which type of recovery gear would work.

[bruiser]

The only recovery gear I have is a snatch strap.
I have used it stacks of times to recover other people, howevere the only times I have been stuck has been when I have been the only vehicle. Therefor a shovel and variouse sticks and rocks have been used and many hours.

So I want to get something that i can use when stuck alone.
Options were.
1. High Lift Jack..............Very heavy Bulky and can be dangerouse.
2. Hand Winch............... Expensive, heavy and bulky
3. Exhaust Jack..............Light and compact
Just want too know what peoples experiences are with an exhaust jack and will it do the trick.
I know it's not going to help when I'm stuck on the side of a cliff.
I'm talking about simple bogs in sand or hung up in ruts ........

[roverrat]

I take it you have an 80? series from your avatar ....

exhaust jack will be fine remember to take a mat to put on ground so you don't puncture in the bush.

If you do go out by yourself a lot I would strongly recommend a high lift and a hand winch .. but each to there own I guess.

Judging by your comment about hand winched being to hexy I suppose an electric winch is out then?

[bruiser]

yeah i have an 80 series.
I almost never go out on my own, It's just the 3 or 4 times I've got stuck ive been either on my own (other people in car but only vehicle.) or gone for a drive with a mate while the others are back at camp or the likes.

yeah electric winch not an option at the moment.

[shorty_f0rty]

go the hilift but make sure you get the bits to use it.. drag chain, base plate, maybe the jack mate..

it is multipurpose and can do a few different things.. jack,clamp,spread,winch,straighten.rotate a car. the handle is useful as a breaker bar or sleeve too.

can a hand winch jack your vehicle so you can stuff logs under a tyre? hand winching is hard work but it can get you out of trouble.

hilifts are dangerous and need to be treated with respect. but when you understand how they work and keep out of reach of the bar they are ok. its a very handy tool to have.

[leeds]

Travelling as a solo vehicle and in my case often as a solo occupant in vehicle (mainly in Scandinavia and Europe) the first thing you need is a different mind set.

I tend to walk any section I have any slight doubts about and am prepared to go the long way around if neccessary. Only when I am 110% sure i can drive it do I set off. If I was in convoy I would not be so cautious, and would tend to drive the sections without so much scrunity.

Having said that, things can still go wrong.

Equipment choice would be

1) Shovel
2) Hi lift complete with mate, adaptor, large pieces plywood for base
3) Waffle boards/matting
4) Electric winch

NB Mount the electric winch at rear of vehicle as it is easier to extract vehicle back on to firmer ground. You know the conditions of ground behind you. Front mounted winch can get you deeper into the gloopy stuff and more problems

Regards

Brendan

[bruiser]

NB Mount the electric winch at rear of vehicle as it is easier to extract vehicle back on to firmer ground. You know the conditions of ground behind you. Front mounted winch can get you deeper into the gloopy stuff and more problems

Regards

Brendan

never thought about it from that point of view.
Can't recall seeing a vehicle with a winch on the back.

Good point but also remember that if you need to get through regardless, having a winch on the back won't be much chop unless you reverse through.

[leeds]

NB Mount the electric winch at rear of vehicle as it is easier to extract vehicle back on to firmer ground. You know the conditions of ground behind you. Front mounted winch can get you deeper into the gloopy stuff and more problems

Regards

Brendan

never thought about it from that point of view.
Can't recall seeing a vehicle with a winch on the back.

Good point but also remember that if you need to get through regardless, having a winch on the back won't be much chop unless you reverse through.

My Land Road 110 Defender has a warn 9.5XP at the front and the back. This is my overland vehicle.

At the Outback Challenge recently the UK challenge vehicles caused a little bit of a stir when rear winches were deployed as it made the task in hand a lot easier! LOL They were also equipped with front winches.

My hybrid in the UK has a centre mounted PTO winch and I can double line to the rear or single line it to the front.

It would appear from what I have seen that rear winches are more common in UK then in Aus. In Sweden I was told that drivers with rear winches were 'chickens' and you must go forward at all costs. Two hours later he gave up trying to winch himself through the gloop. 20 minutes later he was back on terra firma after being recovered backwards!

Having 2 winches makes life much easier and in my mind the rear winch is more important then the front winch.

Regards



Brendan

[leeds]

Rear winch on 110



Regards

Brendan

[leeds]

Rear winch about to be used by a UK vehicle at OBC 2008




Regards

Brendan

[Daisy]

hrmmm

I'd be going...

Hi lift jack,, you can buy a winch cable/chain kit that hooks up to that so that it acts as a winch to pull you in any direction.

And it also lifts you up.. - dangerous if you're NOT careful, be aware of the dangers and use it accordingly.... accidents do happen to the safest of users, but as long as they are aware of the dangers...

Blocks of timber

Shovel.

And you say you never travel alone... so invest in a snatch strap if you havent' got one and travel in the middle as you'll always get pulled forward or backwards


Reason -

hand winch - too expensive and limited use.

air jack - if they pop - you're farked..

[mistaboz]

Other thing to think about with an exhaust jack is if you have an exhaust leak then i'ts next to useless.

Paul

[KiwiAngler]

hrmmm

I'd be going...

Hi lift jack,, you can buy a winch cable/chain kit that hooks up to that so that it acts as a winch to pull you in any direction.

And it also lifts you up.. - dangerous if you're NOT careful, be aware of the dangers and use it accordingly.... accidents do happen to the safest of users, but as long as they are aware of the dangers...

Blocks of timber

Shovel.

And you say you never travel alone... so invest in a snatch strap if you havent' got one and travel in the middle as you'll always get pulled forward or backwards


Reason -

hand winch - too expensive and limited use.

air jack - if they pop - you're farked..

I have had a Hi Lift for a while now and only ever considered them for 1 use - lifting a wheel to pack stuff under it.

I now see the Hi Lift jack as MUCH more than that after viewing the videos on this Youtube site.

I particularly was interested in the winching aspects as I didnt want to add another biy of heavy equip to my 4x4 and I already had the Hi Lift

take a look and I think you will see what I mean - look at all the videos and you wil be amazed

http://youtube.com/user/hiliftjacks

[Tom0]

Having hand winched a cruiser far enough to know you don't want to hand winch a cruiser, I'd say get a cheap chinese electric winch off ebay, and an exhuast jack. I've personally watched 2 different people brake bones using hilifts and won't use one.

[T_Diesel]

Having hand winched a cruiser far enough to know you don't want to hand winch a cruiser, I'd say get a cheap chinese electric winch off ebay, and an exhuast jack. I've personally watched 2 different people brake bones using hilifts and won't use one.

Agreed.... I've used a hand winch once and it will be the last time I use one. The first thing I did after 24 hours of winching was go out and buy an electric winch.

[MJP]

As per that last two posts, hand winching is hard word. But in saying that i would use a hand winch over a Hi-lift anyday and winching with a Hi-lift makes a hard job even harder.
I own a hand winch and have recently got an electric winch which makes life sooo much easier. But i still kept the hand winch for sideways, backwards etc. Handy to have on the hard trips just in case.
Owning a hi-lift is a quick way to losing teeth! They are evil

[ISUZUROVER]

NB Mount the electric winch at rear of vehicle as it is easier to extract vehicle back on to firmer ground. You know the conditions of ground behind you. Front mounted winch can get you deeper into the gloopy stuff and more problems

Regards

Brendan

Depends on the sort of routes you drive and where you get stuck - e.g. - if you are 3/4 of the way across a river, you don't want to winch yourself backwards. And if that is the only crossing in 500km each way, then what? Reverse through???

So far I have managed just with a hand winch (a good incentive not to need to winch ), but would fit a front winch before a rear.

That said, a centrally mounted winch would be the best of both worlds!

[leeds]

NB Mount the electric winch at rear of vehicle as it is easier to extract vehicle back on to firmer ground. You know the conditions of ground behind you. Front mounted winch can get you deeper into the gloopy stuff and more problems

Regards

Brendan

Depends on the sort of routes you drive and where you get stuck - e.g. - if you are 3/4 of the way across a river, you don't want to winch yourself backwards. And if that is the only crossing in 500km each way, then what? Reverse through???

So far I have managed just with a hand winch (a good incentive not to need to winch ), but would fit a front winch before a rear.

That said, a centrally mounted winch would be the best of both worlds!

True.

In that case I would use the front winch.

On my hybrid I have a centre mounted PTO winch but only half the distance backwards as it is always doubled lined to rear

Regards

Brendan