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Home > General & Technical (L663) > Recovery and Towing

Are you prepared for recovery/ towing?

Yes

46%

[7]

46%

[7]

Yes but only when offroad

[1]

Total Votes: 15

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Carpathian110

Member Since: 02 Nov 2024
Location: Ireland
Posts: 25

Recovery and Towing

I’m not familiar with recovery and towing (other cars). From a recent experience (all good fun), I want to get a dedicated recovery and tow kit that lives in my L663.

Towing: if I see a car broken down or can’t get out of a driveway/ up a hill etc, I would like to be able to help if they need help. What sort of towing rope (I presume towing cables are avoided for obvious reasons) is recommended for this? What else is there to look out for?
Recovery: offroad recovery of other 4X4s. If I’m driving on the road in the countryside, and someone has got into a hole or ditch etc, I would like to be in a position to help also.

I understand you can really use any rope that is strong for these purposes but there are definitely nuances to recovery and towing I’m sure and dedicated products tend to be longer lasting, safer to use and reduce damage to the vehicles involved.

For recovery I’ve heard you need a kinetic rope as it uses static energy built up under tension to recover the vehicle like an elastic band, in addition to the pulling power from the recovery vehicle. Is this true?
During the recovery, I put the L663 into reverse (and helped out) as I’m aware there can be transmission damage if you leave the car in park. Is this the right thing to do?
What other kit apart from ropes do you use?
Do any of you use winches, hand winches for example? I’d love to but I don’t need a defender mounted winch.

As it is such a capable vehicle and more powerful and bigger than most things on and off the road, I want to be able to help others who are in trouble. IMO if you are capable of helping others in a vehicle like the defender (old or new), but you don’t (or chose not to come prepared), you are an ass…

Reposting for L663 specific advice and opinions.

19th Nov 2024 12:35pm

lightning

Member Since: 23 Apr 2009
Location: High Peak, Derbyshire
Posts: 2841

l am not sure it makes you "an ass" if you're not tooled up to help stranded motorists, to do that you need to know how to tow someone.
For instance
What if their car won't start.
What if it's an auto.
How far can you legally tow someone.
What if their lights are not working.
What about if they have kids in the car, are you legally allowed to tow it with the family still inside. Would you be happy having random people in your vehicle.
Have they ever been towed before.

Do you know how to deal with all this? Not everyone does.

Anyhow, l carry a fairly long tow rope, one of the flat ones. And some tools plus a tyre inflator. l will stop and help when think it's safe.

20th Nov 2024 7:41pm

gcc130

Member Since: 05 Jun 2015
Location: Wiltshire
Posts: 744

I personally wouldn’t go anywhere near a Kerr rope without appropriate training, they can be lethal in the wrong hands.
I carry 8t towing strips and various rated shackles in each landrover( including S1 ). If I can’t recover someone with that I leave it to the professionals.

20th Nov 2024 7:52pm

blackwolf

Member Since: 03 Nov 2009
Location: South West England
Posts: 17443

2007 Defender 110 Puma 2.4 DCPU Stornoway Grey

Another question pertinent to modern times is if the car is dead do you know how to release the brakes and get the transmission in neutral? Also, for that matter, how is a dead EV towed?

There are many reasons to be cautious now.

20th Nov 2024 8:13pm

lightning

Member Since: 23 Apr 2009
Location: High Peak, Derbyshire
Posts: 2841

EV's can't generally be towed with a tow rope as there's no way to disengage the drive motors.

20th Nov 2024 8:38pm

H1Tad

Member Since: 20 Jul 2024
Location: Maine
Posts: 130

For pulling people out of ditches when its snowing outside - all you really need is a good tow strap and some hard and soft shackles - common sense and a healthy dose of self-preservation. The biggest part of roadside recovery is making sure you don't get clobbered by passing traffic. Not sure what the rules are in Europe for assisting stranded motorists - truthfully I don't know what they are here in the US either but up here in my neck of the woods, we don't care since being stranded up here in the colder months can be a death sentence.

When offroad, a proper recovery kit such as what is offered at safe-xtract.com (no affiliation) is what you should really look for. Caution: Good recovery gear ain't cheap.

Even more important than the gear though is the training. You can have all of the kit but none of the knowledge of how to SAFELY use it. Find a good offroad recovery instruction outfit in your area that can give you the proper instruction over the course of a multi-day event. 2022 Defender 110 SE P400 Tasman Blue Expedition and Cold weather package
2003 Hummer H1 P400 Firehouse Red
2008 Toyota FJ Cruiser

20th Nov 2024 8:59pm

J77

Member Since: 04 Nov 2019
Location: Fife
Posts: 3407

I leave it to the professionals, I have a tow strap just in case but don’t have the knowledge or training to use it properly so would never offer to pull someone out a ditch. Plus who accepts liability for any further damage caused to their vehicle or yours. 24MY 90 D250 HSE, Tasman Blue

22nd Nov 2024 9:25am

revd

Member Since: 20 Apr 2024
Location: England
Posts: 132

lightning wrote:
EV's can't generally be towed with a tow rope as there's no way to disengage the drive motors.

Can't be towed - but they can still be dragged kicking and screeming

22nd Nov 2024 3:50pm

Carpathian110

Member Since: 02 Nov 2024
Location: Ireland
Posts: 25

lightning wrote:
l am not sure it makes you "an ass" if you're not tooled up to help stranded motorists, to do that you need to know how to tow someone.
For instance
What if their car won't start.
What if it's an auto.
How far can you legally tow someone.
What if their lights are not working.
What about if they have kids in the car, are you legally allowed to tow it with the family still inside. Would you be happy having random people in your vehicle.
Have they ever been towed before.

Do you know how to deal with all this? Not everyone does.

Anyhow, l carry a fairly long tow rope, one of the flat ones. And some tools plus a tyre inflator. l will stop and help when think it's safe.

What if their car won’t start? What if it’s an automatic?(does that change anything?) Tow unless safe. During the day, lights are probably not needed. Obviously don’t tow with family in the car. Talk them through plan before and communicate during if possible. Common sense and stopping to think before you do anything can fix a lot of things.

gcc130 wrote:
I personally wouldn’t go anywhere near a Kerr rope without appropriate training, they can be lethal in the wrong hands.
I carry 8t towing strips and various rated shackles in each landrover( including S1 ). If I can’t recover someone with that I leave it to the professionals.

Heard this from a few people after I posted… duly noted… I might hold off on a kinetic rope for now…

quote="blackwolf"]Another question pertinent to modern times is if the car is dead do you know how to release the brakes and get the transmission in neutral? Also, for that matter, how is a dead EV towed?

There are many reasons to be cautious now.[/quote]
Yes very true. Even with L663 you need to know how to release parking brake to put in neutral for towing…

H1Tad wrote:
For pulling people out of ditches when its snowing outside - all you really need is a good tow strap and some hard and soft shackles - common sense and a healthy dose of self-preservation. The biggest part of roadside recovery is making sure you don't get clobbered by passing traffic. Not sure what the rules are in Europe for assisting stranded motorists - truthfully I don't know what they are here in the US either but up here in my neck of the woods, we don't care since being stranded up here in the colder months can be a death sentence.

When offroad, a proper recovery kit such as what is offered at safe-xtract.com (no affiliation) is what you should really look for. Caution: Good recovery gear ain't cheap.

Even more important than the gear though is the training. You can have all of the kit but none of the knowledge of how to SAFELY use it. Find a good offroad recovery instruction outfit in your area that can give you the proper instruction over the course of a multi-day event.

Excellent comment. Thanks. This is my mindset also. And agree on the common sense and healthy dose of self preservation part…

Last edited by Carpathian110 on 23rd Nov 2024 11:20pm. Edited 2 times in total

23rd Nov 2024 11:12pm

Carpathian110

Member Since: 02 Nov 2024
Location: Ireland
Posts: 25

Delete

23rd Nov 2024 11:16pm

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