Posted: 9/20/2024 5:24:13 PM EDT
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New to off roading and figured better safe than sorry and decided I should probably get some recovery gear. I have a 4 runner TRD pro with a CBI bumper and winch. I have been looking at some things and watching videos It’s sounding like Soft and hard shackles Kinetic rope Tow strap Snatch block either the old school version or the donut style Tree saver Anything I’m missing? Also what brand? Something between factor55 and harbor freight |
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Personally not a fan of soft shackles. Plenty of YouTube videos out there showing them breaking/snapping. Other than that, you've got the basics covered. I always keep a few extra straps around. More length is never a bad thing. Harbor Freight has their 3" 30-foot 9000-lb strap on sale for $20 right now. |
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Hi-lift jack, Good 3t to 5t Come along, Good Shovel, 2 15' to 20' Log chains, 2 hd tow/recovery straps, Various sized D hooks, 1.5lbs stubby sledge hammer & 8lbs full length sledge, Decent 12v air compressor, Decent (tool kit) socket set, wrenches, pliers, Decent axe & bow saw. |
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Safe recovery points on the vehicle. Make sure your bumpers can handle the stress of recovery. I recommend one metal D ring and 4 or 5 quality soft shackles. 3 inch recovery strap and 4 foot tree saver. Synthetic winch. A quality Bubba rope. Ditch the heavy ass hi lift and opt for a bottle jack with a base. A socket and wrench set that is equal to your skill level, a sawzall, and angle grinder.various sizes of screw drivers, Allen, and torx. Pliers, vice grips, motor oil, brake fluid, antifreeze. Add an axe, and saw especially for down trees across the trail. Most importantly SKID PLATES, lockers, and the right gearing in your diffs. |
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I'm a member / volunteer or 2 off road recovery groups - Missouri 4x4 Rescue and the Off Road Portal and have rescued a few vehicles. Along with my Badland Apex 12K Synthetic Winch on my Jeep I carry and use the following frequently. A hitch shackle, I had this RhinoChina one mounted in the hitch of my Toyota 4Runner. I now carry it in my Jeep and will place it in the hitch of a stuck vehicle. https://www.rhinousainc.com/products/shackle-hitch-receiver I also have a Factor 44 Hitchlink 2.0 in my Ford F150: https://www.factor55.com/p-hitchlink-2-0 My 2 newest soft shackles are HF Badland brand. I have 4 others but they are ready for the trash. 2 to 4 is a good number. https://www.harborfreight.com/soft-shackle-58168.html 2 Badland Apex Snatch Blocks. https://www.harborfreight.com/forged-snatch-block-58175.html The only ring worth anything is the $115 Factor 55 Rope Retention Pully. You don't want your winch line falling off a standard ring pully and cutting either the soft shackle or your winch line. https://www.factor55.com/p-rope-retention-pulley-00260 4 Van Beest Bow Shackles. Crosby is also good. https://switchbacksafety.com/product/van-beest-3-4-shackle/ 2 30ft rated Static Straps (2inch 2ply). https://switchbacksafety.com/product/sos-static-recovery-strap/ A Tree Saver. https://switchbacksafety.com/product/sos-tree-saver/ A 30ft Kinetic Rope: https://switchbacksafety.com/product/sos-kinetic-rope/ A 75ft 3/8 inch winch rope extension. https://customsplice.com/collections/winch-rope-extensions A replacement winch line with allen wrench set https://www.harborfreight.com/12000-lb-80-ft-x-38-in-synthetic-winch-rope-56412.html A Safe Jack bottle Jack with extensions. Your 4Runner has a bottle jack in it, get some extensions: https://safejacks.com/ I also carry a Napa Style Air Compressor with a 4 tire inflation hose system. Tire plug kit and a Milwaukee Chainsaw. Just about everything except the Chainsaw fits in this duffel bag behind the backseat of my Jeep: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07YCQK52G/ I strap everything down with these perfect bungees: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C1PXB8XZ?tag=arfcom00-20 Attached File Some off road recovery pics: Attached File Attached File Attached File Attached File Attached File |
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When a soft shackle breaks, nothing gets destroyed. The only thing to be really careful about is the old saw about: When the only tool you have is a hammer everything starts looking like a nail. If you have a kinetic rope then you always want to snatch stuff. This is a problem if what you are trying to recover is really stuck, and you start ripping parts off. So always be more cautious than you think you need to be. |
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One other thing about soft shackles - make sure your vehicle’s attachment points are made for soft shackles, ie, no sharp edges. My bumpers both have laser cut plate steel recovery points that would cut a soft shackle so I have to use steel shackles. It’s helpful to play with this stuff in your driveway to see how it all works together before you need it. |
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Take an off road recovery class. I took 2 from Aaron Paris of Switchback Outdoor Safety. https://switchbacksafety.com/ For the most part I find TFL annoying. However, they just hosted a free off road recovery class on youtube featuring training by https://www.sierramechanica.com Take 50 minutes and watch this video:  What the Big YouTubers DON'T Tell You About Trail Recovery! The trainer goes into bog factor, weight of the stuck vehicle, etc. and ultimately rigs a snatch block for a double line pull. I do the same and start with a double line pull using a snatch block when winching. I rarely use a kinetic rope. |
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My kit has 2 shackles on my front bumper. 1 soft shackle wedges between my passenger seat and center console. Tree saver under my passenger seat. Factor 55 splicer on winch line Factor 55 fairlead My recovery bag. 2 hard shackles 2 Soft shackles Jerk strap/bubba rope Tow strap 2 snatch blocks Replacement winch rope. Pin and electrical tape as a fid to repair winch line. Gloves Small shovel Winch line dampener Harbor freight Badlands stuff is solid it’s held up to everything I’ve thrown it for years. I’ve used Amazon soft shackles, tree savers and tow strap. Tow strap began to fray and failed. Others have been fine for the price. ARB is solid Bubba ropes are solid. Rhino though made in China have also been solid. Factor 55 stuff is solid. I have the older style snatch blocks. One designed for soft shackles and one for hard shackles. I’ll pick up a factor 55 ring next time I order something from them. I’d like to do a reverse winch one of these days but I don’t have enough snatch blocks. |
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Just an FYI soft shackles are basically disposable. When you or a buddy needs a quick pull, they are handy for connecting a kinetic rope or static recovery strap to a bumper mounted metal bow shackle. As mentioned above, do not connect them to a shackle mount on a steel bumper without using a metal bow shackle. This guy found out the hard way, not to do that. Attached File  The Off-Road Recovery That Almost Killed Me! This 2nd video is a little less preachy and is more of an after action review of the incident.  NASTY 4x4 Recovery FAILURE! He could have died. Let's unpack it with the guy in this accident! I bought the 4 on the left in 2020 (Smittybuilt and Gator Rope) and have used the hell out of them. They are ready for the trash can. The 2nd from the right - Badlands soft shackle has been used once. The far right Badlands soft shackle is brand new. Attached File A lot of people you will encounter off road have no idea how to use a soft shackle. I will let trusted friends hook up their vehicle with my recovery gear. But I will always check their work. I don't like destroying my expensive recovery gear. Random strangers stuck off road, I will connect my recovery gear to their vehicle. Edit one more point: When using a kinetic rope, start with gentle tugs. Your maximum speed for using a kinetic rope should be 5 to 7mph. Don't just go pedal to the metal!!! That's how you break shit and hurt people. Most of the time I start with a winch and a snatch block. |
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Originally Posted By drobs: Just an FYI soft shackles are basically disposable. When you or a buddy needs a quick pull, they are handy for connecting a kinetic rope or static recovery strap to a bumper mounted metal bow shackle. As mentioned above, do not connect them to a shackle mount on a steel bumper without using a metal bow shackle. This guy found out the hard way, not to do that. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/41568/Soft_Shackel_Failure_jpg-3333837.JPG  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrIR_4IPIbkThis 2nd video is a little less preachy and is more of an after action review of the incident. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcF3ZOQ9qUcI bought the 4 on the left in 2020 (Smittybuilt and Gator Rope) and have used the hell out of them. They are ready for the trash can. The 2nd from the right - Badlands soft shackle has been used once. The far right Badlands soft shackle is brand new. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/41568/Soft_Shackles_jpg-3333834.JPG A lot of people you will encounter off road have no idea how to use a soft shackle. I will let trusted friends hook up their vehicle with my recovery gear. But I will always check their work. I don't like destroying my expensive recovery gear. Random strangers stuck off road, I will connect my recovery gear to their vehicle. Edit one more point: When using a kinetic rope, start with gentle tugs. Your maximum speed for using a kinetic rope should be 5 to 7mph. Don't just go pedal to the metal!!! That's how you break shit and hurt people. Most of the time I start with a winch and a snatch block. That was a series of bad choices that lead to the soft shackle failure. He almost ripped the recovery point out of his bumper while bending he’s frame mounting points.To big of kinetic rope for his vehicle size. Connected a soft shackle to a d ring clevis. Sent it super hard with no path dug in the snow for the vehicle to track through. Then blamed it on it being an Amazon soft shackles fault. They were making an incredible amount of energy for a soft shackle mounted up improperly. They’re lucky the soft shackle failed before the broncos bumper did and sent the clevis and d ring to the moon. |
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Originally Posted By -Ascent-: That was a series of bad choices that lead to the soft shackle failure. He almost ripped the recovery point out of his bumper while bending he’s frame mounting points.To big of kinetic rope for his vehicle size. Connected a soft shackle to a d ring clevis. Sent it super hard with no path dug in the snow for the vehicle to track through. Then blamed it on it being an Amazon soft shackles fault. They were making an incredible amount of energy for a soft shackle mounted up improperly. They’re lucky the soft shackle failed before the broncos bumper did and sent the clevis and d ring to the moon. Originally Posted By -Ascent-: Originally Posted By drobs: Just an FYI soft shackles are basically disposable. When you or a buddy needs a quick pull, they are handy for connecting a kinetic rope or static recovery strap to a bumper mounted metal bow shackle. As mentioned above, do not connect them to a shackle mount on a steel bumper without using a metal bow shackle. This guy found out the hard way, not to do that. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/41568/Soft_Shackel_Failure_jpg-3333837.JPG https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrIR_4IPIbkThis 2nd video is a little less preachy and is more of an after action review of the incident. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcF3ZOQ9qUcI bought the 4 on the left in 2020 (Smittybuilt and Gator Rope) and have used the hell out of them. They are ready for the trash can. The 2nd from the right - Badlands soft shackle has been used once. The far right Badlands soft shackle is brand new. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/41568/Soft_Shackles_jpg-3333834.JPG A lot of people you will encounter off road have no idea how to use a soft shackle. I will let trusted friends hook up their vehicle with my recovery gear. But I will always check their work. I don't like destroying my expensive recovery gear. Random strangers stuck off road, I will connect my recovery gear to their vehicle. Edit one more point: When using a kinetic rope, start with gentle tugs. Your maximum speed for using a kinetic rope should be 5 to 7mph. Don't just go pedal to the metal!!! That's how you break shit and hurt people. Most of the time I start with a winch and a snatch block. That was a series of bad choices that lead to the soft shackle failure. He almost ripped the recovery point out of his bumper while bending he’s frame mounting points.To big of kinetic rope for his vehicle size. Connected a soft shackle to a d ring clevis. Sent it super hard with no path dug in the snow for the vehicle to track through. Then blamed it on it being an Amazon soft shackles fault. They were making an incredible amount of energy for a soft shackle mounted up improperly. They’re lucky the soft shackle failed before the broncos bumper did and sent the clevis and d ring to the moon. I concur. Those kinetic ropes impart a lot of energy when used improperly. Enough to destroy / tear off bumpers. |
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Originally Posted By Jambalaya: In case no one mentioned it before, a battery powered impact driver is super handy if you need to change a tire. It will cut your time in half or better. I also carry a long 1/2" drive breaker bar. Leather work gloves are good to have as well.  I led a trail ride a couple years ago where we had 5 Jeeps get flat tires. One guy went around with a Milwaukee impact wrench and a Hi-Lift Jack and changed all 5 tires. I don't know what caused the flat tires. Too much air, dry rot, something sharp on the trail, bad tire placement? It was odd. |
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Originally Posted By drobs: I led a trail ride a couple years ago where we had 5 Jeeps get flat tires. One guy went around with a Milwaukee impact wrench and a Hi-Lift Jack and changed all 5 tires. I don't know what caused the flat tires. Too much air, dry rot, something sharp on the trail, bad tire placement? It was odd. I got a flat on my last trail ride, but the tires were the original 2017 KO2s so they were already well over 5 years old. Local dealership got me a good price on the new KO3s. I was under $1400 for all 5 tires plus mount and balance. Local tire shop quoted me $2300. 
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Originally Posted By glocktalk: New to off roading and figured better safe than sorry and decided I should probably get some recovery gear. I have a 4 runner TRD pro with a CBI bumper and winch. I have been looking at some things and watching videos It’s sounding like Soft and hard shackles Kinetic rope Tow strap Snatch block either the old school version or the donut style Tree saver Anything I’m missing? Also what brand? Something between factor55 and harbor freight If you have synthetic winch rope just stick with synthetic everything. Hand tools are helpful. Sockets and wrenches specific to your vehicle or some channellocks for when your metal d ring won't come undone. |
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Originally Posted By Bronsonburner: First thing everyone should do when attempting a recovery is to put on a pair of leather gloves. Using synthetic winch line, I rarely put on work gloves. I do carry them and will probably use them the next time I use my winch. There are a bunch of burs hanging on my winch line at the moment from the last Chevy pickup I pulled out of the mud.  |