thanks Chris... very good idea... I will try

I am also thinking of ladder type sand ramps to deal with 3' to 5' drop on
the trail

dan

On Tue, Oct 28, 2014 at 9:51 AM, L. Chris Hager <carolusandhager@yahoo.com>
wrote:

>  20 years ago when we were taking a Vanagon to East Afri8ca, I( made a set
> of sand or mud 'ladders'.  Went to Home Depot and bought one 8 ft length of
> expanded wire lath-- the see-through mesh that plasterers of old used as
> the base for interior walls.  Cut the 8 footer into 2 four-foot sections.
> Then cut each of these lengthwise.  Assuming you had a 32 in section (made
> to span two 16inch stud gaps) you now have four 4-ft sections, almost 16
> inches wide.  Grind or sand with a belt sander the ragged edges.  Keep them
> over the engine, on a layer of cardboard, with another on top, then put
> your big foam pad back-- you'll never know they are there.
> Not getting traction: put one in front of each wheel. When you can get up
> on those, move forward (or back if you have to give up on forward) 3 ft or
> so, place the other pair under the ends of the first ones, and so on.  I've
> gone close to 30 this way.  But WARNING: the lath itself is sharp all over
> its surface, and esp. in mud, it can be hard to pull up to move forward.
> SO keep a pair of work gloves handy, too.  Cheap, easy to store-- what's
> not to like?
>