How To Get Your RV Unstuck – The secret is to always be prepared whenever you’re traveling in your RV! See the RV rescue equipment that I keep on board with me at all times. A quick look at the RV equipment you need for self-rescue.
See my complete list of the equipment you need to get an RV unstuck!
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TRANSCRIPT:
Hi, I’m Curtis with The Fun Times Guide. In today’s video, we will talk a little bit about self-rescue.
With the current trend being smaller RVs and converted vans, it is more likely that you are going to get off the beaten track and get out into the wilderness. And the first time you make the mistake of getting off of firm ground, you’re going to find yourself stranded!
These are some ideas that will help you rescue yourself…
I personally carry a wide variety of ways to rescue myself. The first important rule is I don’t travel off the beaten path ALONE. There is always a second vehicle. And what I don’t have in my collection, my traveling buddy carries in his.
I have a SHOVEL, TOW STRAPS a couple of different ways to make use of the tow straps, and a 25-foot CHAIN.
I also carry a good set of JUMPER CABLES — because you never know when you may have to jump your vehicle battery off of your house batteries.
The most important tool to carry for self-rescue is a HIGH LIFT JACK. I recommend this because it does not put stress on your suspension parts. And as in my case here… my vehicle has a good sturdy set of tow hooks on the front which give a good location to lift from. On the back of my van I have a receiver hitch which is rated at 5,000 lbs. So I can put my ball adapter in the receiver hitch and use the Hi Lift Jack to actually lift the whole back half of the vehicle off the ground if need be.
The absolute best arrangement for an offroad trip is to have a WINCH mounted on your vehicle at one end or the other. You can get portable winches — which can drop over the ball of your receiver and pull you backwards. But it’s more expensive to have a winch mounted on the front of the vehicle.
By all means the preferred choice is to have a FOUR-WHEEL DRIVE vehicle and I always approach that with the attitude of: “Drive In on two-wheel drive until you get stuck. And then use four-wheel drive to get yourself back out.”
The one item I am missing on my list is a CABLE COME-ALONG, which is very useful when you don’t have a winch. My traveling buddy has a come-along in his vehicle. And he also has a set of mat tracks — which are a treaded track that you can put underneath your tires for increased friction and have a better chance of getting out when stuck.
And as a final item, I have more aggressive all-terrain TIRES all the way around my van. Even though it is a two-wheel drive van, I feel that the added traction on the front tires will aid in steering as well as flotation because they are a larger tire than what the stock tire was.
I hope these hints have given you some ideas of how you can set yourself up so that you can rescue yourself when you get into a pinch. But the best advice is don’t go where you are not 100% certain that the ground is solid enough to transport you.
Getting… calling a tow truck when you are out in the woods somewhere is going to be a very expensive adventure that you really don’t want to get into!
