Maxtrax - Great marketing strategy or??

Think you said it yourself "I dug myself out within 24 hours each time with a simple shovel and jack" if your happy to put in that amount of time and effort then you probably don't need them. Personally if I can take the maxtrax off the roof , shove them under a couple of wheels and drive out I know which method I prefer.

Ten years (?) ago, no one in Oz carried them, but the Europeans have carried aluminium (or steel) versions for many years.
I don't.
I carry a good compressor and that provides good extraction options, at least as good as Maxtrax, in my view.
Carrying Maxtrax or similar would not allow me to leave the compressor home.
If I did carry something it would provide bridging capability like this, that Maxtrax can not provide....but they are heavier.
Any of these devices will get you 1.5 metres. Then you start again if it is still soft. Letting the air out will get you as far as you want to go.

Hi Alan,

Personally, I agree with Leigh, I would rather get my Maxtrax off the roof than spend 24 hours digging.

I think they are an excellent simple and easy to use recovery device.

Not that heavy really.

You can also use them as a shovel by the way.

"Is it really worth carting these things around just for the odd occasion that they may help you out?? I'm not convinced..."

I guess the follow-up question would be "and how many of the people who cart these things around can actually use them when required?"

The I Got Bogged at Inskip Point Facebook group would indicate "not many". And Inskip Point is very easy country in which to use them.

George_M

I’m of an age and with some physical limitations where digging for hours is not really an option.

I’ve never travelled alone to places where I might have wanted the maxtrax option and probably wouldn’t now anyway.

But if beach camping and fishing was my go I’d probably get them.

Cheers

Al, what always amuses me is the number of vehicles with the trax's mounted on their roof racks as a permanent feature. I have a pair and only load them when I'm heading bush or down the beach. Why people have to leave them on the roof is beyond me and contrary to the advertising blurb they will be affected by the weather if continually exposed and with the increase in fuel prices why add to wind drag.

Except for the beach, another thing you would need to carry would be a big bag of some sort to store them in when muddy. Then somewhere to store that big muddy bag !

I've dragged them around for a few years because I generally travel alone and have a major allergy regarding "digging" for any lengthy period. I used them once on the Connie Sue last year and recently when the ride-on got bogged in the back yard LOL.

Regards

Maxtrax are very much like Telstra 5G. You never really need it ... until you do!

Jack

We have a pair of Maxtrax , permanently stowed in the inside of the canopy. Bought a nice bag from Aldi a while ago ........ plenty of room for mud, but a neat fit.
Like almost all of our "recovery" gear it's just insurance. Do use the 12v air compressor occasionally, and have only used the snatchstrap twice ...... to help others.
That reminds me ...... I need to replace the ARB air compressor hose ......... after 20 years !!!
Have yet to use the Maxtrax , but happy to have them handy.

Cheers
Jim

I carried a pair for years and never needed them.
Tried them out a couple of times early in the piece on other vehicles bogged on Fraser Island to test their capability....... They worked OK.

In sand, I found lower tyre pressure and careful throttle management was adequate, as Peter said above. But I was never sure that would suffice for mud. Fortunately, I never got to put them to the test. I dreaded the thought of a mud recovery.

Perhaps I could reflect that winches on the front bar may be in the same category as recovery boards but never had one of them anyway, however I won't elaborate on that one!

Gidday - undoubtable a great marketing strategy IMHO, the adverts make me laugh eg car bogged in sand - out come the "recovery boards", when letting your tyres down would have resulted in an easy drive out. . I think most people get them before they buy a compressor, a tyre gauge and a shovel (Adds target new chums with no experience). Don't think you really need them in sand if you know what you are doing. Having said that, they are obviously handy in some circumstance. Last time I could of done with some I used logs (in mud).

Cheers
Greg

My Beloved bought me a pair of Maxtrax some years back. I didn’t really want, or perhaps need them, but was wise enough to accept the gift gracefully!

Since then they’ve been attached to roof of my canopy during a 10K km WA, NT & SA jaunt, a trip up the CSR & close to 10 crossings of the Simpson, and never been touched. They weigh bugger all, and are easily removed if someone needs them.

I haven’t seen a Maxtrax ad for at least 2 or more years!

Bob

I have a pair and have used them maybe 3 times in 10 years.
My major 4wd'ing is a few nights a week and some weekends beach fishing and usually on my own.
Whilst tyre pressures are the absolute best recovery tool in sand on the odd occasion, say 3 times in 10 years the whole show just didn't want to co-operate for various reasons.
As far as I am concerned purchasing them and carrying them for all that time has more than paid for them in the time I have owned them.
I also have the same allergy as Gramps, I am allergic to over use of the shovel. I carry a shovel and compressor as first choices to the Maxtrax.
When the 1 and 2 choices aren't cutting it out come the orange No. 3 choice.

We are among those who carry a pair of maxtrax but have rarely used them, in fact I can only recall using them once. A fair few more times we've used a shovel & further reduction of tyre pressures though. Have never yet been bogged where there as something to winch off. That said when we did use them we may have got out without, but the amount of shovelling would have been far more than we could easily manage. On the beach at Chile Creek (Dampier Peninsula). "You'll be fine if you stay on the track" they said. When I wanted to turn around & saw tyre tracks I assumed I'd be right. A few moments later I realised my mistake. Three 'lengths' of our pair of Maxtrax got us back onto the track relatively easily.

They really are very expensive pieces of plastic to buy , but so long as we have somewhere to carry them, I don't think I'd want to be without them (or something similar).

It's an interesting question: If you look at the modern hierarchy of 4wd recovery, as presently delivered in 4wd recovery training , it lists recovery methods in order of risk (lowest risk first) rather than effectiveness.

Given this, the first choice is track building, shovel, vehicle preparation. Your second choice is recovery boards, so going by that, after you bought a shovel (I actually carry a crow-bar as well, on Cape York to build tracks in hard ground by breaking down the high sides of deep tracks but I digress.), you should as your next step, buy some recovery boards.

The second part of your question is why Max Trax and not cheaper alternatives? I've encountered plenty of recovery boards that are cheaper and work as well. Yup they've done a good job at marketing.

I encourage people to buy boards (of any brand) because the alternative that many reach for in mud is sawn logs which are extremely damaging to vehicles when placed in mud. I've seen holes punched into the floor of $100K vehicles and steering and suspension components broken at Palm Creek and other places due to logs in mud..I now make it my practice to search for them with my crow bar and extract them before any of my clients enter such places.

I have had a set of Maxtrax for a number of years and I think they are necessary addition to a recovery kit - having said that I have never used them, but then neither used the rest of the recovery kit for over 10 years - lower tyre pressure has generally worked.

Prior to the advent of Maxtrax I used the floor mats out of my old Disco 1 and carried an old doona - both these works surprisingly well when used in a similar manner to Maxtraxs.

Peter n Margaret… I can’t figure how to reply to a follow up from my phone. So it’ll be out of order.

I didn’t say it was my list.

I said that current recovery training has a hierarchy of recovery that recommends the first step is shovel, track building and vehicle preparation and the second step is recovery boards… there are several others steps, last of which is the most dangerous- snatch recovery.

Vehicle preparation (step 1 and lowest risk) includes deflation. And if you deflate and want to get back to normal travel speeds you’ll need a compressor- that should be obvious but perhaps to some it isn’t.

A compressor is not only recovery equipment for off-road drivers I’d count it as essential as is the shovel. Other essential items that are not specifically recovery equipment could be added to a list had I written one- but I didn’t. Those are things like wheel brace, jack etc etc

Kind regards
Kimberly Olsen

We did a trip that included the Simpson desert and the canning stock route.
I thought I needed some thing ? Discussed with local Local TJM guy , decided I didn’t need a winch, he’d only ever used his for other things than getting unstuck.

I bought a set of 4 maxtrax , carried them around for 3 years or so , then finally took them off and put ‘em in the shed .
Might sell them actually, anyone up for a cheap set?

Could be useful, but really just another bit of marketed bling.

Cheers Robbo

The only time I forgot to put them on, was the time I needed them. Impromtu visit to the beach.