Maxtrax or Winch (1 Viewer)

[90WT]

If you could only have one, which would you choose: a set of Maxtrax boards or a winch?

Since I have neither, I need a little help deciding if I should make my next big purchase a set of boards or a winch. When I look at 4 Maxtrax boards at $600, I feel like I'm most of the way to a winch purchase.

My rig is a daily driver and mostly stock, no hard core wheeling. Both options look appealing, but I can't afford both. Looking to expand my range of travel and be able to explore more remote places this winter.

 

[JohnnyOshow22]

I vote winch. I have used maxtraxs a handful of times and I've never been that impressed with them. A winch will get you a lot further than maxtraxs and out of more situations.

 

[REZARF]

Winch all day.

Pro tip: buy a harbor freight/costco (for the warranty) and go through them like the guys on YouTube show how to clean out the old grease and seal them up. I have a buddy who is HARD on gear who uses one of the HF ones (Badlands maybe?) 12k pound winch and after he cleaned, lubed and sealed it up, he has had 100's of pulls on his ranch and the trail without issue.

Water and heat kill winches, once you dial them in and wire them up right they can be a HUGE asset on the trail.

MaxTraxx have their place, I think they're especially suited for sand extractions.

For what it is worth @Rambo Penguin has a set of the X-Bull recovery boards he's used and praises... and they are under $50 shipped on eBay for a pair.

One note is a winch is only as good as your vehicle anchors and associated gear i would recommend at a minimum:

• Solid recovery points front and rear.
• invest in quality shackles, soft or hard.
• A good snatch block.

Nice to have but not required

• Synthetic line
• soft shackles
• Factor 55 end link
• another snatch block

 

[secretasiansam]

I own a winch. I've never used maxtraxs. I found a used warn on Craig's list for $450.

 

[ttFJC]

+1 winch

 

[Rambo Penguin]

I'll chime in for "recovery boards" but not maxtrax. I use X bull ones (Just ebay search X bull recovery boards) and love them.

I wont argue against winches other than they are expensive and heavy, but i will throw out some positives for recovery boards. Buckle up.

• Cheap
  • If you go with X bull you can get 4 for less than $150
• Light weight
  • They weigh almost nothing so it's easy on your rig and you as you move them around
• Portable
  • I have 2 rigs that I wheel, and i can move the boards from one to the other in 30 seconds... can't do that with a winch
  • Also this allows me to get other people out when i'm on the trail
• Shovel
  • They double as a shovel.. which means everyone can help you dig
• Snow
  • Nothing. I mean nothing i've seen is better for getting out of the snow. A winch can drag you around but i'm halfway down the trail using boards by the time you get everything hooked up and pulling
  • side note: we live in a place where you can get stuck in the snow just going to the grocery store so that's handy
• Easy
  • No wiring, no bumper mount, no spooling, no controllers, no weight, no fire hazard, no problems. Even if you break these in half they still work almost exactly the same!

Needless to say, i went with boards. I just makes sense for me. I do a pretty good amount of wheeling and like to go solo too. I've gotten myself out of plenty of situations using these.

 

[brew8]

I have both, winch will recover you from most problems but if your stuck in spring snow that's heavy and soggy the tracks will help a bunch, you can lift the rig with a high lift jack put in the tracks and the winch will be more productive and you wont have to haul wood to put under the tires to drive out. by the way for as much as you will use tracks you don't need the expensive one unless you need to cross deep holes where you need lots of support.

 

[Kyitty]

Winch for sure.

 

[secretasiansam]

Today I wish I had both, but a big win for the winch. I went up to goose creek for a quick Nordic ski.
I got to the lower turn off and 5 Toyota's were parked at the bottom. I went a little further to find a stuck tacoma. I winched him backwards a couple times.
The third time he got stuck was at the bottom turn off. His buddy tried pulling him out and couldn't get any traction. I hooked to the forerunner who was hooked to the Tacoma and pulled them both out.
We chained up and made it to the trail head! A very short distance but long duration ski later we were headed down. An 83' Toyota truck was so close to the top, but not going to make it on her own.
I winched her most the way up the hill, but eventually turned around and yanked her up the hill.
Trying to turn her around I buried my self to the frame. Spent way too long shoveling, tried winching and failed. Dug some more, still super stuck. Tried winching again and finally got her out.
Max Trac would have aided but ultimately we'd still be up there with out the winch.
So again , big day for the winch. I did 5 or six back to back pulls, not a hiccup from the old warn.

 

[planomateo]

Both, each have their use.

I've had to use my winch a few times in the hills where I live, helped a neighbor get unstuck and used the winch a few weeks ago get me outta trouble when the roads were super icy.

I'll be getting a set of studded snow tires for next winter. I've learned to run on the edge of the roads in the snow for traction is the way to do it.

 

[GRiP]

i would get both i scored xbull recovery track 4 off em cheap off ebay work the same as maxtrax both will scrap out and loose some off the traction knobs on both sides have a warn winch in the shed (that i use occasionally but its on a winch backet that connects to rear tow bar) but have been useing a tungsten winch got off ebay for under $400, the ebay winch that i got does like a good dunking in mud or water its fully sealed the control box could be a bit better doesnt seem to have a proper uv rated plastic like the maxtrax or x bull tracks but i will move to engine bay eventually. xbull vs maxtrax ive seen no difference they both do the same job when needed i would get xbull tracks and a good cheaper winch than spend 2-3k on a warn and maxtrax the money saved can be better spent on other parts/upgrades