MAXTRAX Extremes fail in the snow

Grassland

Well-known member
Describe the snow type and depth of you can
I've used regular max Trax twice to get an F150 out of snow and they worked great.
It wasn't the crystalized sand like snow though. I could see that being trouble if deep enough and the board being angled
 

Speedkills

Member
My maxtrax extremes have been a pretty big disappointment when it comes to even remotely cool weather. I have had to use them 4 times now, twice on actual snow, they worked great actually, the all plastic units get no traction, but with the metal studs they worked wonderfully. The reason I have been so disappointed is that in the two uses in rocks, both in cool, not cold weather, about 40F they have broken. MaxTrax service has been great, they will send me a box with prepaid shipping, I just need to put my broken one in the box, and they will send me a new one, but I'm pretty down on them because I don't want to keep sending them back, I want them to not break and actually exhibit the flexibility in low temperatures that they advertise, but that I definitely have not experienced. That said, my old x-bulls were absolutely useless in the snow, so cracked and broken maxtrax extremes still win out over those, but I feel they don't quite live up to the hype.
 
Lots of rescues in snow with my normal Maxtrax Mk II, no complaints. Have had them just spit out before if I was impatient and didn't do enough digging first to clear the underbody/running gear and get a good Maxtrax placement. Lots of different conditions from deep fluffy stuff to hard icy stuff.

I've broken 2 sets of the cheap boards, though. When you start to get into frozen, muddy, trenched ground it's stupid easy to snap the boards. Hasn't happened to me with a Maxtrax yet but I'm sure it could.
 

Freezer

Observer
Sounds like the vehicle was high centered in the snow. You have to get the packed snow out from underneath the vehicle (a lot of shoveling) in order to get the weight back on the tires. Only then the Maxtrax or any other similar product will be able to get the vehicle unstuck.
 

Smileyshaun

Observer
I don’t have maxtracks but a knockoff set , maybe I’m just dumb but I find them to be of little help once your REALLY stuck in the snow . I did find them helpful after digging myself out to use them as a ramp to get back on top of the snow . I’m my opinion if your going to go up playing in deeper snow invest in a winch .
 

mep1811

Gentleman Adventurer
Sounds like the max traxs were spit out by spinning tires . Spinning the tires on the max traxs is not how to get traction. Could be a high center situation. A simple solution is to air down the tires to get better traction on the mats.
 

Surfy

Adventurer
I did use the maxtraxx too in the winter.. It is no replacement for a winch, did work well in deep snow
 

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