Self Help Gear for Getting Unstuck

[skyl4rk]

If I am going to drive into National Forests pulling a trailer to boondock sites, what kind of gear should I have to get myself unstuck when it happens?

tire air pressure gauge
tire inflation pump
tow strap
shovel
come-along
???

 

[skyl4rk]

I found this: http://www.cheaprvliving.com/blog/getting-stuck-avoid-happens/

 

[LeeRevell]

If I am going to drive into National Forests pulling a trailer to boondock sites, what kind of gear should I have to get myself unstuck when it happens?

tire air pressure gauge
tire inflation pump
tow strap
shovel
come-along
???

Yes....  all that.  Perhaps a hatchet too, to gather small saplings to place beneath the tires in soft sand.  Being in north Florida, I have dealt with being stuck in sand before.

 

[ccbreder]

Some kind of heavy duty jack. I jacked the side of my van to put those sticks under the tires in soft sand. A folding gardening saw to cut branches and a credit card to pay your bail when the rangers find you.

 

[vanman2300]

An old heavy duty floor mat to throw under the wheels. Also can be used to protect vehicle from getting scratched when using a tow rope or chain.

 

[highdesertranger]

so I been thinking on how to answer this and I think the best tool for getting unstuck is your common sense. not getting stuck in the first place. however everybody gets stuck sooner or later. so the first thing you need to do if you a stuck in soft material like dry sand is to air down your tires. this will greatly improve your traction. however you can't air them down to much and you must have a way to reinflate them. once you get below 20psi be careful, also do not break traction(no spinning your wheels) under 20psi you run the risk of breaking your bead loose. the problem with the desert is there is hardly ever anything to pull against. if you however in country where you have anchors a winch/come along works. stay away from the cheap junk from Harbor Freight. one could write a book on this subject. the tools everyone posted are must haves. the most important is a shovel. so without writing a book I am going to bed it's late for me. highdesertranger

 

[jimindenver]

We tow our 25 ft trailer to the boondocking sites in the Rockies and I'll drop the trailer before taking a trail blind. Can't drop the trailer then walk it, if it's not worth the effort don't go.

I've back up at hill, around a curve on ruts for a half mile because the trail got questionable. Taking a risk and getting something that big stuck, that far away from help is senseless.

With the trailer attached I can use the tongue jack to lift the rear of the truck, the WDH makes for too much weight for many jacks. (6 tons combined)

We use 10x2 boards for leveling, those also get us across wash outs, holes, etc.

A full sized shovel fills in what the planks can't cross.

Decent tires are important not only might they keep you from getting stuck in the first place, they are not as likely to be chewed up but the rocks.

Before this set up we had a 13 ft, 2500 lb canned ham trailer with a drop axle pulled by a 2wd van. That axle would get caught on rocks and I'm sure we graded a few roads along the way with it. Now we have 4wd but I only use it for low gear and getting over things in a slow controlled manner. No need to slam the trailer and everything in it around.

I have used 4x4 to get out of a spot after a storm changed the trails. Then it's what ever it takes.

So take the things to help you get out if you do get stuck, but it's just better to not be in the situation in the first place.

 

[concretebox]

I got stuck in the sand out by Salvation Mountain in California. I tried stuffing stuff under the tires, I tried rocking back and forth. Nothing worked. I had to call AAA. I know it's cheating, but I was lucky to be 20 minutes from town. Telling them where I was was bit of a challenge, but I luckily remembered the names of the roads closest to me.

A local tow company sent out a big F-450 with dual rear wheels and F-A-T fat tires. The operator hooked up a bed-mounted winch and put railroad tie behind the F-450's rear wheels. He winched and drove forward as I applied gas. We got unstuck in a few seconds.

I'm cutting costs everywhere, but as long as I'm traveling, I have AAA.

 

[Annie W]

THIS is another  immensely Helpful discussion. Thank you

 

[QinReno]

Besides what everyone else has said ..... when I was down in the SoCal desert, I got my van stuck in loose sand several times in a few minutes. It was across the road from an official campground, and the host had told me a few minutes earlier that it was ok to go in there and look around for a boondock site, so it's not like I did a totally stupid thing (duh). But once I got in there there was no place to turn around, except in very deep sand, so I had to keep going forwards.

It's a late model GMC Savana V8 van. I was able to rock the van out the first time. The manual says to take it out of StabiliTrack when rocking - not sure why??? In normal automatic mode, it goes into 1st gear at low speeds, and has tons of torque, so the rear wheels dig right in. Once I got unstuck, what I ended up doing was to put the transmission into "manual" mode, and use 3rd gear, and then it drove over the sand quite well without digging in. So, just another possible thing to try.

 

[Fitter]

The items that saved the day for me most often are a 12 volt air compressor to reinflate my flat and tire plugs to repair a small hole in my trucks tire .
Out in the dessert off road it makes a D.I.Y. tire repair very easy .

 

[vtmactech]

Another thing to consider are traction mats. I use GoTreds but any will work. I like gotreds because the are foldable/stackable for storage and are durable enough to use as adjustable height leveling blocks. Lifetime warranty as well. They are on Amazon or at most off-road shops. No affiliation, just something bought for my Jeep trying to save money over maxtrax and similar products that tend to be priced as vanity add-on items. Will continue to use in my van.

https://gotreads.com

 

[ColdBrook]

Another thing to consider are traction mats. I use GoTreds but any will work. 
https://gotreads.com

Thanks, I never heard of that brand.  They look a lot better than ones we have for our other vehicle.

 

[steamjam1]

Not getting stuck in the first place is the best method, but there are times you will, regardless of how careful you are. I personally carry:

A high lift jack.
A shovel
tire chains
A few strips of 2x4
Rubber straps.

With those, you can get yourself out of most stuck situations.

 

[Bud Smiley]

I'm a big proponent of hitch mounted winches. I try to put front and rear hitch receivers on all my 4x4 or camping vehicles. You mount your winch to a plate that slides into the receiver and then you can winch yourself both forwards and backwards.

Being able to winch forwards is great and all... and that's where most winches are mounted. But that's based on a rock crawling/off roading mindset where you want to get past an obstacle. For most of our boondocking uses, we'll want to be able to winch BACKWARDS to get off an obstacle and then we'll turn around.

Added advantage is you can easily transfer the winch between vehicles. Just make sure to bring long enough power leads.

 

[DannyB1954]

With a trailer it is a tough one. If your tire is just spinning on something slippery like crossing a stream, what works sometimes is pressing on the brake at the same time as giving it some gas. What this does is if the vehicle has what is called an open differential it applies some resistance to the spinning wheel and that causes some torque to be transferred to the wheel that is doing nothing. When I was 4 wheeling with an old military jeep, (M38A1, similar to the Jeep CJ5), I put a brake line lock on each wheel. If any tire spun I could lock it up a bit and make the other wheel on the same axle do some work.
They make plastic traction planks that you can put under the tires and that helps get you out of the hole that you dug https://www.amazon.com/MAXSA-Foldable-Traction-Extraction-20025/dp/B000H0PANU
You can buy or make a device marked as truck claw or Track grabber.
https://www.cabelas.com/product/TRA...2sfbRsVBTEKPLl1NcbMaAvs2EALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

A short piece of u channel and a cargo strap should work. This is a foreign film but it gives some tips once you get past the cartoon start.

 

[highdesertranger]

I guess none of those people heard of letting air out of the tires. highdesertranger

 

[falfrenzy]

I'm a big proponent of hitch mounted winches. I try to put front and rear hitch receivers on all my 4x4 or camping vehicles. You mount your winch to a plate that slides into the receiver and then you can winch yourself both forwards and backwards.

Being able to winch forwards is great and all... and that's where most winches are mounted. But that's based on a rock crawling/off roading mindset where you want to get past an obstacle. For most of our boondocking uses, we'll want to be able to winch BACKWARDS to get off an obstacle and then we'll turn around.

Added advantage is you can easily transfer the winch between vehicles. Just make sure to bring long enough power leads.

I agree 100%.  

Most people run heavy gauge welder cables front and rear, and use the welder quick disconnect twist fittings. Or at least thats what I did.

Winching safety is a huge topic than I'll leave for another day. Do your own research if you are going to use a winch (or come along/Hi-lift jack as they have their own unique dangers)

My addition to your post is to put synthetic line on the winch, lifting a 130 lb winch (9500 lb rated) into the receiver sucks! Synthetic line changed it to a 80lb winch, much better. Rule of the wrist (inside joke) is to select a winchrating that is 1.5 times the weight of the vehicle. When stuck in mud, suction can double or more the pulling force required. So don't skimp on the mounting hardware!

 

[SheepDog]

I spend time walking the roughest spots plotting a course through them and limit the amount of time I spend getting myself unstuck!

My kit includes https://www.wyeth-scott.com that I’ve had for 20 years or so! I also carry a High Lift Jack, an air compressor, full sized shovel, shackles and enough chain/cable to reach out a good ways and connect to the More Power Puller or the High Lift!

I’ve used a snatch strap on others way more than I’ve used it to get unstuck myself, but always carry one,

SD

 

[highdesertranger]

note about synthetic rope for winches.

if you are winching and your cable/rope is static then synthetic rope is fine.

if you are winching and your cable/rope is active DO NOT use synthetic. use a quality wire rope.

those WS hand winches look awesome. I have a similar hand winch. highdesertranger