STEPS >
SECURE THE VEHICLE
WHEN your vehicle is on solid ground or at least where you want it, you’ll need to re-secure it before you can back off the winch line. Depending on the terrain, this can be as simple as ensuring it’s in park with the handbrake applied, although chocking the wheels would be recommended.
It might be necessary to re-rig the winch to pull you further up the track before attempting to drive under your own power. After all, if the track was tricky enough to catch you once, you don’t want to let it catch you twice.
After securing the vehicle and backing off the line, do a thorough visual inspection before spooling your line back onto the winch. In recoveries like this it’s easy to miss a stray tree or rock rubbing on the line, which may have cut or damaged it. Depending on the damage, the line can be shortened or spliced to get you out of trouble, although should be replaced as soon as possible.
The sequence below shows how the rear of the vehicle was dragged sideways on to the track, to continue on its way forward.