Sand Ladders???

[TheRoadie]

Thanks for the thorough explanation. And the sand ladders can be used instead of rock stacking if you're on one of those kind of trails. Lots less work than stacking, then unstacking rocks to fill the same kind of gap. Because of worries about deep sand, I got a Pullpal to go with my winch, and went out and practiced with it to make sure it would work if I ever needed it in anger: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vd3OAKbgPr0

 

[HenryJ]

Nice video. An off camber situation like that does lend itself to that recovery. My current gear would require a much more labor intensive effort. Bury the spare, bury the mats and the heavy belting for the air bag, drive stakes and lash together. I have thought about building a pull pal type anchor, but I am not sure I can justify the weight, or single use of the application right now. I have been fortunate in that I have yet to need the winch for self recovery. I hope to keep it that way by using some driving skill and common sense to keep me mobile.

 

[TheRoadie]

Like the old saying about piloting: A superior pilot is one who uses his superior judgment to avoid being in situations that would require the use of his superior skills to save his sorry ***.

 

[HenryJ]

:xxrotflma Nice quote!

That is good. I am far from considering my self superior, hence all the self recovery planning

For my situation having the gear needed just lets me take things a little farther than would otherwise be advisable. My navigator (wife) does have a comfort zone, which I push from time to time. If I can justify the venture with assurances of a recovery plan, I get to go a little further. It is easier with my son a little older now. He can hike rather than our carrying him.
We tend to do lots of exploration with out additional vehicle support. That limits our adventure somewhat. My latest quest is versatility for unfamiliar terrain.
Some of my research directed me to bridging / sand ladders.

 

[UK4X4]

"Bury the spare"

mmm ask Mike about that one......

You have a few scenarios to consider.....trail running,,, stack a rock place a ladder, makes for less stress on the truck, your riding with 4 other trucks....
some one can always tow you out

or your own you own middle of no where and can only go forward....

By the time you buried the spare....quite a job ...in any conditions....50" round by probably 4 ft deep ......to get the anchorage required.

How many hours is that.......if the muddy track is 400 meters long you'll be there a while....dig- bury -winch ad finitum

every situation has its issues and they differ widely....you can pack as many toys as you want, each one will help in some way.

some may make things worse.

Me I'm just buying some molded fiberglass grating this week as I'm heading to oman.

I have a winch....yep maybe a pull pall will work....but to keep it simple stupid
is a sand matt ladder of some description, even if it only gets me 4 ft forwards

My order will be for the 38mm ones, not quite cross two rocks strong but sufficient for traction.

if you wanted a solution for every situation you would not be able to leave home for the weight.

so lets see.....

winch...yep just messing in a ditch with friends...although drove out, just used a winch and strap to diminish damage

mmm nice winch...where's the trees......oh for some traction

my dog bowl, a claw hammer and a just in reach rock saved the day........

did I wish for something more.....yep........chains, shovel, pick food and sleeping bags became standard carry items..............

try shovelling frozen track ridges....those liitle snazy snow shovels only look good in rei

no winch no trees, a 1 day walk back to a road, travelling alone.......I did'nt even try and back out........if i broke anything, or made the situation worse... i was gona be stuck a long time.

I took a long time to assess the situation.......took a long time, jacking and filling the hole and checking underneath as the front of the truck was sat in the dirt, along with the transmission cooling lines, fan belt lower hose etc etc.....

 

[HenryJ]

... and can only go forward....

Ahh, the very reason I use a receiver mounted winch. It plugs in to the back to winch me out the way I came
I agree that burying a spare is an act of desperation. The traction mats covered by the belting would offer another option as an anchor. They would be wider, but not need to go as deep. A trench cut to drop them in might work? I would probably wrap them with a snatch strap to spread the load and attach.

 

[astateofmike]

On the sand ladders...we bought a sheet of the stuff they use for forklifts, coated for traction and cut it up. Cost us about $200 a set, we made 5 sets from them. Holds something like 15k lbs over a 1' width, and then it goes to like 7 or 6K at a 3' width... I have set them 2.5' apart on rocks and parked my truck (RRC) loaded on a pair, with deflection, but not snapped....very nice...

To the point of mounting them, or anything you need to remove easily and regularly, my favorite trick is an oldie but goodie....toe straps. Bike shops carry them, some throw them out...cost $8 and can tighten/loosen quick. Designed to be used in wet weather, sun etc and hold a lot. I had them hold in a pair of the sand ladders (waffleboard composite) and shovels, etc....they work great.

Anyway, my silly tip of the day.

 

[mwoods]

Sand ladder comparison

I'm heading off on an extended coastal trip in a few weeks and won't have time to demo these products. I'd like to make sure I have my facts straight and hear about your hands-on experience with these products--especially if you have had the opportunity to work with several different ones.

Attached is a PDF that compares 7 sandladders that are commercially available and mentioned previously on this thread.

The info on the first two pages comes from the mfg/distributors websites i.e basic research info. The last page is an attempt to summarize the research info - which of course, tends to reflect my bias toward the 3 non-metal solutions.

If you have a few minutes to look at it, I would appreciate your feedback---either about the "fact" section or the "opinion" section (i.e. summary section).

Keep in mind, it's a draft--think of it as a "pinata"--and take a whack at it! I'll update the document it to reflect your corrections of fact and differences of opinion and re-publish it for all to see.

Thanks

 

[TheRoadie]

You missed my bargain ones from http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=17223

 

[UK4X4]

"Thank you for the interest in American Grating and our products. The price is $45.00 for each 1' x 4' piece of our 1-1/2" deep molded grating. Colors are yellow, green or light grey. Freight to 93313 is $25.00.

Sincerely,

Colin Kendrick
American Grating, LLC
702-567-0303"

exert from thread mentioned above..

Grey - gritted- lighter than in your list-cheap

My shipment is still somewhere underway..so no chance to test yet in the small dunes we have round here......"The empty quarter" - "Wahiba Sands":safari-rig: :arabia:




Originally Posted by UK4X4
... and can only go forward....

Ahh, the very reason I use a receiver mounted winch. It plugs in to the back to winch me out the way I came.


I was thinking more--we are on our way to South- africa...and turning round is'nt an option unless you want to go back to London/places north...obviously the try, try and try again method is allowed

winch cables can also be used under the vehicle and back to a handy tree...but a great deal of care is required to insure no damage to the vehicle occurs

 

[mwoods]

Grating source

"Thank you for the interest in American Grating and our products. The price is $45.00 for each 1' x 4' piece of our 1-1/2" deep molded grating. Colors are yellow, green or light grey. Freight to 93313 is $25.00.

Sincerely,

Colin Kendrick
American Grating, LLC
702-567-0303"

exert from thread mentioned above..

Grey - gritted- lighter than in your list-cheap

My shipment is still somewhere underway..so no chance to test yet in the small dunes we have round here......"The empty quarter" - "Wahiba Sands":safari-rig: :arabia:

Very interesting---thank you. What is your time estimate from day of order to day of delivery? Keep me posted on your test run..

Best regards,

 

[UK4X4]

"What is your time estimate from day of order to day of delivery?"

3 days from the supplier to CA.....I then packed them in a container in August and am presently awaiting the arrival of my "stuff" in Oman....in the middle east

hence google wahiba and empty quater

 

[madizell]

Ahh, the very reason I use a receiver mounted winch. It plugs in to the back to winch me out the way I came

Somehow, in 37 years of off road driving, I have never needed to winch myself backwards. I would attribute this to two things: 1) never go forward into anything you can't get out of by going forward, unless 2) you have brought friends along who can tug you out from behind.

I have trouble enough just lifting any of the winches I own, much less having to mount or remount them, along with associated bracketry, on the trail on a bumper that is likely not going to be where I can reach it. Much as I hate using a Hi-lift as a winch, I would much rather pull a vehicle backward with a Hi-lift than dismount, carry, and remount a winch pushing 100 pounds weight while scrambling around on rocks or slipping around in mud.

I have seen only a few such mounts on the trail, and have yet to see a situation where the ability to remount the winch came effectively into play, but I have seen lots of situations where the remountable winch could not be dismounted from where it was because it was planted against whatever stopped the vehicle from going forward. I have also seen remountable winches pull their mounts loose because of the inability to withstand side loads (i.e., 2" receiver mounts). Not that they can't work, but I find them an elegant solution to a problem that hardly ever exists, and a potential threat to bodily health trying to move them around.

Not to mention -- take a look at the 2" receiver hitch you have. Most are rated for loads well below the weight of the vehicle (1,500 to 3,000 pounds), and none are rated for substantial off angle use. They are made for attaching trailers. Using them as a serious pull point requires a great deal of caution.

 

[viatierra]

Here's my improvised sand ladder from this last weekend. Worked great and only slightly tweeked it...

 

[Willman]

Here's my improvised sand ladder from this last weekend. Worked great and only slightly tweeked it...

What about the floor mat option i saw in other thread???

:elkgrin: