Sand ladders for a 15 ton overland truck???

[RF2200]

I looked into this a while ago for my Unimog. If you are looking specifically for a "bridging ladder" then you are going to be looking at some extremely expensive items made primarily for military purposes. The best option is going to be aluminum loading ramps like they use on heavy truck trailers. They are much much less expensive and you can probably find some used for little money.

The repurposed loading ramps would meet all of your requirements for material, length, and load rating.

 

[RF2200]

Example of truck ramp from eBay that could be repurposed as a bridging ladder.

 

[RF2200]

If you are just looking for a traction mat I had the idea of using used snowmobile tracks for that. Snowmobile tracks are super strong reinforced rubber and if you went to a power sports dealership you could pick them up for free or next to nothing. The track in the picture is a 136 inch track which is 11.33 feet. The tracks are usually 15 or 16 inches wide. You would obviously cut it so it could lay flat.You could also make two or more mats from one track. New snowmobile tracks are around $600+, so not cheap.

 

[RF2200]

There is also this. But my understanding is that these are $20,000 a set.
https://www.musthane.com/our-soluti...ess-road/vehicle-recovery-mats-from-sand-mud/
http://www.armyrecognition.com/euro...stmove_dfp_roll-up_vehicle_recovery_mats.html

 

[RF2200]

And this
https://www.mobi-mat-defense-descha...ient-mats-helipads-tentflooring/traction-mat/

 

[RF2200]

This company could make pretty much whatever you need with regards to aluminum bridging ladders.
http://www.hdramps.com/products/cranberry-bog-ramps/

 

[charlieaarons]

There is also this. But my understanding is that these are $20,000 a set.
https://www.musthane.com/our-soluti...ess-road/vehicle-recovery-mats-from-sand-mud/
http://www.armyrecognition.com/euro...stmove_dfp_roll-up_vehicle_recovery_mats.html

Not 20k, I got a quote at Eurosatory for about $5k

 

[grizzlyj]

Snipped

of having to run over them numerous times to take the banana shape out of them after using them in sand. He has used them once in about 10 years.

The banana thing I've heard too. Nice shiny ally sand ladders look good, and I do have a pair, but getting them straight enough to remount again might not be possible would be my thinking. And they're always mounted just so on the side of a roof rack or something. The best use I've seen is a fold down table on the side of a camper for serving outdoor haute cuisine, with soft glow leds behind when it's up for some ambience at dusk
The flexy stuff linked to is I think no use on the OP 15 tons, it'll still just sink and mould/wrap itself around the tyre. Our 9.5ton 4x4 camper on 395s pulled itself out of some stucks by airing down, XZLs need some air out from road pressure to self clean, but we never got really stuck. Dig, baby dig! Shovels don't weigh much either, and if you have an audience they can help too

Sand ladders are just 'make work' and the 'in' look for overlanders that follow the UK paradigm, jefe

???? They're just copying the Germans

 

[RF2200]

Not 20k, I got a quote at Eurosatory for about $5k

Excellent information. Thank you. Hard to find pricing on these things. They never like to quote a price... always seems to be "as much as they will pay". $20k is the price that was in the comments of their youtube video which is likely a poor source of information. $5k is still a lot of money for a traction mat.

Do you carry any of these type of bridges or mats with your Unimog? I never did.

 

[charlieaarons]

I used to carry standard steel mat 4x5’ but they were heavy and I never used them. I depend upon CTIS, beadlocks and multiple winch anchors. And avoid “dry” lakes that aren’t.
And of course the Unimog usuals of working gears and diff locks.

 

[Peter_n_Margaret]

Wider for higher load capacity, as long as you like.
This one is supporting 3,000lbs (for you non metric blokes).

But my most successful extraction tool is the air deflator and compressor.
Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 motorhome

 

[Byways]

Lots of traction aids out there, it appears. But not much for bridging washouts, severe ruts, etc., which for us is a frequent problem. Sad!

 

[Byways]

Wider for higher load capacity, as long as you like.
This one is supporting 3,000lbs (for you non metric blokes).
View attachment 495732
But my most successful extraction tool is the air deflator and compressor.
Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 motorhome

I used to carry a pair of those grate things. I found them heavy, difficult to store, splintery, much too short and generally useless. They're visible in the rut below ...

 

[rayra]

Why not steel PSP? On a truck that heavy, the extra weight shouldn't be an issue. You posted about sand ladders, not bridging ladders, so these should work.

This. Marston Matting. Problem solved 75yrs ago.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marston_Mat

 

[Peter_n_Margaret]

I used to carry a pair of those grate things. I found them heavy, difficult to store, splintery, much too short and generally useless. They're visible in the rut below ...

Totally agree with you - simply not the right product for a "toy" vehicle like yours
I was suggesting it as an option for the OP's 15T vehicle which is a different issue entirely.
And if yours were too short, you bought the wrong length. You can't blame the product for that.
Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 motorhome.