Vehicle Recovery Gear?

[entropy]

Title says all.

Looking to equip midsize pickup with some gear. Over the years, I’ve carried the usual HF tow straps and the like. Looking to get something purpose designed. Prices all over the map. No winch on the truck now, although it’s on the short list. It currently has the factory shackles and hard points. No plans to hit the Rubicon, but desire some decent, all around gear.

This: https://factor55.com/ has caught my eye as they seem to have pre-made kits...albeit on the upper end of the price scale.

Suggestions from those who know?

Thanks.

[BN]

I don't know anything about this. I only watch Matt's Off Road Recovery on YouTube.

[TGS]

A farm jack and tow strap can get you out of pretty much everything for a fraction of the cost and weight of the cool systems that people buy just to show off on Instagram.

[msstate56]

Factor 55 gear is GTG. Their stuff is pricey but well made and they actually test the gear to failure. I use several soft shackle products from Tactical Recovery Equipment. TRE has good customer service as well. Winching is one of my favorite hobbies both truck and SxS. I use a winch every chance I get. I highly recommend soft rope. I will never use steel cable again.

[msstate56]

A farm jack and tow strap can get you out of pretty much everything for a fraction of the cost and weight of the cool systems that people buy just to show off on Instagram.

For a simple situation, yes it will work. But I’ve been in lots of complex recovery situations where I was very glad I had 10,000 pounds of pulling power at the touch of a button. I’m often solo, so I can control the winch while inside the vehicle manipulating the throttle, or I can stand well off to the side outside of the danger zone. Plus it’s a lot faster so I can get stuck again 😂

[BobM]

I have a set of Max Trax in my truck. I’ve not yet had to use them but they are highly recommended by trustworthy sources. I also have a tow strap and tree saver strap. I have a Hi Lift farm jack I could put in there depending on where I’m planning on going. I’ve been planning on buying a Wyeth Power Puller, just haven’t got around to it.

[MistWolf]

Title says all.

Looking to equip midsize pickup with some gear. Over the years, I’ve carried the usual HF tow straps and the like. Looking to get something purpose designed. Prices all over the map. No winch on the truck now, although it’s on the short list. It currently has the factory shackles and hard points. No plans to hit the Rubicon, but desire some decent, all around gear.

This: https://factor55.com/ has caught my eye as they seem to have pre-made kits...albeit on the upper end of the price scale.

Suggestions from those who know?

Thanks.

What do you mean by “factory shackles and hard points”? This is an important question, because some factory recovery points are okay and some are dismal. Photos of your recovery points will help greatly.

-HOOKS, especially open hooks, are a bad idea. You can use them, but you have to constantly keep an eye on them to ensure any tow ropes or whatever you hook to them don’t slip off. If your rig is equipped with hooks, replace them with D ring mounts/adaptors.

This is what I have on the back of my Jeep-


-TIE DOWN POINTS are made for tying down a vehicle for shipping. They can and have been used for the occasional simple recovery, but they aren’t designed for heavy use. If you do any sort of off-roading, install actual recovery points. The best way to install recovery points depends on your rig.

NEVER use a tow ball for recoveries. The rope/strap can easily slip off and the ball can shear if given a hard tug. It can be done, but it’s like pointing a loaded handgun at your junk. I don’t mean sliding a handgun in an appendix holster, I mean actually pointing it at your junk.

The Harbor Freight Badlands recovery strap works surprisingly well. It’s advertised as having a bit of stretch, but don’t use it like a Yankum Rope. I made that mistake once! Use it like a recovery strap- that is, take the slack out before trying to pull. Don’t get a running start.

The generic brand recovery straps (usually yellow) Harbor Freight sells are better than nothing but they don’t hold up very well under use. Get the Badlands strap. Get the big one. Two straps are better than one because you can hook them together for more reach. Or, you can use one as a bridle, then connect the second to the bridle.

Get at least two of the Harbor Freight soft shackles.

Get at least two D rings. Don’t cheap out.

Get two tow hitch D ring mounts, the kind the fits in a tow hitch receptacles and a cross pin for each. One for your rig and one for the other rig. Not everyone out on the trail carries D ring mounts for their tow hitch.

Get a good pair of gloves.

Get a bottle jack and figure out how to store it in your rig in a vertical position. Being kept horizontally is bad for most bottle jacks. Get jack adaptors to prevent the jack from slipping off an axle, frame or other jacking point. A floor jack is better, if you have the room. Don’t use scissors jacks except as a very last resort.

Get a bag to store your recovery gear in.

Gear for winching is a bit different. I gotta get ready for work, so I’ll have to cover that topic in a later post.

I’ll try to get a photo of the recovery gear I carry. (I still need to get a couple soft shackles.)

[Crawls]

ken

A farm jack and tow strap can get you out of pretty much everything for a fraction of the cost and weight of the cool systems that people buy just to show off on Instagram.

Agreed.

Those Factor 55 kits look ridiculously expensive.

The best advice on equipment will be mission driven -- Vehicle weight, attachment points, trail conditions (mud v. sand v. rocks) terrain (hills and tight turns v. wide open fields). I'll apologize that it's been a long time since I've been in the market for good recovery gear, so I can't recommend specific manufacturers or retailers.

I'd start with a copy of the 4 Wheeler's Bible and build from there. No need to spend tons of money to build a super capable recovery kit.

[entropy]

I appreciate all the replies so far. To clarify, the vehicle is a Colorado with the ZR2 factory package minus the roll bar/light bar that sits behind the cab. I’ll try to snap some pics later as well. Like I said, factory hooks and hard points. No mountain trekking on the horizon, but lots of deep snow, rural gravel roads with decent grades and drop offs, and dragging the dog back into the woods for grouse. Not interested in any “overlanding” type setups as this needs to still remain pretty much stock as it’s my daily driver and the wife uses it too on occasion. I still like the winch idea. The Bison and AT4X are unobtanium and ludicrous in price. I figured if I wanted a winch that bad, I’d put an aftermarket bumper on it and save both kidneys for personal use. I notice you did mention the HF gear several times. Reading up, I see (like most things HF) some is good, some is crap.

Thanks again.

[msstate56]

Some China made gear is ok, some is garbage like every other industry. I’ve had good luck with Gear America snatch blocks and shackles. I spent the money on important bits, like my winch fair lead and winch rope end hook, on Factor 55. I save money on other things like snatch blocks, shackles, soft shackles and straps elsewhere. I’ve even got a couple soft shackles I got from a guy that sells them on eBay or Etsy. No name brand, but I haven’t broken them yet.

Like Mistwolf mentioned- closed system gear is a must. That means everything it a solid connection, no open hooks. I really like soft shackles, but use a hard shackle where a tow point is made for it.