How do you carry your recovery boards?

I have been offroad wheeling for over 50 years all over North America from Mexico to Alaska and have never needed them. I did however use them once in the Sahara Desert. Personally I think the dollars would be better spent elsewhere; maybe a longer tow strap or tire chains. Maybe an extra few days out in the wild.
 
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old_man said:
I have been offroad wheeling for over 50 years all over North America from Mexico to Alaska and have never needed them. I did however use them once in the Sahara Desert. Personally I think the dollars would be better spent elsewhere; maybe a shovel, a longer tow strap, or tire chains. Maybe an extra few days out in the wild or a couple tanks of gas.
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That they do! Used some at the sand dunes north east of walden once. Had to recover a buddys jeep that he was doing stuff he prolly shouldnt of been. One and only time ive been there. My pickup at the time was geared kinda wonky and kept sinking. Been in sand with other ones Ive had and theyve never did what that one did. But the chains worked well for traction. Use to take them out during the summer but found that it was prolly a good idea to keep them in the tool box for that rainy day!
 
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old_man said:
I have been offroad wheeling for over 50 years all over North America from Mexico to Alaska and have never needed them. I did however use them once in the Sahara Desert. Personally I think the dollars would be better spent elsewhere; maybe a longer tow strap or tire chains. Maybe an extra few days out in the wild.
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Doesn't sound like you encountered too many areas where solid ground turned to swamp land after 10+ inches of rain over a few days! The day I got my truck stuck here it sunk down to the frame like quick sand, would have had no problem backing out of it if I had traction boards. I now own them and will take them with me anytime I plan to go off road! Lease Stuck Truck 1 - Resized.jpg
 
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scalman said:
XAVFlue.jpg
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Awesome simple home made reco boards
 
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Viking1204 said:
Doesn't sound like you encountered too many areas where solid ground turned to swamp land after 10+ inches of rain over a few days! The day I got my truck stuck here it sunk down to the frame like quick sand, would have had no problem backing out of it if I had traction boards. I now own them and will take them with me anytime I plan to go off road! View attachment 98682
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Did this yesterday. Took a deuce and a half to come pull me out. All because i was trying to pull another friend out
 
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I'm a lot more cautious now that I'm getting up there in years and broke down and bought a pair just 2 years ago. The first trip I had em up on the roof racks, but ran out of rack room when we set up our hot water shower system. Now I keep them behind the Kangaroo on the spare. One Ratchet Strap ( Front Runner ) holds them there nice and tight. I also put a pair of good tension buckles on the Kangaroo so everything is double snug. If the need ever arises I can get em off by just releasing three snap buckles.
 
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Salty4Life said:
Not to hick jack the thread, but what are good mounting options if you don’t have a rack system? I have seen a mount that goes on the inside of the bed rail however I have decked drawers and idk if that would work
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Is there enough room behind the seats in the vehicle? Which is a great idea until they get really muddy.
 
Matoolie said:
Why do those with pickups feel the need to store boards outside of the vehicle? Or most vehicles for that matter. Do they take up so much space they cannot be stored in the bed? I have a midsize SUV and have them in a bag inside the vehicle taking hardly any usable space.....when I think I may need them. Otherwise...they are in the garage.
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Two reasons:

Cleanliness -- Once you use these things, they are filthy. Water is precious so hosing them off isn't an option, so outside the vehicle keeps important gear clean. On Pickups they are often rack mounted on the side because it's an otherwise unused space that generally doesn't block visibility and not much else can go in that space easily.

Accessibility -- they need to be quick and easy to grab for us. If we hit a questionable traction area we are way more likely to grab them and use them thus avoiding getting into a worse situation if they are easy to grab and put to use. If they are buried in the box under other gear, we're more likely to "Let's just try it" and while that sometimes works out, it often doesn't.

We have ours mounted on the side of the bed rack, like the first post with the Taco showed. Our mounting option is home-made using a bit of aluminum plate, some U-Bolts, and some straight bolts. Works like a charm and is very solid.
 
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As ChasingOurTrunks stated two reasons for keeping them outside on my homemade rack is for cleanliness and accessibility if I do get stuck. Not to mention the storage space under my Diamondback rack will normally be pretty tight with all my tools, chainsaw, etc in the front half of the bed where I would store the traction boards. Also, when I get my RTT and it is mounted on top I won't be able to access the front half of my bed where I would store them. The back half of my bed that I can access easily through the tailgate with the RTT mounted on top will have my main camping gear, portable refrigerator, Flexopower Lithium Power Pack, kitchen kit, and chairs. I have a plan, just need to put it all together this summer for hunting and camping this fall!

RTT Rack Build Traction Boards Mounted.jpgTruck 2.jpg
 
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I like to keep all my gear out of sight. I have two 108qt Plano totes in my covered bed and I have my boards attached to the top of one of the totes.
 
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As my pic above shows, don’t put any gear in the back of the SUV as thats where the 2 dogs are and trying to train the wife that all gear must fit in the trailer. If I don’t, the back of the suv will me more clothing and the dogs sandwiched in.

For my truck if the wife stays home, it’ll be easier for me to get the boards off the trailer than opening the tonneau cover, jumping up into the truck to grab the boards since they wouldn’t have mounts in the truck. I also dont want to be moving gear around and leave them in my truck should we take her suv.
 
it really depends on the outing, if I’m just wheeling around close to the house I have them in a bag in the back of the 4Runner. Traveling I have them strapped to the factory roof rack with the shovel and a cable lock. I don’t carry them unless there is a possibility of use other wise they stay home.
 
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