Recovery Gear – What You Need To Know

TRAIL SAVVY: Off-road driving tips, skills & practices

Recoveries are a fact of life when it comes to 4x4 adventures. At some point, you are going to get stuck as the tide comes in, or as darkness falls, or when you are teetering on the brink of a precipice after misjudging a rock garden on a serious 4x4 trail. And that is not the time to be learning how to use your recovery equipment; nor is it the moment to nd out that you have bought the wrong sort of gear and are putting lives in danger.

The simple provision is this: buy the best kit you can afford, and seek professional advice to ensure that it is properly certi ed and up to the recovery tasks you are likely to encounter.

The gear, on its own, is not enough. Take it out and practise in a safe, controlled environment, so that you are familiar with the full range of recovery procedures. When you do hit the trail with your mates, set ground rules so that you and your fellow travellers know how to work together, and have a plan in place for an emergency situation.

In this two-part guest column by Henk Vallentgoed of the South African company Securetech, he debunks some braai-side myths and goes through 10 essential things that you need to know about recovery gear.

RATED SHACKLES

When purchasing shackles to use for recovery situations, it is important to buy the correct ones. These days, one often sees 4x4 vehicle owners using commercial D-shackles as a means to attach their straps and ropes, instead of proper, rated, bow shackles.

Unfortunately, fitment centres have dropped the ag and now stock these, as they make more pro t by selling cheap items at in ated prices. This is dangerous, and is not advised for obvious reasons. Commercial shackles might appear to be up to the task as they are the same size as their rated bow-shackle counterparts, but the fact that they do not have a rated strength makes them very dangerous to use.