hi guys... not long until the car is outside now! : ) oooh just the thought of no more bleeding ears at 90kh, an elbow that can be inside my car and the cooling waft of AC... sorry, little overindulgent perhaps...

right.. self recovery.. There is no doubt going to come a time when I will be out by myself, see a problem and decide I want to give it a shot, and most likely end up on my belly.

What are the options? Hijack is out as there are no lifting points, winch is out as well..

I am guessing my options are an exhaust lift or use a high jack as a winch? What are you guys all using?

I've used the exhaust jack a couple of times. Best used in conjunction with some MaxTrax or similar. Tricky to use in mud as it slips out from under the car easily and not pleasant to set up in those conditions that's for sure. Been there done that...horrible. Don't go too far into water on your own as self recovery is almost impossible without some sort of winch. Hand winching is hard work, each pull moves you about 25mm. Talk about tough..... I was thinking about a portable electric "winch in a bag". They look pretty good and not bad price wise.

Something like this may do it. You would of course need a tow bar fitted. In my experience of off roading, a rear winch is more likely to be of use than a front mounted for self recovery. That is to say you tend to drive into something you want to back out of!

http://www.firstfour.co.uk/item/2069204/po...nch-system John
07 HSE Narvick Black
Land Rover Series One
Triumph Rocket 111 (sadly gone!)

I recently used a manual winch (Tirfor) to pull out the car, stuck in deep snow. You can see it in the movie below.

The winch is rated for 1.6 tonnes lifting (or 2.6 tonnes pulling) but from what I've learned it can cope with much bigger weights. It took us about 10 minutes to install it - as it was the first time we were using one so we had to also read the manual in the meantime . Even though we were two people pulling, it can be done by one person as well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RGr2mMpoGU

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mikehzz wrote:

I've used the exhaust jack a couple of times. Best used in conjunction with some MaxTrax or similar. Tricky to use in mud as it slips out from under the car easily and not pleasant to set up in those conditions that's for sure. Been there done that...horrible. Don't go too far into water on your own as self recovery is almost impossible without some sort of winch. Hand winching is hard work, each pull moves you about 25mm. Talk about tough..... I was thinking about a portable electric "winch in a bag". They look pretty good and not bad price wise.

I haven't sold the FL2. It's got 192K on the clock now. I have both cars and use them alternately or whatever is best suited for the trip.

The exhaust jack is only any good on sand. If you are really bogged up to the floor pan, it's great for lifting the whole side of the car up so you can fill in the holes and drop the car down on the surface again. I rarely take it any more preferring the tracks and a shovel or waiting for a snatch to come along. Cheers.

I'd bought a 10 metre 6 tonne open end ratchet strap, 4.5t shackles, 4metre/8 tonne strap, 3 tonne 11metre strap, mud/snow trax, folding metal shovel. So far I've used 1 shackle.......
Overkill

Hi guys, thanks for these great advices...

I am about to go skiing in Jura (next to Switzerland). I dont have any recovery tools and no chains, so was considering buying a kinetic rope in case of troubles.

I wanted to have your opinion, from what I read the 3.25 Tons shackles are sufficient, with a 8T kinetic rope? Is that correct?

My main doubt is more about the towing eyes. Do you use the original towing eyes? Are they strong enough, and unlikely to break? or is it necessary to have some special installation?

Many txs

 At work
At home

"I can't always believe facts I read on the web" - Charles Dickens

winner by default of the tractor vs caravan race

I used to use half a dozen Africans to push me out any situation, all for a few shillingi and some cigarettes. Maybe I'll use this method if immigration continues to rise. (Yes I know it's not PC) 11 GS Bali Blue
07 GS FL2. Usually muddy. Gone
Numerous LRs since 1963

I would suggest if you're out on your own, do some exploring, but if you see something you're not sure about, wait until next time and bring a friend.. Being stuck on you own without the correct knowledge or gear isnt a great idea and ends up being no fun at all..

Ive been there before, there were 2 of us and we were in a defender, went over a pretty small hill/ mound and bottomed out, put the diff locks in and BANG! CV went.. it was in the middle of some waste ground, and although the defender did have a winch, it was useless as there was nothing to winch from.. we ended up having to leave the vehicle, get a CV go back and fit the new CV, then dig out underneath it until we got traction.. We are both very experienced in off road driving and copmetitions but this still happened with a very well equiped vehicle. oh did I mention it was snowing

dont chance it.. take someone with you, if you cant, just have a play and stick to what you know..

This was the vehicle, as you can see, it was very capable, but still got into trouble..




Kinetic ropes in snow... I wouldnt fancy it.. plus you need a willing other vehicle to take part which will more than likely end up being shunted after pulling you out and you fail to stop in the snow.. just a thought,.,. MY2011 Freelander 2 GS Santorini Black
MY2004 Freelander 1 Sport Java Black
MY1986 Defender 90 Stornoway Grey - Fully Rebuilt this Year

Quote:

I used to use half a dozen Africans to push me out any situation, all for a few shillingi and some cigarettes. Maybe I'll use this method if immigration continues to rise. (Yes I know it's not PC)

 MY2011 Freelander 2 GS Santorini Black
MY2004 Freelander 1 Sport Java Black
MY1986 Defender 90 Stornoway Grey - Fully Rebuilt this Year

My latest bit of self recovery gear. Works quite well forwards or backwards.

When I had my Xterra, I packed a hilift jack with winch kit. The winch kit worked well, you will need a tree or something nearby though. Add in a wheel sling and I figure it would be a good bit of kit for a Freelander 2.