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One of the most important things you need to take care of before leaving on your adventures is your off-road recovery kit.
This ensures that if you or a mate happen to get stuck, recovering the vehicle and continuing the journey will be possible.
In this article, we’ll go over a list of items that are crucial for off-roading.
Table of Contents:
- An All-Inclusive Off-Road Recovery Kit
- Rated Recovery Points
- Recovery Boards
- A Good Quality Winch
- Final Thoughts
An All-Inclusive Off-Road Recovery Kit
An off-road recovery kit like the one offered by Tackle Tuff includes all the basic items you will need to perform off-road recoveries. Buying each of these items alone will probably cost you more while also making it harder to store effectively.
The Tackle Tuff recovery comes with the accessories mentioned below:
- 60,000 Lbs Breaking Strength Capacity Snatch Block
- Pair of Shackles With 60,000 Lbs Breaking Strength Capacity
- 30’ X 3” Recovery/Tow Strap
- 8’ X 3” Tree-Saver Strap
- Kevlar Reinforced Gloves
- Tactical Carry Bag That Doubles as a Line Dampener
As you can see, this kit includes all the basics needed to perform a snatch or winch recovery. The best part is that all of the gear is stored in a single bag; therefore, everything will be easy to find when you need it.
This is a good quality kit that will last for many years and will serve you well when you need it the most.
The Tackle Tuff off-road recovery kit features most of what you will need, but if you want to have a look at what a seasoned off-roader like Nate from Dirt Lifestyle carries, check out the video above.
Rated Recovery Points for Your Off-Road Recovery Kit
Rated Recovery Points are often overlooked when it comes to building up an off-road recovery kit. The reason these are needed is that the stock hooks on most vehicles are not strong enough to withstand the forces of an off-road recovery. They are just there for towing or strapping down for transportation.
The same is true for tow balls. When these fail, they can lead to extensive vehicle damage or even serious injuries to people standing close.
Rated recovery points are easy to install and can be found in most 4×4 shops. You can bolt them where factory tow hooks used to bolt to, or you can install them in hitch receivers.
Everyone should have them as they are one of the most important items in an off-road recovery kit.
Recovery Boards
Recovery boards are often underestimated; however, they can go a long way when it comes to an off-road recovery – especially in mud, sand, or snow. The way they work is simple – you just clear a path for the vehicle to drive through and wedge the recovery board in front of the tire. When you start driving, the tire will grip onto the board and theoretically become unstuck.
Recovery boards can also be used as bridges for small holes or deep ruts. However, you need to make sure that you buy a good quality set like Maxtrax because the cheaper options break easily.
If you camp in a rooftop tent, the recovery boards will also come in handy for leveling your vehicle. As you may know, sleeping on top of a crooked truck can be uncomfortable, and finding rocks to level everything out gets annoying
With traction boards, all you have to do is stack them where needed, drive on them, and the job is done.
A Good Quality Winch for Your Off-Road Recovery Kit
Depending on the adventures you will be heading on, a winch may not be necessary; however, it provides peace of mind. It can get you or your mates out of most situations, and if you like to tackle tough tracks, it will pay off its price in convenience pretty soon.
We would suggest avoiding the cheap options. This is a device you may have to depend on, and you need to make sure it will work when you need it. For vehicles the size of a Jeep Wrangler, a good power rating is 9000lb; however, going for something larger won’t hurt.
Since the Tackle Tuff off-road recovery kit has all the basics, you won’t need anything else other than your winch to perform a recovery. The Tackle Tuff bag doubles as a winch line dampener, and if you need to perform a double line pull, you can do so by using the snatch blocks.
In case you were wondering, a double line pull is a winching method that halves the pulling speed of the winch but doubles the power by turning the winch line end point back to the vehicle. This is used in instances where a vehicle is stuck badly, and the winch, under normal operation, does not have the power to recover the truck.
Final Thoughts
The above list is not an exhaustive one; however, it does include all the basic and most effective recovery items you need in an off-road recovery kit. By using the above gear correctly, you will be able to recover your vehicle from the vast majority of situations you may find yourself in when off-roading.
If you don’t feel ready to spend the money for all of the above suggestions yet, make sure that, at the very least, you have rated recovery points and some traction boards.
If you have any further off-road recovery questions or for anything else off-road or overland-related, head over to the forum section of our page.