Tire traction mats?

[kygreg]

Does anyone have a recommendation on traction mats to get a van un-stuck on soft ground? I see roll-up heavy rubber and cable mats and rigid straight sections, usually plastic. Is one better than another? Thanks

 

[highdesertranger]

Detroit Locker. highdesertranger

 

[Matlock]

Hummm, lets stay on topic folks...

I carry 4- 2'x4' heavy duty door mats. The ones you place outside your front/back door to wipe your feet on. I use mine inside my box truck as well as outside as they were designed to be used. They have a cutout design that allows dirt to go through and that makes it easy to shake them out before driving off.
Cheap and work great as a traction mat. Used for that purpose on several occasions. Check Lowes and Home Depot like $9 each when I bought mine three yrs ago.

 

[bagabum]

Is one better than another? Thanks

Kyreg, I know your question is about the best store bought roll up or straight, but, I make my own. I take  scrap 5/8" ply wood and cut it to 2' x 1' (4 of them for me but 2 will work: 4WD) I then take a 1" hole saw and drill a hole HALFWAY through the ply wood on a 3" grid, if memory serves me you should end up with around  21 half holes in each. These holes give an edge for the tire to bite on (all the way through weakens the ply). I paint them flat black to make them look nice, and they stack, plus you can flip them over and use them as a TV dinner tray to eat off, and it sounds like you want something that is light.  When I do  use them, I dumpster them and make a new set, they get wrecked, but I feel if they save my ass, then that's OK.

 

[bullfrog]

Soft and rigid traction mats are made for different traction situations. In soft deep sand you get buried and need to get on top the surface with a rigid ramp that won’t sink into the sand. On ice you need something to conform and grip the surface so flexible mats work better. I usually carry two 12”x2”x4’ boards bolted in a light angle iron frame and a shovel. The bolts dig into the surface as well as I leave them a little long. I can use them as a bridge or ramp in sand or on rock ledges and on ice the bolts act like studs to provide traction. They are a little heavy but can be used as leveling blocks as well, or a make shift table top. I did split one getting a large motor home out of deep sand but it still worked. After reading Matlock’s post I may buy a mat, cut it in half and mount it on one side of the boards for additional traction.

 

[MrNoodly]

There are various types of rigid and flexible plastic flooring grids used in commercial kitchens and elsewhere. They can be cut into strips like traction mats and cost a lot less.

 

[highdesertranger]

"Hummm, lets stay on topic folks.."

I assume this was pointed at me. I probably travel more miles off highway than any 5 members here. this year alone I estimate I have traveled more that 2,000 miles off highways. in fact I drove from east central Oregon to west central Nevada almost entirely off highway. I don't carry any traction mats. I do however drive capable vehicles and one of the items I really like is a locking rear axle. I am not saying with a locker you don't need traction mats but I have never carried any type of traction mat. highdesertranger

 

[DLTooley]

Tire chains just laid flat can have some benefit.

 

[Qxxx]

Greg, here is a trick you can try. My Savana van automatic has 6 speeds, and a manual select position. I got stuck in deep sand once, and managed to rock it out. First gear has too much torque and digs the tires in, but 3rd gear has much less torque and allowed me to drive back out over the area I had been stuck in.

 

[MrNoodly]

I lived in rural Alberta and Saskatchewan for a couple of years. In the spring the unpaved roads would turn into thick, sticky mud -- the kind that builds up on tires. Since the roads were highly crowned for drainage, you had to try to stay in the middle of the road because gravity made you slide toward the ditches. Sometimes a bump or something would knock me off course and I'd end up with my two-wheel-drive, open-dif pickup diagonal in the road with the front wheels on one side of the crown and the rear wheel on the other side. Getting straight again required both sets of wheels driving uphill. I kept a couple of 2x6 planks in the back of the truck and would slap them down on the sticky road, next to the tires, to act like tracks, guiding the tires. The mud held them in place. The hard part was prying the planks back up.

 

[bullfrog]

And carry the shovel to dig them out!

 

[gsfish]

And how much would it cost to have a Detroit Locker installed?

Guy

 

[highdesertranger]

for me it would be the cost of the locker because I could do the installation. the last Detroit locker I acquired I traded for so there wasn't any out of pocket cost. except I did buy a Timken installation kit and fluid. for a total of under 200 bucks. BTW the Detroit doesn't take any special fluid or additives like clutch pack posi's. highdesertranger

 

[bullfrog]

When I was young the saying was “It may clunk, but I ain’t stuck.” Lol!!!

 

[gsfish]

I'll try again. How much should an individual expect to pay for parts and labor to have a Detroit Locker installed at a reputable shop?

Guy

 

[user 423]

How much should an individual expect to pay for parts and labor to have a Detroit Locker installed at a reputable shop?

Probably tons more than a couple of traction mats

 

[MrNoodly]

Lockers run from about $400 to $1,000, depending one which differential you have. Labor depends (as the Tappet Brothers used to say) on whether your mechanic needs to make a boat payment.

 

[bullfrog]

What needs to be said here is that in the long run a locker is probably the cheapest most effective way to keep a vehicles from getting stuck in the first place with a knowledgeable driver. By the time you buy enough recovery equipment to get you unstuck you will have spent more money, used up a lot of interior room and stressed the vehicle to a point a locker would have been the cheaper and better choice. We all like to think we can avoid situations where we need a locker in the first place (and some can and do) but the truth is most of us just ain’t that smart. The cost to tow a broken down vehicle that is stuck off the paved road surface one time will come close to paying for the locker. Do I have a locker? No. Do I wish I had been smart enough to get them to begin with? Yes. I have spent much more money on recovery equipment because I made the choice to get a winch instead of lockers. I probably carry so much weight in recovery equipment it causes me to get stuck and need it. The amount of space it takes up makes finding things difficult. If you are concerned about going off the pavement and have an open differential get a locker. It basically doubles your odds of not getting stuck as both wheels will be powered. If you ever get stuck it will probably be due to driver error and then you can start thinking about recovery equipment and taking a better line next time.

 

[MrNoodly]

...with a knowledgeable driver.

Yes, otherwise you could end up just digging yourself deeper spinning the wheels. It fact, you might not know, oops, you're not going to make it until you're stuck.

 

[bagabum]

Yes, otherwise you could end up just digging yourself deeper spinning the wheels. It fact, you might not know, oops, you're not going to make it until you're stuck.

Yes, exactly, what good is a locker when your tires are spinning, they are just going to get deeper. I thought this thread was about traction mats but I am wrong, guess the Question was really should I make a $20 traction mat or go have expensive parts put in the rear end.