When you’re winching, you need to see what’s happening with and access the winch drum easily.
Has Your 4wd’s Approach Angle Been Compromised?
Whenever you fit something to a 4wd vehicle, there will be a trade off. Understanding this compromise is essential to managing not only your off road capability but also for driving defensively.
My Thoughts on Using Synthetic Shackles
Recently purchased some synthetic shackles (Gator-Jaw) from Bubba Rope in the States. I had gotten one of their kinetic energy ropes through someone that was leaving Uganda and was very impressed.
Why I Don’t Like Roof Racks
I don’t like roof racks and don’t have them fitted to any of our vehicles. Reasons for this dislike are many but the main one is safety. Roof racks encourage loading fairly heavy stuff on the top of vehicles.
How I Store Hand Winch Wire
One of the most versatile pieces of recovery kit. Couple with a pulley block or two and a length of synthetic rope, to extend, it can do a lot (obviously the synthetic won’t work in the winch).
Why This Winch Wire Is Dangerous
Warn Out This vehicle turned up for a training session recently. It wasn’t part of a recovery course, thankfully. We found the clutch in the free spool position which is probably the reason for the rats nest. Lots of bumpy unsealed roads could do that to the wire.
Why a Tyre Pressure Monitoring System is Important
A recent long trip reinforced the importance of having a tyre pressure monitoring system fitted. The tyre picked up a roofing nail and the system warned of low pressure soon after.
Not All Winch Anchors are Equal
The first winch anchor (aka ground anchor) we bought was dubbed “extreme”. It came from a UK supplier. It was a bit of a monster to carry around but it did sort of work for a while.
High Lift Jack Points: Bad and Good
Modifications Which Affect Off-Road Capability Below are some really bad mods for high lift jacks points. Some bent when used and some are obvious killers if they hit a pedestrian!
Total Recovery & Extraction Device (TREDS) – Work Well.
Been using these on our recovery course; they work very well. Especially when you have difficulty reversing out of the situation you’ve just driven into.
Examples of Modifications Which Affect Off-Road Capability: HR Radio
Modifications which are being made to mount HF radios and which will negatively impact 4wd capability.