Dead Reckoning’s Fave Recovery Gear
Getting stuck while off-roading is a time suck, a hit to the ego, exhausting, and totally inevitable. Knowing how to get yourself out, as they say, is priceless.
In our months training for the Rebelle we’ve been stuck. A lot. And we’ve been fortunate to have friends with us to get us out. Most of the time. We’ve done a lot of training with the Barlow Adventures crew and they stress how to do things safely and with the proper gear. We feel pretty good about the gear we’ve compiled and are taking with us on the Rebelle. Having the right gear and knowing how to use it can give an incredible boost of confidence when you’re out on the trail. And that’s usually when you get stuck.
On a recent trip to the Oceano Dunes Lani got the Bronco stuck within the first ten minutes. Video and interrogation by Emme Hall.
A lot of folks think all you need is a Hi-Lift Jack and a winch and you’ll be able to get yourself out of any situation. That might be true for some folks but those are really heavy things to carry and potentially dangerous if you don’t use them correctly. And a lot of stucks can be pretty easy to get out of with the right gear and approach.
Here’s everything that’s earned its place in our recovery kit for the Rebelle and in all of our other off-roading adventures. As Amazon Affiliates we receive a small commission for any purchases you make from this post. Thank you for supporting Team Dead Rec!
During the long wait between reserving the Bronco (July 2020) and taking delivery of the Bronco (October 2021) Lani had a lot of time to research (or obsess) and shop for gear. The very first thing she bought was a set of MaxTrax. MaxTrax are knobby nylon traction boards you can shove under your tires and pop yourself out of quite a few stuck situations without another person, without another vehicle, and without a tree or something else solid to pull off of. Nena Barlow still has her original set of MaxTrax that she’s been using for over ten years. I’m guessing that’s represents hundreds of stucks over thousands of off-road miles.
To make the most of your traction boards you’re going to want to get them wedged between your tires and the ground to do the most good. A little bit of digging can make a big difference. Nena turned us on to these cheap and lightweight shovels, available in Dead Reckoning orange. We also carry this shovel if we need to move heavier rocky soil. You should always carry at least one shovel per person because who wants to dig alone?
Much like when we’re out in the field we almost forgot one of the most important things for recovery. GLOVES. We’re always in a hurry to get back to fun and exploration that we just jump right in and start digging without taking the very simple step of protecting our hands. We copied what our grip and electric crews do on set and keep our gloves handy with this clip. They clip these to their belts but we clip them to a carabiner on our tailgate table.
You can do a lot with traction boards and shovels. But if you’ve got a second vehicle you can’t beat hooking up a kinetic rope to a friend’s truck and effortlessly popping out of the sand that had previously been nestled firmly against the frame of your truck.
Barlow instructor Nick Cimmarusti pulling us out in the middle of the Glamis Sand Dunes seconds after he congratulated us for not getting stuck yet. Thanks, Nick.
Not only does kinetic rope work really well it also looks very cool in action. We love Bubba Rope and we’re so grateful they’ve given us product support for the rally. This set is a great first purchase if you’re just starting to build out your kit. When you’re back home from your adventures be sure to take care of your rope by washing out the dirt you picked up on the trail. Nena recommends tossing your rope into a plastic tote and covering with water to gently wash the dirt out of the fibers.
When we were hopelessly stuck in the mud the only vehicle we encountered was a huge diesel F-250 with an aftermarket bumper with no recovery points. But he did have a tow hitch! Luckily we added the MaxTrax Soft Shackle Hitch and the MaxTrax Core Shackle to my kit. This enabled us to hook up to their vehicle and try to get us out. Unfortunately we were pretty well glued to the bottom of that mud pit so we needed professionals in the end. But, if it had been a slightly more shallow pool he might have been able to do it. Anyway, we had the gear to at least try.
Kinetic rope is a really powerful tool but there are situations where you may not want or need the amplified force they provide. A traditional tow strap can be really useful especially if you’re trying to move a vehicle with no recovery points meaning you need to hoo up to the control arms. We’re looking at you, Toyota Camry and Honda Civic drivers that venture out onto the beach in Pismo. We like this ARB kit because it includes some shackles as well as a pair of gloves for your buddy. He forgot his gloves at home.
Earlier we mentioned winches and the fact that these are not the Swiss army knife of recovery folks assume they are. Still, knowing we often get pretty dang stuck, we starting carrying this snatch block just in case we encounter a stuck situation where it might be helpful. If someone else has a winch-great! We can increase the pulling power of the winch with the pulley. No winch? You can use a length of winch line and another vehicle to pull in a situation where you might not be able to perform a straight pull. Together the winch line and the snatch block are a lot less weight than a winch but they add a few options for recovery in the event we’re in a challenging situation.
With a smaller vehicle like Hank where do we put all this stuff? We put it up on the roof! If we’ve buried ourselves in the sand it will be even easier to access. We rigged this Plano rifle case to our OEM roof rack with this universal roof box kit. We secure the MaxTrax to the roof with a few ratchet straps and boom, we’re ready to hit the trail!
Ordering the right gear is easy. Knowing how to use your recovery gear correctly and efficiently and how to problem solve your particular situation takes training and experience. Team Dead Reckoning has taken several training courses with Barlow Adventures and over the years we’ve learned so much from their instructors. We highly encourage anyone just getting into off-roading to make time to learn how to do things properly before heading out on the trail.
We’ve been super happy with all the gear on this list throughout our training and it will accompany us on the Rebelle where we will no doubt put it into service. We hope it serves you well in your adventures, too!
