Vehicle recovery gear and tips

[GETGONE]

There's only about 50 variations of Goodyear Wrangler tires out there. Half of them are garbage and others, not too bad to fairly good. It's interesting that now TB's can be optioned with the Goodyear TrailRunner A/Ts in place of the Duratracs. I guess there were too many complaints of noise from the posers that want an offroad looking truck but can't handle actual off road rated tires.

 

[murph21]

There's only about 50 variations of Goodyear Wrangler tires out there. Half of them are garbage and others, not too bad to fairly good. It's interesting that now TB's can be optioned with the Goodyear TrailRunner A/Ts in place of the Duratracs. I guess there were too many complaints of noise from the posers that want an offroad looking truck but can't handle actual off road rated tires.

My '23 came with the TrailRunner A/Ts on them. What's everyone's opinion on those?

 

[vezePilot]

There's only about 50 variations of Goodyear Wrangler tires out there. Half of them are garbage and others, not too bad to fairly good. It's interesting that now TB's can be optioned with the Goodyear TrailRunner A/Ts in place of the Duratracs. I guess there were too many complaints of noise from the posers that want an offroad looking truck but can't handle actual off road rated tires.

It's interesting that the official Goodyear site does not list the TrailRunner tires to fit my 2021 TB ... perhaps due to 20 inch wheels?

Light, Pickup & Heavy Duty Truck Tires | Goodyear Tires

Goodyear truck tires help provide rugged traction, handling, toughness, and comfort. Find the right Goodyear truck tires and buy online today at Goodyear.com.

www.goodyear.com

There are reviews of the TrailRunner tires; but they will have to be A LOT better than my excellent Territory tires, if the price is so much more.

Wrangler TrailRunner AT™ (Light Truck) Tire | Goodyear Tires

Buy the Goodyear Wrangler TrailRunner AT™ (Light Truck) online today for tough, hardworking tire with a combination of on- and off-road performance.

www.goodyear.com

 

[GETGONE]

The TB's with 18" wheels have the Trail Runners and regular trucks with 20" wheels the Trail Runners are the "off road" tire option vs whatever is standard in the 275/60/20

 

[PHXPHOTOG]

This is what I carry in my kit to deal with all of the Wrangler Duratrack issues I have had. I'm sure we all know you can't plug or patch a sidewall permanently but you can do it to get out of the backcountry. Somewhere on this forum (I can't find it) I have a post about how I plugged a sidewall to get out of the desert. I used a 30 dollar plug kit from Amazon to save the day. Now I have these 4x4 sidewall patches I found. Have not tried them yet and hope I don't need to but this is what I carry.

I also carry a high-lift jack and a compressor.

Steve

 

[vezePilot]

I was able to test the LED lights that I bought to mount on top of my cab. Photo evidence of the wide pattern these LEDS provide is problematic: they are about as bright as the stock highbeams, but I am not skilled at taking pics of the differences. They are great as "ditch lights" for off road, and for spotting wildlife near the road.

The low-cost NiLight 60W 4 inch spot/flood kit comes with
- the Lights (each with 20 x 3W LEDS , ~900,000 candlepower at 50 feet; 5400 lumens)
- Lighted Switch
- Fuses and Fuse Link
- Relay
- All required wiring.

I posted photos in another thread of the location F5 in the Passenger side Fuse Box, where a Micro2 Fusetap connector can be inserted to provide power. I used some scrap black plastic to fabriCobble a place for the switch, right next to the switch for the flashing yellow light bar.

The wires run alongside the cable for my CB radio antenna, on the front pax seatback:

Where would You mount the Relay?
Because of the lengths of the provided wiring/cables, I took the route of least resistance:

This is how they look together with the CB antenna and the flashing Yellow light bar:

And I added a coupla automotive connectors to be able to break everything up for installation and for storage. The lights unplug and I keep them in one of my many rhino bags, and in the main tub of Recovery gear that is always in the bed. The LED lights look small on top of the cab, but that makes bringing them along easier.

.

 

[PHXPHOTOG]

Things ain't always pretty in the desert. I know all too well a 5,500 pound Trail Boss is not a dune buggy. BUT......when I saw this dune outside Moab I couldn't resist giving it a try. We scouted the other side so I knew it was super steep and no one was there. The getting stuck part was my fault. When we got to the top with lots of speed I lifted out of the throttle to not jump it and I belly flopped the whole truck on the crest. Sometimes when you send it you have to stand on it all the way. I chickened out one second to soon.

No damage was done. It took me and my buddy about half an hour to dig her out. It was sitting on sand all the way from the front drive to the rear differential. The high lift jack was super necessary to hold up the rear while we dug out the rear axle and frame. It took a lot of digging before we could get traction boards under the tires and roll off it.

Recovery gear: High-Lift, traction boards, & my all time favorite, two shovels. And a couple of cold beers to swallow my pride!

Steve

 

[Gangly]

Way to send it though, at least you tried which is more than most TB owners are willing to do.

 

[PistolsFiring]

A man of his word, ROLDRTY.

 

[Jmzvet]

Love it
What PSI you run in that deep sand?

 

[PHXPHOTOG]

Love it
What PSI you run in that deep sand?

25...other than the dumb stunt I was surprised how well it did in the sand. For all the complaining I do about the Duratrac sidewalls I have to say they grip in anything and stick to slickrock like glue. If I could only keep air in them!

 

[vezePilot]

But it seems that a critical piece of Recovery Gear was that ... that ... what is that??
That "receiver accessory" which allows the use of your farmers jack?

... it looks like a

.

 

[PHXPHOTOG]

But it seems that a critical piece of Recovery Gear was that ... that ... what is that?? That "receiver accessory" which allows the use of your farmers jack?

... it looks like a

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07CWBGCHB/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=brfertig-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B07CWBGCHB&linkId=7142c3d17bef0d667ebb3214204df169

You nailed it. The departure angle on the Boss is the thing I hit the most. I come down on my receiver hitch all the time. This is my second set of HDMI tips and I bent them a few weeks ago. I cant keep replacing them so they will have to ride for now. I bought that receiver skid plate to save the hitch. It works. But it did bend when I put the jack in it. That's OK. Its worth its weight in gold. A TB is a very heavy off roader. There is NO GOOD place to put a high-lift on the back of the truck without it.

 

[Jmzvet]

Is 25psi the lowest w/o the risk of bead separation? Or can you go lower if you aren’t bouncing off rocks or catching air?

 

[PHXPHOTOG]

Is 25psi the lowest w/o the risk of bead separation? Or can you go lower if you aren’t bouncing off rocks or catching air?

Below 25 the sidewalls bulge and you loose clearance and the tires are too spongy for the weak sidewalls. The Duracraps can not handle the weight of a TB, period. I know guys that air down Nittos and other tires to 10 psi on Jeeps without beadlocks and have no problem. I learned I will never go below 25 ever with the Duracraps.