Thread: Basic kit for self sand recovery

Air down and know how to drive. You should never get stuck in sand.

Originally Posted by ontheway

Hi

Coming back to this after a long break with my 2013 RRS - I am planning on doing some light beach driving whilst touring. Stockton beach, Bruny island etc.

I currently carry an air compressor, air down stuff, small shovel and a basic snatch strap kit.

Thinking that if I have a set (2 or 4?) Max trax it should give me a reasonable ability to self recover.

After some advice from those who do this all the time Overkill? sensible? dreaming?

Cheers

It really depends where you go . . . . . but for 'light sand driving' you should be fine with what you have, especially if you are with other vehicles.

other kit to consider

• a long handled shovel with large blade (not sure how small you existing shovel is)
• a jack and large jacking plate (piece of ply should do) which will allow you to lift a wheel to get a traction aid underneath

something to think about . . .

• people didn't have Max Trax's many years ago and still managed
• having Max Trax's doesn't guarantee a successful recovery

Originally Posted by Red90

Air down and know how to drive. You should never get stuck in sand.

Air down and know how to drive is good advice, in particular;

• pick your line
• try to keep momentum (especially in soft sand)
• watch your speed (too fast can be dangerous)
• watch for hidden dangers that can stop your momentum (dips, washouts, seaweed etc)

but there are plenty of scenarios where one can get stuck despite skill and experience.

Excessive wheel spin results in digging holes so drive to avoid wheel spin. This may mean backing off occassionally to maintain forward motion - something that doesn't come naturally to most of us.

I drive on the beaches here in WA all the time and I rarely get bogged But Everyone will eventually get bogged at some stage regardless of how good you are at sand driving and having a reasonable recovery kit on the vehicle is a bloody good idea.
A snatch strap is very handy But if there are no other vehicles around it is pretty much useless.
A shovel is usually the first thing I would go for and it alone has got me out of strife on many occasions.
I have only had a set of "Treads" (Recovery tracks) for a few years and have used these on a couple off occasions to get myself out of bogs and find them to be VERY effective and Much better than chopping down scrub to chuck under the wheels, There is No need to jack the truck up with these and you simply dig out the wheels a bit and shove them against the wheel and drive out.
The recovery tracks however are bulky and are a PITA to stow away and carry.
I have also used my winch and the spare 15kg "Sarca" anchor I carry to good effect a couple of times

A basic sand recovery kit should contain a shovel, a snatch strap, a recovery hitch for the drawbar and at least 2x recovery tracks.

To minimise getting into strife on the beach it is imperative to air down BEFORE you hit the sand and IF you do start to get bogged STOP spinning the wheels before you dig in too far.

Originally Posted by trout1105

There is No need to jack the truck up with these and you simply dig out the wheels a bit and shove them against the wheel and drive out.

that may be the case for majority of situation but there are some occasions where jacking a tyre up is the better option.

Tyre pressure gauge.......that way you know your pressures

I use Staun Deflators.....

many a time I’ve asked punters that are stuck what tyre pressures are they running, the normally answer we lowered them to about 20psi.....I ask is that using a tyre pressure gauge they say and when I check nearly always the pressures are barely deflated.

I’ve never been stuck on sand in SE QLD.....

But I carry a

Pressure gauge
Compressor
long handle shovel
Oh and 4 MAXTRAX, got them when I started towing a camper trailer on the beach...still yet to use them

Tide chart. Have carried max trax for years but never used them.