Recovery Gear Proper Use Of

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[edit] Hi-Lift Jacks

Hi-lift Jack

By far, the best jack for four wheel drives is the Hi-lift type. It can lift virtually any vehicle and, with the aid of chains, it can be used as a winch.

The standard jack supplied with most four wheel drives can only raise the vehicle sufficiently to change a tire on paved roads or hard packed surfaces when the vehicle is not bogged. They usually rely on placing the jack under the vehicle in special spot on the frame or unibody. If you try using this type when you are bogged to the chassis in sand or mud you'll understand why it's quite inadequate. The Hi-lift type jack can be used on any suitable part of the vehicle and can lift a larger amount of weight much higher than the standard jacks.

Some vehicles do not have suitable points to use a high lift jack due to the curved nature of their bodies and their bumpers. There are several types of jack adapters available to overcome this limitation. Hi-Lift makes an adapter that attaches to the lip of the underside if the curved bumpers. An adapter is also made that works well with the ARB Bull Bars.

It is best to have a jack plate around 300mm x 300mm when jacking on sand or mud to stop the jack burying itself. 7 ply plywood or 3.5mm steel is ideal, or if you carry a barbecue plate, this may be suitable. To test your jack plate, place 2 bricks 200mm apart with the jack plate on top, Slowly jack the vehicle while observing the plate. If it survives this without distortion it should be suitable.

A Hi-lift can be used as a jack with the aid of suitable chains. The top of the jack is attached with a chain to a suitable anchor point while another length of chain is attached to the bogged vehicle. On the bottom end of the jack is attached a length of chain with a clevis hook, while on the moving leg of the jack is attached a chain with a clevis claw.

This allows the jack to pull the vehicle approximately one metre and then attach the clevis hook while lowering the jack. The clevis hook stops the vehicle from moving back as the jack leg is lowered, ready to move the vehicle one metre again. This process is repeated until the vehicle is free.

[edit] Winches

Winching Tips

A few tips and pointers for getting the most out of your winch and accessories Next to the winch itself, the most important item to have on board is a pulley block. Pulley blocks can be used for doubling the power of your winch, and can be used for self recovery, direct pulling, and indirect pulling. All are shown in the following illustrations.

The anchor point (when used) must be a secure one such as a tree, another vehicle or other firm object. For direct vehicle recovery, attach the pulley block to the anchor point and then feed the wire rope out from the winch, through the block and back to an appropriate point of attachment on the vehicle such as a tow hook or the frame of the vehicle. This will effectively double your pulling capacity and greatly reduce the effort of the winch to get your vehicle recovered.

Direct load pulling of load (or other vehicle) using your vehicle as the anchor point and attaching the pulley block to the load.

Indirect pulling may be required because of obstacles or unpassable surfaces. The pulley block is attached to the load and the wire rope is attached to an anchor point offset from the direction in which the load is to be moved. Note that this procedure is not recommended unless necessary as winch pulling power and line speed will decrease as angle between the wire ropes increases.

Using a single-line winch capacity of 2000lbs, the capacity of the winch is effectively doubled using the double-line methods shown. Winch capacity in figure above remains at 2000lbs. as this is still a single line application.

NEVER attach the winch cable back onto itself as shown below. Use of a nylon sling and shackle is strongly recommended to avoid damaging you wire rope and the tree.

Other Tips Keep the control handy by running it over the hood and hanging on the door mirror or customize it with a magnet to stick to the vehicle.

Set the brake if your an anchor vehicle and don't winch with your vehicle in park. You may wedge or break the parking sprag in an automatic transmission.

Electric winches use lot of power. Consider dual batteries and a high output alternator.

NEVER rely on a winch to hold a load from rolling backward.

Allow the winch time to cool during long, hard pulls to increase it's life span.

Receiver winch plates tend to bend if pulling at any angle other than straight.

Bury your spare tire in the ground to use as an anchor when all else fails.

Never use the winches hook as an attaching point for a yank trap.

If winching frequently during a trail ride, wrap the winch around the bumper rather than reeling it in.

[edit] Winchlines, synthetic and wire rope

Most winches come stock with wire rope, so we will not be providing a source here of where to obtain one. If you want to replace your wire rope that is frayed, your winch manufacturer no doubt will carry one.

If looking for a new synthetic winchline, there are many manufacturers/suppliers you can find by seeing ads in 4WD magazines and by using your favorite search engine online.

Here are a few to get you going, and you should contact them to make sure you get the correct size for rated capacity of your winch, and the weight of your vehicle.

I prefer the example in the first picture above, is utilizes what is called a "Safety Thimble", and provides IMO a safer way to attach a shackle to it compared to an open hook like that comes on a stock wire rope.

Even the safety hooks that are seen in the other pictures can seize on you unless you keep them lubricated, been there done that, hence why I prefer the Safety Thimbles that have emerged on the market.

Masterpull [1]

Winchline.com [2]

Tips for using your winchline

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[edit] Rigging Shackles

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[edit] Tree Saver Straps

Tree saver straps are an essential part of your recovery gear. Never ever wrap a winchline synthetic or wire rope winchline around a tree trunk or other anchoring point.

It is also an integral part of the "Tread Lightly" concept to protect trees while doing a recovery, and a tree saver strap goes a long way in showing your responsibility to the environment.

Always use a tree saver strap coupled with a shackle and connect that to your winchline. Many winchines have an open hook, and IMO, that is not safe. It would be best to use either a hook that has the closing haps feature on it, or better yet a safety thimble that has the hole in it in which to us a shackle.

There are basically two types of tree saver straps. 1. The traditional flat webbing style of strap,

2. The round straps that are made up of a synthetic winchline which are then covered with a braided polyester jacket, then covered with a braided nylon sleeve to keep put debris from getting to the core line to prevent it from damage.

The straps need to be inspected for broken stitches, frayed spots, and cuts from time to time. Also make sure that the strap is rated higher than the load that your winch is capable of pulling.

Use a “Tree Saver” whenever you are attaching to a tree for an anchor. Wrap the strap around the sturdiest tree within range of your winch cable and at the lowest point possible.

When you attach your winch to a strap or “Tree Saver” use a shackle. Screw pin anchor shackles should be stamped with their safe working load in tons somewhere on the bow.

Below are some of the common sizes and limits:

• 3/8" - 2,000 lbs

• 1/2" - 4,000 lbs

• 5/8" - 6,500 lbs

• 3/4" - 9,500 lbs

• 7/8" - 13,000 lbs

• 1" - 18,000 lbs

Bill Burke has some good advise when tightening up the screw pin in a shackle as seen in his "Getting UNstuck" DVD.

When using shackles never pull from the sides, always from the pin and throat. Before applying pressure, loosen the pin about a 1/4 turn or you may not be able to unscrew the pin afterwards.

Below are a few manufacturers of tree saver straps. There are many more if you Google it, but these are the main players.

ARB [3]

Warn [4]

Winchline [5]

[edit] Snatch/Recovery Straps

What is a Snatch Recovery?

A Snatch recovery is where a bogged vehicle is recovered by using a mobile vehicle to pull the stuck vehicle free.

A Snatch recovery differs from a normal tow recovery because the line connecting the two vehicles is not tensioned prior to the recovery as in a tow recovery.

A Snatch recovery relies on the elastic properties of the strap to work properly. During a normal snatch recovery, the strap will elongate by around one metre.

A Snatch Strap is a nylon-webbing strap approximately 9m in length and 75mm wide with eyelets at both ends. It has a typical breaking strain in the order of 9,000kg for a standard snatch strap. It pays to look after your snatch strap as a nick of only 1cm can reduce its breaking strain by over 50%.

The snatch recovery technique requires a second mobile vehicle and a snatch strap to perform the "snatch".

The mobile vehicle is positioned to allow around 2m of slack in the snatch strap, while avoiding getting bogged as well. The direction of both vehicles should be lined up as straight as possible and the strap should not be twisted.

Hook the strap to a suitable vehicle tow point using shackles rated to at least 3.25 tons.

This picture shows a tree trunk protector (white strap) being used to spread the load evenly on both front recovery points.

CAUTION - Never place a Snatch strap over a towball.

NEVER put the strap over a towball as it is not rated high enough and can break with fatal results (people have actually died this way).

If a towbar is the only rear point available, then remove the towball and use a rated shackle (minimum 3.25 tonne).

Some light duty towbars are unsuitable for snatch recoveries as they are not designed for the high shock loadings that a snatch recovery places on them.

For safety, you should never walk over a snatch strap once it is connected at both ends.

It is advisable to place a blanket, or similar, over the middle of the snatch strap. This will act as a 'parachute' if the strap or mounting points were to break.

Once the vehicles are connected and all bystanders are well out of the way (a minimum of the strap length in ALL directions), the bogged driver should signal (by hand, flashing his lights, CB etc) when he is ready.

The mobile vehicle should drive off at a steady pace (lst or 2nd low range recommended). The driver of the bogged vehicle should have the engine idling in either reverse or 1st low range (depending on the direction of tow) and as soon as the jerk from the snatch is felt, release the clutch and, hopefully, drive out.

Be careful not to run over the snatch strap as you drive off. Stop as soon as you are clear of the boggy area and remove the strap.

If this fails to extricate the bogged vehicle, repeat the process but use more speed when taking off in the mobile vehicle. Alternatively, increase the amount of slack in the snatch strap to 3m.

If the mobile vehicle cannot be placed close enough without risking bogging it as well, two snatch straps con be joined together. Place the eye of one strap through the eye of the other. Then pull the rest of the strap through its own eye. It is advisable to place a rolled up newspaper (or similar) in the loop before it is pulled too tight as this will aid undoing the two straps later.

NEVER join the straps using a shackle as this can turn into a "bullet" if either strap where to break.

[edit] Exhaust Jacks

Exhaust Bag Jack

The exhaust powered bag type of jack is very simple and easy to use, provided it can be placed under part of the vehicle. It is quite effective, especially in sand where, if necessary, a small area can be dug away to accommodate it. It requires the vehicles exhaust system to be in good condition as even a small hole will prevent the bag from inflating. It can also cause rusted or weak areas in exhaust systems to blow out.

Be sure when placing the bag under the vehicle that sharp objects are clear from the bag to avoid puncture. Once in position, connect the pipe to the vehicle exhaust and start the engine (in neutral). When the wheel is clear stop the engine and simply fill in the hole or rut with whatever is available or dig away any sand that has built up.

[edit] Online, Book, DVD Resources

Off Roading Bill Burke has a wealth of knowledge on off roading tips [6]

A very good DVD to buy is called Getting Unstuck [7]

Ramsey Winch has an excellent video online at their website detailing the use of a winch and rigging one up for different line pulls. It is 11.6 MB and in the WMV format [8]