Car recovery kit

There have been a lot of talk about a car survival kit, but not much about a car recovery kit. The stuff you use to unstuck your car.

Last winter i threw a Tri-fold shovel and some traction tracks in mine car. Didn't need it for the snow, but i did use them yesterday in the sand. I don't drive a 4x4, but a small front wheel driven supermini. I don't drive off road, but i did get caught in roadworks, where the construction workers forgot to put down closure signs, so i ended up getting stuck in the sand. Had to dig mine car out a few times to get out. The tri-fold and traction tracks really helped getting me unstuck.

One thing i did learned, is to get well fitting gloves with well closing cuffs when digging. I got lots of small cuts on mine hands. The work gloves in mine car have wide cuff, which would scoop sand. Had some additional equipment that could be handy in the car, but didn't use them: Foam pad and headlight.

Any additional tips and equipment you guys can recommend for getting a car unstuck? All i can find are the recovery gear for 4x4 like big sandtracks, hi-lift jacks and exhaust jacks, but that's just not practical for a supermini.

I would add a tow strap. Sometimes just a short tug from another vehicle is all it takes to get one out of a bad spot.

Taking the larger view of keeping your vehicle moving (not just unstuck), beside the tow strap, shovel, and gloves, there are a few other things you might consider adding. I keep a small flashlight or headlamp stashed in the vehicle. Also a very small tool kit (adjustable wrench, pliers, 6-in-1 screwdriver), a few hose clamps of various sizes, and a small roll of duct tape. A selection of fuses can be handy. Also a quart of oil. There are compact tire patch kits that are sometimes usefull. Most of this stuff can be stashed in a small vehicle.

In part it depends on what kind of area you are traveling in. You aren't going to make major repairs with this stuff, but sometimes a few little things can help you limp down the road to where help is available. This can be important if you are out on seldom traveled roads. Other places a cell phone and credit card might be the best roadside survival tools!

EDIT: I forgot to add one obvious item...Jumper Cables.

machete or other way to harvest some small branches if you get into mud

If you are driving a smaller car, which is what I take a supermini to be, give rides to strong passengers. One starry night on the beach at Acapulco, we simply clean and jerked the rear end of a VW beetle out of the ruts it had dug, and went on our merry way. That VW bug was a great car - if the battery was dead, you could always push start it with no problem - keeps the driver in good shape.

If your car can use tire chains (may have to be low clearance type)
I have found them very useful to get unstuck in sand or snow.

Wouldn't go anywhere in the snow, 4 wheel drive or not, without
a good shovel and chains.

An old chunk of climbing rope makes a good tow rope. Learn some
good knots that release after extreme tension, or just cut them off
and retie new ones.

The elasticity in old climbing rope works very well to pop the vehicle out of the mire - either that or you get a spectacular failure of the rope. Be sure to stand clear. A good jack can e invaluable.

Haven't experienced the failure part, but I would rather have
a wild piece of nylon whipping around than a chain or cable!
If attached to the front of the car, having the hood raised
might keep a broken tow strap from coming through the windshield.
A jacket or blanket draped over the strap will also help control
the whip if it breaks.

A come-along is a nice item too, at least for rough back roads.
I once pulled my suburban out of a hole using a come-along and multiple strands of parachute cord.

i'll second the come-a-long..i used one for pulling lodged trees down when i was cutting in my woodlot years ago.one AM i woke to find my lane to the village street was snowed in.i made the mistake of trying to bull my way down in a honda accord and went off sideways,i had done that before with better luck.the come-a-long pulled me back on the lane and in my office clothes i ran one path with the snow blower for the right side drive wheel and made it to work just a bit late.

I carry this in our car:



http://www.snowclaw.com/

Works great and takes up less space than a regular snow
shovel. I got stuck once in the snow 3 years ago and used the floor mats under the front wheels for traction.

I also keep extra tools and survival equipment (blankets) in the trunk.

Tire chains (illegal to use in mine country) and come alongs (with chains, treestrap, etc) are a bit too big for mine trunk. I drive a Hyundai Getz, so there is not much space in the back.

I do have a towing rope in the car(and jumper cables, tools, jack, tape, steel wire, ziptie's, powerflares, LED panel, reflective vest, flashlights, etc...), but somehow i always get stuck in a situation where towing is not a option.

I know the snow claw, but that thing is useless in anything but snow and you does not have the reach to get under your car. (and is not nearly as good as a snow shovel in the back country). I could barely reach the sand under mine axle with mine trifold.

I am not a big fan of snow shovels. The plastic ones that are 18"-22" in width available in big box stores are ONLY useful for loose snow.

I prefer narrow about 6"-10" steel garden shovels with a flat end (as opposed to pointed which is good for dirt). The shovel is strong enough to use as a pick to get at ice and narrow enough to dig snow/ice from under the car to shovel myself free.

With time, I can get the car free of most ice/snow whereas a regular snow shovel is pretty much useless.

Conway Yee

Both of my cars have the Voile Telepro shovel. While the Snowclaw takes up less room I wouldn't want to have to move more than a little bit of snow with it. With my bad back having a long shovel handle helps a great deal.

In all seriousness, a cellphone and a friend who owns a serious 4x4. The worst I've ever gotten my Jeep stuck we had to jack up each corner one at a time and stack rocks under each tire, then build a path of rocks to drive on until we got up enough speed to clear the bad spot.

Since installing some serious MT tires and lockers in both axles I don't do "stuck" very often. A snatch strap (good one from Warn or someone, not a Harbor Freight tow strap) would go a long way, as well as making sure that you have adequate recovery points.

Car recovery is my thing, or so I would like to maintain that idea.

If you are zipping along in a normal car like a 4 door sedan or mini 5 door car. a simple Get home bag that does include head lamps (can't work with one hand holding the flashlight and holding it in your mouth is not a good idea) as for the "pull out" part I would suggest the following:

A) Traction mats
B) Tire cables, if your car can use them, even if they are illegal for on the road, they can get you out of the ditch and then you can remove them. Also keep in mind that if they don't work, they are amazingly good at getting you supper stuck!
C) Short pieces of webbing or rock climbing rope. I have rescued a small SUV from a snow bank by using webbing and attaching that webbing to a good 4X4. More than once had I been in a friends car who was stuck, a 4x4 stops and says, "I will pull you out, but I don't have a tow rope"
D) and Avalanche Shovel. Not your cheap store bought shovel, these are the ones meant to move hard packed snow. During the summer, a small good shovel goes a long way; I don't use the folding ones I prefer to use the normal shovels. More space is used, but the pay off is pretty good when in a pinch.
E) Road flairs
F) Jumper cables, if you have the space one of those jumper systems that have an inverter and an air compressor goes a long way.

That is the basic list.. I am sure I am missing something.



As I drive a F350 4x4 my "box" is a little bigger.

In that I carry the following:
A) 2 gage Jumper Cables
B) 4 quarts of Oil (just incase)
C) Coolant
D) 4 small ratchet straps
E) 2 heavy duty ratchet straps
F) 2 30'x2" snatch straps.
G) 1 30'X4" tow strap.
H) 3 5 ton chains varying lengths from 6 foot to 12 foot
I) 4 Shackles rated to 4 tons each
J) 2 Pulleys rated to 20,000 pounds
K) Machete
L) 18 inch bar chain saw (ok I am over prepared)
M) Light tool chest
N) 200 feet of old rappelling line
O) WD40


I am sure that I am missing a ton of stuff.. But I have issues with wanting to keep too much in my truck.

My kit includes a spare tire, appropriate jack and tire iron, work gloves, jumpstarter, air compressor, jumper cables and a tow strap. The BOB that goes with the car has a headlamp, a handheld flashlight, and a multitool (among many other things).

My wife prefers a separate jumpstarter from the compressor due to size. I prefer a combined unit; mine has an area light on it. These units require regular maintenance; I charge them both monthly.

Traction mats, a plastic snow showel for the fluffy snow, a metal tri-fold shovel for harder stuff, an elastic towing rope for towing, a heavy-duty inelastic tow strap for that gentle "tug" that can get you unstuck.

I have very limited room between the wheel and the bodywork. I want to find a chain that I'm confident I can put on without growing smaller fingers - and still be effective. I have very good snow tires on a car that handles really well in the winter, so when I need chains I really need GOOD chains that really digs into snow and ice.

With regard to shovels, the plastic ones are very inadequate for serious digging in frozen or compacted snow, The steel ones such as the Voile are much better. (I carry a Voile on my winter pack for avalanche rescue.) Keep in mind, however, that one can get stuck in lots of situations other than snow. I once had occaison to dig out hard packed, well consolidated dirt, with some gravel mixed in. In this situation, even the Voile might not be optimal.

For carrying in a vehicle, where weight isn't such a huge consideration, a really stout shovel isn't a bad idea. In one car we've carried an old style, genuine GI entrenching tool, which fits in the space around the spare tire. In the other car, we've carried the "NATO" style e-tool, which fits in the smaller space available in that car. Make sure you get the genuine issue shovel, as there are some cheap knock offs, which will break or bend when you need them most.

I totally spaced it but my kit has the Cold Steel "Special Forces Shovel" as well. My wife's car doesn't have this one, though.

I've had some knock-off entrenching tools bend when I needed them, so let me second the motion to only get a good one.

If you carry a tow strap know beforehand where/how to attach it on your vehicle, I've heard from someone that when he offered to tow someone out on the condition that the stuck driver hook up the tow rope himself, he hooked it up to his front tie rod.

Unless they are in a vehicle with obvious, sturdy tow points, I require them to hook the strap to their vehicle. I'll glance to see that it isn't something that will cut my expensive strap. But it's up to them to hook it to something I won't rip off.

Yeah that's the thing with new cars, there isn't anywhere to hook up. My recovery strap with loop end won't attach anywhere, and my shackle won't fit into the tiny tie down points either.

I don't carry hook end straps, too many horror store/photos from jeep forums.

I went way overkill on buying a strap and am very careful not to nick it on anything. Mine is a 30,000lb one. I got myself stuck bad enough once that I used:

30' snatch strap
6' tree saver strap
20' towtruck chain
pretty much every inch of winch cable
Hi-Lift jack
a friend's truck to pull to

That was a rough day, but it's funny to look back on it.

I'd be interested in a synopsis of the issues with these kinds of straps.

To reduce those danger you can use a winch cable damper or improvise with a heavy blanket or coat.

Also be aware, with traction plate, they can be thrown back by the wheels...

Great thread, Tjin! Thanks!

I've had my Jeep for about a month now and pretty much just moved my vehicle emergency gear to from my old Civic. I never had tow straps in there but I added a couple today and am paying close attention to what else I can learn from the ETS gurus!

I'm fond of putting the hood up on my Jeep in those situations also. It may not be 1/2" steel plate, but it's better than nothing at slowing down whatever comes your way.

Those are meant for towing not recovery, so the hook can break under stress and turn into high speed missile. There's a pic of one went through both front and rear windshield missing driver's head by inches. There's also story of a pickup with the hook coming through rear windshield, either seriously hurt or killed the driver's girlfriend who was in passenger seat.

Yep, what are generally known as "snatch" straps are somewhat elastic and use that property to their advantage in extracting a stuck vehicle. Not knowing the difference and using a non-elastic "tow" strap for tugging a vehicle out of being stuck can be very dangerous. They are not meant to be yanked on the way a snatch strap is.

Plus, their strength rating is generally a lot lower than a snatch strap. This is the same reason you generally don't want to use a winch cable for yanking on, just slow and steady pulling motion.

Same for aftermarket tow hooks, you have to be very careful to mount them properly. I've seen some that were just bolted onto the bumper. Mine bolt through the frame with large, grade-8 bolts, lock washers, and locknuts too. I believe strongly in redundancy.