Offroad safety should be important to everyone and not an afterthought. Having a safe experience means stresses and problems will be down and fun will be up! There are a ton of tips out there, some to be learned the easy way, some the hard way. Get with experienced wheelers in your area to learn from them! Ask questions and don't be afraid to make mistakes. We all started out new..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

10 Vehicle Recovery Safety and Tips

1. Never Wheel ALONE!

   

   1. Always have at least one partner vehicle-minimum.

   2. Have a recovery and medical plan before it happens!

   3. Ensure someone outside of your group knows where you are going and about what time you will be back.

   4. Have a communication method and a backup. Cell phones will not always have service.

   5. Use Where2Wheel's Recovery Needed! feature.

2. Always have a medical kit in your vehicle.

    

3. Use only snatch designed straps for snatching vehicles out of sticky situations.

   1. No metal/hook ends, only loops.

   2. Use only hardened recovery points, usually attached directly to the frame (If you have one *cough XJ *cough ????)

   3. Pay attention to vehicle weight and how deep the vehicle is + how aired down the vehicle is.

   4. Never hook up to steering or driving components, you will need to get out of the spot and then off the trail. Axles have ripped completely off of the vehicle!

       

4. Stand back and preferably behind a hardened object when snatching or winching.

5. Hang an object off of the winch line to prevent the line from whipping around when breaking.

   1. Steel cable has a tendency to snap back when breaking, synthetic line is designed to not do that but always prepare for some kind of reaction.

   2. Raise hood to cover windshield from flying objects when winching, especially when using steel cable and metal hooks.

6. Make sure you brief your passengers on what to do in an event like a rollover.

   1. Keep hands inside the vehicle and don’t grab on to the outside bars of roll cage.

   2. Always wear your seatbelt, no matter the speed.

7. Have a mounted fire extinguisher in your vehicle.

   1. A small fire extinguisher can keep a small fire from turning into complete vehicle loss or worse, medical emergency.

8. Know your vehicle and know yourself.

   1. Know your low points on the vehicle.

      1. Usually both differentials.

      2. Pay attention to other low items- skid plates, exhaust,  etc.

      3. Don’t forget about top clearance as well (that lift you just put on might scrape your top!)

9. Survey the route/trail ahead of time.

   1. Plan your recovery ahead of time and know which way to snatch/winch out.

   2. See if the route has areas to go around harder obstacles than your comfortable with.

10. Pushing yourself on the trail is a good way to have fun and test yourself, but know your limits, keep it within your vehicles realm of possibility and stay away from the “hold my beer and watch this” crowd- Unless your already a paying member!

11. Have everything secured inside of your vehicles. (secure for sea!)

    1. Unsecured objects can turn into missiles – Fire Extinguishers, D-Shackles, etc.

    2. Phones and electronics have been ejected out the window and straight into that mud pit.

12. Be safe and have FUN!

Here is a good example of proper snatching. Bubba Rope - No metal hooks, made for snatching- Attached to a D-Shackle, secured to the metal bumper which is secured to the frame.

 

Now that your read up on some tips- here is a video on what NOT to do!

 

Updated 11/16/2016 - H - Where2Wheel

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