Land Anchors

[Farnarkle]

A while ago when they drove the D3 up Ben Nevis (?) they used what I think they called a "land anchor" - has anybody got an opinion on them? would they be good for sand? Mud? - just wondering

[dullbird]

they call it a ground anchor in the uk

and they are becoming very used in competion trials in the uk.......

if you look at some 4x4 magazines that cover the uk landrovers you will notice alot of them have now got them mounted on the front bull bar for easy access

i don't know how they perform in the sand but in the mud they are ment to be awesome!!!

as once they dig in the more you winch or pull on them the deeper they dig into the ground........

they are i think ment to be the next best thing when there are no trees around to winch off.....

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/scorpion-racing-grou...1QQcmdZViewItem (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/scorpion-racing-ground-anchor-off-raoder_W0QQitemZ4633439626QQcategoryZ31348QQrdZ1QQ cmdZViewItem)

alot of people think they can be a bit cumbersome...........i suppose its just a case of how prepared you want to be

http://www.pullpal.com/quotes.html

dullbird

[spudboy]

ARB sell them:

http://www.arb.com.au/recovery_essentials.htm

[tombraider]

Do NOT buy a PRT, they are the sinlge most useless version of a ground anchor we have ever tested here in Whyalla.

We wrote a full report on the thing and then returned it.

To give you and Idea we nicknamed it "Dougless"

We now have one from Smithy in Victoria....

Its called "Doug"

Cheers
Mike

[spudboy]

Have you got any more details on the "Smithy" one? I did a google search on all sorts of permutations but didn't find a match.
Thanks
David

[Timmo]

Hey tombraider,

Do you have a link for the one you have that works?

[Timmo]

hmm......spudboy beat me to it!

[camel_landy]

It sort of depends what you're after.

The fold out shovel type of ground anchor that you see on the front of winch challenge vehicles is fine for that type of event but that's about it. They are very awkward to stow and are usless unless you're using it in the right type of mud... :? Sand, forget it. They just pop out!

One of the best ground anchors is the type used by the armed forces. Big, long plate with at least half a dozen (or more depending on the type of surface) long stakes that you drive through it, into the ground.

If you're not in a hurry, the spare wheel tick works but you have to dig a very deep hole for it!!!

Mark.

[cameron]

I have an auger style ground anchor with different blade attachments for different ground conditions.

Only used in once since I owned it - at the LROC Advanced Driver Training. Worked great and hacked up the ground a lot less than I have seen some of the other PRT style anchors. Just had to unscrew it back out of the ground.

I picked it up after the one time I really needed it - instantly and totally bogged in talcom powder like sand below high tide mark on Hawksnest Beach with the tide coming in! Did I mention it was at night?

Had gone down the beach to try to get to some harder packed sand because the tracks up higher were really deep and soft.

Survived to tell the story and the photos of the 'Great (Sand) Wall of China' that kept back the water are a classic but don't really do it justice after surviving the incoming tide and a restless sleep until I could flag someone to pull me out next morning. Boy was I glad to see those old fishermen!

I had done driver training (with Toyota Club) only a couple of weeks before so I knew what to do just had not had the cash to buy all the gear at the time. Big mistake and I would have done just about anything to have a hand winch and the various odds and sods once I realised just how much s**t I was potentially in.

Had a pajero then and had been looking for a quiet camp site up the beach for a quiet evening camp with the girlfriend.

Saw the light after surviving that night - bought a defender and married the girlfriend. Funnily enough now have virtually every conceivable piece of recovery gear stowed away in the back of the truck and my new outlook (and truck!) has meant that I have rarely had to use any of it.

Anyway back to the land anchor - made in New Zealand and a very impressive piece of kit it is too. Bought it (unused) off a nice old fella who reckoned that he was too old and weak to cope with the rigours of offroad camping anymore. More luck for me as he had had an offroad scare like me and so when he tracked this ground anchor down to the manufacturer in NZ he decided to get the FULL set of blades and accessories while he was at it.

I could have used the spare tyre of course and still could but prefer to have the right gear for the job rather than risk trashing the rim or having to dig half way to China to get the wheel into potentially rocky ground. In the sand would have even been happy to try a sand bollard but without a winch there was nothing to drag it out with.

Cheers,
Cameron

[PCH]

It sort of depends what you're after.

The fold out shovel type of ground anchor that you see on the front of winch challenge vehicles is fine for that type of event but that's about it. They are very awkward to stow and are usless unless you're using it in the right type of mud... :? Sand, forget it. They just pop out!

One of the best ground anchors is the type used by the armed forces. Big, long plate with at least half a dozen (or more depending on the type of surface) long stakes that you drive through it, into the ground.

If you're not in a hurry, the spare wheel tick works but you have to dig a very deep hole for it!!!

Mark.

I'm wanting to prepare myself for self recovery if I get stuck on beach sand. I had a look at the options and I see that places like ARB and Opposite Lock sell the PRT (portable rescue tree) shovel type ground anchor but I have heard that they are next to useless if you cannot push the PRT in while trying to winch from 20 metres away. ARB are going to be selling a product like the one Mark mentioned above "Big, long plate with at least half a dozen (or more depending on the type of surface) long stakes that you drive through it, into the ground" but they won't be available until Oct 06 and are going to retail for a dizzy $650.

Who knows where I can get the plate type with star pickets for a lot less than $650?

I'm open to other options as well but they must be a one person operation. Travelling with another vehicle is a solution but in this case it won't be likely.

Thanks,

Chris

[Redback]

Have you got any more details on the "Smithy" one? I did a google search on all sorts of permutations but didn't find a match.
Thanks
David

Try searching under SAND or MUD ANCHOR.

[Reads90]

A while ago when they drove the D3 up Ben Nevis (?) they used what I think they called a "land anchor" - has anybody got an opinion on them? would they be good for sand? Mud? - just wondering


These type of ones used on the D3 thing are useless. Had one and could not get it to set. I now have a foldable ground anchor from Pull pal
It folds down nice and stores easyley
Came in really usefull north of Perth where i got stuck on a sand dune. Sent the misses out with the cable in one hand and the anchor in the other. Where she easly set it up and i winched in and it held and pulled us up and over the hill.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2006/09/331.jpg

[Reads90]

I'm wanting to prepare myself for self recovery if I get stuck on beach sand. I had a look at the options and I see that places like ARB and Opposite Lock sell the PRT (portable rescue tree) shovel type ground anchor but I have heard that they are next to useless if you cannot push the PRT in while trying to winch from 20 metres away. ARB are going to be selling a product like the one Mark mentioned above "Big, long plate with at least half a dozen (or more depending on the type of surface) long stakes that you drive through it, into the ground" but they won't be available until Oct 06 and are going to retail for a dizzy $650.

Who knows where I can get the plate type with star pickets for a lot less than $650?

I'm open to other options as well but they must be a one person operation. Travelling with another vehicle is a solution but in this case it won't be likely.

Thanks,

Chris

Try ex army places, Don't know about here but in the Uk it was the ex army places that had them as the army use them as thier weapon of choice for recovery. The come in differant sizes depending if you want it for a defedner or a tank.
But it is easy to make one yourself. It is just a bit of metal with a laod of holes and the 6 or 8 road pins

[seqfisho]

Wow for a second when I saw the thread title I thought we were gunna be talking about Landcruisers:D:D:D:D:D:D:D

[Bush65]

I'm wanting to prepare myself for self recovery if I get stuck on beach sand. I had a look at the options and I see that places like ARB and Opposite Lock sell the PRT (portable rescue tree) shovel type ground anchor but I have heard that they are next to useless if you cannot push the PRT in while trying to winch from 20 metres away. ARB are going to be selling a product like the one Mark mentioned above "Big, long plate with at least half a dozen (or more depending on the type of surface) long stakes that you drive through it, into the ground" but they won't be available until Oct 06 and are going to retail for a dizzy $650.

Who knows where I can get the plate type with star pickets for a lot less than $650?

I'm open to other options as well but they must be a one person operation. Travelling with another vehicle is a solution but in this case it won't be likely.

Thanks,

Chris
They can be made from pipe, say about 80 nominal bore (3").

Weld a steel loop or plate tang to one end for the winch rope to attach.

Then drill a series of holes to drive the pins through. Make alternate holes at an angle of about 15 degrees either side of centre (so the pins splay out instead of all in line).

Roger Smith Croydon VIC (03) 9723 9550 sells the "ground grabber" anchor. Rated for 5T.

If it is only required for sand then a piece of plate cut in a square or diamond shape can make a versatile anchor that doubles as a jacking plate for the soft ground and is easy to stow.

Make 2 holes for the ends of a large shacke to pass through, so the shackle pin can be fitted on the far side.

A little shovel work is needed to bury the plate, but far easier than a spare wheel and they can be made so they penetrate deeper under load (an advantage of the diamond shape).

[Reads90]

here are the plate and pins style ground anchors.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2006/09/317.jpg

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2006/09/320.jpg

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2006/09/321.jpg

[4bee]

http://www.boatersland.com/lewcqr.html

Whatever happened to the CQR plough type as a ground anchor?

I understood these were very successful & different to the fold out shovel type.

[gghaggis]

I've been looking at the Wombat system at www.rapidanchor.com - it basically consists of a helix blade on a pole that you screw into the sand. They recon it'll resist around 260kg pulling force per unit, so around 4 ~ 6 for a medium to heavy 4wd - on a flat beach! I tried one at Ranger camping - screws into the ground in 30s or so. About $60 a pair at the moment.

Cheers,

Gordon

[PCH]

Thanks guys for the ideas.

I've got a 300*300mm square plate for the jack, just go to drill some big holes for the shackle.

Might check out the wombat helix as well.

Chris

[Blknight.aus]

Ummmm if your bogged on sand, airbag jack under the center of the bull bar or the tow hitch then when its fully infated push the old girl off it sideways, or kick the sand back in the wheel holes or put your sand ladders over the hole, or chuck the spare in....

whats with all the effort to winch? wasting valuable fishing/jaffle cooking/woman fondling/beer drinking time gentlemen..... :)

[camel_landy]

Thanks guys for the ideas.

I've got a 300*300mm square plate for the jack, just go to drill some big holes for the shackle.

Might check out the wombat helix as well.

Chris

Yep... The ones that Reeds90 was posting are the ones to go for. :D

M

[JDNSW]

http://www.boatersland.com/lewcqr.html

Whatever happened to the CQR plough type as a ground anchor?

I understood these were very successful & different to the fold out shovel type.

CQR anchors have long been known as the most effective anchors for their weight in boats and the same probably applies for use as land anchors, although my experience is entirely with boats. BUT - they are a real pig to stow! This probably explains why they are rarely seen on land - on a boat you can just hang them over the bow.
An alternative type, slightly less reliable but very effective in sand in particular, is the Danforth type, which does stow flat, but is quite large to be useful in this application.

[JDNSW]

here are the plate and pins style ground anchors.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2006/09/317.jpg



This type would be more effective if the holes are at a small angle to the axis if the pipe so the load pulls it down onto the ground. But this would mean it was only useful pulled in one direction.

[muddymech]

another option used in the uk is three spike in the ground joined by rope
david bowyer in the uk sells these but i reckon with some
decent metal spikes you could make you own.
i like the idea as it should save weight and space when stored but i have no idea how it would perform
on sand.
http://www.dborc.co.uk/goodwinch/header.htm

[Bush65]

This type would be more effective if the holes are at a small angle to the axis if the pipe so the load pulls it down onto the ground. But this would mean it was only useful pulled in one direction.
I agree.

I find the attachments at both ends interesting.

They would allow more than 1 to be used in series.

But I am curious about the option to attach a bridle to both ends and planting the anchor sideways. Notice in one of the pics that Ali Read posted that the anchor fails when the pins at the far end pull out, when they are planted inline. So would it be better or worse if planted sideways?

Thinking it out a little more. The height of the rope pull creates a moment on the anchor, which lifts the far end. So inline and as long as practical would minimise the uplift.

So it would be best to angle the closest pins forward and the rear pins away (to better resist the uplift).

In sand it would be best to bury them, and add a removable plate with a slotted hole that slips over the front loop similar to a bib. The bib could be angles to dig in. A further refinement would be a fin on either side at the rear end to resist uplift.

With the bib and fins, you would not need as many pins, so these could be stored inside the body of the anchor.

75 x 25 rhs would make a good body, that has a good shape for this type of anchor and reasonably easy to stow.

Now on my list to make-up.

[Bigbjorn]

One of my rellies made up a similar item for use on one of the mail runs to the south and west of Winton. He claimed it worked well in wet & dry soil and in sand drifts on river crossings. He got eight x two foot lengths of star picket and linked them with chain & shackles so they could be driven into the ground in arrowhead formation with the slack taken out of the chains and the point of the arrow towards the vehicle. They were driven in with the tops leaning away from the vehicle. the pull was taken from the point of the arrow. He said it never failed him and was not cumbersome to store and carry.

[JDNSW]

another option used in the uk is three spike in the ground joined by rope
david bowyer in the uk sells these but i reckon with some
decent metal spikes you could make you own.
i like the idea as it should save weight and space when stored but i have no idea how it would perform
on sand.
http://www.dborc.co.uk/goodwinch/header.htm
About forty years ago I had one of them came with a hand winch. Three (or five - can't remember) three foot lengths of 2" angle iron, each with a loop on the midpoint of the hollow side, one end pointed, the other with a flat welded on to hammer. Joined by lengths of about three feet of chain from top to the middle of the next one back. Quite effective as I remember, but a bit fiddly to use - the secret is to have the chains tight before the load comes on, and to get the pegs in at the right angle. Packs up compactly, and you should be able to make one for a few tens of dollars. Never used it in sand, but I doubt it would work without wider pegs than described.
John