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A very different recovery operation...

http://www.outdoorrevival.com/old-wa...zen-lakes.html


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MK6419y4N4Q

Sorry for quoting a post after 6 years. Arka I am sure you have the winch capacity wrong. The Tatra had hydraulic winches for its various models ranging in capacity from 78KN to 100KN which roughly translates to pull of 7.8T to 10T. If My vehicle had the winch to pull 100T then either my vehicle should weigh more than 100T or I should be suitably anchored which is not the case in Tatra. Even tank based RV or ARV have pull capacity of less than 40T with their dozer blades anchored.
Tatra indeed is an amazing piece of equipment with swing axles and huge air cooled engines. I have driven almost all variants of Tatra at speeds over terrains which no other vehicle in India can match. Sad that they aren't getting made any more.

I was born and raised in the "Frozen North" of northern New York State and the Great Lakes regions of the United States.

It is an amazing sensation to ice skate or hike for miles and miles over frozen swamps and rivers, through intimate closed over forests and wide open windswept lakes. The only limit is how much cold you can physically take and how tired you get, sometimes trudging through deep snows as well. There are thousands of fresh water lakes and inter-connecting streams and, of course, the Great Lakes themselves freeze over to a thickness that can easily support cars in mid-winter.

To go further faster skates, snow shoes and hiking boots are turned in for cars. The technique is to go out and find an old junker automobile or light truck, fix it up only to the point where it starts and runs and sally forth onto the lakes and rivers. The doors and hatches are removed in case of a break through the ice.
Genrally the ice is so thick that a break through just isn't going to happen. Of course, there are always nitwits who feel they have to test spring ice, thin ice. Chains on wheels are often used. Generally, if a car breaks through the ice it is not recovered. It is abandoned.

It's another way to access a side of nature rarely seen. At day's end you return to a big ole farmhouse with a roaring fire in a huge fireplace to warm up frozen feet and hands and you drink hot chocolate and sip hot thick soups. You go to bed early, roundly exhausted after seeing another side of heaven and freezing your backside off.

There is a thread in street experiences section, which might interest the regulars here. :)

Pulling up a really old post. Looking to buy traction tracks similar to this in India. Options on Amazon.in are >5k.

Any ideas where in India (ideally Mumbai) can I get tracks similar to this and a reliable tow rope for a reasonable price?

I picked my set up in Dubai. There is limited usefulness in Snow - much to my disappointment @Khardungla 2015. I cannot vouch for their usefulness in Mud or Sand - because I have not had the occasion to test these.

If you are reasonably sure you want them - I would suggest an online marketplace such as Amazon, as these are non-standard items. In the hills, drivers don't take well to such fancy stuff - so you won't find these in regular auto accessory shops.

For Snow - you may want to talk to someone for putting on Snow chains (Deepak +91 98733 35253)- or read tsk1979's thread

Ah! disappointing that they weren't much good in snow.

Was more interested in applicability to sand though. More as an aid IF stuck, rather than deliberately going off the road.

The options on Amazon are >6k INR. Don't want to spend all the much. Will need to figure out.

If you want traction mats then go for maxtrax. The others are just a waste of money.

For tow ropes, search for the tread: Places to buy 4x4 stuff in India.

I've put places where you can buy in Mumbai.

Like I said - I bought them in Carrefour , Dubai - so there is possible inference of usefulness on sand based on:

1) Dubai is plumb in the middle of the Arabian desert. Carrefour is known to stock value for money items - and this particular one I bought was touted by the store attendant as about 70 to 80 percent as effective as what he called "professional solutions". His yardstick was probably that of sand - not snow (The only snow in Dubai is in the Ski Dubai inside Mall of Emirates.) - and I should have known better :Frustrati

2) I did spot something similar in one of the fancier shops - but the price of AED 700+ put me off then. This is same as maxtrax - a proven solution on sand. My friend an avid offroader on the dunes uses maxtrax with deflated tyres on his Toyota FJC and vouched for their effectiveness.

Yesterday at Morjim Beach, about a dozen Team-BHP moderators were packing up after a long beach visit. We noticed a 2WD Tata Safari stuck in the beach sand. The parking is on the sand and some owners forget the limitations of their 2WD cars.

The owner was looking frustrated and lost. They appeared to have tried all the usual tricks to getting it unstuck, but in vain. Since I always have a tow chain in my GV, we decided to pull the Safari out of its misery.

This incidence shows the importance of carrying a tow chain in the car. The Safari came out of the ditch in 10 seconds. You can see the excitement of the owner (red shirt).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsC9nVqF4kw


From another angle:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53bTe_jYfqw

I'd strongly recommend shifting from chains to tow ropes Samurai.

I am aware of it, this is something I bought long ago. Unfortunately, I gave away my tow ropes along with the Jeep, when I sold it. Planning to change into Kinetic tow strap some day.

Don't tow with KE straps. For regular towing just get a 3 meter long strap. KE only for snatch recoveries.

But, I avoid KE in most situations though I have one because we can't control the crowd of onlookers and if I have broken recovery point, the KE strap will with it will kill.

I need a little stretchy tow rope that will be kind on my clutch. After all, this OE clutch has done 131K kms until now.

Was surprised with the ease of rescue! Here's a picture from where I was in the Thar. That Safari was super lucky to have a Grand Vitara, tow chain, Samurai & Khan Sultan all at the same spot :). What are the odds?


Business as usual. Shot right after on the way to La Plage. Smart looking :thumbs up