Tire ground anchor

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B

badlander

10 Year 15 Year
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Sep 2, 2010
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Sarasota, Florida
I've heard you guys talk about using a tire for an anchor but I'm not sure what the best way to bury it would be.

Vertically or flat?

I live in Florida so I could probably go either way most of the time since in most places the ground is pretty soft.
If vertically, what's the best way to attach your cable or strap?
Thanks,
cp
 
In the old days, practically everyone had a four-way lug wrench. The cable was supposed to go through the center of the tire, then hook at the center-cross of the four-way. Bury tire and winch away.

Fortunately, never got in that situation. I suspect if you were planning to change any tire with the lug wrench, you should do that before using it as part of your winch anchor. I figure the winch would likely put the pretzel on the lug wrench.

Lacking a lug wrench or not wanting to bend yours, loop through the center and around the outside of the tire a couple of wraps and try to hook it up back to the cable so you don't damage it. Bury it deep, because once you loosen dirt, it often doesn't hold as well as it might seem.
 
Plan on spending a couple/several hours digging a deep hole. even in the most "hole friendly" ground.


Used to be common advice in all the magazines. I doubt that many of the experts suggesting it had ever actually tried it.


At the very least you need a deep hole and a slot so that the winch cable is pulling the tire sideways against the side of the hole and not just up and out of the loose dirt you have piled back on top of it.


Mark...
 
By the time you get a tire off, a hole dug for the tire (twice as deep as you think it should be) and a slot dug for your winch line you probably could have dug your truck out!

You can also use strong trees, really anything that provides a strong anchor point.

Disclaimer - I've never done this and I never plan to either!
 
Yeah. I just realized, if I'm stuck I probably won't even be able to get my tire OUT. Mine is still mounted underneath!
Now that in itself is a good enough reason to go get that Slee rear bumper and swing-out!! (In my dreams)
Seriously though, thanks for the info everyone.
cp
 
eventhough said:
Also, when many think they are stuck they really aren't. Realignment, rock stacking, a bit of digging, maybe some more skinny pedal, and often people can get themselves unstuck easier than they think they can.
Click to expand...

Maybe you don't understand. This is only done as a last resort, when all other choices/methods have failed and there is no secure winch point, miles from nowhere and you're by yourself. You do what you have to do to get unstuck. It's not pretty, you're filthy and tired, maybe even bloody. But you better still have your wits about you 'cause things could get worse, believe it or not. You'll swear at the end of this ordeal, that "This will never happen again!!!" Only those that have been there, can understand and appreciate what I'm saying. It's a learning experience - trial and error - that's how it's done. If your lucky, you'll find large rock(s) or boulder(s) buried that you can wedge the spare behind. Contrary to what you'd like (nice soft dirt or sand), the harder the ground, the better. As Mike mentioned, loose dirt is useless. In that stuff, you'll have to bury the tire 6 feet deep if you're good and stuck.
 
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I have used this method

i was stuck for 38 hrs in my old 2000 expediton on 44 boggers in bottomless florida muck south of lake o. first a f250 tried snatching till he broke his d. shaft. then my buddy brought a case loader to help me, it got stuck. i had a warn 16k winch and nothing but tiny paper trees for miles i dug a hole in front of the truck about 2 ft (at that point the muck just flowed like jello) and ran winch cable down to the last wrap. i then dug a pit (read crater) deep as i could about 4'x6' wide and burried my spare 44" tire i hooked the winch cable to my high lift jack under the tire through the rim.i then back filled the hole and winched it 2' at a time digging small holes in front of truck till it was finally free. after that i decided to buy a smaller suv. it was a last resort but it got me home i was not going to leave my rig in the woods to be looted, and the towing companies couldnt get to me. :beer:
 
80t0ylc said:
Maybe you don't understand. This is only done as a last resort, when all other choices/methods have failed and there is no secure winch point, miles from nowhere and you're by yourself. You do what you have to do to get unstuck. It's not pretty, you're filthy and tired, maybe even bloody. But you better still have your wits about you 'cause things could get worse, believe it or not. You'll swear at the end of this ordeal, that "This will never happen again!!!" Only those that have been there, can understand and appreciate what I'm saying. It's a learning experience - trial and error - that's how it's done. If your lucky, you'll find large rock(s) or boulder(s) buried that you can wedge the spare behind. Contrary to what you'd like (nice soft dirt or sand), the harder the ground, the better. As Mike mentioned, loose dirt is useless. In that stuff, you'll have to bury the tire 6 feet deep if you're good and stuck.
Click to expand...

Wow - why are you so ticked off? Take it down a notch sparky.

</thread hijack>
 
badlander said:
Yeah. I just realized, if I'm stuck I probably won't even be able to get my tire OUT. Mine is still mounted underneath!
Now that in itself is a good enough reason to go get that Slee rear bumper and swing-out!! (In my dreams)
Seriously though, thanks for the info everyone.
cp
Click to expand...

Slee makes really nice stuff.

And many people don't keep their recovery kits close at hand. If your spare tire is going to be used as a recovery piece then it has to be accessible. I think that is a great reason to buy a rear swing-out! :hillbilly: If you were just stuck in mud though you could conceivably dig your spare out but I picture that as being far from pleasant.

Speaking of - I was recovering a rolled Disco I about 2 months ago. The driver's recovery kit decided to exit the vehicle on it's own b/c it wasn't tied down. The driver was lucky that the kit didn't kill him (hi-lift and 50 cal ammo can) and also was lucky the others had enough gear to get his rolled butt back up the hill.
 
Wow,
Good stories and great information guys!
Thanks for all the help!
cp
 
eventhough said:
Wow - why are you so ticked off? Take it down a notch sparky.

</thread hijack>
Click to expand...

:confused: Who's ticked off? If you're running an Overland support business, you should know this stuff. Obviously you either didn't think it was necessary to mention or just plain forgot. Instead of answering the OP's question, sounds like you're trying to baffle him with the obvious. I think it goes with out saying that a wheeler would try all the things you mentioned, plus several other tricks, before they'd start digging a hole to bury their spare. Although, I do agree that the spare needs to be accessible, if you want to use it for recovery. Yes, the rear mounted spare tire swing out has hidden beauty, sometimes!


eventhough said:
...............Disclaimer - I've never done this and I never plan to either!
Click to expand...

BTW, what does this mean? (From your first post, #4) If it means that you'll always have something to winch from close by, you might need to have a reality check, "sparky". It's usually when "plans" go awry that you need to bury your spare.
 
Whadda ya say we leave the PMS bitchiness in the chat forum.


Mark...
 
Mark W said:
Whadda ya say we leave the PMS bitchiness in the chat forum.


Mark...
Click to expand...

I agree, and now back to your regularly scheduled program.

Burying a tire in this fashion for an anchor point makes me think about a few things that could help others from learning the hard way. Where I wheel mostly (eastern US) I 99.9+% of the time have a tree within 80' (winch line without extension), a 50' extension lets me reach further out, but I totally see the case when this won't even work out even in the east. I have never been a fan of digging with traditional rounded point shovels. You always seem to hit a root, rock, or some sort of obstruction. I've had better luck with a trench shovel (see attached picture) that has a narrower blade. You can't move as much dirt in one scoop but the dirt you dig in is seldom nice and soft unless you are buried in mud, and ih8mud. I also wheel with others and seldom alone so that gives me another out. You'd be surprised at how many times I've run across someone on the trail who has a flat point shovel to dig with. The trench shovel with a short handle is also easier to store - especially inside your vehicle. A pick axe would be nice to have in this situation also but you can only carry so many tools in your vehicle.

The main point I was trying to make briefly earlier without hijacking the thread (apologies to the OP) is people often jump past simpler, more efficient recovery options. I've unstuck numerous wheelers buy simply having them reverse out, realign, stack a rock in the right spot, or use their traction devices (i.e.: their lockers were not locked, ATRAC was not on, they were in 4hi instead of 4lo, etc). If you are stuck on the trail, or really stuck like a Rover I recovered last month that rolled 25' into a bottom, it always pays to step back and reevaluate things. Most often if you jump ahead too fast and rush things you significantly raise the chance of getting hurt. There are huge forces, sometimes dynamic, involved in recoveries. These forces can easily injure or kill.

Case in point - I sponsored a Rover event last year where a D90 was 'stuck' on a hill climb and had already burnt out their winch. All I did to get him unstuck was get him to reverse to a good spot where he could gain an appropriate run up, and not let off the gas as soon as his tire first spun.

Just trying to help out here - offer some options. If I ever have to bury a tire I will - I just hope that I never have to. If/when I do dig a hole to bury a tire I'll make sure to dig the trench (not a hole) as narrow as possible so the tire slides nice and tight down into the trench. I'll also tilt the trench so it is at a 90 degree angle to my vehicle and winch. I wouldn't want any 'wiggle room' for the tire to work its way loose. The last thing I want to do after I spend hours digging a hole is to have to do it all over again.

:cheers:
wood_drain_spade_6047641.webp
 
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This thread is chat bound any way so I'll add...When you've exhausted all the options and you are near to the point of having to bury a tire to winch to there are a few personalities in this thread that'd be going in the hole with the tire.

I've learned to take notes about who to wheel with. If I can't manage a conversation on the internet with them it's going to be a long day, no matter how short the trail.
 
Just leave me one hand to dig out of the hole with Bruce! ;)


Mark...
 
Mark W said:
Just leave me one hand to dig out of the hole with Bruce! ;)


Mark...
Click to expand...

I think we've proved that in the face of adversity we're more likely to be co-conspirators than adversaries.
 
LOL.... A couple of times and more. :)


Mark...
 
badlander said:
Wow,
Good stories and great information guys!
Thanks for all the help!
cp
Click to expand...

Sorry about the previous chit chat posts. Steve (eventhough) & I are close to being on the same page through some PMs. But my main reason for this post is to ask you if you've ever heard of the Pull-Pal? Check it out. It's a hell of a lot more effective than burying your spare tire. Kind of spendy, though.
 
80t0ylc said:
Sorry about the previous chit chat posts. Steve (eventhough) & I are close to being on the same page through some PMs. But my main reason for this post is to ask you if you've ever heard of the Pull-Pal? Check it out. It's a hell of a lot more effective than burying your spare tire. Kind of spendy, though.
Click to expand...

We be cool Yo!

Pull pals are big too. I like gear, but you eventually run out of room. I'm building up a trailer but that is another story. In the southeast we normally have plenty of anchor spots. The desert is another story.
 
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