Pull-pal

[David Justice]

I recently got my Trooper T4 stuck in some pretty serious quicksand in the Hassayampa river near Wickenburg, AZ. The stuff looked just like hard packed sand and was pretty nasty. My question is, does anyone here have any experience with the Pull-pal or similar? http://www.pullpal.com/index.html . I tried winching to a 5' stake buried in the sand but it just ripped out of the quicksand every time and I wonder if a Pull-pal would have worked in this situation.

[brostar]

Man those things look dangerous to me. What happens if it initially grips and then pulls out with say just 1000lb of pull? You get a 1000lbs of of ugliness coming right at you. The Troopers stock winch is rated at 3500lb so lets not even go there. In super soft sand or quicksand, I think it would behave in the same manner as your buried stake. If you are in the soft stuff, it doesn't matter if it's mud or sand, anchored products like the Pull Pal don't get a secure grip. Hard ground is fine but the work is hard too, digging it in and then getting it out.

Not sure if these are available in America, but if they aren't they should be.

They are called MaxTrax and retail here in NZ for nz$500.00 or about us$330. Here is a video of them in action.

Cheers Mike.

[Northern Nevada]

Next time try using your 5' stake angled away from you. Leave about a foot of the stake out of the ground put your winch cable near the ground and tie an additional rope from the top of your stake to another stake or bush directly behind it. In really loose ground do this with a series of three stakes. You will be amazed at how well this will work even in snow or mud. The additional stake(s) will also prevent a sudden release if you do pull it out.

[rocmoc]

I carry enough tow strap and tie-down straps to reach to most anything. I had the same thing happen to me once except was high-centered. Did not carry anything with me then except what was on the winch. Luckily a Jeep happened by and let me hook to the back of him and winched myself free. Since then I carry a LOOOOONG tow strap.

rocmoc n AZ./Mexico