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How to recover a stuck 4x4 safely

A stuck vehicle is an inconvenience. A broken shackle can kill. Try the gentle methods first, and use a strap only when you must.

This guide is a summary, not a training course. Learn strap recoveries on a training day with an instructor before you need one in the dunes.

The moment you are stuck

Stop. Take your foot off the accelerator. Every second of spinning wheels digs the vehicle deeper, until it rests on its belly and a simple recovery becomes a long one.

1. Switch off, put the handbrake on and get out.
2. Look. Which wheels are dug in? Is the vehicle resting on its chassis? Is it on a slope?
3. Plan the gentlest way out before anyone touches a spade.
4. Move the passengers away from the vehicle, into the shade, with water.

Gentle methods first

These solve most sand recoveries.

• Dig. Clear the sand in front of every wheel, so that each tyre has a gentle ramp and not a wall. If the vehicle is on its belly, dig under the chassis too.
• Deflate. Lower the tyre pressures a little further to get moving, then reinflate to your sand pressure once you are out.
• Reverse out along the tracks you have already compacted, and try again on a better line.
• Traction boards. Push them firmly under the front of the driving wheels and drive onto them slowly. Spinning wheels can fling a board out like a missile, so keep everyone away.
• Jack and fill. Lift a wheel that has dropped into a hole and fill the hole with sand, stones or a board. Never put any part of your body under a vehicle held up only by a jack.

Rated points and rated equipment

Almost all serious recovery injuries have the same cause: something that was not made for the load broke.

• Use only rated recovery points, built or fitted for recovery loads. The tie-down hooks that many vehicles come with are not recovery points. Check your manual.
• Never use a tow ball for a kinetic recovery. Tow balls have broken off and flown through windscreens and into people, killing them.
• Use a strap with the right rating, and soft shackles or rated bow shackles.
• Wear gloves.
• Never join two straps with a metal shackle.

Two kinds of strap

• A tow strap does not stretch. It is for a steady, gentle pull on firm ground.
• A kinetic (snatch) strap stretches and stores energy, which pulls the stuck vehicle out. It is very effective, and very dangerous if anything in the chain fails.

Always try a steady tow first.

A safe strap recovery, in outline

1. Brief everyone, with one person in charge.
2. Clear the sand in front of the stuck vehicle's wheels.
3. Attach the strap to a rated point on each vehicle, and check every connection.
4. Lay a damper, such as a recovery bag, a heavy jacket or a folded blanket, over the middle of the strap.
5. Move everyone who is not driving well to the side, at least one and a half strap lengths away. Nobody stands between the vehicles or in line with the strap.
6. Agree the signals. Anyone may shout "stop", and everything stops.
7. Pull gently. Increase only if needed.
8. Once out, both vehicles stop on firm ground before anyone goes near the strap.

Winches and high-lift jacks

Both need training before use. High-lift jack handles can kick back hard enough to break an arm. Most overland trips in southern Africa never need a winch.

Avoid getting stuck

Lower your pressures before sand, walk obstacles first, drive in the cool of the morning, and stay within your skill.

This guide is based on Chapter 6 of 4x4 Driving and Overlanding in Southern Africa.