Does anyone use bridging ladders for bridging?

[Lindenwood]

I was thinking about picking up a pair of those Crux sand / bridging ladders, or perhaps building a set of my own ladders. However, I am curious if the extra ~30lb and moderate increase in bulk would be worth it over a pair of MaxTrax or Treds.

My wife and I bought the 4runner to explore, especially out West (expecting a move to NM within a year). We intend to complement it with an offroad-centric teardrop trailer. In my mind, it makes sense to have a single set of recovery devices that can pull triple-duty as basic traction aids in sand or muddy roads, bridges to help ease over rougher obstacles, or as something that can be packed under a jacked-up wheel should it fall into a rut or get stuck in a hole.

I have read myriad articles, blogs, and forum posts around the web about the pros and cons of ladders vs MaxTraxx-style devices. But, I havent been able to pin down whether or not brudging is a common use (or, if it is only uncommon because so few people have brisging ladders actually capable of bridging).

Thoughts?

Thanks!

 

[Engineer]

If they are the same footprint as a normal traction mat I don't see what you have to loose but I don't think I have ever seen a photo on here or someone actually needed to "bridge" a gap. We are not in the Congo and almost every spot I have come upon that needed a bridge, already had one built, sketchy sure but better than or a bigger span than any bridging device I could ever carry would provide.

 

[m85476585]

I haven't seen those before, but that looks awesome. They hardly cost more than Maxtrax.

There are lots of spots where they would be useful, such as getting out of a wash, anywhere the road is washed out, getting over sections of deep clay, climbing large rocks, etc.

The extended length looks handy if you have a place to mount them.

 

[acolle]

The only time I've seen bridging in use was at a demo event. I've seen ladders used (on the trail) mostly for traction.

 

[1engineer]

Please don't get caught up in the "mod hype." Think for a minute: No matter where you go in North America (and Mexico), what are your chances that A) You need to bridge a gap and B) If you do need to bridge a gap that it won't be a foot too long for your bridges? As [MENTION=96008]Engineer[/MENTION] said, you are not going through uncharted Amazon jungle. You are going to go where thousands have already been, and without bridging ladders lol. Get a set of max trax if you must spend money on stuff.

People have this romantic notion of going off exploring in the US and that they need a Unimog to go there. While a Unimog is nice, it's about as practical as a bridging ladder. It's the US and if you go somewhere where you need a short temporary bridge, chances are the 4Runner is not the vehicle that got you there.

You need stuff like this where there are no roads, trails or anything else. When you start exploring those places you need more that bridging ladders. You hike, bike or use a dirt bike.

 

[m85476585]

Please don't get caught up in the "mod hype." Think for a minute: No matter where you go in North America (and Mexico), what are your chances that A) You need to bridge a gap and B) If you do need to bridge a gap that it won't be a foot too long for your bridges? As [MENTION=96008]Engineer[/MENTION] said, you are not going through uncharted Amazon jungle. You are going to go where thousands have already been, and without bridging ladders lol. Get a set of max trax if you must spend money on stuff.

People have this romantic notion of going off exploring in the US and that they need a Unimog to go there. While a Unimog is nice, it's about as practical as a bridging ladder. It's the US and if you go somewhere where you need a short temporary bridge, chances are the 4Runner is not the vehicle that got you there.

You need stuff like this where there are no roads, trails or anything else. When you start exploring those places you need more that bridging ladders. You hike, bike or use a dirt bike.

They are too short for any serious bridging. You'd probably want at least a foot of bridge on solid ground on either side, so you can bridge a 2ft span with the standard ones or a ~3ft span with the extended ones. The only place I can think of where the bridging feature would be useful is if the road is washed out due to erosion. It happens plenty out west, particularly in sandy areas like Utah, and there are lots of roads that get basically no maintenance. I can also think of tons of places where a sturdy ramp would be useful when a road has just a few obstacles that are too tall to crawl up, particularly if you haven't done other mods for more clearance. Those are probably not trails I'd bring a trailer on, though.

They are $350 for a pair of standard length, which looks like only $50 more than maxtrax. I don't know if there are any cheaper maxtrax type options, but only a little more for something you can use in more situations seems worth it.

 

[1engineer]

They are too short for any serious bridging. You'd probably want at least a foot of bridge on solid ground on either side, so you can bridge a 2ft span with the standard ones or a ~3ft span with the extended ones. The only place I can think of where the bridging feature would be useful is if the road is washed out due to erosion. It happens plenty out west, particularly in sandy areas like Utah, and there are lots of roads that get basically no maintenance. I can also think of tons of places where a sturdy ramp would be useful when a road has just a few obstacles that are too tall to crawl up, particularly if you haven't done other mods for more clearance. Those are probably not trails I'd bring a trailer on, though.

They are $350 for a pair of standard length, which looks like only $50 more than maxtrax. I don't know if there are any cheaper maxtrax type options, but only a little more for something you can use in more situations seems worth it.

Nothing wrong with a maxtrax device. My point is this: Your tires are around 32" outside diameter. This means you can safely cross around a two foot crack with no ladder.

If you are ascending a ledge that is too high? Stack rocks. Will be much safer and you don't have to pay for or haul them around. There is no shame in stacking rocks.

Again, for soft ground a set of maxtrax's is better than finding branches to stick under your wheels.

 

[Antman]

Bridging ladders may be useful if say you were stuck in traffic on the interstate and the grass between sides had a 1' ditch in there. Hell, use the bridge to get to the other side and save the day. I bet the police wouldn't even blink (once they stopped laughing at you).

Just sayin'. Practical for that maybe.

 

[bloodninja]

We are not in the Congo and almost every spot I have come upon that needed a bridge, already had one built, sketchy sure but better than or a bigger span than any bridging device I could ever carry would provide.

How the hell am I supposed to traverse this without a bridging device?

 

[Swarty]

I am curious if the extra ~30lb and moderate increase in bulk would be worth it over a pair of MaxTrax or Treds.

My wife and I bought the 4runner to explore, especially out West (expecting a move to NM within a year). We intend to complement it with an offroad-centric teardrop trailer.
But, I havent been able to pin down whether or not brudging is a common use (or, if it is only uncommon because so few people have brisging ladders actually capable of bridging).

Thoughts?

Thanks!

As a person who grew up in the land of enchantment I'd say get MaxTrax and a decent shovel. Rocks and dirt will give way more stability than bridges especially over desert terrain and MaxTrax will keep you from spinning out on the dirt you stacked up.

 

[bofa]

blah blah blah logic

So you're saying i should cancel my order?

 

[Saker]

So you're saying i should cancel my order?

Cancel?
Hell yes, if the tracks have a JEEP attached to it!

 

[JSparky]

I've seen maxtrax used as bridging devices, they were doubled up though so you'd need two pair.

 

[Ron4RNevada]

I have never seen a bridging/maxtrac device carried or used here in N. Nevada, ever.

 

[Gear Up]

How the hell am I supposed to traverse this without a bridging device?

Easy: one just needs enough velocity to clear the gap. [emoji13]






Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

 

[wfo9]

I've built my own bridge device as an experiment. So far, it is the most useful recovery device I've ever owned. And it cost me almost nothing to make. I plan to make it a little nicer as the first rev was just a prototype.

I basically got a 2x12 and cut it into 5' sections. I then cut up old MTB tires and glued and screwed it to both sides to create good friction with both tires and ground. It's got both grip and strength....

I don't understand why they are not more popular. There are so many uses.. It's hard to count. I've recovered many people this way under many situations. Most use cases are similar to stacking rocks.. but so much easier. You have to be careful with it though..

The two most useful scenarios I have encountered are.
1. A ledge (or undercut ledge) where the vehicle simply does not have the clearance to get up it. Use the ramp on one side to get the vehicle lifting and light and you go right up...

2. A wheelbase scenario where, front tire is on one ledge and rear tires is trying to overcome another or a hole... ramping the front or rear and you go right up and out...

Those are just the common use cases I have found so far. There are many more. You can also put a maxTrax on top. I've actually found that just one does the trick most of the time.

I've never needed to use it with my truck as I have plenty of clearance and I usually enjoy the challenge more than the easy way out. But I do plan to take it on my next overland trip.

 

[Lindenwood]

The only place I can think of where the bridging feature would be useful is if the road is washed out due to erosion. It happens plenty out west, particularly in sandy areas like Utah, and there are lots of roads that get basically no maintenance. I can also think of tons of places where a sturdy ramp would be useful when a road has just a few obstacles that are too tall to crawl up

This is honestly all I meant: using them to ease the passing of the occasional modest obstacle or washout.
[MENTION=106176]wfo9[/MENTION] , thanks for the tip! I'll send you a PM since apparently this is a ridulous concept to discuss in public.


I guess I'll just go back to my astutely-predicted fantasy of driving my 4runner straight up the side of King's Peak. I should have just asked about light bars and winch mounts :yield: .

 

[Jetboy]

If you need a bridge - you probably need a chainsaw. If you select proper logs, you'd be surprised how easy it is to drive across them. A small rock on each side will usually keep them from rolling. One of our offroad club events is a combination competition that includes one part where we cut a phone pole in half and you have to tip them across a pit, then drive across them. It's actually a whole lot easier than you'd think. - but if you get the wrong logs that aren't strong enough... it's gonna be a long day.

I think max tracks have utility for sure. I've never been somewhere that I think they'd help for bridging a gap. (Typically in those places I'm in my FJ40 with 40" tires - for that they serve no purpose at all because they're smaller than the footprint of the tire anyway.) If you need a makeshift bridge, your $ is better spent on a chainsaw than set of max tracks IMO.

I have a teardrop trailer that I built and have towed quite a few places in the west. For example I've run through cathederal valley after rain. My trailer was built to go offroad. For example the steel frame I built for it has a set of 2x2 tubing that runs all the way around the outer rim. The lights are set above the rear steel bumper. It's designed essentially with rock sliders and I just drag it over obstacles. The trailer will pull over just about anywhere my 4runner will tow it. The biggest issue is hitch height. That's what drags long before anything else. If I were doing it again I would build the trailer with a very tall hitch height and rely on an inverted drop hitch to keep everything up as high as possible off the ground.

 

["krax"]

I've built my own bridge device as an experiment. So far, it is the most useful recovery device I've ever owned. And it cost me almost nothing to make. I plan to make it a little nicer as the first rev was just a prototype.

I basically got a 2x12 and cut it into 5' sections. I then cut up old MTB tires and glued and screwed it to both sides to create good friction with both tires and ground. It's got both grip and strength....

I don't understand why they are not more popular. There are so many uses.. It's hard to count. I've recovered many people this way under many situations. Most use cases are similar to stacking rocks.. but so much easier. You have to be careful with it though..

The two most useful scenarios I have encountered are.
1. A ledge (or undercut ledge) where the vehicle simply does not have the clearance to get up it. Use the ramp on one side to get the vehicle lifting and light and you go right up...

2. A wheelbase scenario where, front tire is on one ledge and rear tires is trying to overcome another or a hole... ramping the front or rear and you go right up and out...

Those are just the common use cases I have found so far. There are many more. You can also put a maxTrax on top. I've actually found that just one does the trick most of the time.

I've never needed to use it with my truck as I have plenty of clearance and I usually enjoy the challenge more than the easy way out. But I do plan to take it on my next overland trip.

Have you got a picture of the home-brew bridge?

 

[wfo9]

If you need a bridge - you probably need a chainsaw. If you select proper logs, you'd be surprised how easy it is to drive across them. A small rock on each side will usually keep them from rolling. One of our offroad club events is a combination competition that includes one part where we cut a phone pole in half and you have to tip them across a pit, then drive across them. It's actually a whole lot easier than you'd think. - but if you get the wrong logs that aren't strong enough... it's gonna be a long day.

I think max tracks have utility for sure. I've never been somewhere that I think they'd help for bridging a gap. (Typically in those places I'm in my FJ40 with 40" tires - for that they serve no purpose at all because they're smaller than the footprint of the tire anyway.) If you need a makeshift bridge, your $ is better spent on a chainsaw than set of max tracks IMO.

The idea of carrying a small bridge is to avoid cutting (which is not allowed in many places) and looking for materials to fill holes... Also, you end up leaving no trace and don't end up sanitizing the trail for the next guy who comes along.

It's really a smart thing to carry along for rigs that have moderate capabilities and clearance, but it simply has not become a fashion statement like maxtrax. The overlanding guys tend to want to put things on their trucks that they see on others... If they have not seen it before... they don't want it. Put it on that ridiculous show expedition overland and it will be sold out everywhere..... Think Trasharoo, maxtrax, swing outs, light bars.... They are all very useful in some scenarios, but also a fashion statement and mostly not necessary for what 90% of them do.