268STARTING AND OPERATING
VEHICLE RECOVERY
If you drive off-road, you may encounter a
situation where you will need to recover your
vehicle. Vehicle recovery should always be
given consideration before attempting a
questionable obstacle. You should never go
off-road driving without the ability to recover
your vehicle from a situation. Having another
vehicle with you usually works best for most
situations. The first thing to do is assess the
situation. Why are you stuck? Are you hung up
on something? Would it be easier to go forward
or to go backward? Can you still move the
vehicle? Is there an anchor point to winch to?
Are you alone or do you have another vehicle to
help? Is there high risk of vehicle damage
during the recovery process? Answering these
questions will help you determine the best
method of recovery. If you can still move the
vehicle slightly and the only issue is slick
ground, then rock cycling your vehicle would be
the first choice. If you have ample room, an
additional vehicle and there is low risk of
vehicle impact on the surroundings, then using
a tow strap to the vehicle tow hooks would be
fast and easy. If the vehicle is severely hung up or in a situation where great care needs to be
taken during the recovery, then nothing can do
the job better than a winch. If you are severely
hung up on something you should jack the
vehicle up and stack something under the
wheels to allow the vehicle to roll off the object
without causing further damage. This should be
tried before attempting any recovery method.
Rock Cycling Your Vehicle – Rock cycling your
vehicle is one of the easiest, fastest and
most commonly used methods. This simply
involves shifting your vehicle from DRIVE to
REVERSE, while applying throttle after each
shift. During this process, for additional trac
-
tion, try turning your steering wheel quickly
left and right no more than a quarter turn. If
you are stuck in mud, sand, or snow try spin -
ning your tires during this process to clean
the debris from the tread and improve the
traction. You want to create a rocking motion
with the vehicle. This helps build vehicle momentum, which hopefully gets you out.
Remember to ease off and on the accelerator
before and after the shift. If after a few rock
cycles your vehicle is not free, stop and try
another method of recovery. Continuous rock
cycling will only cause unnecessary damage
to your vehicle and the environment.Using The Tow Hooks With A Tow Strap
– Tow
straps are a quick and easy way to recover
your vehicle from minor situations if you have
a secondary vehicle which is not stuck. The
tow hooks on your vehicle are designed to
take the abusive force generated during
vehicle recovery. Do not use the bumper or
any other vehicle component as an attach -
ment point. Using tow straps requires coordi -
nation between the two drivers. Good
communication and line of sight are required
for a safe recovery. First connect the tow
strap to the correct attachment points on
both vehicles. There should be a least 20 to
CAUTION!
Pulling the vehicle off an obstacle, without
first clearing the object, may result in
additional underbody damage.
CAUTION!
Damage can occur when spinning your tires
at an excessive high speed. Do not spin your
tires faster than an indicated 30 mph
(48 km/h).
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