There’s a class of recovery gear that exists primarily to look capable in build photos. The full-length hi-lift mounted vertically on the A-pillar. The matching set of colorful straps coiled on the roof rack. The axe and shovel with custom mounts that frame the whole setup. Some of that gear is genuinely useful. Some of […]
There’s a class of recovery gear that exists primarily to look capable in build photos. The full-length hi-lift mounted vertically on the A-pillar. The matching set of colorful straps coiled on the roof rack. The axe and shovel with custom mounts that frame the whole setup.
Some of that gear is genuinely useful. Some of it has never seen actual use and is functionally decorative. After getting stuck enough times in enough different situations, I have opinions about which is which.
A kinetic recovery rope — not a tow strap, a kinetic rope — is the single most important recovery item you can carry. When another vehicle can get to you, a kinetic rope transfers enough energy to break you free from situations that a simple tow strap can’t move. I’ve recovered from mud holes with a kinetic rope that would have required a winch or major digging otherwise.
Recovery boards (MaxTrax, TRED, or equivalent quality) work in sand, in mud, and on ice. They give your tires something to bite when the ground won’t cooperate. I’ve used mine more than any other piece of recovery gear except the rope. They live strapped to the outside of the Sierra where I can get to them without unloading anything.
A solid ground anchor — either a pull-pal style anchor or a dedicated deadman — matters for self-recovery situations when there’s no other vehicle and no tree. This is the piece most people skip and the one that becomes critical exactly when you’re most alone.
A quality air compressor that runs off the truck. The ARB twin compressor mounted under my hood has been worth every penny. Airing down is great for traction. Airing back up for pavement at the end of a trail requires something that can actually move volume fast.
Hi-lift jacks are in an interesting category. They’re capable tools and I have one on my Sierra. But they’re also used incorrectly more often than correctly. Using a hi-lift on soft ground without a base plate is largely useless — the jack sinks before you get lift. And the A-pillar mount thing looks great but puts your jack in the worst possible place for access when you actually need it.
If you carry a hi-lift, carry a base plate and practice with it before you need it in the field. It’s not a simple tool. Used wrong, it’s dangerous.
Full winches are genuinely capable but they’re also the piece of kit that gets people into trouble when they overestimate its reach. A winch is only as good as the anchor it can reach. In the Pine Barrens, where trees are often too small to anchor to safely, a winch is less useful than you’d think. In open terrain with no trees, it’s nearly useless without a ground anchor.
I took off a snatch block I was carrying for two years without using. I removed a come-along hand winch that was dead weight. I pulled the full-length jack off the A-pillar and put it in a mount behind the rear seat where it’s accessible but not decorative.
The build looks less impressive now. The truck is more capable. That’s the trade I’ll take every time.