Recovery boards

[Sgt Beavis]

I"m a fan of maxtrax. They work well and out perform everyone else. When it comes to recovery I want good gear that I can count on. I've seen a lot of people say Treds warranties their boards, but if you break one that doesn't help you get out.

Recovery boards are super helpful and quick to recover. For some people and certain areas they may not be best. Snow wheeling they're so quick and effective I use them a ton there. On rocks and hang ups like that I prefer to winch myself out. I have not used them in Sand, but I would suspect they work well in sand, and I avoid mud (it kills vehicles) so haven't needed them to recover there.

If you get maxtrax, I highly recommend this mount by Expedition Essentials, not cheap, but locks the boards well that you can trust they will be there in the morning. I don't leave mine on my jeep, but when I travel on overland trips I do sometimes stop at restaurants and motels.
https://expeditionessentials.com/co...tion/products/recovery-board-quick-mount-rbqm

I like that. I just don’t know where you’d mount it on a Wrangler.

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[DanW]

I like that. I just don’t know where you’d mount it on a Wrangler.

I got a set of ??? brand off Ebay. They've gotten our Ford Transit van out of the snow before. But tire spin wears out the studs, just like with all of them. Mine have a zippered case that keeps them from getting everything muddy.

They look almost exactly like the X-Bulls.

I slide them in the back, between the roll bar and reqr quarter window, on the driver side, so there's no way they obscure my view. They just sit there perfectly, out of the way, and they are easy to grab.

But between lockers at both ends and a winch, I've not had to use them yet off-roading. So they stay on van duty except when I take trips.

I'll try and get a pic up here soon of how I store them, when I get a chance.

 

[brewski]

I like that. I just don’t know where you’d mount it on a Wrangler.

Roofrack or off a spare tire swing. I don’t have pics of it on my JK and don’t have my JL yet to post pics of. It works really well, doesn’t take a ton of cleaning to mount them like the maxtrax pins do. Owner of that company says he wants to make a spare tire mount for it, but has a few projects to do first.

 

[Zandcwhite]

I"m a fan of maxtrax. They work well and out perform everyone else. When it comes to recovery I want good gear that I can count on. I've seen a lot of people say Treds warranties their boards, but if you break one that doesn't help you get out.

Recovery boards are super helpful and quick to recover. For some people and certain areas they may not be best. Snow wheeling they're so quick and effective I use them a ton there. On rocks and hang ups like that I prefer to winch myself out. I have not used them in Sand, but I would suspect they work well in sand, and I avoid mud (it kills vehicles) so haven't needed them to recover there.

If you get maxtrax, I highly recommend this mount by Expedition Essentials, not cheap, but locks the boards well that you can trust they will be there in the morning. I don't leave mine on my jeep, but when I travel on overland trips I do sometimes stop at restaurants and motels.
https://expeditionessentials.com/co...tion/products/recovery-board-quick-mount-rbqm

Clearly someone didn't watch the actual real world testing posted above. Aside from stacking thinner they didn't outperform the xbull version that is 4 times cheaper in any test. The xbull made a better jack base and flexed less in the bridge tests. Beyond that, traction boards are the most basic recovery gear. There's no such thing as special, inanimate plastic. They are 1 step up from throwing down some branches or using a floor mat. Used for their intended purpose, added traction in soft, slick conditions, there's no difference in any of them. Even if you cut them in half, they'd function virtually the same in any spot I'd be going for traction boards to get out of. My xbulls are ~5 years old and have been used in the snow and sand for both our jlur and my rebel that weighs well over 7k pounds with all our camping gear. There is absolutely no way a set of max Trax outperform or out last the 4 pairs of xbulls you could buy for the same money. In the end it's just a hunk of plastic. Spend your money however you'd like, but I've yet to see maxtrax outperform the competition, and damn sure not by 400%

 

[brewski]

Clearly someone didn't watch the actual real world testing posted above. Aside from stacking thinner they didn't outperform the xbull version that is 4 times cheaper in any test. The xbull made a better jack base and flexed less in the bridge tests. Beyond that, traction boards are the most basic recovery gear. There's no such thing as special, inanimate plastic. They are 1 step up from throwing down some branches or using a floor mat. Used for their intended purpose, added traction in soft, slick conditions, there's no difference in any of them. Even if you cut them in half, they'd function virtually the same in any spot I'd be going for traction boards to get out of. My xbulls are ~5 years old and have been used in the snow and sand for both our jlur and my rebel that weighs well over 7k pounds with all our camping gear. There is absolutely no way a set of max Trax outperform or out last the 4 pairs of xbulls you could buy for the same money. In the end it's just a hunk of plastic. Spend your money however you'd like, but I've yet to see maxtrax outperform the competition, and damn sure not by 400%

I've never used a recovery board for bridging, have you? I see that done all the time in test and marketing videos and never seen anyone do it in real life; they usually just grab some rocks or wood and throw them in the gap if that is needed. As far as how all of them work in snow and mud I agree they all work about the same and I personally haven't seen a noticeable difference there. What I have seen is the Tred brand break and once its 2 pieces the grip is reduced because the surface contact is now reduced. This is my reason for buying maxtrax over other brands, it is the same reason I don't buy smittybuilt winches. I want my recovery gear to work when I need it. I use the stuff often since I frequently go snow wheeling and used to be part of search and rescue. Living in the PNW, I see a lot of mud too.
A huge flaw in maxtrax is the knobs burning off from spinning wheels. It is why I don't use my trax on other people, I winch or snatch strap them out. The cost of the aluminum knob maxtrax was too much just to let other use my recovery boards; they are almost double the fully polymer model.

 

[operator22]

Anybody know if Traction Jack is still in business or available?

 

[Zandcwhite]

I've never used a recovery board for bridging, have you? I see that done all the time in test and marketing videos and never seen anyone do it in real life; they usually just grab some rocks or wood and throw them in the gap if that is needed. As far as how all of them work in snow and mud I agree they all work about the same and I personally haven't seen a noticeable difference there. What I have seen is the Tred brand break and once its 2 pieces the grip is reduced because the surface contact is now reduced. This is my reason for buying maxtrax over other brands, it is the same reason I don't buy smittybuilt winches. I want my recovery gear to work when I need it. I use the stuff often since I frequently go snow wheeling and used to be part of search and rescue. Living in the PNW, I see a lot of mud too.
A huge flaw in maxtrax is the knobs burning off from spinning wheels. It is why I don't use my trax on other people, I winch or snatch strap them out. The cost of the aluminum knob maxtrax was too much just to let other use my recovery boards; they are almost double the fully polymer model.

I agree the bridging tests are pointless, snow/mud/sand are the only times I'd reach for traction boards. I get the winch argument, but a plastic mat is a plastic mat. I've never seen one break in half, aside from really old and frequently abused versions. The beauty of my xbulls is they were cheap enough I'd have no problem loaning them out. Hell after the 5 years of service I've got out of them I'd have no problem giving them to a fellow wheeler in need that showed up unprepared.

 

[MILT]

I agree the bridging tests are pointless, snow/mud/sand are the only times I'd reach for traction boards. I get the winch argument, but a plastic mat is a plastic mat. I've never seen one break in half, aside from really old and frequently abused versions. The beauty of my xbulls is they were cheap enough I'd have no problem loaning them out. Hell after the 5 years of service I've got out of them I'd have no problem giving them to a fellow wheeler in need that showed up unprepared.

I agree;

I bought xbulls after using them extensively in rocks and snow. We’ve used them for bridging several times (doubling them up under a single wheel) multiple times. They work great. Lost a couple of nubs to tire spin, but I have been impressed with performance. I look at them as more of a low priced disposable option. Bought a set for a family member. Will buy another set for my nephew who is just getting into wheeling

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