Yeah, well, if I put a winch on the front of the van, I'd get stuck in a
place where the only tree is behind me.

My main plan to avoid getting stuck any more is to (A) be more
thoughtful about where I go, and (2) get that Peloquin differential.

If I do get stuck, I will then try to use the hi-lift with a lift-mate
to hoist up the tires and ram grabby things under them, like carpet or
porkypines or whatever I can get my mitts on and see if I can get
rolling. If that fails, then I'll winch the damn thing with the hi-lift.
That as a lesson for my poor judgment.

Truth be told, only one time of the three I got stuck last year was
there anything like a tree nearby. The other two times I'd have needed a
pull-pal or similar, a spendy item.

I'm thinking a deflated blimp packed atop the poptop and small hydrogen
generator will be my eventual solution.
--
Rocky J Squirrel

On Tue, 2011-05-10 at 14:32 -0700, Jeffrey Vickers wrote:

> Hey Rocky,
>
> Before you get a Hi-Lift you might want to try one. They are not the
> easiest device to use and they are insanely dangerous if you screw up
> and the handle whacks you in the face. I prefer a good bottle jack and
> foot-long sections of Trex decking (not  wood) underneath the jack.
>
> If you are getting stuck in deep sand and want a tall jack to get out,
> there are alternatives. If you are thinking that the HiLift would make
> a good winch, I would recommend either buying an actual winch or
> something like a Black Rat hand winch: http://www.expeditionswest.com/equipment/general_equipment/black_rat_winch.htm
>   . Using the HiLift as a winch is a slow and painful process. There
> are also 12V winches that are hand-mounted to either the front or rear
> of your vehicle as needed - instead of having it bolted to the front.
> Strips of carpet work wonders in soft sand as well.
>
> Getting unstuck depends on a variety of circumstances - what you are
> stuck in and what's nearby can be a big factor. If you travel alone
> (one van) in wooded areas, a winch -either mounted or portable - might
> be your best friend.
>
> cheers,
> Jeff In Marin
>
>
> On May 10, 2011, at 12:35 PM, Automatic digest processor wrote:
>
> > Date:    Tue, 10 May 2011 08:15:36 -0700
> > From:    Rocket J Squirrel <camping.elliott@GMAIL.COM>
> > Subject: Re: Lockers -- how hard to install LLSD?
> >
> > Okay, fine. Yinz* have talked me into it. I'm-a gonna have the tranny
> > pulled and hauled over to German Transaxle to have the stock auto
> > trans
> > differential replaced with a Peloquin torque biasing diff. That,
> > plus a
> > Hi-Lift jack, a bunch of other recovery bits, and a lot of studying of
> > this video I just got, "Getting Unstuck with Bill Burke," and I
> > might be
> > able to avoid the messy and embarrassing pickles I got myself into
> > last
> > year.