Recovery Gear

[jordantii]

I go the following for recovery:

ARB 4x4 Accessories Snatch Strap 17,500lb ARB705LB ARB705LB

ARB 4x4 Accessories Soft Connect Shackle ARB2018 ARB2018

ARB 4x4 Accessories Recovery Bow Shackle 19mm 4.75T Rated, Pin size 23mm, Type S ARB2014 ARB2014

Bow Shackle on one end, the soft connect on the other, soft connect acts like a fuse, if something is going to exceed the tensile strength, the soft shackle will break before anything else. Throw a towell / blanket / coat on the tow line so it doesn't whip back into your windshield, plus with the soft shackle, it's all rope, no metal to go flying into anyone (better safety).

The raptor empty is about 5,300 lbs, so the ARB snatch strap and soft shackle are rated at about 3x vehicle weight unless you're pulling someone out with a really heavy rig (like an overlanding F-150 Raptor on 37's with 1k lbs of gear / passengers).

As others have said, basics, shovel is lightweight and very helpful to just use stuff you find around you like stacking rocks under a stuck tire, could lift the truck up a bit with a scissors jack, then put some rocks under the tire(s) for traction.

Lighter weight is better, vehicle is more maneuverable, less likely to sink down in soft terrain and easier to pull out than something super over loaded. Plus, the Raptor's bread and butter isn't level 10 hard core rock crawling trails, it's high speed in the desert, dirt roads, sand dunes or even prepped tracks etc. Everyone has different uses, but I'm keeping mind more performance oriented than hard core 4x4, the most I'll do is probably level 5 or 6 trails, something a stock RR could do and that's the vast majority of trails, 1-5 (out of 10) difficulty rating.

Also a block of wood for the jack base is a good idea, especially in soft terrain. Tire inflation / deflation is another good area to spend money on to get something that works well and is reliable. I also really like the idea of tire repair kit as an option to avoid changing to the spare until you can get on-road, if that gets you somewhere easier and safer to jack up the truck (flat, level and hard terrain), I'd do the repair, get to safer area, then swap out the damaged tire for the spare.

I got Method 705's and did all 5 wheels, so my spare is a 705 since they have different weight / off-set than factory and I wanted proper on-road handling just in case I needed to drive a good distance to get back home on the spare.

I don't have any yet, but plan to eventually get some, traction boards are good for loose terrain (sand, gravel, mud with a rocky bottom). They are lightweight too. For securing said items, I'm putting in L-Track system in the bed (4x 4-foot rails), so most of this stuff can be secured with a very light weight system with straps.

48" Aluminum L-Track | Black Anodized Finish

Those 4 foot strips are only 1.5lbs of added weight, so 6lbs + some screws, you can strap in anything, plastic totes from Home Depot, tractions boards, 5 gallon marine style lay-down gas tanks, shovels etc. I think that's the way to go vs. all these bulky racks etc. that add 150~200 lbs not even counting the gear itself and cost thousands of dollars, so air-craft style L-track + factory tie downs will do a LOT for you, cheaply and at almost zero weight penalty. Plus, the L-track is very utilitarian for Home Depot runs or even strapping big duffle bags, tents and other things in bed for practical uses like home repair or just taking the family to a campground.

Weight adds up super-fast, so be systematic and take the "race car / cargo plane approach", IS THE WEIGHT really worth the pull? 95% of the time, a recovery strap and a buddy will do the job, other 4.9% of the time, a shovel, traction boards or spare tire / patch kit will do the trick. And 0.1% you might need a winch or high lift jack if your solo on a level 7-10 trail, but I'm not doing that, so just not worth the cost in performance / literal cost for me personally or most people. Plus, you can end up in a situation where there's nothing to attach the winch too!

Sometimes, less is actually more.

Cool. I have a kinetic rope and 2 soft shackles righ now. I'll probably get a tow strap as well. Have tire repair kits and a compressor. Looking into tire deflators. The ones I want are out of AUS and the shipping is more than the retail. So maybe the Stauns. Have wood, packing blanket and am assembling some key tools to carry. I don't want to carry shit I don't need. Light weight is important to me.

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[Lion77]

Depending on your tire inflation system, some of the 4 hose + control unit can do deflation all at same time, just some good for thought.

 

[jordantii]

Depending on your tire inflation system, some of the 4 hose + control unit can do deflation all at same time, just some good for thought.

I’ve looked into that as well. I don’t live in an area where I can just hop onto a trail and go. It’s a 2 hour drive to get to them. So unless I move, which I’m considering, I’m going to keep it simple, light and cost effective. If I was close, I would consider onboard air and all but that’s not my situation right now. There are Raptor Runs here in FL so that’s what I’m looking to do. No crawling, mostly high speed stuff. Lights are my current priority and I’ve got that all planned out. Thanks for all the info, much appreciated.

 

[Lion77]

Speaking of lightweight, dont discount a set of Method bead grips. 703s or 705s. I got the 705s becuase they are only 25.2 lbs per wheel and my OE beadlocks were pretty hefty at 36 lbs per wheel. At the end of the day that and the Pro Cal have been my two most impact full mods.

I really like the bead grips for the following:

1. Significant reduction in rotating mass

2. Bead grips reduces chance of debeading (yet to see a single report of debeading with their wheels, Raptor Race truck ran the Baja 1000 twice and Finke twice with their forged MR207s using the same bead tech) without all the issues of traditional beadlocks, just a better option for high speed offroad / street / race applications.

Note: true beadlocks are still better for trails / hard core crawling. Beadgrips can't quite replace them for those applications, but for 99% of street legal trucks, beadgrip or something similar is the way to go.

3. Much easier access to valve stems and they balanced with a lot less weight than the OE wheels.

4. Asthetics, they just look nice, even when filthy.

Wheel tech I think is often overlooked for offroad prep and it can make a big difference.

Its spendy, but it will last the life of the truck. I saved up for a year to get mine lol.

 

[jordantii]

Speaking of lightweight, dont discount a set of Method bead grips. 703s or 705s. I got the 705s becuase they are only 25.2 lbs per wheel and my OE beadlocks were pretty hefty at 36 lbs per wheel. At the end of the day that and the Pro Cal have been my two most impact full mods.

I really like the bead grips for the following:

1. Significant reduction in rotating mass

2. Bead grips reduces chance of debeading (yet to see a single report of debeading with their wheels, Raptor Race truck ran the Baja 1000 twice and Finke twice with their forged MR207s using the same bead tech) without all the issues of traditional beadlocks, just a better option for high speed offroad / street / race applications.

3. Much easier access to valve stems and they balanced with a lot less weight than the OE wheels.

4. Asthetics, they just look nice, even when filthy.

Wheel tech I think is often overlooked for offroad prep and it can make a big difference.

Its spendy, but it will last the life of the truck. I saved up for a year to get mine lol.

They are on my list! I’ve got the lighting all set for now. Have a way to air down quickly and a 38000 mah compressor all with quick connects. Works well. Takes about 10-12 minutes to air back up from 25 total. I have full skids as well. All I want now are wheels. I like the 705s for the lower weight but I like the 793s for the color. I’ll probably go with the lighter weight.

 

[NM Mike]

One thing I’ve seen overlooked, especially when not 4wheeling as a group, is emergency gear, when retrieval isn’t available soon. I live and play in the rocky mountain west. 4 wheeling often means high elevations and being prepared to stay overnight might be necessary before help is available. A small sterlite or other container with a couple of wool blankets, trail mix, heat pads, bottled water and a flash light with extra batteries can make a long cold night a lot more comfortable. These things might take up some space, but don’t weigh much.

 

[OxygenMask]

This has been a great thread. Lots of well considered comments here and not one single idiot!
I started 4-wheeling in the 70s, by the late 80s me and my friends were running dedicated trail rigs. Oregon is such a wonderful place, any given weekend we would be on sand, desert, high altitude mountains, valley mud, you name it. I the early years I never went alone, but in my 40s I did a lot solo. But by then I could seriously drive, my rig was a mountain goat, I could fix anything that broke, and I developed an eagle eye for winch anchors within 90 feet of any mud hole...
I tapered off after about 2005 or so and these days it's more relaxed trail riding and overlanding type stuff, nothing hardcore.

Based on my experiences,

*The scissors jack and extra wide/tall pad works well. I bought an extra one off ebay, I think it was from a Suburban, came in a plastic case, sometimes having 2 helped.
*Good strong mid length shovel.
*Tire repair kit.
*Good first aid kits aren't cheap, but are essential. (My wife was a nurse, her kit is... comprehensive, we could stitch you, splint you, fix your teeth, amputate... just kidding. Maybe..)
*Space blankets, actual blanket, extra jacket, gloves, knit caps, Water!
*"Kinetic rope" is apparently a newer invention, but the recovery strap is The Single Best piece of trail gear you can have. My 85 4runner pulled full size rigs out with my strap that they couldn't get out with a 10k winch. For real. My personal favorite is a Warn kit with strap, snatch block, shackles etc.
*Staun deflators, don't go cheap import.
*Lots of good compressor recommendations, I might be shopping for a new one myself, thanks guys
* Good pocket flashlights plus area task lights. Simple and convenient beats expensive fancy stuff always.
*I carry a simple small bow saw I bought in a hardware store for $5. It has cleared trails and cut up firewood for 40 years.
*Basic tools. As mentioned above, you don't really need much but you might need some!
Most of my friends were running Toyotas, most of us didn't carry tools like the Jeep guys cuz we never broke down... Then one day many miles up a hard core trail I threw a belt. Easy fix? Sure if had tools.... or a Jeep guy...

Random:
We have a top tier AAA membership but most of Oregon's best places are out of reach of the tow truck....
A high lift jack is next to useless, stupid bulky and heavy, and even worse it's dangerous. All of us had them back in the day, never once successfully used them, eventually sold them.
Carried sand ladders for years. Never once did I use them. They ended up with the high lift jack in the garage, then to the garage sale. If I did a lot of sand, solo, then I would want them. BTW they don't work at all in mud...
Beadlock wheels are not the answer to anything you're going to do with a RR. Fake ones...up to the individual if they like the look, But - they trap mud and that's a pain in... Beadlocks aren't designed to keep the tire bead from coming loose, they are intended to keep the rim from spinning in the tire at low pressures 5-10 psi or high horsepower 1000+. 99% of them don't lock the inside bead anyway. Plus they are illegal on the road...

My 2cents. Kinda miss the hardcore days, we had great times.

Oh and, satellite communicators are pretty affordable today. Worth considering.

 

[Lion77]

Also don't forget a cargo management system. I'm NOT a big fan of all these stupid heavy slide out drawers and racks. I get that if you want to overland and make an overlanding rig, that's perfectly fine, but I'm setting mine up more like a race truck, lightweight and minimalist. I also want to preserve full bed utility for when we go camping (pack it full) or when I need it for utility (i.e., home depot runs). In fact, I want most of my cargo management solutions to be multi-purpose (can be used for off-roading and utility).

Weight works against you in any performance driving use cases, including off-road. Too much weight and your factory 2.5 damping rates become inadequate (more frequent and harsh bottom outs), you lose travel then your into adjustable perch collars to increase pre-load to off-set the weight, but then you also need limit straps to prevent top-out damage because there's more pre-load etc. But now because you have more pre-load and spring pressure your damping rates are sub-optimal…it's a snowball effect! Suspension is a tuned system that works optimally within a certain range and weight plays a big role in it's optimal tuning, so my goal is to minimize any weight gain over stock (100~200 lbs isn't a big issue, but 400 to 600 lbs is).

So...with that being said, I found US Cargo Control L-track strips, only 2.5lbs per strip, 4 foot long each. So 10lbs for the strips, 2~3lbs for the screws and plus nuts. Super lightweight. They use 1/4" screws and carbon steel plus nuts, 10x per strip, so they are NOT coming out. The L-track is rated for 5klbs pull strength.....again its not coming off if installed properly AND, by using this method, I can configure it any which way I like.

I can strap traction strips on the left side, put lightweight nylon totes on the right, can strap fuel cans in (or use the Rotopax mounted to the sides which is probably what I'll do for fuel):

I chose zinc plated carbon steel plus nuts for max strength, then coated them with cavity wax for additional corrosion protection. They do offer them in stainless, but they are softer and I wanted to make sure there was no chance of them pulling out under hard use.

Steel bed, steel plus nuts, stainless 1/4" fasteners, they aren't going anywhere! The L-track sits flush with the bed ribs, so you still have full utilization for utility purposes (i.e., hauling 4x8 sheets of plywood, drywall, pallets or are large cargo).

This setup is ultra lightweight, versatile and fully utilitarian. I still have access to all six factory tie downs too. Another use is for hauling long cargo, like 2x4's that are 8 or 10 feet long, you can strap the 2x4s to the bed so they don't slide out with the tail gate down!

For off-roading, you can strap anything in the bed. You can use tracks in any combination, do straight across or x-pattern with the straps depending on the item. A couple plano totes on the right side, 500lb ratchet straps from HomeDepot (they were 12 footers, so I cut them down to 6 feet so there's not so much extra strap since I use them only for securing small items).

Hope this helps with ideas for how to secure the cargo. You can put a bottle jack in a small tote with foam padding too so it doesn't move around. Lots of options! I recommend ONLY use specialized mounting solutions for items that are very hard to secure.

i.e., fuel. It's a critical and potentially dangerous liquid, needs specialized containers that are anti-slosh, so I think for that I'll break it up into two or three smaller Rotopax containers with the bed side mounts.

But shovels, traction mats, tow straps / shackles can all be directly strapped down or put in totes that are strapped down.

This is what I'm thinking for extra fuel, except I'll go with direct mount, not molle, as you can screw the holder directly to the side of the bed:

Although these 5-gallon fuel can mounts might work too:

You can actually get L-track studs with a threaded post and nut sticking up, so you could potentially mount that to the L-track, then remove it when not needed, but I'm leaning more toward using two 3-gallon Rotopax containers.

By breaking up the fuel into two smaller containers, you really mitigate some of slosh issues with the 5-gallon containers for hard use. Since the 3-gallon containers are pretty slim and flat, it really limits the slosh and potential for leakage, there's less fuel volume per container and I think 6 gallons is plenty for reserve as that's 70 to 100 miles worth of spare fuel depending on gas mileage.

 

[Lion77]

BTW:

Plus Nuts - 1/4"-20 (20 Pack) - HPN20 - Upfit Supply

Plus Nut Installation Tool Set - Pull Style (1/4"-20) - TPN14-P - Upfit Supply

48" Aluminum L-Track | Black Anodized Finish

L-Track Fasteners (10 pack) - Bolts, Washers & Nuts

If you buy these in Orange, they are for some reason $3 cheaper per stud, guess nobody likes safety orange?:

Single Stud L-Track Fitting with Stainless Steel Round Ring | 4,000 lbs. BS

For custom fixtures, you can use these threaded studs, so place them on the L-track, then screw down say a 5-gallon gas can holder if you wanted to fabricate a custom cargo management piece:

Double Stud L-Track Threaded Fitting | 5,500 lbs. BS

But what's nice about that is you NOT screwing something into the bed that's permanent and can't be removed (aside from the fact that the L-track is permanent). But you can change you setup over time or as needed.

There's a ton of stud types, some are double heavy duty, but standard ones should be plenty for most lighter weight cargo:

L-Track System | L-Track Tie Downs | Airline Track & Straps

I highly recommend the L-track system for cargo management when off-roading. It's designed for lightweight and strength, nearly infinitely configurable, doesn't impede the utilitarian function of the bed space for more practical "truck stuff" applications and looks cool too

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