Beach recovery equip, what are your picks or suggestions?

[Havabigjuan]

Am slowly getting gear together for camping/beach fishing...

I would mainly be single vehicle, though mostly using popular areas; murray mouth etc

I was wondering what would be peoples top picks for sand/beach recovery equipment?

I am thinking of getting a snatch strap kit together (snatch strap, shackles etc)

Shovel

Then I am thinking a pair of Maxtrax & an exhaust jack...

[bogged]

snatch strap will do shit for you if your on your own...

Start with a winch or hand winch, 2x winch extension straps, shovel, and dont be afraid to let your tyres down to 10psi.

[vk2icj]

I agree a snatch strap or even 2 would along with shackles is a minimum. Make sure you have good recovery points on your truck as well. If I'm travelling on the beach alone (not often) I have a rule I try to stick to and that is to stay out of the tidal zone, or the area of the beach that the tide gets to at high tide. That way at least if I get stuck I'm not at the mercy (which the ocean has none) of the tide. A UHF to call for help is a good idea too. Go with the winches if you can but still carry at least one snatch strap.

Am slowly getting gear together for camping/beach fishing...

I would mainly be single vehicle, though mostly using popular areas; murray mouth etc

I was wondering what would be peoples top picks for sand/beach recovery equipment?

I am thinking of getting a snatch strap kit together (snatch strap, shackles etc)

Shovel

Then I am thinking a pair of Maxtrax & an exhaust jack...

[TheOtherLeft]

air compressor

Either Maxtracks or equivalent, ie hession bags, rubber matting etc.

[garrycol]

A shovel, a jack and big pieces of carpet and foot off the accelerator when you get stopped - no spinning of the wheels when you are stopped. As soon as you stop - jack a bit, dig a bit particularly in front of the wheels and slide carpet under wheels as best you can and then gently drive out - tyres need to be down as well.

Garry

[Havabigjuan]

All good tips, cheers

I understand a snatch strap is only good with another vehicle around

Forgot about tyre pressures. So a good air-compressor would have priority over an exhaust jack?

I have a reasonable air comp here, but prob more suited to car tyres; is there a good brand of air comp to look out for?

[BundyRumandCoke]

Pure sand driving, the gear I would get, in order of priority

Good air compressor, good tyre gauge, Stauns

Shovel

Snatch Strap and shackles

Mattraxxs.

Bullbag.

[matto]

good driving will stop you getting into trouble aswell, if you loose momentum reverse slowly on the tracks you came in on and if you have to stop try and stop on harder sand and it wont dig in as much.
another thing would be to have road terrain or at tyres.
a shovel a bucket and a snatch strap will get you out of trouble.

[BlueSuzy]

All of the above.

+ get a suzuki. You will find it hard to get bogged in the 1st place.

[-Scott-]

another thing would be to have road terrain or at tyres.
a shovel a bucket and a snatch strap will get you out of trouble.

Road terrain or AT tyres won't dig as readily, but that doesn't mean they work better than more aggressive tyres. With more aggressive tyres the tyre pressure is more critical. I spent last weekend on the beach and in the dunes between Robe and Beachport with some OLers, and we had no trouble on the beaches or in the dunes - even on beaches where other vehicles were having lots of trouble.

Tyres in our group included STTs, MT/Rs, MTZs and some "traditional" muddies (sorry, don't remember the brand) - with the correct pressure, and the right driving techniques, we had no trouble. Only one member of our group required recovery, when he buried his vehicle to the chassis rails halfway up a dune. "Recovery" required one bloke leaning on his bonnet - we didn't even get time to photograph him. So "aggressive" tyres aren't "bad" for sand, if you know what you're doing.

As others have noted, a snatch strap is only helpful if there's another vehicle around. But, even if you're travelling alone, there's the possibility that somebody will come by, so having a strap & two RATED shackles is advisable. But make sure it's a SNATCH strap. I "snatched" a solo vehicle off a beach using his strap, but I'm fairly certain it wasn't a snatch strap - the jolt was WAY too sharp.

I would say the most important sand accessory would be a good pressure gauge - so you know exactly what your pressures are. Long handled shovel is also essential for self recovery.

A good compressor (for me, I'd guess $300+) is nice, but even a simple foot pump will re-inflate your tyres. Stauns are nice (although not everybody likes them) but a stick will also work for deflating tyres. These days, I think the ARB EZ deflator (or whatever it's called) is the tool to have. The Ferrett deflator is similar and cheaper, but doesn't have the in-built gauge.

A UHF radio is great to have if you're in a convoy, but range is limited. If you're in really remote areas it may not be much help. The old 27MHz CB with sideband will reach significantly further when atmospheric conditions are right - you're more likely to find somebody somewhere (eventually) with one of these than a UHF radio.

[Guy]

Bull bags are pretty cheap and very very effective, will work in lots of places a normal jack will not, weigh almost nothing, take up very little space etc .. I would definetly be taking one along,
You can haev the bag out of the car in the same time you have got a shovel out, the car jacked up in less time than it takes to remove a few shovel loads of sand from one tyre etc etc.

Hand winch
Shovel
ground anchor\s suitable for sand
Straps .. you never know who you will come across (that car load of very gratefull uni student girls that got mums rav4 stuck)
Decent compressor, go for quality over speed .. a rooted high speed unit will get you nowhere, a slow reliable unit will do the job eventually.

Some ratchet straps .. helps get a tyre to reseat a bead if you get a bit of a leak and need to reseat a tyre after pooping it off the rim.

UHF, a couple of hand held UHF's .. very useful for recovery situations where you cant rely on hand signals etc. and if you do need to leg it for whatever reason, you have some way of staying in contact with any passing traffic you may come across.

[Jeeps]

These days i take 2 straps (old and an unused new spare one), shackles, air compressor and maxtraxx if i'm taking the camper trailor. Never needed a shovel...


cheers

[VHPirie]

Anyone tried chopping up bread crates to use as a device to throw under ur wheels to get outta the bog? Talked to our bread man last night and he said I can have as many as I want.....will definitely try them out when we go fishin next week.....will let ya's know how they go.

[TheOtherLeft]

Anyone tried chopping up bread crates to use as a device to throw under ur wheels to get outta the bog? Talked to our bread man last night and he said I can have as many as I want.....will definitely try them out when we go fishin next week.....will let ya's know how they go.

I was going to use cut-up milk crates and cable tie them together with enough slack to allow them to fold back up for storage.

[Havabigjuan]

thanks guys, all good advice

tyres are Cooper ATR

what is a bull bag? same as exhaust jack?

[fester2au]

snatch strap will do shit for you if your on your own...

.

True but you have a better than average chance of getting snatched out by a passer by if you are standing there waving you own strap rather than standing there without.

We used to go to Fraser and Inskip quite a bit (not so lately) and our group generally got pretty sick of helping stupid and/or uninformed backpackers etc who got stuck and had no equipment to assist so we got to the point of - no own strap no snatch (except in cases of emergency eg near water). You get a bit sick of digging your gear out, getting it dirty, having to clean and repack for little appreciation, and there is a wear and tear issue.

I would say

good recovery points
snatch strap and a couple of shackles
shovel
something like maxtrax depending on budget eg bought or DIY
compressor although if your beach it always where servo is not to far away you could drop this down the list
extension straps
winch of some sort at some time depending on budgetand if you are sure you are going to need to winch off nothing (no other vehicle) then you need to think about ground anchor or get comfortable about procedure of using you spare instead.
And balanced in there somewhere I believe near the top but hard dependign on budget is a good UHF. It really shold be the first thing but ?I know some people find the expense hard as it doesn't necessarily get used much but think of the emergency contact use and if you go on any convoy trips it's a must if ffor no other reason than the companionship.

[Matt_85Lux]

If going by yourself take an extra 6 pack in case you have to get snatched out, will be appreciated by whoever pulls you out

[brad-chevlux]

good driving will stop you getting into trouble aswell, if you loose momentum reverse slowly on the tracks you came in on and if you have to stop try and stop on harder sand and it wont dig in as much.
another thing would be to have road terrain or at tyres.
a shovel a bucket and a snatch strap will get you out of trouble.

having just gone from ATs to KM2s, i tend not agree with HT or AT being better on sand.


But yes good driving is the key to not needing to use the recovery gear.

solo driving i would/do take a shovel, Even the army surplus collapsible ones are fine. There is not much you can't dig your way out of, given enough time.
We dug our way UP out of a sandy creek, 4 or 5 meter long climb up a steep sandy bank with a boat trailer on the back, Were most people would tell you the only way out is winch.

I'm looking in to a winch at the moment.
I have snatch gear in my patrol all the time.

[danssurf82]

All of the above.

+ get a suzuki. You will find it hard to get bogged in the 1st place.

X2 i cant get my zook bogged even if i try!!!! tyres down to 6-8psi, unstoppable!!!

[Jeeps]

All of the above.

+ get a suzuki. You will find it hard to get bogged in the 1st place.

X2 i cant get my zook bogged even if i try!!!! tyres down to 6-8psi, unstoppable!!!

i'd have to agree with this. They're perfect for the beach


cheers

[BundyRumandCoke]

Try an LJ50 on 235s, Impossible to bog in sand. But the beach was its greatest enemy, the cancer got it really bad. Whenever I can get the time to get my LJ80 project up and running???

[turkey]

Listen to this man!

another thing would be to have road terrain or at tyres.
a shovel a bucket and a snatch strap will get you out of trouble.

Road terrain or AT tyres won't dig as readily, but that doesn't mean they work better than more aggressive tyres. With more aggressive tyres the tyre pressure is more critical. I spent last weekend on the beach and in the dunes between Robe and Beachport with some OLers, and we had no trouble on the beaches or in the dunes - even on beaches where other vehicles were having lots of trouble.

Tyres in our group included STTs, MT/Rs, MTZs and some "traditional" muddies (sorry, don't remember the brand) - with the correct pressure, and the right driving techniques, we had no trouble. Only one member of our group required recovery, when he buried his vehicle to the chassis rails halfway up a dune. "Recovery" required one bloke leaning on his bonnet - we didn't even get time to photograph him. So "aggressive" tyres aren't "bad" for sand, if you know what you're doing.

As others have noted, a snatch strap is only helpful if there's another vehicle around. But, even if you're travelling alone, there's the possibility that somebody will come by, so having a strap & two RATED shackles is advisable. But make sure it's a SNATCH strap. I "snatched" a solo vehicle off a beach using his strap, but I'm fairly certain it wasn't a snatch strap - the jolt was WAY too sharp.

I would say the most important sand accessory would be a good pressure gauge - so you know exactly what your pressures are. Long handled shovel is also essential for self recovery.

A good compressor (for me, I'd guess $300+) is nice, but even a simple foot pump will re-inflate your tyres. Stauns are nice (although not everybody likes them) but a stick will also work for deflating tyres. These days, I think the ARB EZ deflator (or whatever it's called) is the tool to have. The Ferrett deflator is similar and cheaper, but doesn't have the in-built gauge.

A UHF radio is great to have if you're in a convoy, but range is limited. If you're in really remote areas it may not be much help. The old 27MHz CB with sideband will reach significantly further when atmospheric conditions are right - you're more likely to find somebody somewhere (eventually) with one of these than a UHF radio.

After doing a LOT of beach driving all over SA in different vehicles, and with different vehicles in convoys with all types of tyres fitted all I can add is to reiterate...TYRE PRESSURE, TYRE PRESSURE, TYRE PRESSURE!!! It is the single biggest key to getting it right besides common sense and driving style. Some of which I might add some dickheads just dont have and should never be allowed anywhere near the beach. But get it right and its some of the best fun you can have with your pants on, or if its a really hot day ya pants off too

[toy77]

This may not be the go.....

but i found my patrol was an animal on the sand at 10psi - just seemed to have no issues at all.

So i tended to drive around at 15psi, so if i got stuck, i had somewhere to go.
Mind you i found the truck pretty capable at 15psi (i used 20psi on fraser with no worries).

Might not get the best possible performance - but if your on your own, gives you an option. Plus if you find it starting to struggle, may give you time to reconsider your path before you are stuck.

Cheers
Stew

[KiwiBacon]

Mattraxxs.

Presuming these are sand-ladders. Why haven't more people mentioned them?

I don't do sand driving (lack of desire and lack of sand) so I'm interested to hear about sand ladders from those who do.

[BundyRumandCoke]

https://www.maxtrax.com.au/

Apologies about the incorrect spelling.

Mind you a set of Mattraxxs wouldnt be too bad either.

http://www.mattracks.com/

[turkey]

This may not be the go.....

but i found my patrol was an animal on the sand at 10psi - just seemed to have no issues at all.

So i tended to drive around at 15psi, so if i got stuck, i had somewhere to go.
Mind you i found the truck pretty capable at 15psi (i used 20psi on fraser with no worries).

Might not get the best possible performance - but if your on your own, gives you an option. Plus if you find it starting to struggle, may give you time to reconsider your path before you are stuck.

Cheers
Stew

Same...I drop straight to 15 everytime I hit any sand and go from there, have been all the way down to 5 to get me out of strife! And I have never lost a tyre off the rim yet....not one! Its all about changing your driving style and knowing your vehicle. Hell I used to run my BFG muds on my old hilux at between 10 and 12 all the time and never had any dramas except a couple slow leaks from weed and shit getting in the bead. But was pretty rare.

[Shadow]

snatch strap and 2 rated shackles as EVERYONE else mentioned.

Nothing worse than pulling up to someone bogged, and them asking "You got a strap?"

I always feel like saying no mate, guess your stuffed, cya. But I always go grab my strap and drag the dumb bastards out.

Otherwise ijust have a compressor, and a shovel for recovery. Ive never had to use the shovel yet, usually reversing out and more accelerator has always worked for me so far, and this is in my 75KW HJ60 cruiser

I usually run 20psi, but if I was towing a trailer I would definantly drop down to 15/10.

I also have Maxxis Mudders, and they go very good on the beach. Could be cause the HJ60 doesnt have the power to spin them up in the soft stuff LOL. It will actually stall in 1st in the soft stuff before massive amounts of wheel spin.