So, how do you recover a vehicle stuck in the mud with flashlights, jackets, water filters toilet paper etc?
I thought it was a recovery gear thread.
guess this is all tools, all emergency supplies, all trail fix items and camping supplies as well. Sorry this is confusing
The OP asked what sort of recovery gear we kept in our daily driver on a daily basis. Actually he kinda asked a broader question too: "What do you always have in your rig for daily driving?" He did not ask what you carried on a daily basis specifically in case you came across someone stuck in the mud. I am pretty sure his intent was not that narrow. Maybe it was. I can only go by what he actually wrote. So personally I will not bitch that some responses were a bit broader than they might have been. Now if you start listing/bragging about every thing you carry around for those spur of the moment vast Overlanding Expeditions to... wherever it is that that you day dream of "overlanding" to someday... yep, I agree that is not what he asked about.
But... you do not consider a flashlight part of basic "always have it in the rig" recovery gear? I sure do. Ever crawled under an unfamiliar rig after dark? Ever stopped to help someone out on your way to dinner? Been there done that more than a few times. A tarp or beat up jacket or even coveralls might come in real handy as you kneel, crawl or slide around in the dirt mud or snow. Nope, I do not carry either of the latter two in the rig every day. Not purposely as part of always in the rig recovery gear. Well, I guess I do in the winter... which can be long sometimes.
Does helping some cutie with a dead battery not qualify as "recovery" in a daily driver environment? I will call it that. Helping her get back on the road with a fixed flat is as much an urban recovery as tugging her out of a ditch I would say. That is just as true if she is beside the road 50 miles from the nearest ANYTHING. More so. Got a few new phone numbers that way... and some brownies and other thank yous too.
And that reminds me... I need to get some sort of compressor/tire pump back in my rig as a daily carry. I ran over a broken screw driver the other day and luckily was already at a friend's house when I came out to discover a very flat tire. Plug kit or not, that would have sucked if I had still been on the road when the tire died on me.
Would you EVER consider yourself equipped for any recovery without at least a minimum of tools? You know, for loosening stuck shackles, fixing a broke wire on a winch remote... whatever the F might happen at any given time that you can not remedy with your super duper mechanics fingernails. I know that you have some sort of tools in the rig and surely you would use them in a recovery if needed.
I guess I won't claim that I carry a life jacket as part of my daily driver recovery gear however. That would REALLY be silly.
I do keep my throwrope/bag in the truck 90% of the time. Never needed it to help any cutie or clueless wannabe adventurer who pulled into an unplowed turn out that was deeper than she/he thought though. Not yet.
But it does not take up much room, and yes, it is recovery gear. So I guess I could count it?
Anyway, food for thought, counterpoint or whatever.
Mark...
