cheap snow recovery stuff?

P

pbcolt

New member
So Ill be in Redding and Tahoe this December, and with a 4x4 and the off road discipline of a 12 year old, I'm sure I'll be getting stuck in snow at least once. My tires, although they still have a good amount of tread, are goodyear rt/s's. Definitely not the worlds best tire.

Question: is there anything I can bring along, so when I do get stuck, will help to get myself out? I was thinking shovel, plywood, anything else? I will be out by myself, so a recovery strap won't do me much good.

Hopefully 4Lo and a locker will keep me from being stuck, but you never know.
 
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A strap, so someone can yank you out, or better yet, you yank them out.
Traveling in isolated areas: a sleeping bag, some muchies and water.
From my experience, if roads are that bad, they simply close them anyway.
 
Survival gear, food, water, sleeping bag(s), first aid kit. Tire chains don't help much when your stuck but if installed before going through bad areas can really make the difference. Tow strap and plenty of time to travel are other things that help.
 
pbcolt said:
So Ill be in Redding and Tahoe this December, and with a 4x4 and the off road discipline of a 12 year old, I'm sure I'll be getting stuck in snow at least once. My tires, although they still have a good amount of tread, are goodyear rt/s's. Definitely not the worlds best tire.

Question: is there anything I can bring along, so when I do get stuck, will help to get myself out? I was thinking shovel, plywood, anything else? I will be out by myself, so a recovery strap won't do me much good.

Hopefully 4Lo and a locker will keep me from being stuck, but you never know.
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Watch out when the road tilts -- any direction. A shovel can get you out of most reasonable stucks on flat ground but moving the truck around on a hill to get unstuck can get you hopelessly stuck. Depending on snow condition, traction can be much worse than you assume and the truck can end up places you'd never expect.
 
Fill a small gas can(or similar) with a mixture of sand and salt. If you have the room it might be a good idea to have them separated in two containers.
 
StreetKill831 said:
Fill a small gas can(or similar) with a mixture of sand and salt. If you have the room it might be a good idea to have them separated in two containers.
Click to expand...

That sounds like a really good idea. Thanks. I'm not going THAT far off the main road, maybe a few miles. Up in Mt. Lassen if anyone knows the area...

Thanks for your idea too JB, as for the food/water etc. Ill take a little, but again, not going on an expedition.
 
As far as food guys, I think everyone is going a little overboard. You shouldn't be going so far out that it will take you more than an hour/ hour and a half to walk to the road in deep snow. I would say some trail mix, power bars, and several bottles of water would suffice.

Other things that should be a no brainer:

-Snow pants/jacket
-Snow boots
-Extra socks(thick, they can be stored in the boots)
-Gloves
-Snow shovel (the ones made for snowboarding work great, compact/lite/strong)
-Lots of those instant hand warmers

Am I missing anything?
 
StreetKill831 said:
As far as food guys, I think everyone is going a little overboard. You shouldn't be going so far out that it will take you more than an hour/ hour and a half to walk to the road in deep snow. I would say some trail mix, power bars, and several bottles of water would suffice.

Other things that should be a no brainer:

-Snow pants/jacket
-Snow boots
-Extra socks(thick, they can be stored in the boots)
-Gloves
-Snow shovel (the ones made for snowboarding work great, compact/lite/strong)
-Lots of those instant hand warmers

Am I missing anything?
Click to expand...

Pretty much all common sense stuff. Just anxious to get out and have some fun. It'll be my first time playing with my 4Runner in snow.

Just looked at my tires, and found an m+s rating. Maybe they wont be completely horrible in the snow.
 
I always bring (2) 2X1 plywood to put underneath the tires to gain traction in case my 4Lo don't cut it i'm really stuck. I'm from old skewl.
 
Have this guy escort you.

IMG_0439.jpg~original


With all that stuff bolted-on it must be good for something.
 
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I would also suggest some cheem lights, LED flashlight and some extra batteries. I never leave home without the Surefire, but I also keep one in the 4R at all times as well and have 3 chem lights in there as well. Flares could also be good to have. Good luck on the trip. I think everyone else pretty much described what's in my daily road trip bag besides bringing some heat and extra mags. :biggrin2:
 
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a hi lift jack can be used as a hand winch with the attachment kit, four 1'x4' strips of industrial carpet can be used instead of the plywood, and they take up less room. a yank strap would be good incase you get stuck and some one is passing but but doesnt have one. chains are a very good idea, put them on all 4 wheels. the RUD chains can be installed even after you get stuck, just have to dig a little. the biggest concern is protecting yourself from the cold. so warm clothes, a change of dry clothes, sleeping bag and such. you can go a lot longer with out food or water out there than you can with out dry warm clothes. also careful on off camber roads with the locker locked. you will slide sideways a lot easier with it locked. just my .02
 
An old coffee can filled with little candles is handy, too, assuming you brought matches.

I'm intrigued by the hi lift jack being used as a hand winch. How would I do this?
 
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