48" at a time or 20' the hard way!

[7wt]

This morning central CT work up to a beautiful snow fall in the 4-6" range. Lucky for me I was off today so I decided to take a little stroll through the local state park. Things were off to a great start as I explored my favorite trails seeing sighs like these,

Until I decided to climb a hill. Now I have been up this hill before and knew what was on the other side, essentially a flattish area large enough to turn around for the decent back down. Well what I didn't know was the area up top was completely iced over and covered by a good 8" or so of fresh snow. I got up no problem but when I tried to turn around it was a no-go. You know the kind of thing where you have enough traction to go forward but not reverse and as luck always has it, there is little room to go forward. So now I find myself looking like this,

 

[7wt]

So what's a guy to do other than get out his toys and get to work?

After looking the situation over to be sure I wasn't hung up I decided the best option was to winch myself backwards far enough up the slight hill to be able to turn and drive out. So I found a tree about 40' behind me (not hard, my local makes that part easy) and started to rig up.

Please note, the way the JackMate is installed incorrectly in this picture. I flipped it around after I realized it wouldn't allow me to let the HiLift's bar go through it's full cycle. The next pic shows the correct way to set it up.

 

[7wt]

After bunches of calories burned and several resets, I was freed.

As always there was a few lessons learned that only come with experience. First of all, make sure your HiLift is in perfect working order. I am beyond picky about my gear so I figured all was well but my jack wouldn't jack back down after it got to the end of the standard. Luckily I had some PB Blaster and plenty of WD40 to get it sloppy wet and slick enough that after plenty of trying it started to work as it should.

Secondly, make sure you plan ahead with the clothing needs in winter environments. I had three jackets with me and a fleece I was wearing but didn't think far enough ahead to ditch the fleece as I was setting up. It started to snow and I started to sweat and the combination made the fleece really wet and cold. I ended up taking it off and putting my waterproof wind breaker on and I was good to go but not before I was already wet and cold.

Make sure your gloves (you do have gloves don't you) are warm enough for the climate you will be in. I keep at least five pairs of gloves with me of all sorts of construction and insulation. I had some warm gloves but they were useless while I was rigging so I had to pull out the neoprene gloves so my hands wouldn't get frost bitten as I was working with the shackles and ropes. It took me a while to remember the warmer, thicker gloves as I started jacking and after a spell with the light gloves, my hands were already cold.

Take your time and if something isn't working, re-evaluate what you are doing. This process works every time it's tried but it isn't fast. It takes several resets and after each one you must look over your rig and make sure it's how it should be. Are you hands getting cold? Take the time to take a break and warm up inside the truck. On the subject of taking your time, don't stop the winching process until you know for certain you are free and able to drive out. If you are unsure, reset your rig and jack it another 48". Want to be certain? Do it again.

The list of gear I used for the recovery was:

3 3/4" Black Rat shackles (I like red, easy to see when you drop them in snow)
2 3" Tree saver straps (I had some custom made out of polyester with a zero stretch factor)
1 5/16"X50' Viking winch extension line
5' of 3/8" chain
Marlin Crawler receiver shackle block
HiLift with a JackMate
Proper attitude and plenty of patience.
Calories!

What would I add? Easy, a pair of knee pads so I could kneel in the snow without getting my jeans wet. What else? Bring along someone to work the HiLift as I "supervised".

 

[Desert Dan]

Great self recovery!

Lucky the tree was nearby. I like the Viking extension line.

You need some more weight in the bed of your truck

 

[paulj]

How did you do the resets? With a fixed length extension line, and short length of chain, I can't picture how you set up every 48".

 

[7wt]

After I got everything set up, I took out the rough slack in the system with a chain sinnet. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6aJBHs8meFA With a properly tied sinnet or daisy chain, you can make the 50' rope just about as short as you need it.

Then I used the slots on the JackMate to fine adjust the system so there was a slight amount of tension in the set up before I started jacking. Once I got the jack to the end of it's travel, I chocked the wheels so that I could lower the jack and relieve all the tension. I readjusted the sinnet, fine tuned the chains and did it all over again...and again...and again...well you get the idea. The sucky thing is I don't have any good pictures of the sinnet I tied. They are really easy but you won't find me trying to put it into words. The sinnet is secured with a hitch pin by the way.

Note, I do have a longer piece of chain that could have speed things up a little but the chain is so blasted heavy and the sinnet is so easy to tie it just makes sense to go that route. I only use the chain for fine adjustments. I first saw this technique in the Getting Unstuck video fro Bill Burke but it wasn't until I saw it first hand at OEX (Bruce Elfstrom) did it really click. Bruce has a great course that will help you get the most out of your rig and your gear. I can't say enough good things about his course.

This is the best pic I have of the shortened rope. You can see the hitch pin and a few loops that shortens it. This pic also shows the improper installation of the JackMate which was corrected before I started.

 

[JamesDowning]

Looks like good technique. But what is the chain for? Can't you simplify by just using the D-shackle directly in the jack-all?

 

[User_Name]

Looks like good technique. But what is the chain for? Can't you simplify by just using the D-shackle directly in the jack-all?

Trying to pull the slack and hook up a D Shackle would be pretty hard, how he rigged it allows you to take a lot of the slack out.

 

[JamesDowning]

I thought that was the point of the chain/knot sinnet in the extension rope?

Maybe that's more of a macro adjustment, while the chain is more of a micro adjustment.

 

[7wt]

Maybe that's more of a macro adjustment, while the chain is more of a micro adjustment.

Yup, exactly. I had it where the very first pump or two of the jack started to move move truck.

 

[94SRUNNER]

Very impressive indeed. Always love to see a Hi-Lift in winch mode!

I have a similar recovery kit in my 80 Series. But will be adding a can of PB Blaster and knee pads as soon as possible.

 

[Metcalf]

PERFECT write-up. This is the stuff that makes this forum a great one.
Well done!

 

[housedad]

Nice recovery!

For gloves in the cold and wet, try Firefighters turnout gloves. They keep you dry, warm, and they are tough as they come.

 

[Stumpalump]

My Hi-lift sits in the garage but my Harbor Freight jack hits the trail because of the same problem you had with yours sticking. A can a WD40 is a must have with a Hi-Lift brand. These jacks have a reputation for being dangerous partly because the Hi-lift brand does not lock or work freely. I'm not willing to deal with the greasy mess and am not going to trust it with out the grease.

 

[FAW3]

Excellent write up. Shows what you can do with a simple system w/o and electric winch.

Two suggestions:

I seem always to drop the *#% shackle pin at least once every rig up...I finally figured out that the small hole in the end screw pin is for threading the biggest and longest flex tie you have thru there. Just leave it long like a "tail" or "flag" Stops them from rolling off the hood or tailgate, and makes them much easier to see/feel in mud, snow, water.

The Hi-Lift is so easy to get muddied & jammed up when worked over snow/mud as a winch since it lays down in the muck every cycle as you rehook up. Use a section of tarp or old sleeping bag pad to keep under the jack. Keeps handle clean also so less chance of a slip there too. Try to keep the jack orientated so the pins and selector knob is on the "up" side.