Traction mats July 23, 2016, 10:46:59 am Most of us carry a compact shovel, but a "traction mat" might also be something for boondockers to consider carrying. (I haven't read the specs or reviews of the products on these pages yet.)Amazon.com: traction mats - 4 Stars & UpIn the meantime, has anyone used a traction mat? Any suggested "mats" or "strips" from these pages or from another source that have been used to "unstick" the rig?
Re: Traction mats Reply #1 – July 23, 2016, 12:00:20 pm Lynx Levelers helped us get a friend unstuck from the mud near Flagstaff, but they get a bit dirty.
Re: Traction mats Reply #2 – July 23, 2016, 01:01:38 pm Quote from: Jim & Gayle - July 23, 2016, 12:00:20 pmLynx Levelers helped us get a friend unstuck from the mud near Flagstaff, but they get a bit dirty. I've lent a few of my Lynx levelers for use as traction blocks on a couple of occasions, too! (I've managed not to get stuck in 40 or so years of camping and RVing, but....) The open grid design of the Lynx makes them prone to collecting all sorts of stuff: mud, rocks, sand, weeds, turf chunks, spiders, and the occasional lizard, but the stuff knocks off pretty easily. (No lizards were harmed during the knocking off procedure!) The advantages to Lynx (for me, anyway) are that they are tough (the occasional gouge or dent in the plastic notwithstanding), resistant to bending and/or warping, inexpensive, offer a variety of stacking configurations, store compactly, are easy to clean, and have uses beyond usage just as rig leveling blocks. (Note to newer RVers: When using levelers/blocks under the rear duals, make sure to use blocks under both wheels to avoid stress on the axle.) 1 Likes
Re: Traction mats Reply #3 – July 24, 2016, 12:24:41 pm While I haven't used them yet, I have some obsolete (vehicle is history) heavy-duty ribbed all-weather vehicle floor mats that should work, ribbed side down. They would be easy to hose off when convenient. Now where to cram them in...?Steve
Re: Traction mats Reply #4 – November 21, 2023, 04:59:23 pm I'm curious whether anyone has used GoTreads traction mats. I bought a set a couple of years ago, but have not yet needed them.Here's my story. I've been stuck in sand three times. The first time was just outside Joshua Tree, where I had to be winched out by a Coach Net contractor. (Fortunately, I was less than a hundred feet from a paved road.) The second and third times were on public land near Lake Havasu City, Arizona. My F-250 didn't have four wheel drive--a bad mistake on my part. In all three cases, I tried using my Lynx blocks for traction… but in really loose sand, they just sink in and do little or no good. (I have used them to successfully free a friend's midbath that was stuck in mud, though, so if that's all you have, by all means give 'em a try.)After these experiences I bought a set of Maxtrax recovery boards. These were very sturdy, and I did use them to get a friend unstuck one time, but they're extremely bulky. I soon got tired of carrying them around. I felt that I needed them, but I wished for something better.Then I stumbled across GoTreads. They fold up into a bag only a bit larger than a bag of ten Lynx blocks, so they're easy to carry in almost any vehicle. And the tread design looks well thought out. After reading a bunch of reviews and thinking about the way they work, I ordered a set of the XL version (58" vs. 48" for MaxTrax). I've been carrying them around since then, but as I said, I haven't needed to use them, so I don't know how well they actually work. So my question again is: anybody else got a set of GoTreads? If you've used them, how did they work? 1 Likes As an Amazon Associate Lazy Daze Owners' Group earns from qualifying purchases.
Re: Traction mats Reply #5 – November 22, 2023, 12:06:19 pm We have been wondering about this exact issue! We are going to Baja in January and will mostly likely encounter situations where we might need a recovery/traction board for us or someone else? I have a portable electric winch mounted to a rack that plugs into the 2" receiver of our front or rear hitch. So far we have not needed it yet. I was looking at the traction boards and saw these on Amazon Amazon.com: BUNKER INDUST Off-Road Traction Boards with Jack Base,Pair...We are wondering if a longer rigid board is better then a sectional board like the GoTreads? We also have space in our compartment on top of our homemade leveling boards which are also 48" long? The GoTreads for us may not fit so easy? Karen~Liam 98 ~ MB NinA As an Amazon Associate Lazy Daze Owners' Group earns from qualifying purchases.
Re: Traction mats Reply #6 – November 22, 2023, 12:59:45 pm I looked at the website.My concern would be how much weight they can handle. I'd be afraid of breaking them.They seem better designed to work with smaller, lighter vehicles than an RV. 1 Likes
Re: Traction mats Reply #7 – November 22, 2023, 01:22:41 pm The RTK 7 is rated for Ten Tons, so if that is accurate we should be good? There may be a big difference between these and the MaxTrax which were the one's that Andy was suggesting since the price of those are $325 and they look Beefy? I will have time to check these RTK7s out to see if they will support the weight. My Big question is the use of a sectional recovery board more successful then a rigid one? I saw in a video that a 25ft Class C with a sectional board was not able to get out but when a rigid board was used they did. Karen~Liam 98 ~ MB NinA
Re: Traction mats Reply #8 – November 22, 2023, 04:02:06 pm "My concern would be how much weight they can handle."GoTreads are rated to take 50,000 pounds. 1 Likes
Re: Traction mats Reply #9 – November 22, 2023, 10:42:25 pm We checked out recovery items a lot before our big Baja trip.If you join the Baja overlander Facebook group (often go driving down trails of the worst condition you can imagine), and do some searches, they have some very good information. We also watched videos.Some of the lighter boards that were easier to carry either got spit out from the tire or were broken.I can’t remember names though.We decided to go with a couple rugs instead (and of course a shovel to make a sloping ramp) which was another highly recommended method. It gives a place for the tire to get purchase rather than loose sand (I wasn’t reading for mud so I can’t say how it works there). This choice seemed a much less bulky thing to carry around all the time to use only occasionally.We also made sure we had attachment points for a tow rope (d rings and spots identified both front and back of LD and front and back of toad vehicle). We didn’t use any of this. Though one person we were traveling with for a while drove into what looked like course grainy sand but after 6-9 inches it became soft silt, they were dragged out with a tow strap (nothing else) and very little effort (small car got it out in a minute). 1 Likes
Re: Traction mats Reply #10 – November 23, 2023, 02:27:46 pm We carry Maxtrax-type ramps in the Jeep and have tried them in deep sand where they work well for a lighter 4X4 vehicle.Can’t say how well they would work on a heavy LD, we have been lucky and have never stuck the LD .Many years ago on a sand trip to Glamis, we stuck a small school bus conversion in deep sand that took ten people, a Jeep, a dune buggy, and most of a day to unstick. I don’t think a pair of plastic mats would have helped much unless the rear wheels were jacked up enough to get the mats under the tires. Jacking anything up in deep sand is a challenge. We carry 8-ton and 12-ton jacks, two 18’ square 3/4” plywood boards for placing under the jacks…and hope I never have to use them.My plan would be jacking the rear up and pushing the mats under the wheel and then using the Jeep, with a recovery strap to try to pull it free, with someone driving the LD. The Jeep’s winch might also be useful, maybe, pulling a 14,000-lb vehicle stuck in sand takes a massive amount of energy.Airing the tires down to around 25-psi would help. I have dropped passenger car tires down to 5-psi when stuck in the sand to assist in getting free. Immediately air up after getting free.The best tip for driving in soft sand is to never stop moving and to keep your right foot firmly planted on the accelerator pedal until back on firm ground. Momentum is your friend.Larry 3 Likes
Re: Traction mats Reply #11 – November 23, 2023, 05:57:05 pm "I don’t think a pair of plastic mats would have helped much unless the rear wheels were jacked up enough to get the mats under the tires."See the "self feeding" section of this page, which explains how Go Treads work. I'm not trying to promote them, because I've never had to use them, so I don't know how well they work. All I can say is that their design features sound plausible. I started this thread because I was curious whether anyone here had actually used them, but apparently not. That's not too surprising, since Maxtrax boards (and their many imitators) are much better known.If I ever do get stuck and use the GoTreads, I'll report back. But I'm not going to go out of my way to make the experiment. 🙂 1 Likes
Re: Traction mats Reply #12 – November 24, 2023, 12:29:35 am Andy,I did a search for gotreads on FB Baja overlander. They deal with soft sand only.Maxtrax was the favorite (with people who had used them and ones that never mentioning actually using them).A handful of people said they thought gotreads were well made but only one person actually discussed using them saying sometimes it would not catch well). Another owned gotreads and maxtrax, never got stuck but helped others but only with his maxtrax - didn’t say why he never tried the gotreads with others.A couple of people said they used them as levelers and they worked well for that. The few of the real knowledgeable people discussed airing down (6-15 psi for a pickup - no camper) as the most important thing but one of them said a heavier class C with dually tires on one axle would not benefit as much from just airing down, traction was needed as well as a tow strap. Same guy said traction could be rugs, 8-24” wide ( larger for duallys) and 24” long, long enough to create momentum. If you ever use them let us know how it worked as they look interesting. 1 Likes
Re: Traction mats Reply #13 – November 24, 2023, 12:03:07 pm Thanks for the info, Jane & Scott. I do carry a tow strap and associated gear, but of course it takes two vehicles to do the tow-strap tango. 😉 "If you ever use them let us know how it worked as they look interesting."Will do!
Re: Traction mats Reply #14 – November 24, 2023, 10:21:28 pm I had to laugh at Andy's note about needing two vehicles to use the tow strap to get someone out. Living in Alaska, I can't remember all the times when I had to get home and drive my 4WD truck back so that I could pull my own car with fancy snow tires out of an icy ditch, all by myself. Two vehicles, but not two drivers, around to get it done! As usual, I might add, VERY carefully!Kristin in Alaska - Last Frontier Survivor 9 Likes
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