Sand Ladders???
- Thread starter wesel123
- Start date
jh504
Explorer
Here is a picture of the landing mats that the surplus store had. I picked up two. They have a good bit of surface rust on them, so I will be stripping them down and coating them soon. I will also cut them down a little, maybe to 4 feet or so. They are very sturdy and I think they will support the weight of my Jeep over a small span. The thing I have to figure out now is how to mount them. They weigh about 50 lbs. Once I shorten them that will take some of the weight down, but they will still be heavy. The only options I have are either inside or on the roof. I dont want them inside because I want to have easy access to them, so I guess they will go up top. I will post up when I wieght test them to see what they will hold.
Overland Hadley
on a journey
jh504 said:
You might want to paint them with some grippy paint, they look like they might get slippery if they get muddy or snowy.
ExploringNH
Explorer
If it were me, I would probably try to figure out a way to drill or slot those to reduce weight and increase traction. They look sturdy enough to be able to lose some meat and still hold up the truck. I dont think traction paint will last too long with a bit of tire spin.
Alaska Mike
ExPo Moderator/Eye Candy
A bedliner would be too slick and would melt or peel off. You could weld on thin rods or small angle iron every 3-5 inches, which would probably weigh less than the bedliner and actaully stiffen the PST. You're probably going to want to cut off those tabs to prevent them from being bent up into your tires.
Overall, I think the plastic grid is the best thing out there, and I might just have to get a set for the Rover. They don't look as "expedition cool" as aluminum sand or bridging ladders, but they're way more practical.
Overall, I think the plastic grid is the best thing out there, and I might just have to get a set for the Rover. They don't look as "expedition cool" as aluminum sand or bridging ladders, but they're way more practical.
cruiseroutfit
Well-known member
Dimple Die them!
Seriously, if you can find someone with the know how and tools, its an extremely clean way to accomplish what you need. Saving weight and adding traction.
That said it would likely be far more cost & time effective to just find the landing mats that has the holes already.
Seriously, if you can find someone with the know how and tools, its an extremely clean way to accomplish what you need. Saving weight and adding traction.
That said it would likely be far more cost & time effective to just find the landing mats that has the holes already.
Last edited:
Mayne
Explorer
We use some industrial traction tape (lack of a better term) here at the sewage plant. The "tape" holds up very well, if put on a clean surface, and is all but impossable to remove. McMaster Carr may carry it, as I don't think it's industry specific. The "tape" holds up to a lot of abuse daily out here, for a good long time. I'd be willing to bet it would do steallar for the occasional use it might see on that steal plate.
Mayne
Mayne
762X39
Explorer
The stuff you really want is this (PSP). It is heavy and big and if I remember right, Calumet would prefer to sell it in bundles.Go in with a few buddies to cut the cost. Each person could get 1, cut it in half and drop them off at the galvanizers to finish them.http://www.calumetindustries.com/?cat=36
Attachments
Bed liner is "non-slip" only in a general sense. As you are planning on using them under tires, and tires will slip even on dry pavement, "non-slip" has to be pretty serious to stand up to the task. No bed liner is going to be non-slip used in this context.
Traction tape likewise is intended for feet, not tires. A spinning tire will take the paint off of steel. The traction tape won't last either.
Dimple die stamping would work, of course, but getting someone to dimple die cut 1/8th inch steel is going to be a) problematic, and b) expensive, which tends to defeat the purpose of buying something inexpensive to start with.
I had a section of dimple die cut landing track, about 8 feet long. It was all I could do to lift it and carry it around. I would NEVER have attempted to carry it on the Jeep off road.
Give the stuff a try. I personally expect that, after a trip or two and because of the weight involved, you will reconsider it.
Traction tape likewise is intended for feet, not tires. A spinning tire will take the paint off of steel. The traction tape won't last either.
Dimple die stamping would work, of course, but getting someone to dimple die cut 1/8th inch steel is going to be a) problematic, and b) expensive, which tends to defeat the purpose of buying something inexpensive to start with.
I had a section of dimple die cut landing track, about 8 feet long. It was all I could do to lift it and carry it around. I would NEVER have attempted to carry it on the Jeep off road.
Give the stuff a try. I personally expect that, after a trip or two and because of the weight involved, you will reconsider it.
Alaska Mike
ExPo Moderator/Eye Candy
I think you'll find that these will bend as well without some serious lengthwise bracing. The waffle boards actually can be use for bridging, and have been used that way for years. Very popular for that over in England. They're also lightweight and, in this case, pretty cheap.
About 15 years ago, I built a set of traction aids out of galvanized steel grating that was used for industrial steps, with the tread cut and bent into a diamond tread. They were formed so that they had structural integrity, and I added a frame of 1" square tube. The whole thing could be bolted together and configured into a camp table, with the 1" stiffeners becoming legs. They worked pretty well as a traction aid every time I used them, but they were heavy and kind of cumbersome to carry around. They now sit in my garage under my gear oil drums and pans.
Even a few years ago there weren't many options for sand ladders or bridging aids other than fabricating your own or spending $200-$400 on ones from Land Rover patrs houses. Instead, I put my money into winches that saw much more use and were much more effective. In my trail Jeep, there are few instances where I would need a bridging ladder. I have Swampers and ARBs and a winch. With my less-built Rover, I may opt for some of these bridging ladders, since they will likely fit in with my "less traction and more extraction" plan.
About 15 years ago, I built a set of traction aids out of galvanized steel grating that was used for industrial steps, with the tread cut and bent into a diamond tread. They were formed so that they had structural integrity, and I added a frame of 1" square tube. The whole thing could be bolted together and configured into a camp table, with the 1" stiffeners becoming legs. They worked pretty well as a traction aid every time I used them, but they were heavy and kind of cumbersome to carry around. They now sit in my garage under my gear oil drums and pans.
Even a few years ago there weren't many options for sand ladders or bridging aids other than fabricating your own or spending $200-$400 on ones from Land Rover patrs houses. Instead, I put my money into winches that saw much more use and were much more effective. In my trail Jeep, there are few instances where I would need a bridging ladder. I have Swampers and ARBs and a winch. With my less-built Rover, I may opt for some of these bridging ladders, since they will likely fit in with my "less traction and more extraction" plan.
Alaska Mike
ExPo Moderator/Eye Candy
I should have said they are designed to distribute weight, not be the sole source of support. I built a pad in the Saudi desert back in '97 for a group of very large generators, and they held up well in that application. I almost bought 10 feet of the stuff a few years ago, when a local scapyard was selling them for $5 a plank, but a little experimenting in the yard showed me just how easily they would permanently bend with some weight on them. To be fair, the aluminum versions would probably fair far worse if used for bridging, which is why they developed bridging ladders.
After my experiment with homemade traction devices, I learned there are probably better materials than steel and that the weight can be better utilized in other ways.
After my experiment with homemade traction devices, I learned there are probably better materials than steel and that the weight can be better utilized in other ways.