A couple of weeks ago, I got stuck. I had no recovery gear with me, and I had to call a friend who came and gave me a tug with a snatch strap. It worked fine, but I decided to be far more self sufficient. And yes, if I’d just avoided the ruts I’d have been fine. My off-road driving skills are beyond rusty!
When I got home, the first thing I did was order some cheap recovery gear on Amazon: A 1″ x 30′ kinetic rope and two soft shackles. It was far cheaper than some of the name brand ropes like Bubba or Yankum’s, but the reviews looked good.
Then, while cruising Craigslist, I saw an Off Roading staple that I couldn’t pass up: A Hi-Lift brand 60″ jack with the extra base, and a cover, for less than the price of a new 48″ jack. I snagged that up!
With the right gear, the Hi-Lift can be used for almost every recovery situation, including even winching, albeit very slowly. But I’m not an expert in its use. So the purpose of this post is to show you some of the resources I’ve come across for both Hi-Lift and Kinetic Rope recoveries. We’ll start off with a couple of excellent videos from Harry Wagner, a respected off-roading journalist who’s also just a super nice fellow. Then a somewhat less polished but way cool video about winching with the Hi-Lift, followed by Nate at Dirt Lifestyle who shows some awesome accessories you can build for your Hi-Lift.
Let me know your favorite Hi-Lift and off-road recovery tips in the comments!
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