Maxtrax vs TRED vs Tracmats vs X-Trax vs X-Jack

[stioc]

The doh' was meant as "now he tells me after I got them already!" because I posted a few days ago asking for feedback on the Elements or the TREDs. I got the Elements because I got a good price on them and since no one really said anything positive/negative about either one. Oh well!

So did the studs break off from excessive wheel spin? Any pics of the damage? Are they completely unusable now?

 

[eurosonic]

The doh' was meant as "now he tells me after I got them already!" because I posted a few days ago asking for feedback on the Elements or the TREDs. I got the Elements because I got a good price on them and since no one really said anything positive/negative about either one. Oh well!

So did the studs break off from excessive wheel spin? Any pics of the damage? Are they completely unusable now?

oh ok gotcha,
yes they broke off from wheel spin, but only in certain parts. Technically they can still be used. I still take them with me on trips. Its just I was hoping a little bit more durability, just a tad more.

 

[SmoothLC]

So, am going to throw these two other options on here for feedback.

The aluminum sand ladders have already been mentioned a few times - OK Offroad has two different sizes - XD for $354 and HD for $255.

They also have waffle boards - XD for $259 and HD for $229.

In comparison, the MKII Maxtrax are about $297 at Sierra Expeditions.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

My Maxtrax saved the day once again last Friday when I got called out to rescue a Jeep that was beyond standard off-road wrecker service. Their only remaining option was to have one of the wrecking companies bring out their Snow Cat (stationed out of Wendover and used for salt flat recoveries). We couldn't get within ~500 feet without crossing some rather nasty mud flats ourselves, the last ~300 feet just wasn't happening. Even with my winch extension strap, I wasn't going to get close enough to winch, we needed to get the Jeep back at least 100' before the winch was in effective range. Maxtrax it is... 10-15 minutes later we had them backed up enough. It was literally 10' of progress at a time, the Jeep would pop up on the Maxtrax, get some momentum and speed and launch another 4-5 feet, stuck. Move trax and repeat. We could have gone all day but it was getting dark, winds were gusting in the 59-60 mph range and the winch makes things easy





They have now been used a dozen or more times in some pretty decent situations, some of the nubs are showing wear but I'd estimate they still have 50% or more of their life and that with a pretty conservative safety margin.

 

[SmoothLC]

Thanks for the response Kurt. Really appreciate the feedback.

Just kinda stuck between reliability/longevity and price differential of the PSP vs. Maxtrax vs. waffle board.

 

[stioc]

Great job on the recovery Kurt, good to see the MaxTrax are being used and that they've done a good job so far. Please keep us posted.

Are they the revised design i.e. MKII MaxTrax?

 

[fireball]

Any other first hand experience with the TRED units? For $150 with a lifetime warranty, it looks like the best option for a weekend warrior like myself. Especially considering I only get to don that weekend warrior setup a half dozen or so times a year.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

Great job on the recovery Kurt, good to see the MaxTrax are being used and that they've done a good job so far. Please keep us posted.

Are they the revised design i.e. MKII MaxTrax?

Yes, these are the latest version. I've had this set for 18? months now? I had an Safety Orange set but had a customer buy those and I absconded some black ones from stock

 

[DiploStrat]

It was literally 10' of progress at a time, the Jeep would pop up on the Maxtrax, get some momentum and speed and launch another 4-5 feet, stuck. Move trax and repeat. We could have gone all day but it was getting dark, winds were gusting in the 59-60 mph range and the winch makes things easy

When I was a kid, I remember reading of a British Land Rover expedition somewhere in Tchad. They were using sand ladders. Place in front of car, advance car, and then RUN the sand ladders back up to the front before you bog again. Exhausting, but it worked.

My avatar is a constant reminder that you should:

-- Grease your spindle bearings so that you CAN use 4x4, and,
-- Not attempt the Sahara with old and small tires, and,
-- Always carry sand ladders!

Lessons I learned the hard way. (And I have ordered the MaxTrax for my new truck.)

 

[cruiseroutfit]

When I was a kid, I remember reading of a British Land Rover expedition somewhere in Tchad. They were using sand ladders. Place in front of car, advance car, and then RUN the sand ladders back up to the front before you bog again. Exhausting, but it worked....

Spent 4 hours in a bog along the Canning Stock Route (Aus) doing just that and due to deep ruts we were using the Maxtrax sideways as a bridge over the rut, thus making our progress more like 1' at a time. Started with 12 MaxTrax, lost a few in the mud

 

[Narkhelek]

Anyone know anything about the Maxsa Innovations Escaper Buddy? http://www.maxsainnovations.net/escaper-buddy/

They are selling for $130 on Amazon.

 

[rajin cajun]

Interesting! Would like to see a in depth review, but heck half the price of a Maxtrax is not bad................thanks for posting

 

[washington taco]

CBI off road had the TRED/TJM up for deal of the 150.00 plus free shipping.

http://www.cbioffroadfab.com/products/recovery-gear/tred-total-recovery-extraction-device

 

[Kmrtnsn]

I just got a pair of the Maxsas. They popped up on my wife's Amazon "what about these?" Notice. Seem nice enough. The proof will be in the performance so for now they'll go in the recovery kit. Still trying to figure out how I want to mount them in our JKUS.

 

[SmoothLC]

Let us know how they work out for you.