ARB snatch block. Holy crap Ed you're full of surprises! Lol Ya I was curious about how they help or don't help.
Snatch blocks are one of those pieces of gear you never need until you need it and then you REALLY, REALLY need it.
In my defense, there's not a hell of a lot to get stuck in in CO. I've used my winch to get others unstuck more than I've ever used it for myself. There's very, very little mud in CO and as I said above its mostly peat, not really mud, so its about 80% water. You have more to worry about with sucking something into the intake.
The bigger problem here is snow if you drive during the winter or snow wheel. Mostly we have big, slick granite rock. Southern UT is predominately slick rock and sand with random patches of clay. The sand turns into quicksand with the addition of water and any water crossings are always extremely risky because the bed is almost always quicksand. The clay is bad ju-ju.
Like driving on concrete when dry and a solid sheet of glass smooth ice when wet.
My big Sport is to the point that there's very, very little unless I hit the buggy trails that are bad enough to get it 'stuck'. 25" of clearance to the bottom of the frame rails is more than enough to drive over most rocks and also enough to keep the frame off the snow. For whatever reason, the flotation on my big Sport is beyond amazing even when the tires are aired up. Loose sand and snow don't worry me much.
Quicksand is just something you stay away from like the clay, and if I had to pick I'd take quicksand. UT's wet clay is terrifying stuff and there's really nothing you can do about it. The recommendation in UT is to carry the diamond pattern chains and from what I've heard even that takes it from a certainty you're going to die to about 90%.
We actually hit a 40-50' section of UT clay last month after it'd rained just enough to get the top 3/4" wet. About 1/3 of the way down from the top in Long Canyon on a section with a 150' sheer drop on one side and cliff face on the other. Trail was maybe about 3-4' wider than the truck. Thankfully it was only about a 2-3 degree incline and the trail was flat, smooth and rock free. As soon as we hit it, the brakes and steering just 'went away' and the back end started threatening to become the front end. The truck literally slid downhill out of control until we hit gravel and rock. We were VERY lucky it was a short stretch and I have a lot of experience driving the big Sport on ice. ANY mistake in judgement or knee-jerk reaction would have resulted in us going over the edge. The trail was nowhere near wide enough to go sideways without one end or the other going over the edge of the cliff.
The big problem seems to never be YOU getting stuck, its the other guy.
There are a LOT of 1-way trails where I wheel and a lot of noobs. Also a LOT of people from out of state who think CO and UT are just big OHV parks. They're totally unprepared for the terrain and weather and mistakenly think that there are people driving around who's sole purpose is to keep an eye on them and rescue them when they do something totally stupid.
In UT I'm not sure how a snatch block would actually help except for the increase in pulling power. THAT I can see!
But, its mostly sand and rock. There's nothing to attach a snatch block to. Where I wheel, there also isn't really any 'oops, I slid off the trail and need to do an angle pull to get me back on'. Sliding off the trail almost always means you're over the edge of a cliff. Kinda negates any need to rush out and buy a piece of equipment you're going to be too dead to use.
In CO, totally can see it. I've been in half a dozen spots where the only way to get anyone out was with a snatch block. Lots of tight trails, lined with trees and lots of short, sharp angles in the trail and lots of switch backs. People seem to have a lot of trouble with the concept of 'turning a corner' here for some reason. :rolleyes: Of course, considering that half the 'off road' vehicles people drive (including the Sport) have a 40' turning radius, that might be why.
But, half the recoveries I've seen were only possible with a snatch block. There was just no way to get a vehicle even close to inline. In fact there wasn't even any way to get the recovery vehicle's winch pointing in the vague vicinity of the other vehicle.
Yea, THOSE are cool! They sure beat the 'bury your spare and use it for an anchor' method! HIGHLY recommended for southern UT. I've never tried the tire thing. I've got all the pieces to do it if I had to. The question is whether I'd have the time. Like I said above, even the bottomless flour sand doesn't give me any trouble. What worries me is the water crossings - quicksand.
There are instances where either a water crossing or following a wash with 'flowing' water is required. Lavender Canyon and Horse/Salt Creek in the Needles District (which is perpetually water logged) are known to contain quicksand patches. PS warns you every time you get your permit. Kane Creek and Cliff Hanger both have water crossings which can be treacherous if the right amount of water is present. There are signs EVERYWHERE there warning about quicksand.
Then there's the instances you didn't count on. Like getting caught on the wrong side of the exit in a flash flood. Thankfully, that's never happened to us. Yet. But, we had to rescue a guy and his kid on Cottonwood Creek where they had. Sometimes you can't wait for three-four days for things to completely dry out. And there are a disconcerting lack of trees in southern UT.
Anyway, the problem with quicksand is you don't have two-three hours to screw around digging a big hole for your spare tire. Unless its a very small, very shallow patch, the time you have is measured in minutes. The deeper the vehicle sinks, the harder it is to get out.
In CO I've only run into one or two situations where an anchor would have been of any use. Below timberline you have trees almost everywhere and above timberline its all rock with a thin coating of gravel. The bog on Wheeler Lake would be a possible spot because there are no trees. Same with the NW side of Mosquito Pass. Snow fields would be the more useful place where there are trees but too far away to tag onto.
Now, in place of the rails? I hadn't considered that. I've seen them use the two in conjunction and that's very effective. With what I've read of the reviews of some of the plastic ones, that would be the only way the rails would survive more than one or two uses.
I guess if you were running A/Ts - like half these so-called 'expedition vehicles' on utoob do - and had no ground clearance and no lockers or only one, this might be the only way to get 'un-stuck'.
I think it depends on what terrain you're dealing with. In my experience it only takes a little tug with the winch and I drive right out. Rails would never have done me any good and in fact would have just been a PITA to mess with. So, an anchor would be a lot more valuable.
I've watched them use the rails to bridge a soft area - something loamy. That makes sense, as long as its not too soft and bottomless. I've also watched them use them in the dunes and sand hills to go up steep inclines that otherwise couldn't be climbed - too soft, can't get enough velocity, etc. That also seems like a good use of the rails. I've also watched 'em bury their vehicle and the rails in mud. This is a questionable use. IMHO, appropriate tires and a little clearance would be of a lot more use and I think this falls under 'if you're in mud that requires rails, you probably shouldn't be there'.
But, anyway, if the mud isn't very deep and its more of a traction issue, then maybe ....
Actually, bridging is a better use for rails than as a tool to get you un-stuck. Keep you from getting unstuck in the first place.
The problem is that none of the plastic ones can be used for bridging. For instance, two pair of 6' rails might get you across that 30-40' stretch of Teflon clay. It might take 2 hours but you'd still be alive.
My big reason for wanting rails - real ones that can be used for bridging - is the dang crevasses in UT.
ESPECIALLY this year.
I lost count by Saturday of how many 1, 2, 3' washes we had to bypass and there were several trails we couldn't complete because there was a 2' wide 6' deep slash across the trail caused by flooding in July. There is NOTHING more frustrating than having to turn around because you can't drive over something you can step across. We had two major trails where the downhill side had washed but the uphill side was fine. If I could have laid a rail across it and put the passenger side tire on the rail we could have driven across easily. This is a huge issue in southern UT and not just for me. The PS service has what I'm talking about on their off-road rigs and you can tell they get used.
The question of whether you could get away with one or the other I guess depends, like I said above, on terrain. Rails aren't going to do you a dang bit of good in quick sand. Just like deep, sloppy mud they're going to sink out of sight. Unless there's ultimately something underneath or the viscosity is high enough that the rails offer support, they're going to be completely useless.
Unfortunately, I think I answered MY question of whether I need both. Sigh. Just what I need, another 200 lbs of gear.
HOWEVER, its really hard to winch yourself out backwards if your winch is mounted on the front.
Rails WOULD be good in addition to using a Hi-Lift. Anything that makes it easier to roll makes using a Hi-Lift a lot less of a PITA.
Phffffbbt! Who listens to Jeep owners?!??
I don't think I even go a thank you from the two guys with fully locked Rubicons on 37/38" for pulling them back up the hill and onto the trail in the middle of a bilzzard. Bronco guys, on the other hand, are more than suitably appreciative! Probably feel its ok to be rescued by a Japanese vehicle because the stuff that does the REAL work is really Ford.
Edward