Rear Locker or MaxTrax?

[adrenaline503]

That looks very much like the situation I found myself in although I was at full droop. I for one dislike HiLifts as a general recovery tool. Sure they have their uses and sometimes nothing beats a Hi Lift, but the danger usually isn't worth it. I did have a shovel and strap and thats what got me out. A winch might have helped but I wasnt in a great situation to go forward, but if I could have moved up 4 feet I could have filled in the holes and backed out. If I had a manual winch I could have burried my spare and braced it with my bedsides like a picket then pulled myself back. What made me think of lockers was the Jeep Rubicon that pulled me out only had traction when locked. Had they had open diffs I know they couldnt have pulled me out. So, looks like a winch of some sort, a full recovery kit and quality shovel will be my next investments. Oh, and dual batteries for the winch. And an air compressor. Crap.

 

[Hltoppr]

Mattrax or winch. I just now have a rig with lockers...and the vast majority of any stucks I've had are in the snow. A winch makes it a no worry issue....

-H-

 

[tdesanto]

Based on the OP's scenario, what would be a good tire pressure to go down to when when the wheel can't touch the ground?

Well, I was speaking in general terms, prioritizing in favor of spending the money first on a compressor, then recovery gear, then a winch, then locker, then (if still necessary) MaxTrax. This, of course, was all within the parameter of a limited budget based on post number 1.

I'm assuming you're referring to post number 8 when you say "OP's scenario." I couldn't fully picture the situation, but when the OP says, "The Maxtrax would have given me the traction for my wheels to bite and reverse out," I figured that airing down was still an option at that point. That is to say that he at least had one axle still on the ground and could have benefited from simply gaining traction on that axle.

Point taken though, if wheels are not on the ground a lot of the traction aids or techniques don't help much.

 

[01tundra]

Mattrax or winch. I just now have a rig with lockers...and the vast majority of any stucks I've had are in the snow. A winch makes it a no worry issue....

-H-

Yeah, same thought here ^. Locker(s) + winch is an ideal solution IMO.

 

[crusader]

Oh...I don't know. I think the MatTracks would do great in the snow...

OOPS...You said MaxTrax!

 

[Hltoppr]

A perfect application for MatTrax....a snow covered road you could just drive on....as long as you don't hit any side hills...

We have a set for our SAR Suburban, and four sets for ATVs...I haven't been impressed.

-H-

 

[Fireman78]

My take: You won't regret adding a locker. You will always have the locker.

You can always buy the Maxtrax too and have both.

Overland Journal did a good article on Maxtrax and the like in the current issue.

I have front and rear lockers and love em'.

 

[Fireman78]

That looks very much like the situation I found myself in although I was at full droop. I for one dislike HiLifts as a general recovery tool. Sure they have their uses and sometimes nothing beats a Hi Lift, but the danger usually isn't worth it. I did have a shovel and strap and thats what got me out. A winch might have helped but I wasnt in a great situation to go forward, but if I could have moved up 4 feet I could have filled in the holes and backed out. If I had a manual winch I could have burried my spare and braced it with my bedsides like a picket then pulled myself back. What made me think of lockers was the Jeep Rubicon that pulled me out only had traction when locked. Had they had open diffs I know they couldnt have pulled me out. So, looks like a winch of some sort, a full recovery kit and quality shovel will be my next investments. Oh, and dual batteries for the winch. And an air compressor. Crap.

HAHA!!! Dude it NEVER ENDS!!!! I have my next 10 years of purchases planned out!

 

[Chuy]

About $40 and it will get you out of many situations, or at least greatly increase your odds.

 

[WILLD420]

Forgive me, but I ate a whole bowl of zero tolerance for breakfast today.


What a bunch of pansies. "Hi Lifts are too risky" Then stay at home!

Lockers and limited slips are always with you. I've never seen an issue except side hilling that they hurt once you leave the pavement.

A winch is also always with you, as long as you can tie off to something.

Airing down will help sometimes, but I don't think it would have helped you in that situation without a locker or a limited slip.

A high lift jack is the single best investment you can have in an off road vehicle besides a shovel. No floor jack or bottle jack can lift a rig the same distance in the conditions that a high lift can. Yes they are unstable, that's the nature of the beast. If it starts to wobble or get loose, then you stop and re-assess. There are a lot of extras that allow their use on just about any vehicle or situation.

A short piece of 2x12 wood will do wonders, but you have to have power to all the wheels or it will be useless in many situations, especially when you have one wheel in a bottomless hole.

A shovel is #2 on my must have list. Sometimes you can just dig the side out of the hole, then back out of it, or drive through it.

People that say lockers just get you more stuck have a viewpoint, but I will never agree with them. They say the locker will let you get into a worse position. Then you should stay at home where it's safe. Sometimes going back the direction you came is an impossibility. I guess those people have never come down a steep icy or slippery/muddy section of trail only to find the road ends and they have to turn back from whence they came. Now how do you feel about that "They only get you more stuck" comment..

Here's my list for recovery.

#1 Shovel
#2 High Lift
#3 Short piece of wood or ramp material
#4 Tire Chains
#5 Tow strap
#6 Winch of some sort
#7 Air compressor
#8 Locker or limited slips
#9 Cell phone or radio for calling help
#10 Another rig
#11 Patience, you might just find an easy way out if you think about it.
#12 Can Do attitude. If you are helpless, then you are out of luck.
#13 Perseverance

You can pick things up as you go. Harbor Freight sells a lot of decent stuff for cheap. Yard Sales and Craigslist are great places to find the things here. Tire chains are cheap in the summer and will often get you out of things easily, where other methods might fail. Having the ability to call for help is worth every penny you will ever spend on it. As for lockers, I have purchased them for as little as $50 at yardsales and closeout sales. You can live without them, but life sure is a lot easier with them.

 

[RttH]

My lockers have helped in cross axle situations, some climbs and mud. My Maxtrax have helped when all 4 wheels are turning (mud, snow...) and progress is not being made. My shovel is my most valued and used tool. I also carry a hi-lift. I don't have a winch...yet. I have used the Maxtrax to throw under the wheels of a car stuck in snow and it saved time and effort on my part helping them get unstuck. A lot depends on the type of wheeling you do and where. I wheel pretty mellow compared to most here (I'm usually alone, so don't take unneccesary risks). :coffeedrink:

 

[X-plorenow]

These are all great points and I appreciate the advice. The situation that I found myself in goes like this:

I was up near Snoqualmie Pass in Wa Cascades hoping to get some snowshoeing in. I pulled into a often used turnout where a few folks were sledding. I went to the opposite side of the opening affording them as much privacy as possible when my passengers side front wheel dropped into a fire pit someone built right in the middle of the turnout. The hole had filled with soft snow and I never saw it. So the front passenger wheel dropped 18-24", lifting the drivers side wheel off the ground and drove my front suspension in the snow. Having the open rear end didnt allow me to gain any traction and the snow was too soft to fill in under the wheel. Luckily a Jeep Rubicon came by and helped me out. So, that was the situation. A locker wouldnt have kept me out of the hole but it might have let me back out or push forward. The Maxtrax would have given me the traction for my wheels to bite and reverse out.

I think we are missing the obvious first. Number one mod, WINCH! As Bill Burke said it is the only thing guaranteed to get you unstuck, everything else may just help you get more stuck.

 

[off-roader]

"In general" would a rear locker or 4 MaxTrax be more useful in self recovery?

What kind of wheeling? for rock crawling for example, max trax would be pretty cumbersome to use while a locker would be preferred if not required.

For most trails in general I agree with the shovel, winch, then locker, etc theory.

Also travel with an experienced group if you're inexperienced or better yet go get some training.

 

[landy89]

the recovery gear is dependent on the conditions of course, but if you will be driving in mud, snow, ice, rocks, sand (that is all conditions), here is my set up:

1) shovel
2) hi-lift jack
3) something to put under the wheels ( i prefer maxtrax)
4) tow rope
5) some way to winch frontwards AND BACKWARDS ( i prefer a Tirfor)
6) proper clothing for the conditions
7) know how to use the equipment

I rarely use my winch only because i rarely get stuck where there is an easy winch point. I use the shovel, maxtrax, and hi-lift nearly every time i am stuck. The other few times i have been stuck i used the tow rope. my most recent stuck was breaking through the crust of a dry salt lagoon into the saltwater slush below the surface. I was alone, there was nothing to winch from, and the altitude was above 4000m. i jacked up and put the maxtrax under the wheels. dug out the diffs. then drove out. without the maxtrax i would not have got out as there was no traction under the wheels and the traction had to be created artificially. the situation was pretty much the same as breaking through the ice of a frozen lake. Anyways, i like the maxtrax alot more since then.

 

[Frankspinz]

Ok this is an older post but no one has made this suggestion yet. I have a lot of recovery gear and the winch and the lockers... the one tool I use the most, for myself and for other stuck vehicles are traction aids similar to these. Made of steel, big claws for ice and snow. They take a few seconds to fetch and place under your spinning wheels and a few seconds to put away when you're done. A lot cheaper than MaxTrax, but not quite as long ... Short answer to your question: MaxTrax