TRED vs Maxtrax

[Robbks]

Someone posted these on OzFoz

Good for sand and mud by the looks of it

https://www.autobarn.com.au/rough-country-4wd-rubber-recovery-tracks-rcretr1

 

[NachaLuva]

Good idea even though you need 2 and they're sold as single units. Pretty heavy & you will need to peg down the leading edge so it doesnt scrunch up (with a huge peg lol). But a good alternative to the much more expensive/bulkier MaxTrax/TREDs

 

[Robbks]

turn it upside down to the way it's rolled and it'll stay put

 

[MiddleAgeSubie]

Looks useful!

 

[bradze]

are either worth the price? how do DIY milk crates made into traction boards compare? maybe already mentioned, didn't read all 5 pages.

 

[bakerboy]

I got my treds for around $130, they're okay but I probably wouldn't pay retail for them thats for sure, there's ebay knock offs available too for another option

 

[NachaLuva]

I've used "MilkTrax" successfully a few times. Trick is to only use the base & to double them up, riveted together for strength & so they don't slip.

I recently bought some TRED knockoffs on eBay for ~$100 deliverd

 

[jon_slider]

Good for sand and mud by the looks of it

I respectfully disagree, but have not tried them

my take on the sand recovery options is that stiff devices like Maxtrax are more effective than things that bend

how do DIY milk crates made into traction boards compare?

watch this [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJ8U2C-2jU4"]milkcrate vs rug vs Maxtrax vs Treds[/ame] and tell us which product you think won

Bear in mind that taking 30% or more, of the air out of the tires has a HUGE benefit to get out of sand. This strategy relies on carrying a Tire Inflator, and Tire pressure gauge.

Even with Maxtrax, if the tires are at full pressure and there is more deep sand ahead, the vehicle will drive out of one hole, and sink into the next one, until air is removed from the tires.. [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1QP1C6fZ_c"]watch this video to see that happen[/ame]

that vehicle is a VW Syncro Doka
the front diff has a Viscous Coupling, that Subaru also uses. The VC sends power to the front wheels when the rear wheels spin faster, which is why the vehicle drives low in the back when he is powering out of the soft dry sand at the end of the day.

The sun is setting, and the pressure is on to get off the beach before possibly being flooded at high tide. Note that the Maxtrax definitely saved him, twice!

he started at 45 psi, dropped to 20psi and got stuck again after coming off the matrix. He then dropped to 14psi and drove out after launching off the Maxtraxx.

now watch the percentages.. 14 psi is 31% of his street pressure

in my Outback, that would mean the 30psi street pressure (which rises to about 33 in actual use), would need to be deflated to 10psi in order to drive over sand as deep as the video.

that also suggests that you might not need the Maxtrax in the first place, if you know in advance, and the tires are aired down for deep sand before driving into it..

otoh, Maxtrax are very convenient when stuck in a small patch of deep sand that acts as an obstacle on a roadway that does not have long deep sand sections.. Maxtrax in that situation can save the effort of airing down and back up again.

ps: same answer with more pics here

 

[Ratbag]

Gidday Jon, and to the ORS forum.

I run both our Foresters at 35-36 psi all round for on road use. The placard pressures are a joke IMNSHO.

I also carry air-down caps for the tyre valves that are pre-set for 18 psi ... along with a compressor, long handled spade and a creeper winch, snatch straps, etc.

It is very easy to die in many parts of Oz if you are by yourself. An ounce of brains is also worth a ton of recovery gear! I'm 69 y.o. shortly. This makes it even easier to die quickly ... A young, fit person using their noggin might last 3-4 days, I could be lucky to last 2 in extremis.

I also carry an EPIRB, a Spot Messenger Gen3, for real emergencies ...

A very important addition is a set of metal tyre valve caps. The plastic ones are all too easily damaged and/or torn off.

Always better to be a live, careful coward than a dead heroic cowboy, just IMHO :iconwink: .

 

[jon_slider]

Thanks for the warm welcome and real world inflation you like: 35 paved, 18 sand

Im using 35 cold in front on pavement, have not experimented with airing down below 30. I have stock 55 profile tires, 225x55x17..

Im nostalgic about the 16" Gold alloys that went with my Impreza after it was totalled last year

And intrigued by the BFG AT KO2 Light Truck tires in 215x65x16.. Its such a versatile tire off pavement.

Glad you mention the Spot, seems like a very responsible way to manage the risks of being stranded in remote areas.

discretion is the greater part of valor

I would consider myself lucky to have the vitality you exhibit, and to be out wheeling with a Spot at your age. As it is, Ive no personal inclination to tear off my valve caps, alone in the wilderness . But, while on the subject, of valve caps, I really like these captive ones:

I like to travel with a buddy or two when possible, but Im only driving easy dirt roads when Im alone. Im not going places that put the car on 3 wheels, shes a stock creampuff on 27" all season passenger tires

that replaced this non stock VW Syncro, 2.5 Diesel, air locking front, center and rear diffs, with a crawler gear and 31" BFG AT KO Light Truck tires:

some of whose recovery gear has migrated to the Outback, though she has not gone up that hill, and lives a tamer more urban lifestyle at my ripe young age of 63

that shovel has moved a lot of sand and snow when Ive stranded myself in the past.. its one of my most used recovery tools, when Ive been lacking in discretion.. lol. But the one thing that got me out of more strandings than anything else, are those Staun Deflators, one of which I set to 12psi. I never did get the Maxtrax, nor the hiLift.. but thats another story