Anyone use these before?
Pull-Pal winch anchoring device for 4x4s, Jeeps, SUV, ATV, off-road, military use
Pull-Pal winch anchoring device for 4x4s, Jeeps, SUV, ATV, off-road, military use
Pull Pal? I thought that was your buddy who offers to dig you out?!?
- Thread starter DrivingMissRosey
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Yes, we have used them and sold them for years. If you live in an area where anchor points are scarce they work great. It is essentially a giant spade that can dig into the ground and hold the weight of the truck. They are bulky but fold up fairly flat, if you have the space they are a great tool to have.
-Alex
-Alex
Uh, read through this thread before you make any decisions on the pull pal. If you do decide to get and carry one, I'd also carry a good sledgehammer to get it started in hard ground. If it can't dig into the terrain, it's useless. Just my .02 
Edit: Pull pal chit chat starts about post #19
Edit: Pull pal chit chat starts about post #19
Last edited:
We have used them. Never been happy with them in swampy or rocky terrain. The couple of times that we used them in the perfect blend of muck and clay they worked okay... They can be a much bigger PITA to get started into the ground that the magazine reviews (paid advertisements really) make it seem.
they are heavy and take up a bit of space in the rig too.
I am/we are testing a different approach that seems to work real well... it is more work to set than a pul-pal is (when everything is ideal for the Pul-pal anyway), but they set in a wider variety of terrain and hold better once set. Basically it is an oversized duckbill. Still testing several different prototype designs, but so far we are happy with the approach.
Mark...
Mark...
they are heavy and take up a bit of space in the rig too.
I am/we are testing a different approach that seems to work real well... it is more work to set than a pul-pal is (when everything is ideal for the Pul-pal anyway), but they set in a wider variety of terrain and hold better once set. Basically it is an oversized duckbill. Still testing several different prototype designs, but so far we are happy with the approach.
Mark...
Mark...
I'm gonna bump this thread. A lot of the old photos don't come up any more. I can't afford a $360 USD Pull Pal
So first, Mark W., haven't seen you around much lately, but do you have a pic of what you have developed? I figure
in 4 yrs you've worked out the bugs.
What other recovery devices have people made, and used enough to say they work?? Pics please, I'm heading up north
next month and hoped I could have an idea of something I could make up.
So first, Mark W., haven't seen you around much lately, but do you have a pic of what you have developed? I figure
in 4 yrs you've worked out the bugs.
What other recovery devices have people made, and used enough to say they work?? Pics please, I'm heading up north
next month and hoped I could have an idea of something I could make up.
those pull-pal style anchors are quite popular out here, ours are probably a little bit heavier and braced/gusseted a bit more than those ones, they suit our soil/clay terrain we have but are useless in rock but then just about any sort of anchor will be useless in hard rock, they hold relatively well in soil and you drive straight over the top of them and hook them onto the back of the truck and pull them straight back out when you've finished, when you've got a good crew of guys it makes winching really easy and fast
Thanks for the info. But I have to laugh, 'crew of guys' - there is just me. So the Pull Pal is the choice over
there then? I'm heading up north where it is mud and slippery. Sometimes, the trees are just too small to
use.
there then? I'm heading up north where it is mud and slippery. Sometimes, the trees are just too small to
use.
haha yeah a pull pal will be hard work if you haven't got someone to set it for you we get someone to hang onto to them (or sometimes lay on them) to guide them in straight when you put tension on the cable, we have lots of teams events with 3 trucks so with 3 drivers and 3 co-drivers there's typically plenty of people to sort out the winching and anchors
muddy terrain with small trees is ideal for those anchors if the soil is really soft we try to set the anchor behind small trees or bushes so the root mass under the ground helps the anchor bite in and hold without ripping back out
muddy terrain with small trees is ideal for those anchors if the soil is really soft we try to set the anchor behind small trees or bushes so the root mass under the ground helps the anchor bite in and hold without ripping back out
Thanks for the info!!
@cruiserpilot , I'm curious about what @Mark W came up with too!! It's almost entirely rock in Central Nevada and generally no rocks large enough to use as anchor points.
Does anyone have any ideas that might work in a, primarily, scree or talus environment?
Thanks!
I think the important thing is the ability to dig in, without 'plowing out'. Hope that make sense, it could be difficult to have
the blade penetrate into harder scree, talus. Nice thing about talus rock, it is pretty self binding, it you can get enough together in
the right way. I'm looking at spending some time in the Yukon, and its mud, muskeg, and black spruce. I will also be solo, making my
trepidation a bit high at a couple of the routes I've planned.
In the mountains, with a really hard ground you'd have to have another guy to stand on it, and keep penetration into the ground
going. I wonder if there is a ridge on the top to pound on with a hammer to help ground penetration?
the blade penetrate into harder scree, talus. Nice thing about talus rock, it is pretty self binding, it you can get enough together in
the right way. I'm looking at spending some time in the Yukon, and its mud, muskeg, and black spruce. I will also be solo, making my
trepidation a bit high at a couple of the routes I've planned.
In the mountains, with a really hard ground you'd have to have another guy to stand on it, and keep penetration into the ground
going. I wonder if there is a ridge on the top to pound on with a hammer to help ground penetration?
Yeah... I'm always solo, except for my dogs ... Not quite the same as the Yukon, but very remote and unforgiving nonetheless.
The environment here typically makes getting stuck unlikely. There's so scree and talus, but there are definitely situations where my winch or Hi-Lift could prove handy. I just need to find a way of anchoring...
T-Posts are driven with a special two-handed driver that is lifted up the post and slammed down. We used them successfully in Central Texas, in very rocky ground. But, T-Posts are not nearly sturdy enough to anchor a winch.
I'm thinking of using the T-Post driver to try to drive a length of 3/4" rebar, at an angle, sloping away from the winch. Maybe 3' lengths, sharpened to a point, driven 2' into the scree/talus.
I could pair them up to gain additional stability...
Not sure how far they could be driven... Nor, whether they could be removed afterward...
I guess I'll have to experiment...
I am also considering using old leaf springs, ground to a sharp point, driven, at an angle, away from the winch, with the curve down... Again, it could be doubled up... Again, can I drive it? Again, can it be removed?
Looking for ideas, for an environment with very rare winch anchor points.
The environment here typically makes getting stuck unlikely. There's so scree and talus, but there are definitely situations where my winch or Hi-Lift could prove handy. I just need to find a way of anchoring...
T-Posts are driven with a special two-handed driver that is lifted up the post and slammed down. We used them successfully in Central Texas, in very rocky ground. But, T-Posts are not nearly sturdy enough to anchor a winch.
I'm thinking of using the T-Post driver to try to drive a length of 3/4" rebar, at an angle, sloping away from the winch. Maybe 3' lengths, sharpened to a point, driven 2' into the scree/talus.
I could pair them up to gain additional stability...
Not sure how far they could be driven... Nor, whether they could be removed afterward...
I guess I'll have to experiment...
I am also considering using old leaf springs, ground to a sharp point, driven, at an angle, away from the winch, with the curve down... Again, it could be doubled up... Again, can I drive it? Again, can it be removed?
Looking for ideas, for an environment with very rare winch anchor points.
Here is a scanned ground anchor instruction that came with mine:
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B6D936BcfemZSVBTRFJocVpvOVk/edit
just takes a lot of time to dig in (sometimes bury the spare tire also works) but it works best in sand/dunes
When there is no tree very handy, but I also carry a high lift, electric winch, manual winch, air jack.
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B6D936BcfemZSVBTRFJocVpvOVk/edit
just takes a lot of time to dig in (sometimes bury the spare tire also works) but it works best in sand/dunes
When there is no tree very handy, but I also carry a high lift, electric winch, manual winch, air jack.
Re: ground anchor above. I've seen a you tube video comparision using that ground anchor. It apparently plows really badly, and is
not very effective. This was in direct competition with Pull Pal. But looking at those instructions, where a tire/log/other unsinkable
item can be used could be a real difference. I for one am not ever going to use a spare tire.
Last thing I need is a buggered spare from 6 to 12000lbs of force on it.
Can you post a pic of that T-post? 30 yrs ago when I was a land surveyor on the Alaska Hwy, we used 2 or 3 6' solid bars pounded
in a row, then chained them along the ground together. This proved to be effective, but we had work trucks. Weight wasn't even
any kind of concern, and there was always 2 or 3 trucks and lots of guys. In my Land cruiser, I can't manage that much weight.
not very effective. This was in direct competition with Pull Pal. But looking at those instructions, where a tire/log/other unsinkable
item can be used could be a real difference. I for one am not ever going to use a spare tire.
Last thing I need is a buggered spare from 6 to 12000lbs of force on it.
Can you post a pic of that T-post? 30 yrs ago when I was a land surveyor on the Alaska Hwy, we used 2 or 3 6' solid bars pounded
in a row, then chained them along the ground together. This proved to be effective, but we had work trucks. Weight wasn't even
any kind of concern, and there was always 2 or 3 trucks and lots of guys. In my Land cruiser, I can't manage that much weight.
I will be carrying two extra 150' lengths. But in the north, sizable tree anchors can be literally out of sight.
You can get T-Posts, drivers, pullers, etc from many brick-and-mortar stores (Home Depot, Lowes, walMart, tractor Supply, etc.) as well as online.
THIS T-POST is from Home Depot. It's been quite a few years, I've never seen one this heavy duty. It looks promising.
T-POST DRIVER. This is the only type driver I've ever used. If I can drive posts in TX, I may be able to drive them here...
T-POST PULLER. I've never used this, but. I t looks promising.
@Tapage I'm in a BIG desert, with BIG mountains... Often times, I'd need 200-300 MILES of extended winch lines to reach a sizeable tree.
THIS T-POST is from Home Depot. It's been quite a few years, I've never seen one this heavy duty. It looks promising.
T-POST DRIVER. This is the only type driver I've ever used. If I can drive posts in TX, I may be able to drive them here...
T-POST PULLER. I've never used this, but. I t looks promising.
@Tapage I'm in a BIG desert, with BIG mountains... Often times, I'd need 200-300 MILES of extended winch lines to reach a sizeable tree.
Thanks for the info!
I'm afraid it would take longer to bury a spare here than it would to hike for help.
And, like cruiserpilot said, burying a spare here would really bugger it up! No sand, no dunes, no trees... Sometimes there are boulders big enough, several hundred yards away. Most often, not.
The T-posts look somewhat promising, at $4 ea not exactly a huge financial outlay either. Where I'm going, a 3 lb sledge will pound
them in easy enough. A jack-all can be used as a puller. I would use 3 T-posts in a fan, or 3 in a combined row. I'm not sure how
structurally tough they are, have to see if they would have a propensity to bend or not. I've seen them before, never thought
of them for this use.
them in easy enough. A jack-all can be used as a puller. I would use 3 T-posts in a fan, or 3 in a combined row. I'm not sure how
structurally tough they are, have to see if they would have a propensity to bend or not. I've seen them before, never thought
of them for this use.
Yeah, they're promising... Sounds like they would work for you.
I'm just not sure I can drive them in far enough to anchor them. Gonna have to try it. I can pull them with my Hi-Lift.
What are the two 150' lengths you'll be carrying? Winch line or some type of rope?
I'm just not sure I can drive them in far enough to anchor them. Gonna have to try it. I can pull them with my Hi-Lift.
What are the two 150' lengths you'll be carrying? Winch line or some type of rope?