Are winches helpful for desert-style wheeling? I'm having a hard time envisioning exactly where you would hook the winch in order to extract your Jeep if you weren't wrapping it around a decent-sized tree.

I do travel with a snatch strap in these situations, but am wondering if a winch would have much added value.

Sorry in advance if this is an incredibly ignorant question.

 

Well I dont have a winch but I have read alot on this forum of guys burring thier spare tire and using that as a winch point. I believe there is also some kind of winch point you can buy but dont know what it is called.

 

you can use a land anchor I cant remember the name either but it looks like a danforth anchor you wedge into the ground to extract yourself I think smittybuilt sells a cheap one.

 

Ahha! It's called a Pull Pal! Here's a picture of one. The thought of this thing coming dislodged and flying toward my Jeep is terrifying. But maybe something like this is the only option...

 

The physics of the Pull Pal design cause it to dig further into the ground rather than fly up at you. The more stress put on the thing, the deeper down it goes. The military uses the 14 ton version. I've seen it work in rocks and in snow (althought the mfg says no no to rocks. It's pretty ingenious. Save your back, screw burying the spare. Shittybilt makes a knock off. That's the one I could see flying back at you. You'll get what you pay for.

 

When I was a kid, our friend took us to the beach and the beach inhaled his new truck to the frame rails. It took him two attempts to pull himself out with the spare tire and winch. It works, but the tire had to be buried 6 feet in the soft stuff.

I'd be saying I am to old for this stuff, but with high tide coming in I don't think he was worried about age

 

That is exactly what you gotta do. The more surface area under the sand you get obviously the more weight to hold the spare underground. 6 feet is the rule of thumb there for me. Had to do that for 2 people late one night on the beach...

 

That wouldn't do jack out here. Dirt is way too compacted down for that to get a running shot at heading into the ground.

 

pour water on the ground...wait a few hours or days to soak in then dig the Pull Pal in.

 

you can also use 2 old axle shafts shaved down to a point at one end and hammered into the ground in an X patern. you want full floating axles from a one ton that way they are longer and have that nice flage at the end for hitting.