What should I have for recovery gear?

[wigglysqiggly]

Basics you know

first aid kit
Jack stand
Track boards
Axe/knives
Mini pouch to keep liquor in
Blankets
Kitchen set with pots
Sewing kit
Tarp
Battery jump box
Etc

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[Karsa]

I have most of my gear in the back on molle panels.

“Built right industries” for the molle panels?…

 

[UtahBrandon]

This is great. I am trying to figure out exactly how to get it all in there so it's never removed. I love my 2DR, but the downside is cargo space is extremely limited, hah. Seems like you were able to stash a lot more in the cubby than I thought possible. Do you have a tool kit in a box/bag (not just loose tools) that fits in the cubby? If so, could you tell me what box/bag you are using and what you have in it?

I will probably also do a rear seat delete for at least one of the rear seats. It will be rare that I will have more than 2 total people in the vehicle. That will open up a lot more space. I might stash my recovery kit in one of the rear footwells.

For trips I actually have a hitch mounted basket (Curt) that I will be using for luggage space (my partner has many virtues, but light packing is not her forte). I don't like putting things on roof racks because then it's a bigger PITA to take the roof off when I get to my destination. I love taking the roof off, but not to drive down the highway at 80mph!

This is the tool roll that I use and it fits great in the cubby, however, there are obvious tradeoffs with respect to how many tools you can get to fit in there. It's a bit of trial and error.

 

[WarthogJr]

Good walking shoes.

 

[CalvinT]

however, there are obvious tradeoffs with respect to how many tools you can get to fit in there.

Remember, the more tools you carry, the more spare parts you need to carry to justify the tools.

 

[Murraydog11]

“Built right industries” for the molle panels?…

Yup.

 

[Mocopo]

This all makes me wonder how I ever survived offroading for years in my RAM 1500 with literally zero recovery gear...

Oh ya, that's right, I knew what the vehicle could and couldn't handle!

I realize that defeats the purpose of the thread, but for realzies, all this stuff mentioned here is great, but how much of it you need really depends on the type of off roading you plan on doing.

I would argue a shovel is the bare necessity. That will get you out of a million different situations. Tow ropes are useful... if there's another vehicle to tow you out. At least one kinetic rope with 2 soft shackles would be 2nd on my list (yes buy them together). Because even if you're stuck while wheeling alone, there's always the hope someone else drives by and can help.

After that, I feel like it really depends. The winch became necessary when we started wheeling alone in the woods on forest service roads, and it gets used when we rock crawl. For southern AZ desert forest service roads, a winch is pretty useless, and the kinetic rope is good enough,
except in the rarest of occasions.

I've always kept tools in all of my vehicles. I didn't see them as a recovery item, just all around useful. When we started rock crawling, I researched the most common breaks and made sure I had the right tools to fix those things. Also, spare parts... I have a set of tie rods and that's it. Most other common breaks you can still get off the trail.

Tire repair stuff... ya I guess. I mean, you do already have a spare tire. I do keep a glue tread package just in case, but plan A is to use the non compromised spare.

Compressors and air down stuff... not really for recovery IMO. If you're in a pickle and airing down more is what's gonna make the difference, use a rock, or you're key. Yes airing up afterwards would be nice. Again, not required. Depends on if you have 100 miles on an interstate to drive before you get to a gas station with air or not. I have some common wheeling locations I hit where they're all less than 5 min at 35 mph from a gas station with air.

And so my general theme on what recovery gear is needed... it depends. I off road a lot, in many different conditions, and the desire to be prepared for anything means i have a lot of stuff, all of which gets used pretty regularly. I'll also decide to go off roading last second sometimes, which means storage options for the vehicle are important so that the stuff i have is always in the vehicle, but organized and out of the way.

When I was driving around hunting roads in my RAM 1500, I had nothing... and never needed anything. Go figure.

EDIT: just realized I didn't mention recovery boards. I don't own any. Yes I've used them successfully. They'll get you out sometimes, I would just have a hard time relying on them alone.

 

[BRIDGEBLDR26]

Recovery gear subject to storage capacity. Options B.

 

[Oldhippie]

I have little to add: While I did fine with a 10’ strap and hi lift for years (including untold rubicon trips) you guys have good lists and I will admit I have used the winch on the Bronco way more than I ever expected too…be safe out there!

 

[Roofus]

How'd the trip go?

 

[MilesTeg]

How'd the trip go?

Thanks for asking! We went to Moab (it was the Off-Roadeo) the last week of April. The Off-Roadeo day was the 2nd of 3 days.

The first day we did the back way into Arches -- Salt Valley Road. That road mostly sucked, lots of washboards and was just a dirt road. But we took a couple detours on side roads where I got to play a little bit. Then we exited Arches on Old Willow Road, which had a couple of rock sections that made me pucker a bit, I won't lie. We got passed by some nice folks in a Jeep that gave us a duck, hah.

The second day was the Off-Roadeo, and it was a complete blast. It was really, really nice to be with a large group of people on a trail. It let me relax and know that if something went wrong I wasn't completely screwed. I learned a lot that day, and felt kind of silly for being concerned about the obstacles on Old Willow Road, hah. I really needed that to better understand the capabilities of my vehicle and my own skills.

On the third day we did the Shafer Trail. My partner drove as it was just a dirt road and she felt comfortable doing that. Shafter is a great view!

I had most of the gear talked about in this thread, and didn't need anything, which is exactly how I like it. It did give me some peace of mind that I wouldn't get stranded because of the lack of a simple piece of gear. The only thing that gave me any real worry was needing to change a tire on the trail and only having a bottle jack/base plate. I am going to look into one of those air bag lifts which I think would work better on an potential uneven, soft surface, but that's just supposition on my part.

 

[Roofus]

That's awesome man! Glad y'all had a good time. We were supposed to make the trip to Moab from the east coast this month with some friends. Unfortunately, one of our party passed away back in December and we postponed the trip...just didn't feel right without him right now, but we'll get out there eventually.

As an aside, I carry a 3-ton Powerbuilt with me on the trails. It's essentially a bottle jack/locking jack stand in one unit. I also carry a DIY stand I made out of 4x4's cut to the same dimensions of the Powerbuilt base and bolted them together with sticky grip tape on either side to give the jack some grip. It's been reliable so far, but your mileage may vary depending on terrain. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GJJZ5NI

 

[Mjasi3]

Cool trip... We'll be doing the MOAB off rodeo beginning of September. Will be a 2 week 3500mi trip. It will be a butt buster

 

[HalfmuleFarmer]

For those down this rabbit hole, awesome vid of reverse winching yourself out of a jam with three snatch blocks:

 

[SierraBronco]

For those down this rabbit hole, awesome vid of reverse winching yourself out of a jam with three snatch blocks:

Yip! As long as you have the anchor points and enough rope, this is a viable solution. Part of why we decided to go rear winch only. We already carried two snatch blocks. No big deal to add another and delete the front winch. People will argue ad-nauseum about the disadvantages of having only a rear winch, but most every point also applies to front only. Bonus for not killing approach angle, relocating/disabling sensors, more forward bias on weight, and not blocking the radiator. (Though to be honest we never saw excessive temps when running the front winch)

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