Extraction

Extraction Gear and Techniques

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This page details the equipment and proper uses for extraction gear with some safety precautions. Getting stuck is a way of life, when you don't have much experience you'll probably be more likely to get stuck. As soon as you have some experience with your vehicle you'll know what to avoid and what you can handle without any problem. For all those times that you overestimate yourself you'll need some way of getting out without calling Triple A. When you're getting yourself out make sure you take your time and do it as safely as possible. It's really tempting to rush when you're stuck so that you can finish the trail on time, or get home before its dark. I'll tell you now, IT'S NOT WORTH RUSHING! You or one of your friends can end up hurt or killed. And even if your safe your vehicle may not be; being stuck is one thing, being stuck and trashing your vehicle is another.

So the most important thing you can take from this page is "Be Patient". Take your time, if you have your friends with you don't let them rush you or talk you into doing anything you know is wrong. They may be impatient but it's your life and your vehicle on the line, so make sure to communicate clearly what you need to do.

Gear

Tow Rope

A tow rope has the lowest strength rating of the extraction gear, it really only has one use, towing a broken down vehicle. Tow ropes are slightly elastic to absorb the shock of the towing vehicle as it pulls the disabled vehicle from a stop. The strength rating is usually 10000 lbs or less so try to keep the shock when pulling a vehicle as little as possible. It's also ok to have metal hooks on the ends of a tow rope because the rope has a lower strength rating than the hooks and you shouldn't be yanking with this rope.

Yank Strap

A yank strap is built like a tow strap except it's much stronger and more elastic plus it doesn't have any tow hooks. The yank strap usually has a strength rating of 24k lbs or more because the large amounts of tension you have to put on it. Quality straps will be 3-4 inches wide, have well sewn loops to take the stress of the pull, and if they're like the Warn strap to the right they'll have a tough sleeve (the Grey patch on the strap in the picture) that can be slid to where the strap comes into contact with metal or something that may fray the strap. The Warn strap also has red wear indicators embedded in the strap that show when the strap has been pulled one too many times and needs to be retired.

It's also important not to get a yank strap with metal hooks on the ends, if one breaks it'll be launched at speeds that can punch through sheet metal. And most likely it's going to be heading right for your windshield or back window. And don't use shackles to hook two straps together if you need more length, they can be more dangerous than the hooks. Read below to see how to safely hook two straps together.

Don't use straps that are fraying or torn, they won't be much help and they're a safety liability. I've seen a frayed strap break first hand on a gentle pull and it still snapped back with enough force to flip 30ft of heavy mud caked strap up into the bed of the truck pulling.

Chains

Chains have no elasticity at all so pulling somebody out with one can be a shocking event. But they still have their purpose, especially if you're doing a static extraction. Chains are usually best used with winches, Hi-Lift jacks, or come-a-longs. They don't stretch and you don't want them to in these situations. The drawback is that chains are very heavy, carrying them or using them can be a pain.

Chains can break but if they do the weight of the chain will keep it from snapping back like a rubber band. There is still some reason for caution though, the link that breaks may fly in any direction with enough force to knock somebody out.

The hooks on the chains are rumored to be the weakest part of the chain so when you can loop the chain around something and clip the hook back onto one of the links. This will take some of the stress off the hook, the drawback is that sometimes the extraction point isn't wide enough to slip the whole chain through (tie down holes are a good example). Take the time to find the safest setup you can.

It's also probably a good idea to make a specialized chain for hooking up to people without proper tow points. I got the idea form Harry Lewellyn, he calls it a "Coyote Chain" but his whole "Coyote" thing kind of bugs me so I just call it an "Adapter Chain". It's just a 3ft chain with a normal chain hook on one end and a choke hook on the other. The choke hook goes in the tie down hole, then feed the other end of the chain though your yank strap loop and hook it back on itself. Since you now have alot of heavy metal involved in you extraction be careful how hard you yank just incase the chain or hooks fail.

Winches

Winches are probably the preferred method of extraction, but there are also the most dangerous and most expensive. They make you self reliant, they can be used to pull large debris and boulders from the trail, and if you have an electric winch you can even use it with the engine disabled (but not for long).

The drawback is the high tension cable of the winch has the power to cut a man in two if it snaps (ever see Ghost Ship?), but for it to have that high of tension you would be pulling thousands of pounds. Just stay on the safe side, keep all people away from the winching operation and put a blanket or something else with some weight on the line to dampen the recoil if it does break. You can put your hood up too if you think your in danger of snapping the line.

The winch line needs to be reeled back on under tension but I've never seen a good way to do this at the hundred pounds of tension the manufacturer recommends. The best way I know is to pull the cable out as much as you can while reeling in the cable. Be extra sure to keep hands and fingers away from the drum as you're reeling back in, the winch has enough power that it won't even pause if it sucks your hand into the rollers.

Make sure your bumper is strong enough to withstand the huge amounts of stress at the mounting point of the winch. If you have an improperly designed bumper the bumper may fail before the Winch or Winch cable. This is something you especially need to think of if you are getting a hitch mount winch.

Picture from Calmini.com

Hi-Lifts and Hand Winches

A Hi-Lift can be used as a hand winch by connecting chains or straps to the top and the lower "jaw" and winching yourself out 4 feet at a time. If you need to pull further than one Hi-Lift length then you're going to need a short length of chain to hold everything in place while you reset the Hi-Lift pull. The Hi-Lift can also be used in many other ways.

Of course it can be used as a jack but finding places on the Xterra to use it is hard on a stock Xterra since the body of the Xterra sticks out so much and the Hi-Lift is straight up and down it's hard to get the jaw on anything except the rear bumper. To get it anywhere else you'll need rock sliders and a bull bar. If and when you do jack next to the doors make sure you open the door, some people have had problems with jacking the Xterra when the weight shifts and the upright on the Hi-Lift presses a dent into the door panel.

When the loop at the top of the Hi-Lift is turned horizontal the Hi-Lift can even be used as a clamp. I'm not sure what you're going to want to clamp that's that big but it's good to have ability there if you need it. One problem I had with the clamp at the top is that the bolt would come loose and it nearly fell off when driving. So now I take it off and keep it in the glove box till I need it.

A hand winch or Come-A-Long can winch the same way as the Hi-Lift just make sure the weight rating is strong enough to handle your vehicle. And like with the winch keep clear of the cable, just in case it breaks.

Tow Points

Your vehicle should have 4 tow points two in the front two in the rear; it's good trail etiquette and you'll appreciate an easy access tow point when you get stuck. All of them should be mounted to the frame, if not the frame then a point that is connected to the frame with metal as strong as the frame (like a heavy duty bumper). In a pinch you can use the tie down holes that all vehicles come with standard, but they're not really meant for hard pulls so use them only if there's no other way. And if you can, share the load between two tow points so that the load is spread evenly across the frame; either two tie down holes or both tow hooks in the front or in the rear.

On the Xterra you usually have one stock cast tow hook in the front, but they've been known to break off so buy two forged tow hooks from the local 4x4 store and replace the stock one and put the other hook on the other side (the holes are there but the nuts welded inside aren't). Most 4x4 shops have tow hooks for less than ten bucks, you'll need the ones with three holes. It's hard to bolt the hook on the driver side of the frame since there aren't nuts welded inside the frame like the passenger side so buy some good 8 gauge bolts and drop them through the holes in the frame then put the nuts on. It will be hard to tighten the nuts unless you have air tools but stick with it, when it finally catches you'll be able to torque everything down good.

You'll have to be more creative for tow points in the rear, I put a D-Ring Shackle around the rear leaf spring mount as a temporary solution but it's not much more than a band-aid for emergencies. Whatever you do DON'T make a recovery point out of anything that moves, you can seriously damage suspension and/or drive train components. This means shackles, springs and axles are off limits. I know your dad or buddy may wrap a yank strap around his axle to pull people out but there are many things that ca go wrong pulling from an axle; damage to the suspension components, permanently twisting the axle, or even damaging gears and bearings in the differential are just a few problems.

Alot of people get tow hitches just to use them as rear Tow Points there are two reasons I don't like this:

The hitch on the Xterra makes the departure angle very poor. One of the reasons you lift and X is to get better approach and departure angles, why take back that advantage? And I've seen people fail to make it up an obstacle and slide back onto their hitch putting the Xterra in a three point stance, the two front tires and the rear hitch. I've seen even more people scrape their hitches on EVERY ledge they go down.
Most hitches (class 3) are only rated for 8000 lbs at the most. Yanking can create alot more stress than 8000 lbs, especially if your hitch is attached with less than grade 8 bolts. So if your Yank strap is rated at 28000 lbs and the hitch is rated 8000 lbs which is likely to fail first?

The Department of Transportation requires 4 tie down holes on the frame for shipping (two in front and two in back) and they are good for mild pulls if you don't have any other tow points or if the person you're extracting doesn't have any tow points; not everybody thinks ahead.

For an example of why you need to be familiar with tow points check out this movie:

Plastic Isn't a Tow Point! (.wmv 14MB)

Cheap Rear Tow Point

Two good front tow points

In an emergency find holes in the frame you can fit a hook in.

Other tools

A shovel to dig yourself part way out will help alot, there are sometimes that the only way you're getting out is to dig. In fact given enough time you can dig yourself out of most problems you get stuck in. Just remember that you're not moving anyway, get the shovel out and start scooping, all the work will keep you warm too.

Try to clear the area around the wheels to reduce the suction mud has on them, if you can clear around the differentials too, and if you still can't get out clear a trench in front of the wheels so they can roll out more easily. I carry a folding military style E-tool because it's compact; a larger half-sized shovel with D handle will be easier to use but harder to find a place to mount. I don't plan on using a shovel except in emergencies so the E-tool is perfect for my needs.

An axe or pick-axe (Mattock) can also be useful on the trail to dig your way out, but always keep in mind what you're doing to the trail or the environment. Try to keep you extraction as "Low Impact" as possible. There is a tool called the "Max Axe" that is an all-in-one tool (shovel, axe, mattock, hoe, rake) that is probably one of the best trail aids out there.

Floor mats, or rolls of carpet can be use for traction in snow or sand. I kind of tore up my old carpet floor mats trying to get out of the snow once so getting some 2ft by 8ft strips of scrap carpet and rolling them up can be a good investment. Some times you'll see people carrying "Sand Ladders" around (The Land Cruiser groups seem to love them). They're usually large metal plates that were originally used by the Air Force in WWII for Quick-Fab landing strips. The problem is that they're really bulky and bend easily, plus the tabs along the sides used to hook the tracks together in WWII can puncture tires so I'd recommend not getting them. Some 4-wheel manufacturers make better versions that are fiberglass or nylon that are lighter and strong enough to be used as ramps or bridges over gaps without collapsing. They're still bulky but for their weight and size they're alot more useful than the metal sand tracks.

Techniques

Moving Extraction (pulling or yanking)

Here's Todd pulling out a stuck Chevy, the Chevy up to it's hubs in snow but a yank wasn't required. Todd's driver-side tires had plenty of traction to get the Chevy out.

Moving extractions are the quickest and easiest to set up but you need a buddy to do them, these are all the extractions you do by having somebody pull you out. There's not much too it except to hook things up and pull. But a few pointers will make for easier and safer extractions.

The first thing to do is find places on each vehicle to pull from. There are a few things you want to avoid, namely anything that may break off or be damaged in the process on pulling. Never use a hitch ball to hook onto a vehicle, they're not made to withstand tens of thousands of pounds of shearing power and may break off, if they do you now have a cannon ball at speeds that can punch holes through trees, metal, people, you name it. And even though it's tempting don't connect to the rear axle or leaf spring shackle, if either one gets bent your vehicle won't drive in a straight line anymore. Try to hook up to things that are connected directly to the frame if not the frame itself. Tow hooks and tie down holes are your best bet, but sometimes strap loops fall off tow hooks so carry a roll of duct tape to keep gravity from shifting your tow hook from where you want it. And if there is any point where the strap comes into constant contact during the pull make sure there some kind of sleeve or protection to keep it from fraying or cutting the strap.

When you pull somebody out try to pull them forward or backward, having to pull at an angle will waste some of your pulling power because the wheels have lateral resistance, they want to roll forward but they don't want to slide to the side. Plus it will lower the possibilities of tweaking the frame if you pull straight. Like always, if you can try to pull from both sides of the frame at the same time, to do this get an 8ft length of chain and connect it to both sides of the frame, preferably with tow hooks but at the tie down holes in an emergency. Now connect the strap, cable, or chain to the middle of the 8ft chain, usually you can just slip the 8ft chain through the loop of the strap and let it find its own center. When you're expecting a powerful yank it might not be advisable to use the chain to pull both side of the frame, just rely on the strap on one side of the frame. That way if anything breaks it's most likely to be fabric flying through the air.

There are a few ways to get a stuck vehicle out with a yank strap, you should try them in this order.

Use the yank strap like the tow strap.
Just hook it up and try to pull the stuck vehicle out at a steady speed.
Gently yank the stuck vehicle out.
1. Hook the strap up to the two vehicles, take up the slack in the strap so it's barely touching the ground.
2. Now slowly accelerate till the strap brings moving vehicle to a stop.
3. When you stop lock up the brakes, the elasticity of the strap should pull the stuck vehicle out.
Full power, yank the stuck vehicle out.
1. Hook up the vehicles and take up the slack in the strap.
2. Gun the engine of the moving vehicle and pull with as much power as possible.
3. Give it all you got but if your 37" MT's are tearing up the trail and you're just sliding from side to side stop, you're not making any progress without traction anyway.
4. If this still won't get the other vehicle out you'll need to work at finding out why the other vehicle won't move and fix the problem. Either dig out the wheels a bit or get it off of whatever it's hung on.

As you can imagine if you're trying yank method three there is a huge amount of stress being put on the strap and mounting points. With this much stress on the strap you need to make sure that the strap is in good condition and won't break, you need to make sure that the connecting points on both vehicles are strong and connected to the frame. If you connect to something other than the frame you could end up breaking it or damaging the strap.

If you ever need to connect two straps together slip one loop through the loop of the other strap then slip the opposite end through the loop from the first strap. Stick a short dowel or a piece of thick branch in between the two straps before yanking so that the straps are easier to get apart afterwards.

Make sure everybody stays clear of the area when yanking, if the strap is 30ft long everybody should be at least 30ft from the vehicles if not more; your buddies will probably be so excited and jumpy that everybody wants to surround the vehicles to watch, just make sure everybody gathers far enough that they're safe from flying objects. There should only be one person in each vehicle in case something does break and come flying through a windshield; and as always, take your time, things will be safer and better thought out if you relax and take your time.

Static Extraction (winching)

The JackMate Really expands the versatility of the HiLift Jack.

The nice thing about static extractions is that they're slow and you can take your time. There's no rush so take your time and make sure nothing gets broken. You can rig up something that won't slip or slide. Instead of using another vehicle to get you out like in a moving extraction you find an anchor point and pull yourself out.

The anchor that you connect to can be a tree (make sure it's large enough to handle the stress), a rock, or another vehicle(s). If you're desperate for an anchor an none can be found you can even bury your spare tire with a tire iron, just dig a T shaped hole so the top of the T is 3ft deep and wide enough to fit your spare. Now run the winch hook through the hole in the middle of the wheel and hook it onto the tire iron, toss the whole thing in the top of the T with the cable coming down the upright part of the T and bury it. The cable should be pulling the tire iron against the wheel, now you have makeshift anchor. If you think this sounds like too much work invest in a Pull-Pal, the pull pall is a self burying anchor that can be used on dirt, rock, snow and ice and only takes up as much space as a Hi-Lift.

Sometimes rigging is important to extract something; winches have a tendency to bunch up on one side of the drum when pulling in any direction but straight on so try to find an anchor that will pull you forward. Sometimes you have trouble getting an anchor ahead so you can use a snatch block on a tree or vehicle to pull forward. You can also use a snatch block to double the line back to you and share the strain between two lines instead of one. Run the line from the winch to the anchor, through the snatch block and back to the Frame. Now your 8000 lb winch is a 16000 lb winch. Plus the strain on your vehicle has been divided from just the winch mount to the winch mount and frame.

Changing the Trail

Sometimes pulling the vehicle out will just cause more damage or get you in a worse position. Such as being high centered on a large log or hung up on a big rock. There are a few ways to get yourself off the obstruction, one is to jack up the vehicle and pull the obstruction out, the other is to jack up the vehicle and build a the trail under the wheels so you can drive off.

The first method is pretty self explanatory, as soon as the vehicle is off the obstruction pull it out from under. Remember to be real careful under the vehicle, make sure it's stable before going under so it doesn't fall on you.

Sometimes the object underneath can't be moved, this is when the second method comes in handy. You can jack the vehicle up and build little ramps under the wheels with rocks and dirt so you can drive off the obstacle. A perfect example is getting high centered on a log. You can jack the vehicle up and build ramps up and over the log then lower the vehicle and drive over. You'll probably need a spotter to help you stay on the narrow ramps.

Sometimes you don't even need to be stuck to need extraction, if you get too far off your line you may be at risk of rolling or suffering damage. This is another situation where the Hi-Lift jack will come to the rescue, you can jack up one end of the vehicle and tip it to the side to move the vehicle laterally. But be very careful that everything is clear of the direction of movement and everybody is safely away from the vehicle and jack. By doing this to the front and back alternately you can move the vehicle to the side without moving forward.