery skills that I am not the right person to select the best vids. 

highdesertranger, Low Tech and yourself seem to know the subject better and would probably select better vids than I would.

 

[Every Road Leads Home]

There is no substitution for experience in my opinion.  I'm not an expert by any means but I've done a fair share of 4 wheeling and recovery.  Case in point. On a trip to Hawaii about ten years ago with my brother.  We rented a Jeep off a local (through craigslist) and she told of us a few places to take it, that not many people know about.  My brother having never 4 wheeled in his life was getting it stuck in places in 4 wheel drive that I had got through in 2.  It was driving him nuts, but it's one of those things that you have to learn.  

Another example was a place I used to work.  There were big sand pits out back and we all used to drive our trucks through them after work.  There was this one steep climb that had a mud hole right before the sharp incline.  Nobody could get through it, no matter how many attempts we tried.  Took about a month, but after the first guy finally did it, we were all able to make it.  By the end of the summer it was no longer fun trying it was so easy.  

So I would encourage everyone to play around with driving off road somewhere local for a bit.  Preferably somewhere you can go with a friend and another vehicle to pull you out if you do get stuck.  Practice with the recovery gear as well before having a friend pull you out for the times no one is there to help.  Practice makes perfect.


A few photos from the Hawaii adventure

 

[highdesertranger]

at the getting unstuck seminar I will have my Hi-lift jack. hopefully I can show everyone how to safely use one. actually we call them farm jacks and all our trucks are equipped with them. they are a highly versatile tool but like any tool if missed used it can really hurt you. highdesertranger

 

[Gary68]

there are different techniques for different terrain,what works in oregon mud will not work for arizona sand which will not work in georgia clay

when in doubt,get out and walk it,not getting stuck is the key

 

[29chico]

A while back Low Tech posted about having a bunch of sandbags on hand to help self extract.  Can anyone post a link for adequately burly sandbags that are still thin enough to stow well and not cost a lot?  Lot of choices out there and a proven product would help.

As far as winch anchors the extreme cheap end of the range to bury your spare.   Not a lot of fun to do.  The expensive other end is to have a Pull Pal.  Any good proven choices in between?

 

[VanLifeCrisis]

how do sand bags help?  Iv been thinking about this quite a bit.

I saw a vid comparing those expensive maxTrax things to ones made out of cut up milk crates and zip ties.  While the ties broke they worked to get the same jeep out of the sand as the other ones (they both failed first attempt).  Certainly cheaper.

 

[bullfrog]

One of the 4' x 4' plastic pallets can be cut up with a saw and used for leveling blocks and between the pillars (8" x 4') makes a pretty good unsticker especially if the surface is old and scratched up as most thrown out ones are.