Discovery 1 - what recovery gear.........

[davidjmiller]

........should I buy for greenlaning?

Thanks,

David

[hobbit]

Best recovery gear is a good mate to help you out with his vehicle

[bodgeitjo]

hi, hi lift jacks a   good choice doubles up as winch as well.  :)

[Disco Matt]

A good tow rope and a couple of suitable shackles to start with. Hilifts aren't much use for recovery unless you have suitable bumpers/sills. Yes you can winch with them but it takes ages - you're better off with a Tirfor (sp?) hand winch. Hilifts are also good for straightening bent bits (such as bumpers) and moving stuff blocking the ROW (such as tree trunks).

Wizardbilt makes an excellent rack for a hilift that fits on the spare wheel holder of a Disco. I bought one recently and was most impressed, the workmanship is first rate!

[Skibum346]

A bloody good tow rope to start with. Not your Halfords special either. Get down to your local 4x4 specialist and get a good quality heavy duty tow rope and a couple of matching rated shackles to fix it with.

After that... maybe a high lift jack... oh... and a CB!

After that... well... depends how deep your pockets are!

Skibum

[Steve ray]

Essentials: good recovery points front & rear, shackle(s) and strop (better than rope, as you can see the condition of it; whereas with rope you cannot).

Then, you can get waffle boards (50mm thick are more expensive, but are better all round that the cheaper, thinner ones), Hi-Lift jack & adaptor.

Tirfors are used less these days, but a winch, snatch block & more strops and shackles are good too.

Best of all, one or two good mates that will always help you out when you're stuck!

[Disco Matt]

Just resurrecting this thread, I'm looking at waffle boards for mine now and was wondering what width I should be looking for. I'm running the standard tyres and spotted these on ebay:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/OFF-ROAD-4X-4-FIBREGLASS-SAND-LADDERS-WAFFLE-BOARDS_W0QQitemZ130191315178QQihZ003QQcategoryZ31348QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Are they likely to be wide enough? The price seems very sensible and the length would have been fine for the last time I needed them (getting out of ruts that led straight into a huge muddy hole!)

[MudRat]

i never get stuck, so i never need ropes  :^o

[Range Rover Blues]

Yes they'll do the job.  Not as strong as the 50mm so don't use them as bridges unless you buy 2 pairs (which is cheaper than one pair of 50mm and far more flexible).  But you don't get much for £35 so I'd say buy them.

TBH I rarely use mine, one pair I've forgotten where they are now :roll: and I find that unless you are already on them they are useless, so you need to be able to lift yourself up and slide them under, which brings us back to the jack.  
With an adapter (which you'll probably also want at some point) you can hi-lift the front bumper on the 300 series as it's got the sockets under the plastic over-riders.  At the back you can lift off the tow bracket but you're best to get a cheap lifting adapter (bottom of page) that bolts under you towball, or Hi-Lift also do a wheel-lift adapter which is very good.  For lifting a wheel to put things underneath it's easier and safer than lifting the whole car.

[JDB]

I have a brand new Jet Hoist (Tirfor style) winch - that has been hanging around and getting in my way - has rope, snatch block etc all unused - if its any use and you want to go down this route.  Will get round to putting in the adverts for sale shortly -

[Disco Matt]

Yes they'll do the job.  Not as strong as the 50mm so don't use them as bridges unless you buy 2 pairs (which is cheaper than one pair of 50mm and far more flexible).  But you don't get much for £35 so I'd say buy them.

Yes - I'd read elsewhere that the 50mm were stronger. Not planning to use them for winch challenges, just the occasional awkward bit on lanes or training events (like the last one in Radnor when I needed two people pushing on the front wing to climb out of ruts!). I'm intrigued by your comments regarding hilift sockets on the 300 series bumper - I didn't know they were there! Will have to double check mine and then order the adaptor.

Are Hilift bits compatible with Jackalls too?

[Range Rover Blues]

No, Hi-Lift are one style and Jackall are pretty much the same as all the copies.  The accesories are not interchangeable.  Do you have a Jakall already? if not go for a hi-lift.

[Disco Matt]

Too late - bought a Jackall shortly after getting into this stuff  :D It seems ok to me, just there aren't as many accessories available for it.

[Range Rover Blues]

Geniune Jackalls are every bit as good as a Hi-Lift, but you're right about the accessories.  The only one I'm aware of is the standard adapter.

You can still use one as a winch though if you know how to make prussic loops.  There was an article in the GLASS magazine a year or so ago.  It's a bit of a faff but better than nowt and you only need a rope rather than a chain like the Hi-Lift winch kit so there's less to carry.

[Skibum346]

Geniune Jackalls are every bit as good as a Hi-Lift, but you're right about the accessories.  The only one I'm aware of is the standard adapter.

I was searchig for a top clamp for my Jackal 8000. Unfortunately I'd just ordered a bog standard one when I came across this one.


It's a typical top clamp with an added chain slot and it doubles up as a jacking base in tough ground where it grips it (see explanation)

Skibum

[stuvy]

a good pair of gloves are a wise idea, saves fingers and knuckles being skinned!!

[Disco Matt]

That's a neat bit of kit Skibum - I've just got the standard top clamp for mine (Paddock had them last time I checked).

[robert francis]

hi, i'd get a kinetic rope with shackels, and go with a friend so you got some one to tow you out, lol

[Disco Matt]

Just the obligatory safety announcement, but kinetic ropes can be very dangerous due to the forces they generate. Make sure all the shackles used with it are suitable and that recovery points are secure (beware rusty cross members).

[J.D.]

If you still have the standard Diso tow eye on the front, get rid of it and fit a JATE ring either side. The amount of standard tow eyes I have seen snap with kinetic ropes is silly.

[Disco Matt]

If you still have the standard Diso tow eye on the front, get rid of it and fit a JATE ring either side. The amount of standard tow eyes I have seen snap with kinetic ropes is silly.

Yep, bit of a problem there as I can't fit JATE rings to mine (the steering guard gets in the way). I don't own or intend to buy a kinetic rope, and it'll be a while before I can afford a winch bumper with built in recovery points. Anyone have any ideas on how to solve this? I have heard suggestions that if you fit two of the standard tow eyes (one on each side) they'll cope with non-kinetic recovery?

[Disco-Ron]

If you have a steering gaurd, most have recovery eyes on them... if it doesn't, then you should be able to get something welded or bolted onto the side of it that would be ok....

[Disco Matt]

If you have a steering gaurd, most have recovery eyes on them... if it doesn't, then you should be able to get something welded or bolted onto the side of it that would be ok....

Nothing on this one - it's a Bearmach aluminium one (was worried about the extra weight of the steel ones). I might try asking a friend of mine who has the requisite kit if he can make me a couple of wider JATE rings using the ones I have as a pattern. They only need 5mm longer bolts and crossbars.

[Range Rover Blues]

Geniune Jackalls are every bit as good as a Hi-Lift, but you're right about the accessories.  The only one I'm aware of is the standard adapter.

I was searchig for a top clamp for my Jackal 8000. Unfortunately I'd just ordered a bog standard one when I came across this one.


It's a typical top clamp with an added chain slot and it doubles up as a jacking base in tough ground where it grips it (see explanation)

Skibum

Where do you get one from though :?

[Skibum346]

Geniune Jackalls are every bit as good as a Hi-Lift, but you're right about the accessories.  The only one I'm aware of is the standard adapter.

I was searchig for a top clamp for my Jackal 8000. Unfortunately I'd just ordered a bog standard one when I came across this one.


It's a typical top clamp with an added chain slot and it doubles up as a jacking base in tough ground where it grips it (see explanation)

Skibum

Where do you get one from though :?

From here. Found it after a quick google on "MASSDAM JACKMATE"

[Range Rover Blues]

Thanks mate :D


BTW, I've got JATE rings fitted over my steering guard.

I'd also echo the comments about kinetic recovery, but I'd add that to use a kinetic rope effectively you don't have to set off like you stole the thing.  I kinetic is just a means of storing energy and I often use one to satop the annoying jolts that towing over any distance can otherwise cause.

If you are towing another vehicle for any distance then a staic rope could cause the towed vehicle to bring you to a complete halt, leaving you both stuck.  A kinets on the other hand never goes suddenly slack, giving a more even/smoother pull.

Bit of a sod to clean though :lol:

[Disco Matt]

It may just be the JATE rings I bought weren't wide enough - I bought a pair of the standard £15 ones from Paddock that are wide enough to go over the chassis rail but won't go over the extra 5mm or so thickness of the steering guard bracket. Does anyone know where I can get some wider ones?

Edit, the ones I have are 9cm between the sideplates, 9.5 or 10cm would do it.

[Range Rover Blues]

Yes, in your garage, next to the vice and BFhammer ;)

I did buy some that were 5mm wider form somewhere, but they were the forged ones and 5mm wasn't enough.  I bought the Discoparts ones that are fabricated and bent them to fit.  I actualy bent them using the holes in my steering guard, but it did leave little burs on them.

[Disco Matt]

Yes, in your garage, next to the vice and BFhammer ;)

I did buy some that were 5mm wider form somewhere, but they were the forged ones and 5mm wasn't enough.  I bought the Discoparts ones that are fabricated and bent them to fit.  I actualy bent them using the holes in my steering guard, but it did leave little burs on them.

Ah, fair enough - thought bending them was a no-no but if it's acceptable I'll take them out and give them a whack! Just need to find some longer high-tensile bolts now.