by Kyle Buchter
Quadratec Trail Boss
It is really the nature of the whole thing. You have your Jeep, mod it up a bit and then find somewhere to take the vehicle off-road — collecting some dirt, rolling over rocks and finding mud. Making memories.
And along the way, at some point, either someone in your group, or even you, may run into an issue. Perhaps you just misjudged the depth of that water crossing and now you are stuck. Or maybe that mud grabbed you and won’t let go.
Things happen when you are off pavement.
What absolutely defines the adventure, though, is not what happens, but how you handle the issue.
This leads us to what you really need when you take your Jeep into the wilderness — or at least the nearest off-road trail.
Recovery gear.
You can have all the food, first aid stuff, lockers, bumpers and light bars you need, but when it comes to a recovery situation, then it certainly helps to have the right products.
So here are the top five recovery items you should look to carry when you head out for the trail, overlanding, or whenever.
Proper Recovery Points
This isn’t a one-size-fits-all category. Instead, having something that others can hook up a recovery product and pull you to safety can be many things. It is also imperative. These things can include tow hooks or a receiver hitch, as well as bumpers with D-Ring attachments, shackles mounts, receiver hitch inserts and more.
If your vehicle gets stuck, you do not want someone hooking up a strap to your axle to yank the vehicle out of problems. A proper frame-mounted recovery point with adequate ratings is highly recommended — and many trail groups or parks will require before letting you head out on the trail. Failure to have proper attachment points for any recovery can lead to dangerous or deadly situations.
Recovery Strap
Tough and rugged, these straps can be quickly hooked up to a recovery point should an issue arise during your trail time.
You should look for something, at minimum, in the 20,000 lb range with reinforced loops on both ends. This also can be substituted with a kinetic rope or strap if preferred. Either will help recover the basic lightly stuck vehicle.
Additionally, having an available recovery strap or kinetic rope will allow your vehicle to pull out someone else in your trail group if needed — it is not limited to your own use.
Finally, a strap or kinetic rope with looped eyes provides a safe connection to attach to any recovery point, but you may want a D-Ring or soft shackle to ensure a solid connection depending on the vehicle setup.
Shackles
Well, as we said before, there may be a need for attaching your tow strap or kinetic rope to a vehicle’s recovery point. And this attachment can be soft or metal shackles, but is dependent on the recovery points being suited for soft shackles. This would include beveled edges and smooth mounting surfaces. That is a critical part for a soft shackle to prevent cutting or tearing the soft shackle.
Most bumpers are designed to easily accept metal shackles but some new designs are starting to be soft shackle friendly. Make sure you know and understand which is best for your setup, as well as for any vehicle in your group.
Also, any shackle should have proper ratings and capacities for vehicle weight and winch size.
Traction Boards
These are excellent items for instant traction in poor conditions. They can be used in many different terrain types to provide the secure grip a vehicle needs when tires are spinning.
They are also simple enough to load and unload on trips and take out when needed.
A traction board can even be used to shovel material out from around the tires to gain additional traction. Placing the boards in front of the tire will help obtain traction to get the Jeep unstuck, and can be used to level your overland rig, bridge a washout, climb a small ledge and many other ways.
Winch
A winch is not simply a recovery aid—it is a tool.
This apparatus can pull a Jeep up steep hills, move debris off of the trail, drag a dead vehicle onto a trailer, pull bushes out of your yard and, of course, help get your Jeep unstuck.
However, bigger is not always better when it comes to winches. Look to purchase a winch that is suitable for the size of your vehicle and make sure the mounting system is adequate.
To accompany the winch, consider a recovery kit with a tree saver, shackles (as listed above), strap, glove, snatch block and line dampener. That’s because if you do not have the gear to hook up a winch, then it will not help very much. Learn to use the winch properly and it can be a life saver on the trail.
