Thread: French Line - no winch.

Winch - No, Correct Tyre pressures - Yes

Without a ground anchor or another vehicle a winch will be pretty useless out there.

As above.

Winch not necessary (although we usually have one) Tyre pressure is the most important.

I did the QAA line with no winch a few years back just before the Big floods out that way, wasnt to difficult, from memory there wasnt a lot of anchor points for using a winch anyway, unless you burried your Spare, if you drive carefully and thoughtfully you should not get yourself in a position to need a winch for recovery, the most likely places you will run into trouble will be climbing dunes but if you have done any form of sand driving you will know this.

Remember 10l water per person per Day MINIMUM and enough food for an 4-5 days longer than your trip,factor your fuel consumption and add 50% to be safe allowing for Slow Sand Travel, carry a long handled shovel and a Snatch Strap as well, Tires at Between 15-20psi and you should be sweet,

I haven't been on the French line, but from photos I've seen I would say maxtrax is a far better piece of equipment to take than a winch.

when are you going? we head off in three weeks and will be doing the simpson solo west to east.

Originally Posted by SiddersC

Winch - No, Correct Tyre pressures - Yes

Without a ground anchor or another vehicle a winch will be pretty useless out there.

Cant the spare tyre be used as a ground anchor - as long as it is angled the correct way and dug in?

I remember doing training with the Army in the Mid ninties with the landrover 110's, and they showed us how to self recover using winch and spare. Although havent had to do it myself since. Forgot about it until just now.... ahhh memories!!!

In three weeks Yorkie!

Not sure which way we'll go - probably west to east. We'll be leaving Melbourne around 21st June, and hightail it to Coober Pedy in two days, then ease off a bit.

Thanks for all the replies - it's also a great way to placate SWMBO as she's staying home....

No doubt a few more questions to come.

As for self recovery off the spare - yes, that's what I had in mind as I'll be travelling solo. The depth and angle are important, same principle as deadman anchors in snow that we used to abseil off....

Originally Posted by mattadelaide1975

Cant the spare tyre be used as a ground anchor - as long as it is angled the correct way and dug in?

Sure can, but it is a lot of work, and with limited length on the winch could be very time consuming if you have an extended soft patch

As mentioned earlier, a set (or 2) of maxtrax would be a worthy investment, but correct tyre pressure and willingness to drop them further if needed is paramount