Best Recovery Gear To Add To Your Rig When You Go Snow Wheeling
November 10, 2023
Off-Road Snow Wheeling Checklist, Part 2: Recovery Gear
In our previous piece we told you about all the best things to bring with you when you go out for a day on those snowy trails, especially ones meant to keep you safe, warm, protected, and able to navigate if cell service were to go out. Today, though, we’re gonna switch gears and show you what you should be equipping your rig with to help get you unstuck and moving forward - let’s jump right in and get your off-roader built right!
Table Of Contents
-Winch Shovels & Snatch Blocks
Best Recovery Items To Hook Up To Your Rig
High Lift Jacks
To start, a high lift jack is a great addition to your off-roader and can provide a couple different scenarios to get you out of a situation. You can use it as a come-along, or if you need to lift the vehicle up out of the snow or mud, jacks are great for this purpose too. Of course, you can also utilize these to change your tires if you end up with a flat.
Recovery Straps
Next on the list is recovery straps. Tree savers work awesome for this, not only to wrap around the bark and prevent the tree from getting damaged - if you’re in a situation where you need dual hookup points, tree savers can be a great resource.
There are two different kinds of recovery straps that we like to carry, the first being non-kinetic options. These snatch straps do not stretch, which makes them great for any situation where you need to do a static pull. The other recovery strap that works well is a kinetic rope - these, as the name suggests, stretch and allow kinetic energy to build up in the rope. That way, when you’re pulling a stuck vehicle and you kind of have to jerk it around a bit, the rope will absorb the energy to avoid anything flinging around and hurting someone.
Winch Shovels and Snatch Blocks
Winches are really handy when you’re out on the trails too, along with snatch blocks. If someone is really stuck in the mud, you can hook up a snatch block to a tree saver or a tree (maybe even another vehicle) to multiply the pulling torque of the winch, allowing you to get more leverage to help that person get out of the situation.
If you don’t have a winch mount on the front of your vehicle, it’s fine - you can also pick up a come-along. They usually cost around 40 bucks or so, and already come with their own snatch blocks on there.
One final thing with recovery gear is to also have a shovel along with you when you go out. Shovels can work in a couple different situations, like digging vehicles out of snow or mud or digging a hole in the woods if you have other business to attend to. Shovels make great alternatives if you don’t want to go through the hassle of setting up a winch as well - just dig the hole out, throw some traction pads down, and you should be fine.
Air Compressor
If you’re airing down to go off the trail, a miniature air compressor is a great option for you, or a regular-sized one if you’ve got the space for it. These work great for airing up your tires, but if you do end up puncturing your tires and you need to plug it back up, you can do so and air up as well. A heavier-duty compressor can be used to run air tools too.
Miscellaneous Tools
Speaking of tools, one of our last final items that we’ll go through today are just that - they’re tools. We like to carry little travel packs with the necessary tools to change tires - this can include wrenches, sockets, screwdrivers, gloves, and flashlights, so you always have the proper gear to get back up and going again.
Along with a good tool set, you’ll also need a way to jump your battery, or someone else’s if you’ve come across someone with a dead battery. Nice jumper packs can work wonders for getting you out of some unexpected situations.
Shop Winch and Recovery Gear For Snow-Wheeling at TrailBuilt Off-Road
With all of that, keep in mind that while snow wheeling is undoubtedly a fun, exhilarating way to experience our world, preparing yourself for the journey beforehand is one of the most important things you can do to ensure that you’ve got peace of mind around every turn. Check out our store today where we’ve got plenty of the best recovery products from top brands like Rough Country and much more - once you’re all loaded up, we’ll see you out on the trails!
