Recovery gear

Like a boat, offroad driving in remote areas bares some responsibility to the driver.
Boaties need life jackets, anchor, flares, v sheet etc, and to a point, I reckon 4*4 drivers should have some standard when off road.
What do you reckon the minimum should be?

I'll list mine.

Snatch strap
Tow rope
Recovery trax x 2
Hi lift jack
2 bottle jacks.
Minimum of 10lt of water at all times.
Puncture repair kit
Compressor.
Bars leak.
Chemiweld.
2 x spare tyres.

So, not a lot really, I will add a tirfor before the next wet season, as I see it as more useful than a bullbar mounted which in my case.

What do the you guys think should be the minimum?

Why do you include both Bar's Leaks and Chemiweld? I thought one or the other would be fine.
Throw in a damper for your snatch strap and a shovel as well?

ferropre....
Cable ties..
Insulation tape..

Bars leak for radiator leaks, chemiweld for cracked head,blown head gasket.

Shovel should defiantly be included, feropre is awsome stuff as well. Also have some kneed it in my box of stuff. As well I have my old drive belt, a couple of filters and a bit of hose that can be cut to fit the radiator. Hose clamps as well.

Mainly concentrating on getting out bogs. I am next to useless mechanically , so just have a few basics.

small chain saw
axe
bigger hammer ] ]

Emergency tape ( 100mph tape )
couple base plates for the jacks
tree protector strap and winch strap
snatch block and at least 2 bow shackles
and last but not least, and don't laugh

ANOTHER VEHICLE

So far, the most useful stuff I have, or the most USED stuff, are the recovery trax and jacks.
Next is the snatch strap and bow shackles.
Also used the spare tyre in a can a couple of times, and both times, it worked a treat on staked tyres.

Just jacking a wheel up enough to get a trax under has got me out of trouble a few times now, wouldn't consider going anywhere without them now.

davent said:

Like a boat, offroad driving in remote areas bares some responsibility to the driver.
Boaties need life jackets, anchor, flares, v sheet etc, and to a point, I reckon 4*4 drivers should have some standard when off road.
What do you reckon the minimum should be?

I'll list mine.

Snatch strap
Tow rope
Recovery trax x 2
Hi lift jack
2 bottle jacks.
Minimum of 10lt of water at all times.
Puncture repair kit
Compressor.
Bars leak.
Chemiweld.
2 x spare tyres.

So, not a lot really, I will add a tirfor before the next wet season, as I see it as more useful than a bullbar mounted which in my case.

What do the you guys think should be the minimum?

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This is more a list to choose from according to conditions than a minimum. I would add something like a second battery that can double as main battery if main falls apart on rough tracks - also great for accessories and handy to have something to prevent drain on main battery and to run UHF, HF, recharging items, fridge etc off (battery protector, also internal voltmeter gauges on dash for both batteries). Some Anderson plugs/cigarette lighter type sockets both externally and in back of vehicle (fused of course). Locktight (I don't know chemiweld) including the version for threads (can help if you lose a nut or spring washer), and the powder plus liquid for radiator repairs. Some tie-down straps with ratchet (rather than elastic). Two spare wheels beats two spare tyres if you have room and can take load. Something to hook out spinifex from underneath (prevents fires), a pre-cut tarp to protect hot engines crossing rivers (but pause to cool first), pre-cut spinifex protection on radiator in spinifex country (but don't cut off too much airflow), a jacking plate, something to lie on under the vehicle. 10 l water would be a minumum you need up to 5 litre per day per person in really hot weather - I carry 50 l in the desert for myself (need to cook, occassionally wipe myself down with a flannel as well). Puncture repair kit to include tyre pliers (also good for folding over and closing damaged radiator areas prior to applying locktight). An inline gauge on the compressor line is handy (doubles as a rapid deflator and you don't have to keep swapping from pump to gauge or pump to deflator if you overshoot) - I have my compressor plug into an external anderson plug to save always having to lift bonnet and hook onto battery - then I don't get lazy as it all becomes a minor job to deflate and inflate as required switching from highway to good track to rocky track and deep sand. Sand flag (in dune country). Shifter and some drivers, good twine and rope (not the types that stretch badly), a bit of fencing wire (handy when things are falling off), some metal snips/wirecutters. Spare fuses, tyre valve covers, valves (you don't need a lot, nor do you need a huge tool kit, and sand country is not Victorian highlands so horses for courses). Funnel with strainer. Water treatment in areas with bad water (includes some outback wells) - a bit of cordial can make slightly brackish water more palatable. Jumper leads, electricians tape, cable ties. Depending on area, snatch strap extension, tree protector, equalizer, shackles etc (if a group you can share some of these). Long-handled shovel. Another vehicle. And know how to use your equipment before you first need to use it! A hand winch can be a useful addition to the main winch if problems are anticipated (boggy an d salt-lake country) - remember that you can't always get out of a bog forward or backwards, you often need to be able to exert some sideways pull as well (eg if run off the edge of a track surrounded by bog, to get you back on). A little winch can also beat a lot of chain-sawing to clear a track - and a small but very sharp tomahwak can be handy in forest country.

Jeez Goldie rocks, I'm talking about, " think I might go for a swing today, see ya, be home for dinner" what is always in the car in case I get bogged, or stuck in a rut.
Extended trips are different.

I stated at the start of the thread,

What is the minimum you should have in your 4x4 when going off road.
Like a boats are required a life jacket per person, and anchor, a v sheet and flares.

I reckon a snatch, tow rope,jack and recover trax,spare wheel and tyre is the bare minimum.

All extras are great, but there are people out there with NO recovery gear apart than what came with their car.....ask madtuna!

The water I listed, is for the radiator BTW, recovery gear, not personal needs, like a spare rain coat, a tarp to lay on so you don't get dirty etc....

A day in the Portland dunes is not a day driving the highlands is not a day driving the Mallee salt lakes - and some of us go out for more than a month at a time....and you said "remote"

The minimum is in the eye of the beholder and depends on where you are going and for how long (which I did not see you state)

I guess what I'm saying is, every 4x4 driver should have a minimum recovery kit if off road. Not a lot, but some gear, I'm surprised at how many people go bush with only the stuff that came with their car. (I'm guilty, got bogged this year, and had next to nothing, it was in my trailer at home, if I had my recovery trax, it would have saved hours!)

I agree with you completely, and have done the same. I've met people in the middle of nowhere who say "forgot to check I had my jack" - even in remote desert areas in hire vehicles driven straight there from the hirer. I actually double-checked with a hirer once before heading into the Nevada desert in a 4x4 after flying in from Oz to do a job - "definitely a jack and spare wheel" - yep, one of those toy wheels as I found when I ripped out a casing far from help.

Anyway, my long list is hopefully a check list from long experience that might give you some idea for an item you have forgotten - I am still unpacking from more than a month away so fresh in my mind. Some of us consider something to lay on is essential in a recovery kit - but some of us probably have older bones than you I tend to think of recovery gear as what I need to get me out of trouble, you obviously mean more out of a bog.

I mean there should be a national minimum standard. I'm one of those that does extended trips as well.
I guess my is a bit bog centric. But bars leak,chemiweld, won't help in a bog!

I think you have totally missed the point of this post.

I always carry fuses, globes, and fuel tank repair putty. I carry heaps extra as well, even when in the suburbs, too much trouble to take it out, fuel economy is shot anyhow. Ken.

ken2m said:

I always carry fuses, globes, and fuel tank repair putty. I carry heaps extra as well, even when in the suburbs, too much trouble to take it out, fuel economy is shot anyhow. Ken.

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Ditto mate i know how it feels with fuel economy what there is of it :lol:

A good set of hand tools and if your vehicle is an automatic a spare starter ....................... because if your starter packs it in your going no where.
:Y:

A Bottle of Drambuie..

With a tirfor winch, do you think a sand anchor from your boat would give you enough bite to move a vehicle. We used them in the railway to lift and move some pretty big timbers for bridges.

davent said:

I mean there should be a national minimum standard. I'm one of those that does extended trips as well.
I guess my is a bit bog centric. But bars leak,chemiweld, won't help in a bog!

I think you have totally missed the point of this post.

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Barsleak and Chemiweld will only help when all hope is lost
It won't take long for a new car's cooling system to fail 20 minutes at 38 degree day and you can do a .......
..............Today I Cooked My engine...blocked the Rad... ...Cracked both heads...burnt 14 valves and...Toasted two pistons
..............................................And still got stuck in the bush needing a 1000 buck tow job...so tomorrow I'll cook my Bank Account :lol:
Chuck em out Dave...your not in an EH anymore
You've got more chance with a cake of soap and a raw egg :lol:
Radiator putty's magic stuff too
100 mile an hour Race tape can fix more things than a can of WD40 :lol:

kemjak57 said:

With a tirfor winch, do you think a sand anchor from your boat would give you enough bite to move a vehicle. We used them in the railway to lift and move some pretty big timbers for bridges.

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I should say we used tirfors not boat anchors :|