Words by Mercedes Lilienthal
Recovery gear is essential for off-roading and overland travel. It doesn’t matter if you’re pounding pavement, crawling up boulders, or slashing through sand, a good basic kit could help you turn a precarious recovery situation into a successful one. There are many items that can be included in a worthwhile kit. After speaking with two industry experts about recovery kits, here are some of the important basics.
One of the companies I spoke to was Overlanding BC, which is based in British Columbia and a training provider for all aspects of off-road driving (recreational or commercial) in North America. They currently use equipment from WARN, ARB, Factor 55 and others.
They also use gear from the lifting industry because of the way each piece of that equipment is labeled. It’s very important to Overlanding BC to ensure each piece of equipment has very clear markings and labeling that shows working load limits and minimum breaking strength numbers.
Warn Industries is a leading manufacturer of winches, winch bumpers, recovery products, as well as a variety of off-road accessories. It has been in business for more than 70 years and employs a few hundred associates at their Pacific North West manufacturing plant near Portland. Both Overlanding BC and Warn have in-depth knowledge of not just recovery gear, but how to use each piece of equipment. They recently shared their top basic recovery items and how to use them correctly.
Land Rover Defender 130 and Mitsubishi Delica at Cameron Lake
Mercedes Lilienthal
Land Rover Defender 130 and Mitsubishi Delica at Cameron Lake
Mercedes Lilienthal
Quality gloves offer protection and grip
Gloves
A good set of gloves is critical when doing any kind of vehicle recovery. Not only will they protect your hands, but they provide extra grip. Specialized winch gloves incorporate features like Kevlar reinforced areas where abrasion may occur, padded palms to absorb shock, plus terry cloth on the top or sides to help wipe away sweat. If you don’t want to spring for winch-specific gloves, any durable leather or suede set purchased from your local store is better than having torn up hands.
Mercedes Lilienthal
DMOS Collective designs and sells a variety of shovels.
Shovels
We’ve all been there or seen it happen. People get stuck and they don’t have a shovel. They end up using their hands or nearby logs to try to dig themselves out. Having a shovel on board will not only help get your rig unstuck, but they can put out campfires or trench your way to trail driving success. Jackson, Wyoming-based DMOS Collective designs and sells a variety of shovels to help folks dig out or fix stuff. Their newest shovel, the Delta, is a compact, foldable, portable shovel.
Mercedes Lilienthal
Recovery boards function on their own and can be used in conjunction with kinetic ropes and winches.
Recovery Boards
Next to a good shovel, having traction devices or recovery boards are key. When you don’t have a winch or another means to pull yourself out, recovery boards are the way to go. I use the MAXTRAX, which are manufactured by an Australian company that creates its product from high quality engineering-grade reinforced polymer (otherwise known as nylon) and are designed to carry loads up to 3,500 kg (7,750 lbs). Although originally meant for sand, the MAXTRAX also works well in snow and has been used successfully in mud, pea gravel, and even slush.
To use, plan your escape route. Dig yourself out in front, behind and underneath your tires as best as you can to suite your escape route. Place the boards parallel and as flat as possible to the ground in front or behind your tires, then kick them into place under the tires until the protruding nubs make contact with your tire tread – this is key. It will allow the board fronts to sit partially under your tires, providing grip as you crawl your way out. Note: you may need to dig and reset the boards a few times. Don’t spin your tires or accelerate too quickly as you may melt the nubs protruding from the boards.
Mercedes Lilienthal
Always make sure your recovery points are up to the task.
Proper Recovery Points
It’s crucial to know where the proper recovery points are on your vehicle. This means knowing if a hook/loop welded to a vehicle is a tie-down point or a bona fide recovery spot. Sometimes a vehicle’s owner’s manual will specify the location.
The representative at Warn Industries explains that if you’re running an aftermarket or custom bumper with recovery points ensure they’re up to snuff. Buying bumpers from a reputable company is a good first step. Reputable brands put the necessary R&D into their bumpers. When you’re putting thousands of pounds of stress on a recovery point, you don’t want it to fail. You want to make sure the company you buy your equipment from knows what it’s doing when it comes to the extreme forces of vehicle recovery.
If you are buying used bumpers, remember some regions use a lot of salt on the roads in the winter, which can cause corrosion over time. Do a quick inspection after every season to make sure the bumpers are not rusted out, and always check underneath and behind the front fascia before buying it.
Mercedes Lilienthal
Shackles are crucial, whether attached to a bumper or used to loop the ends of a strap together.
Shackles
Using a shackle is extremely useful for vehicle recovery and two or three should be in everyone’s kit. Whether it’s attached to a bumper or used to loop the ends of a strap together, shackles are crucial. Known as screw-pin, bow, or even D-shackles, these items allow different rigging configurations and can be connected or disconnected quickly. They’re great for connecting winch lines or recovery straps to any stuck vehicle.
When purchasing shackles, forged is considered better than cast as forging doesn’t cause air pockets, which can occur in the casting process and may compromise strength. However, soft shackles are another alternative, which Overlanding BC uses a lot. Soft shackles are made from synthetic rope making them lightweight and easy to handle. Unlike metal shackles, they can be more prone to abrasion, heat and ultraviolet radiation.
“Using a shackle is probably one of the most basic things you can do in a recovery,” Warn Industries states. “If you’re using it with a strap, simply nest the loops inside the shackle and screw the pin back in. The biggest thing to consider about screw-pin-style shackles is not to over tighten them. While it might seem intuitive to crank down on the pin as hard as you can, this is not what you want to do. You’ll want to hand-tighten the pin and the back it off about ¼ of a turn. This will ensure you’ll be able to release the pin when needed.” This is such a notable tip. I’ve seen pliers come out plenty of times to help get rigging undone after a recovery.
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Mercedes Lilienthal
Shackles are crucial, whether attached to a bumper or used to loop the ends of a strap together. Static straps and slings are designed to attach to anchor points and not stretch.
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Mercedes Lilienthal
Eyed Strap used as a winch line extension
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Mercedes Lilienthal
There are multiple uses and configurations for endless slings
Static Straps or Slings
There are a variety of straps and slings on the market. They are less damaging and lighter than chains or wire ropes. Some are static like tree trunk protectors or eyed-web slings, meaning they’re non-flexible and shouldn’t be used for vehicle-to-vehicle recovery. The lack of elasticity can damage vehicles.
Tree trunk protectors and eyed slings are perfect for rigging. Use these rigging straps along with a clevis/D-shackle to secure the winch rope to a wide variety of anchor points and objects. They are designed to help protect a live tree from the kind of damage a choker chain or wire rope might cause.
Unlike a recovery or kinetic strap, static straps and slings don’t have elastic properties. They are designed to attach to an anchor point and not stretch. “When using a tree trunk protector with a tree, first make sure the tree is up to the task. This means making sure it’s up to the weight of a vehicle,” Warn exclaims. “Also make sure it isn’t rotten or damaged – you don’t want it falling during a recovery. Just put the protector low on the trunk, connect with a shackle, and attach your winch line.”
Overlanding BC uses two different slings including endless slings and eyed slings (also known as flat web eye or web slings). An endless sling is one continuous loop, with no end loops. It has two pieces including the coloured outer casing, which is a protective sleeve while the inner core consists of fine strands that provide strength to the sling. Different colours equate to different sling capacities.
“The beauty of these endless slings is they are so light and universal and versatile, you could wrap it up/double it up to spread out the load,” says Overlanding BC.
You could use endless slings to do all sorts of cool stuff including:
- A sling: put a bow or soft shackle on one end, then the other end is just like a sling.
- A bridle: take one end and attach it via the shackle for one recovery point and the other end via another shackle for the other recovery point. Then, bring both ends together in the middle and hook it into a winch line
- A tree strap: bring it around a tree, each end to each end and then secure it with a shackle and a winch line. Each time you loop the sling around the tree, it doubles its original rating for capacity.
- A winch line extension
The eyed sling is basically a static strap with a loop on either end, but it works comparably to the endless sling. It has similar kind of ratings and is a bit more expensive, however, it can be used in most of the same manners as the endless sling. “If I had to choose between the endless sling and the eyed sling I’d go with the endless sling,” exclaims Overlanding BC. “It’s more versatile, you can buy longer versions, and there are a variety of different strength ratings. They are also reasonable in price and the labeling is fantastic.”
Mercedes Lilienthal
Kinetic or Recovery Straps
Other straps, like kinetic or recovery straps, can stretch and use the energy build-up to successfully pull out stuck rigs. They are designed to stretch and transfer the kinetic energy of a vehicle that is doing the recovery to a stuck vehicle. Kinetic ropes allow more pulling force with less stress on the tow point, providing a smooth, powerful pull. These straps are also known as snatch straps or yanker ropes.
Warn Industries’ recovery straps are constructed of nylon webbing, which absorbs the shock of heavy pulls, while the elastic rebound energy aids in quick recovery. Constructed of tough, high quality nylon webbing, they feature a red warning marker encased in the fabric to indicate damaged webbing. End loops are reinforced with abrasion-resistant wear pads. The company states you should never use a recovery strap in a winching operation. For winching operations, go for the tree trunk protector strap or choker chain.
To use, hook one end of the recovery strap to a recovery point of the stuck vehicle (using a shackle on a recovery point) and the other end to a vehicle that’s going to do the pulling. Once the vehicle in motion takes up the slack on the strap, there is a force imparted on the stuck vehicle. The extra bit of stretch that a recovery strap has translates into kinetic energy, and helps to recover the stuck vehicle. Think of it like a large rubber band. If you stretch a rubber band between your two hands, you’ll get the idea. Recovery straps are incredibly effective if used correctly.
Recovery straps are offered in standard and premium versions. Premium versions include a sliding sleeve to help prevent excessive wear caused by exposure to sharp objects.
It’s important to know your basic kit before you actually need to use it. You’ll need to understand the advantages, disadvantages and use of each piece. Knowing each product’s strengths and weaknesses, how they can be used (if in multiple ways), and how they perform when used correctly will set you up for a successful recovery.