      |
 |
      |
|
|
|
|
|
Recovery Gear This is the recovery gear I carry in my truck. It may be a little much for most people but you can pick and choose what works best for you. You may want to have all of this and more, but just pack for the trail you are running.First off out of all the stuff I keep in my truck I keep this bag close and easy to grab. It has all of the basics for getting unstuck. It's just an every day school back-pack 
I carry in my little bag, 2 tow straps, 1 tree saver, a good pair of gloves, 1 Warn D-ring hitch insert, 2 extra D-rings, and 2 extra hitch pins. Now this is a good basic setup to carry when you, or you buddy gets stuck. Most times its your buddy that's stuck and of course he has no recovery gear. I base most of my stuff off my hitches. I have a front and rear hitch that makes a good solid point to attach to. 
Tow strap with hitch pin. (much safer way than just putting it around the ball mount) 
Warn D-ring 
Tow strap in the D-ring 
This is the same as the hook you would bolt to the frame but it is made to fit into the hitch receiver. 
One thing is that the strap can fall off unlike with the D-ring. 
Ok now we get into spending more money. This is my SuperWinch that uses the hitch receiver. I like this setup because it's nice to be able to move it from the front to the rear of the truck, and when its not needed it can stay in the back of the truck out of the way. 
Here are a few nice things to have to go along with your winch. The first is a sand bag that was made to hold down the legs of a canopy. 
Next is a snatch block for your winch cable. It works well for getting your cable around other trucks, doubling back to your truck for a stonger pull, and making 90* pulls to move you truck over if needed. 
The next 2 pic's show how the D-ring can hold the winch hook, and the snatch block. 
Now back to the sand bag. I use it to hold the winch cable in the middle in case the cable snaps. It will help stop the winch cable from flying very far. 
The Hi-Lift Jack. Most will buy this way before they get a winch, and should be part of your basic recovery gear, but I use mine a little different than most. 
This is why. The Gopher is like a Pull Pal but it mounts to your Hi-Lift Jack. 
It uses a spade to dig into the ground and by adjusting where you pin it to your jack, you can change the angle of how fast it digs into the ground. 
As you can see the winch will pull from the eye on the Hi-Lift Jack. 
This is the right way to put 2 tow straps together. 
These are a different kind of D-ring that has a twist in it. These are one of those things that are not used much, but when you need them you are glad to have them. 
This is another tool that is nice to have. Its an axle hook that a tow truck driver gave me. 
Don't forget to have extra hitch pin clips. You often drop them in the dirt and they are never seen again. 
Now here is a pic of all my stuff. Its a long list so im just going to go over what I did not show here. Wheel chocks, 2 Mag-Lights, 2 folding shovels, loging chain, ax, hacket, jumper cables, and 2 even bigger D-rings. 
Just a little reminder for those that don't know. This is a big NO NO. You never put a tow strap over the ball on a hitch. I have seen a ball brake and fly into a rear window just missing the drivers head by inches. So be safe and use your Off Road Recovery tools safely. 
Writeup by DieselJeff Back to tech pages menu Last Modified: 7-13-05 JCH |