Vehicle Recovery Equipment for Range Rovers

Don't tell anyone, but even a Range Rover can occasionally get stuck. When it does, the most useful item of all to have along is a shovel. Depending on the terrain, an axe, pick and pry bar can also be worth their weight in gold. Because a full size shovel is bulky, many off roaders carry only wimpy tools like a folding trenching shovel (one size up from a teaspoon) and possibly a hatchet. Anyone who has had to assist passage of a vehicle by digging or other brute force methods would prefer to have more substantial implements on hand. Wearing them as decorations on tailgate or hood mounted brackets as practiced by our sister Land Rover models would be possible, but few self respecting Range Rovers would allow themselves to be seen in public adorned with such appendages.

Shovel & Hand Tool Stowage in Loadspace, Classic
Arrangement of tools inside quarter panel

On non CD-equipped Range Rovers the right rear quarter panel behind the carpet flap, where the jack and chocks are, has enough room for permanent shovel stowage in the vehicle without intruding on passenger or load-carrying space. I used the following arrangement:

A 30-inch wrecking bar was substituted for one half of the hydraulic jack handle, using the same mounting clips. I never found the double length handle to be needed. A 2 1/4-lb axe with a 28-inch handle, one step down from full sized, sat neatly beside the pry bar and jack handle, with its head, protected by a home-made cardboard cover, resting on the wheel arch and the haft resting on the wheel chocks.

A full sized digging shovel with a spade-type handle fitted diagonally with the top of the handle abutting the rear seatback. Implements up to 36 inches long will fit; my shovel handle had only to be shortened by two inches. Strips of adhesive-backed rubber protect the inside sheet metal from the shovel blade. A combination pick and mattock, 35 inches long, sat atop the shovel. The mattock blade was inserted upwards into the small gap between the loadspace cover edge and the rear inside body wall, locating the pick and allowing it to rest on top of the shovel. A cardboard cover was fitted over the pick tip for safety and rattle avoidance. To protect the wooden pick handle where it rests on the edge of the shovel blade, a piece of split rubber tubing was placed over the side of the blade. Tools hidden by carpet flap

The entire arrangement was secured in place by a nylon webbed utility tie-down, attached to the loadspace cover support bracket at the top and the anchor point for the jack retainer at the bottom. The carpet flap concealed the whole with nary a bulge, and no annoying rattles intruded upon the tranquility of the Range Rover interior. With this arrangement, the tools are there when you need them, but the outside world doesn't need to know you might!

Rooftop Stowage of Shovel & Hand Tools, Classic, 4.0 / 4.6
shovel on Classic expedition roof rack

The one disadvantage of the loadspace storage system is the need to remove some of the items in the loadspace when you need to get at the tools. From repeated experience I found that when I need these tools I am in no mood to unpack, so after some years of off roading I decided I wanted more immediate access to the most frequently used items, especially the shovel. Accordingly, I mounted the shovel on the roof rack, leaving the other less-often used items where they were. Some racks, notably the Rovers North Expedition Roof Rack, can be ordered with custom brackets for a shovel and other tools. (Photo above: Shovel on Classic Expedition Rack).

On my P38a Range Rover, I mounted the shovel, pick, axe and pry bar on the roof rack. To hold them on, I used various quickly releasable fastenings such as a Thule bicycle rim strap, nylon webbing strap with quick release buckle, etc. When I had a Thule rack, I held the shovel on by a single scissors-type clamp so it could literally be released in a second. Later I obtained an official expedition rack from The Rover Connection and mounted the shovel inside it -- from the side of the vehicle you can barely see it. (Photos below: Shovel on 4.0 roof racks).

I have received the occasional comment about carrying a shovel permanently on the roof of a 4.0! However, with careful design and shovel choice, it is possible to give the roof mounted shovel a low profile so it is not too conspicuous or detrimental to aerodynamics. Other views of this arrangement can be seen in the P38 roof rack section and in the CB section; a close up appears in the P38 antenna mount section.

Stowage of Recovery Gear in Spare Tire Compartment, P38
The large spare tire compartment under the loadspace in the 4.0/4.6 models allows good scope for stowage of recovery gear, especially if you do not need to access it too frequently on trips when the loadspace is full of gear. A good example of this approach is the arrangement below, used by Kevin Kelly.

Stowage Arrangement

Recovery Gear Stowage

Kevin reports "The spare tire area on the Range Rover P38 is a great place to store things since it's out of sight and down low, keeping the center of gravity low. I carry a lot of stuff with me every day including quite a bit of recovery gear that I am able to pack in to a canvas bag that fits inside my 18 inch spare wheel. My recovery bag has a 30 foot recovery strap, 3 bow shackles,3 empty sand bags, 8 foot recovery cable, 10 foot chocker chain with super heavy duty hooks, Receiver shackle adapter, Receiver Pin, Rope, book on knots, mini folding shovel, and a 10 foot super heavy duty recovery strap/tree saver."

Kevin's arrangement is depicted in the photo here and in the additional illustrations here on the Spare Parts Selection and Stowage page.

towstrap

Another essential item is a tow strap -- a heavy 2 or 3 inch wide nylon strap about 20 feet long with a breaking strain of about 20,000 lb. If you can summon the help of another vehicle, this simple device will get you out of many situations. Its ability to stretch and absorb energy enables its use as a "kinetic recovery device" -- a moving towing vehicle can give the strap a "jerk" which can multiply the actual pulling force available. To use it, you need strong recovery hooks on the front and rear of the vehicle -- the factory towing loop may not be strong enough.

I usually stow my tow strap under the rear seat. This has worked well on both my Classic and my 4.0. The photo at right shows my current tow strap stowed under the right hand rear seat of my 4.0SE.

Jacking the vehicle up and putting something under the wheels to grip on is standard procedure for getting unstuck, and the task is made a lot easier with a Hi Lift Jack. To take full advantage of this tool you need suitable "hardened" areas on the vehicle to use as jacking points, such as heavy aftermarket front and/or rear bumpers and rock sliders. Finding a place to carry one in a Range Rover seems impossible at first, but Dave Brown solved the problem by mounting his on the slanted part of the floor at the feet of the rear passengers. He reports that it fits OK, and is not not too much in their way.

In the last resort a vehicle mounted winch can be invaluable, especially if your off roading is done alone. (see "Winch Mounting Options for Range Rovers" for details). Remember, however, that a winch by itself is little use if there is nothing to attach the cable to, so depending on the terrain you plan to visit, some kind of ground anchor will also be needed. Also, most winches are front mounted, not always the direction you want to go when stuck. So bring a come along too, just in case retreat or even a sideways pull is called for. On one very muddy expedition, my intrepid copilot Granville Pool and I had to use the winch on the front AND the come-along attached to the rear to pull the vehicle sideways out of a ditch!!

The problem of what to attach the winch cable to is sometimes ignored by those keen on equipping their vehicles with winches. In forested areas this is not usually a problem, but in the desert it is a different story. The traditional solution which comes trippingly off the old timer's tongue is to bury the spare tire and use it as an anchor. However few have actually put this theory into practice. In a recent magazine test, not only was this method a tremendous amount of work, but both times it was tried the tire immediately popped out of the ground as soon as tension was put on the winch cable. Various other anchor schemes can be improvised. Driving a row of steel stakes into the ground and connecting them with rope is commonly proposed.

Fortunately, there are now better and less labor-intensive alternatives available. Perhaps the best known is the Pull-Pal, a folding steel ground anchor that is designed to dig into a variety of surfaces using the pull of the winch for digging power. Another alternative is a simple boat anchor. These are designed to perform a similar function on the sea bed, and should work just as well above water. I use an 18 pound Danforth anchor, the type with wide, flat, hinged flukes designed to dig into sand. It fits on the floor in the rear passenger compartment.

Recovery Points
Shackle Bracket

Vehicle recovery requires strong attachment points on the front and rear of the vehicle. The factory towing loop on the front of a Range Rover is not intended for this purpose, although the one on the 4.0/4.6 model is sturdier than that on the Classic, neither are the front and rear tie down loops designed for securing the vehicle to a transporter trailer. You need something that a shackle, winch hook or tow strap is easily secured to, and which will withstand a pulling force in the region of 10,000 lbs. (The photos and much of the information for this section were supplied by Alexander Cooper, who has experimented with a number of recovery point mountings on his Range Rover Classic). All the parts mentioned are available from most Land Rover aftermarket parts suppliers.
Dixon Bate Hitch

On the rear of the vehicle, the built in trailer hitch receiver gives a ready made solution. To attach a tow strap, I usually just use the stock trailer hitch receiver without any attachments by inserting the looped end of the strap into it and securing it with the hitch pin. However this does not work for securing shackles and winch hooks, so several suppliers sell heavy duty recovery loops and rings designed to "Plug in" to the receiver. The most common of these is the type of shackle bracket seen in the top photo. The one shown is a Superwinch; the hollow tube fits into the receiver. This part is available from Atlantic British. A slightly different design is available from Recovery Gear USA with the shackle pivoting about a vertical rather than horizontal axis. The cost of these devices is approximately $50. The shackle brackets fit a standard 3/4" shackle which can be obtained in various load ratings from 4.75 to 6.5 T. The US-made one Alexander got from Recovery Gear was rated to 6.5 T and has 45 degree marks on it to indicate the maximum angle of pull.
Jate Rings on Rear Chassis Rails

An alternative is the Dixon Bate hitch. (second photo, above). This consists of two pieces: the jaw part with the pin, and the tube that fits in the receiver. They are held together by two bolts. The jaw piece by itself can be mounted to bumpers as well. The chains prevent the pin and pin clip from getting lost. The main drawback of this type of hitch is a noticeable reduction in departure angle as it protrudes out and down significantly. However it is very quick and convenient to use, and as anyone who has actually been stuck can testify that is a most important consideration. There are two sizes available; the smaller one shown is about $80 from Recovery Gear USA. Versions are available (eg from DLS in the UK for about 45 pounds) with a tow ball on top of the pin so it can be used for towing as well as for recovery. Another option is the NATO pintle hook, which can be attached to receiver stubs like the Dixon Bate, but may be rather bulky on a RR.

For additional security you can mount heavy duty galvanized NATO Jate rings (about $60 each with bolt) on the rear chassis rails in place of the factory tie-down rings (third photo). To avoid rattles, the bolts should be cranked down sufficiently that the rings are snugly held against the frame and don't swing back and forth freely. They can be oriented so there is enough space between them and the frame rails to pass shackles or cables through. The standard Jate rings require slight bending apart in the vise to fit over the frame.
Jate Rings on Front Chassis Rails

Adding strong recovery points is most difficult on the front of Range Rovers, as the mounting of the commonly available attachments sometimes interferes with brush bar and winch mountings. All of these use the same mounting holes at the fornt of the chassis to which the stock bumper and factory tow loop are secured. NATO Jate rings can be mounted to the front using the bumper mounting bolt holes (fourth photo), giving a well tucked away appearance. Installation requires removal of the airdam because the recesses for the fog lights make it impossible to reach the bumper mounting bolts. If you have a brush bar or winch, some ingenuity is required to secure these or other front recovery loops or hooks.

Bridging and Sand Ladders
See the Bridging and Sand Ladders page for ladders capable of getting you unstuck in soft terrain, and getting your Range Rover across ditches and washouts.

Suppliers of Recovery Gear
Any local four wheel drive store will carry the most common recovery items. However if you want to shop around for lower prices, a number of discount sources are included below.

Atlantic British: Largest supplier of Land Rover accessories, including off-road equipment, in North America
British Pacific: A large range of practical Off Road gear for Land Rovers & Range Rovers
DLS UK supplier of Dixon Bate Hitches
JCWhitney.com The traditional "everything automotive" catalog has a fair selection of tow straps and other items.
NorthernTool & Supply Have a large range of tow straps, winches, come alongs, etc at rock bottom prices.
Pull-Pal Folding ground anchor manufacturer
Recovery Gear USA. US supplier of Dixon Bate Hitches


My first 4.0SE rooftop shovel arrangement -- shovel clipped to Thule rack.	Shovel clamped inside official 4.0SE expedition rack. Further to the rear are a pick, axe and pry bar.