Desert recovery question

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DesertLake

DesertLake

10 Year 15 Year
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Sep 19, 2007
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Washoe Valley NV
Now that I've taken to exploring Nevada with my kids in the car, I'm a little more concerned about recovery gear than I used to be.

Let's say I drove myself off into the mud up on the playa. No trees and no winch. What gear do I need to get turned around and back out of the mud? Assume I've got a hi lift and some chain. What else? Can I pull my way our with the hi lift? What do I anchor to? Pull Pal seems awful spendy, heavy, and large but are there better options? What should I carry to drive on - has anybody ever tried using Linx Levelers for traction?

Let me know what you guys carry.

Thanks!
 
Playa mud is truly some bad ass stuff to get stuck in. Its almost bottomless at certain times of the year so anchors including a PullPal won't do much good unless you get them back to terra firma. In extreme cases folks don't have much choice but to leave the rig there until the mud dries (or freezes...as in winter recoveries).

I bought 6-24" 1/2" spikes to use for recovery in places there isn't much more than grass and dirt. My plan is to stretch my recovery chain and pound the spikes in the ground through the links about once every foot or so. Angle the bottom of the spike toward the direction of pull. I haven't tried it but have tried a variant and it worked fine.

So...if you're solo you'd need to get some type of anchor (bury your spare tire for a dead-man type anchor if that's all you have...) and winch (Hi-Lift works as a winch too) your truck out...this is assuming you have a long enough recovery rope!
 
Believe me, if you even think that the playa is not dry, go around. Really.

Like Dan said, that is some of the worst, bottomless crap you will ever get into. I have come close a couple of times and I don't think that without another vehicle you have much choice of a self recovery. If you make it to the frame, you are done; less stuck, maybe there is hope.

Jack
 
Maybe my hypothetical was too worst case :)
What I'm thinking is, for running around nv in my xj, what am I likely to get stuck in and what should I carry? I'm not rock crawling, mostly I stick to the roads but have seen those disappear in bad weather. No sense sending the 8 year old for help if I can avoid it.
 
Buy a small 80-100 cc 4-stroke dirt bike. Carry it on the rear hitch. Ride home, get friends, buy lots of cold drinks and pizza, go back for what's left.....


Seriously though. My dad tells me a lot of guys down where he is at, are using the cheap harbor freight metal loading ramps to self recover from stuff. You can get them on sale for about $40 a pair. They are a little heavier than some options, but the price is right.

They anchor the ramps using chains and a stake to prevent the wheels from pulling the ramps under the surface. Then drive up them. Once on top, they use a 3rd set to get back to hard ground if they have to. I think one set would probably get you out of most things, 2 would most likely be all you would ever need.
 
WILLD420 said:
Seriously though. My dad tells me a lot of guys down where he is at, are using the cheap harbor freight metal loading ramps to self recover from stuff. You can get them on sale for about $40 a pair. They are a little heavier than some options, but the price is right.

They anchor the ramps using chains and a stake to prevent the wheels from pulling the ramps under the surface. Then drive up them. Once on top, they use a 3rd set to get back to hard ground if they have to. I think one set would probably get you out of most things, 2 would most likely be all you would ever need.
Click to expand...

That's not a bad idea.

Jack
 
FYI AAA will not cover ANY off road recovery.

Another data point; it cost around $400 to have a tow truck pull you out of bottomless mud near Belmont NV.

Also it is a long hike from Belmont to anywhere that has cell service.

And finally, Illipah reservoir is a really cold place to wash 50# of mud off of your person.

Not that I have any first hand experience.:rolleyes:


Traveling with another rig is always a good idea.
 
rusty_tlc said:
Also it is a long hike from Belmont to anywhere that has cell service.
Click to expand...

Yeah that's what got me thinking about it. We were out around ione when the snow got heavy enough to hide the ruts and I realized I forgot the air compressor. Compounding the dumb, I hadn't checked the donut spare and it was indeed flat. In a few weeks I'll have recovery points and gear, and a full size spare off the back.
 
Due to remote-ness of a lot of NV destinations, carry two spares if you can.

X1000 on playa crossings when wet, 2 vehicles is a good idea. "Mostly" playas are impassable in the spring. but conditions can change all the time, keep a vigilant eye on the tires, if things get wet, slow way down, if you start to loose traction, back up and get the heck out.

4x4 quads have a tough time on playa mud....
 
i extracted 2 vehicles one-after-the-other once from blackrock playa using a rig leveling product called linx levelers. they are used to level a vehicle out for sleeping comfort. anyhow i have also used timbers once when we had no other materials around, the method for both is to make a little two-track with your materials and back out, then move the materials back and then back out further... its a little tedious but it gets you out :)
 
bkgee said:
i extracted 2 vehicles one-after-the-other once from blackrock playa using a rig leveling product called linx levelers. they are used to level a vehicle out for sleeping comfort. anyhow i have also used timbers once when we had no other materials around, the method for both is to make a little two-track with your materials and back out, then move the materials back and then back out further... its a little tedious but it gets you out :)
Click to expand...

I wondered about those, I have a set around here. Good to know they work, I wasn't sure if they were too slick.
 
Been there done that, many times. I was just on the playa New Years Day getting a quad off from several miles out (close to the point). Having lived in Empire, your best equipment is going to be WATER and SHOES (walk barefoot on wet playa and put the dry shoes on when you get to the train tracks - save you from wet shoe blisters:)!

Something can and usually does go bad when you're "out". Doesn't matter what you drive or what you bring. Being prepared will get you out of a lot of situations but prepare for the worst. Much better to have two vehicles for many reasons.

I don't drive automatic because the starter is a single point of stuck. 2 gas tanks because most gas stations out back only get gas once a week and it's not uncommon to have to wait (or hit up a local ranch -- that may only carry diesel). 2 spare tires, otherwise you have to cut short a trip after one flat (always expect 1, 2 just pisses you off especially when they happen at the same time, and a lot of playa was/is used as bombing range with plenty of sharp "artifacts" so be wary in bare feet.) I carry a dead-man, that was made for a quad and it works well SO LONG AS YOU DON"T BURY THE TIRES. You can let some air out to help float, but that also really seems to speed up the mud compaction.

If you bury the tires in the mud, you will need serious help!!! I cannot express that enough. As soon as you feel the lug, see the temp rise or hear the mud up underneath, veer out to drier areas. Don't stop on wet ground if you can help it. Momentum is priceless. You can use levelers like the links mentioned above but I've not had much luck with them.

One product I would like to see in action (as opposed to eager to try because I hate cleaning playa or it's associated insta-rust) is the air bag that you hook up to your exhaust and slide it under the axle. Seems like it would do much better thanks to Archimedes Principle than the hi-lift. Less weight to carry too.

When on the playa, especially moist, weight makes a difference. Here the lighter J*#p may be a better option. I ponder whether a hi-lift is even a good idea on the playa because the weight/benefit ration is very low.

If you have California plates, nobody is going to stop to help you either. Just say'in...
 
One other trick or two I forgot to mention.

You can bury your spare tire (or two) to give you an anchor. It works so long as you aren't digging your tires in.

If you get to an area with lots of scrub brush and you have plenty of winch rope, you can wrap it around an acre or so of brush and hope!

Lots of fencing, but if you try and winch to it you will not have success. And then you need to go talk to the rancher about fixing it! The one caveat here is there are rocks piled up in fenced columns every so often. Try not to bend the Tposts supports and it can be used at times.

Another thought is that the guys with worn out tires did seem to fare better than those with the big mud lugs. They didn't dig in as deep or as quick, and didn't have any false bravado due to the M/T's. Plus, you will be shocked at how quickly that mud packs up when your tires are throwing it. Not uncommon to be unable to turn after a couple hundred yards.
 
Ultimately, the best things to carry are the cut-ups of the old temporary aircraft runways.
Large light expanded metal plates cut to fit your vehicle.

Just can't seem to find any lately.
 
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