WHat's your traction-adder solution?

[Bster13]

***Required disclaimer... I'm a wannabe who's never done any sort of overlanding or traveling on forest roads.  I have no real world experience.***

I plan to live out of a Toyota RAV4 Hybrid w/ standard all-season tires, nothing special.  It has 7in of ground clearance (more than the 6.3in in the standard RAV4 oddly enough) and a poor AWD system (it has no locker and there is no connection between the front and rear wheels.  The front wheels are driven by the engine, and the rear wheels only are driven by ~67hp electric motors).

Anyway, I'm trying to do a ~reasonable~ job of being prepared for a somewhat "remote" area, off pavement.  I've watched Bob speak of traction mats (http://tinyurl.com/jzmdflf) which look to be great, but with someone with limited internal storage and a desire to remain as stealth as possible on the outside for city dwelling, storing these might be a challenge.  I just caught a VIDEO for this product (http://tinyurl.com/jtc6zlz) that looked promising as it does not take a lot of space to store.

I know I could go nuts with chain saws, shovels, straps, winches, etc., but I'm trying to find the balance for the amount of equipment to get me out of most sticky situations while not hogging a lot of space in my rig.  Ideas?  What would be reasonable or a must-have for you? Thanks!

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

If you're completely on your own, you need a good shovel.  You need a good jack.   Probably need a piece of plywood to put under the jack. If bogged down, you lift each wheel clear and fill in the rut with rocks, sticks, whatever you can scrounge.  Tire chains can be very helpful.  Sometimes, airing down your tires to put more square inches in contact with the ground can be helpful.  This is often done in sand. You will then need a compressor to air back up.

If another vehicle comes along, have a kinetic tow strap, and maybe he can tow you out.

 

[ArtW]

moslty when I get stuck I use a come-along and a tow strap

 

[Bster13]

moslty when I get stuck I use a come-along and a tow strap

In the Northeast with plenty of trees I could see that working well.  Out in the desert though?  What do you anchor to?

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

moslty when I get stuck I use a come-along and a tow strap

I did that.  Once.  Had to help my father pull our tractor out of the lower pasture.  Decided after that that I would rob liquor stores if I had to to raise the money for a winch.

 

[ZoNiE]

A small winch on the front couldn't hurt. Make sure it's rated for at least 1.5x your weight to account for pulling up hill...

 

[highdesertranger]

if you are inexperienced you should not travel the back country alone. find yourself someone to go with you until you get some off highway miles under your belt. once you gain some experience you will know what you need. highdesertranger

 

[MrNoodly]

I've watched Bob speak of traction mats (http://tinyurl.com/jzmdflf) which look to be great, but with someone with limited internal storage and a desire to remain as stealth as possible on the outside for city dwelling, storing these might be a challenge.

They're flat and flexible, so they could store under your mattress, or under whatever else you load into the back. Keep them in a garbage bag if they get dirty/muddy.

 

[DannyB1954]

I used to know someone who carried a piece of chain link fence rolled up. You could pin it to the ground with sticks.

 

[USExplorer]

I did a fair bit of 4x4 traveling during my time out West, got stuck a couple times. Rubber floor mats work in a pinch to help with traction. I also have a cheap folding shovel to dig out sand. I don't have any chains or winches.

In the end, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. If you are in any way unsure of the way ahead, stop the car and walk the route to determine grade, clearances, and firmness. Every time I got stuck or got my truck damaged it was the result of carelessness, punching the gas when driving through soft sand with fully inflated tires, gunning across a mudpuddle that was muddier than I expected, driving through a weedy pasture without checking for gullies, backing without checking clearances first, etc.

Traction assistance devices should be your last resort. Much more important is knowledge of your car and its abilities and limitations. For example here is a video of a stock Ford Crown Victoria navigating rugged slickrock trails in Moab:

Have fun!

 

[Trebor English]

I don't always stay on paved roads but I rarely venture off road. My Ford Windstar is not good for that.  I carry a shovel and a 20 ft yellow tow strap. The yellow strap rolled up fits under the passenger seat and is very light weight and cheap.

It is kind of like jumper cables. I don't expect a dead battery but if I need a jump and there is someone who can help I have the cables.  If I see someone who needs help I can offer.  Karma, she works both ways.

Once I pulled on a huge dump truck. It had just dumped the load and was barely stuck.  His 20 ft chain and my 20 ft strap was enough distance between to work.  It took very little pulling but all he needed was very little.  Distance between is a bigger deal than I thought.

 

[SternWake]

One trip to Baja, to the east cape near the tip, I found one of the points had some great surf, and there was a little gulley tucked off side of the beach, invisible from the road, and I wanted to be parked there until the swell dropped.

The edge of the sand was hard enough for a 2wd to drive, but there was no turning around without getting stuck and backing out uphill with a 2wd van with no locker, does not work so well either.

But these were pre solar days, and I had some 8' x 2' x 1/2 inch plywood tied to my roof, and was able to use these, relocating them several times and using momentum and 8 feet of good traction, to get my van into the desired camping spot in the gulley, and stayed a few days until the swell died.

Do carry a compressor and do Air the tires down for more traction and a better ride on washboard. I recommend a 12v compressor that does not use a ciggy plug. I have modified a masterflow MV-50 with better airfittings and tire chuck and improved heat dissipation

 

[TrainChaser]

AWD and 4WD are NOT the same thing.

Just because you plan on boondocking doesn't mean you need to go into 4WD country. Stay on decent roads and don't go far from the road. If you're not sure what's up ahead, get out and walk to look. If the road is deteriorating, turn around and go back. A lot of BLM and FS land has paved roads -- you don't need to go into the back country.

Forget all the junk to get yourself out of a bad fix. Don't get into the fix to start with.

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

AWD and 4WD are NOT the same thing.

Just because you plan on boondocking doesn't mean you need to go into 4WD country.  Stay on decent roads and don't go far from the road.  If you're not sure what's up ahead, get out and walk to look.  If the road is deteriorating, turn around and go back.  A lot of BLM and FS land has paved roads -- you don't need to go into the back country.

Forget all the junk to get yourself out of a bad fix.  Don't get into the fix to start with.

Unless, of course, you goal in life is to go places most people don't go, and to see things most people don't see . . .

 

[Every Road Leads Home]

In the Northeast with plenty of trees I could see that working well.  Out in the desert though?  What do you anchor to?

You can bury something in the sand as an anchor.  Large rock, branch or even the spare tire if nothing else is around.

 

[ArtW]

In the Northeast with plenty of trees I could see that working well.  Out in the desert though?  What do you anchor to?

never been stuck in the desert, all the desert I've been in is hardpan
there is though as ERLH mentioned, spare tires, rocks, or you can even buy a ground anchor built for that
I also echo the 'don't go deep in the boonies alone' advice, and 'walk before you drive, if in doubt' advice
I had an old Polara station wagon with 'po boy positraction' I used to drive past good 4x4s with bad drivers
If I really wanted to embarrass them, I'd pull them out