BajaNomad - maxtrax get yourself unstuck!

maxtrax get yourself unstuck!

willardguy - 2-25-2014 at 10:52 AM

any of you car guys use these gizmo's. they look pretty handy.
http://www.maxtrax.com.au/

Barry A. - 2-25-2014 at 11:07 AM

The concept has been around forever, and we relied totally on similar items back in the '40's and '50's with much success in getting out of sand with 2-wheel drive vehicles. If they stand up to abuse, then I think these look fantastic, and they are much lighter than the steel mats we use to use.

I would give a 2-thumbs up to these, in concept anyway, despite the $300 price tag.

Barry

dtbushpilot - 2-25-2014 at 11:11 AM

How much in USD is $299 Australian?

Barry A. - 2-25-2014 at 11:33 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by dtbushpilot
How much in USD is $299 Australian?

$268 USD

willardguy - 2-25-2014 at 11:47 AM

theres a cheaper version called "tred" that'll save you some dough but the offroad guys claim they're not as good. you know how that goes.... :smug:

remember the surf fishing video? might have saved that tundra?

[Edited on 2-25-2014 by willardguy]

Cliffy - 2-25-2014 at 11:54 AM

Way easier and cheaper to use pieces of chain link fence. Cut them 3 feet by 8 or so feet, jack up buried wheel, fill in with sand, drop fence under wheel and rive off. Worked for me many times.

Barry A. - 2-25-2014 at 12:16 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Cliffy
Way easier and cheaper to use pieces of chain link fence. Cut them 3 feet by 8 or so feet, jack up buried wheel, fill in with sand, drop fence under wheel and rive off. Worked for me many times.

Where do you carry the "chain link fence material" when not in use? "8 feet long" is pretty space-taking?!?!?!?.

Barry

bajacalifornian - 2-25-2014 at 01:03 PM

3 feet rolled up . . .

David K - 2-25-2014 at 01:24 PM

Or deflate your tires and drive more than a few feet.

Barry A. - 2-25-2014 at 02:37 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by David K
Or deflate your tires and drive more than a few feet.

Gizmos like these are instruments of last resort-----or at least that is the way we treated them long ago. We had no 4x4's in our stable in those days (40's and early '50's), so air-downed tires were the rule of the day. Still, you COULD bet stuck in sand even with the low air pressure, and "gizmos" came in REAL handy then.

Barry

willardguy - 2-25-2014 at 02:56 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by David K
Or deflate your tires and drive more than a few feet.

think dakar sand david, not shell island sand. now picture robby gordon with a roll of chain link tied to the top of the "gordini" :lol:

a maxtrax weighs 8 1/2 pounds. (then again being robby gordon he'd go with razor wire!)

bufeo - 2-25-2014 at 03:05 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by willardguy

Quote:

Originally posted by David K
Or deflate your tires and drive more than a few feet.

think dakar sand david, not shell island sand. ...

Now you've done it. We'll see a plethora of photos depicting driving up and down the sand of "Shell Island", airing-down tires, and probably myriad other unrelated subjects.

Allen R.

[Edited on 2-25-2014 by bufeo]

willardguy - 2-25-2014 at 03:08 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by bufeo

Quote:

Originally posted by willardguy

Quote:

Originally posted by David K
Or deflate your tires and drive more than a few feet.

think dakar sand david, not shell island sand. ...

don't forget maps, lots and lots of maps! :lol:

David K - 2-25-2014 at 03:13 PM

Right, Shell Island is worse because it doesn't compact, being so mixed with shells! Neal Johns has a story or two...

The Maxtrax look real neat... and if you left home without a tire pump to re-inflate, then a great idea... but only good as far as you can drive off of it.

I sure could have used it in 1980 when I sank my 4WD Subaru in mud trying to get on the island, at high tide around midnight. I wondered a foot off the firm track into the oatmeal like mud... and with 13" tires and 4 cylinders and no low range, the mud won! Slept in the front seat and after sunrise took a walk and found a plank of wood to get under the tires... That was my 'Maxtrax' in 1980!

micah202 - 2-25-2014 at 11:27 PM

....I've got 10'' bed-boards in th'minivan just for that purpose

,,,,,,,the tiremarks add to the 'ambiance'!

Neal Johns - 2-26-2014 at 10:51 PM

Cliffy,
Around 1980, in the Mojave, an old desert rat miner used a section of chain link fence and tied it to his truck with a ten foot rope. He did not stop until he got to hard ground. I learned something, hard to believe! :lol:

Cliffy - 2-27-2014 at 09:44 AM

It can be used for many things I used it back in the mid 60s to get my VW unstuck from the desert north of Reno out in the middle of nowhere. It can be used to drag behind a vehicle on dirt roads and then the next morning drive the same route looking for what tracks have crossed the road at night :-) Throw it across rocks at a fire and use it for cooking, Many things Many things.

David K - 2-27-2014 at 10:27 AM

Bedman graded the road to Gonzaga from Chapala for his motorhome, pulling a section of fence with his Suzuki 4x4 (Emma driving it). That was in 2001 or thereabouts.

Udo - 2-27-2014 at 11:18 AM

DK's Tacoma or our FJ Cruised would not have a need for such gadgets.

Quote:

Originally posted by David K
Or deflate your tires and drive more than a few feet.

geoffff - 2-27-2014 at 11:29 AM

I just bought myself a pair of MaxTrax for my just completed Baja adventure (more stories later). I found them very useful for getting my van out when stuck in mud -- which I managed to do twice. They don't solve the problem when you've sunk your vehicle down to the axles though. 9 hours of digging and jacking solved that little issue.

(MaxTrax in place for front wheels.)

As for sand, I've always managed to get myself unstuck by letting air out of my tires. At least for dry sand.

-- Geoff

willardguy - 2-27-2014 at 11:30 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Udo
DK's Tacoma or our FJ Cruised would not have a need for such gadgets.

Quote:

Originally posted by David K
Or deflate your tires and drive more than a few feet.

keep telling yourself that :lol:

just let out a few more pounds!

David K - 2-27-2014 at 11:31 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Udo
DK's Tacoma or our FJ Cruised would not have a need for such gadgets.

Quote:

Originally posted by David K
Or deflate your tires and drive more than a few feet.

Yup, we have A-TRAC! :light:

(but seriously, some sand becomes bottomless unless you deflate... and Shell Island is one such place. In Low Range, you can just dig the truck to China... it isn't power or all 4 tires locked together to drive on Shell Island... it's floatation!)

David K - 2-27-2014 at 11:33 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by geoffff
I just bought myself a pair of MaxTrax for my just completed Baja adventure (more stories later). I found them very useful for getting my van out when stuck in mud -- which I managed to do twice. They don't solve the problem when you've sunk your vehicle down to the axles though. 9 hours of digging and jacking solved that little issue.

(MaxTrax in place for front wheels.)

As for sand, I've always managed to get myself unstuck by letting air out of my tires. At least for dry sand.

-- Geoff

Hate mud!

David K - 2-27-2014 at 11:34 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by willardguy

Quote:

Originally posted by Udo
DK's Tacoma or our FJ Cruised would not have a need for such gadgets.

Quote:

Originally posted by David K
Or deflate your tires and drive more than a few feet.

keep telling yourself that :lol:

just let out a few more pounds!

Not all FJ Cruisers or Tacomas have A-TRAC!

Barry A. - 2-27-2014 at 12:38 PM

Quote:

(MaxTrax in place for front wheels.)

As for sand, I've always managed to get myself unstuck by letting air out of my tires. At least for dry sand.

-- Geoff

That picture---------that wouldn't be BOCA GRANDE on the Cortez side between Bahia las Animas and San Rafael by any chance?? If so, the exact same thing happened to me------took me 1/2 a day to get out, and scared me silly!!!

Barry

Udo - 2-27-2014 at 12:44 PM

There is also a similar place in Playa Malarrimo (the part that takes heavy duty 4X4 to get to). It has a seemingly dry and hard dirt area that is deceptive, and in a moment's notice, you are up to your axles...4X4 or not!
You have to be aware of the area, and once there, hit the gas, and you will drive past the 150' of cake mud.

Barry A. - 2-27-2014 at 12:44 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by David K

Quote:

Originally posted by willardguy

Quote:

Originally posted by Udo
DK's Tacoma or our FJ Cruised would not have a need for such gadgets.

Quote:

Originally posted by David K
Or deflate your tires and drive more than a few feet.

keep telling yourself that :lol:

just let out a few more pounds!

Not all FJ Cruisers or Tacomas have A-TRAC!

Now THERE is a case for a good winch and a pull-pal!!! I LOVE my pull-pal and WARN 9500i winch!!! :yes:

Barry

For a dire emergency when you have no way to reinflate tires

durrelllrobert - 2-27-2014 at 12:51 PM

I used this trick before but it only works with a manual transmission:
!. Remove or at least loosen all spark plugs to eliminate compression.
2. Unplug coil wire to prevent engine starting.
3. Hold ignition key in start position and ultra low gear ratio of the starter motor gear engaged with the fly wheel teeth will inch you out of soft sand or mud. Just don't let the starter motor get too hot.
4. replace the coil wire and spark plugs and you're on your way.

Barry A. - 2-27-2014 at 12:59 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by durrelllrobert
I used this trick before but it only works with a manual transmission:
!. Remove or at least loosen all spark plugs to eliminate compression.
2. Unplug coil wire to prevent engine starting.
3. Hold ignition key in start position and ultra low gear ratio of the starter motor gear engaged with the fly wheel teeth will inch you out of soft sand or mud. Just don't let the starter motor get too hot.
4. replace the coil wire and spark plugs and you're on your way.

Hmmmmmm---------I dunno, Bob----------I have loaded a truck onto a flat-bed tilt-trailer that way, but I would be afraid of burning out my starter in a mud-stuck situation. Definitely a "last resort" procedure, I am thinking?!?!?!?!? but an interesting idea.

Barry