RichardAllen Posted February 26, 2010 Author Share Posted February 26, 2010 After some correspondence with Simon at x-eng, who has put me right on just about everything, I have come up with this as a ground anchor design for emergency expedition use: which is pretty much a copy of his longbow ground anchor design, made from the following: - a baseplate (in green) the size of the cover under the driver's seat with holes so that it can be used as a hi-lift baseplate (like the red plastic things they sell), or a ground anchor blade - 6 nuts and bolts - a fabricated triangular bracket (shown in yellow) - a hilift (shown in red), rack only showm climbing mechanism and handle omitted for clarity, baseplate removed - 3 shackles (shown in blue) - a carefully measured bridle with an eye at each end (shown in dark grey). This will perform nowhere near as well as a x-eng longbow, as it is not a rigid mechanism, the blade is flat giving poorer ground holding, it will be heavier and the handle and climbing mechanism of the hi-lift will make it unwieldy. Also, if you get significant sideways forces, you might bend the rack of your hi-lift which will require either replacement or shortening, depending on where it bends. However, for emergency expedition use, apart from the bracket, everything may well be handy / tucked away anyway, and it should be reasonable quick to put together, the bolts need not be very tight for example, and it might work. I have not made one of these, not even as a model, and have certainly not tried it. I will do so when I have finished more immediate jobs. In the meantime, if anyone does make one up, I would be very interested to hear whether it works. Regards Richard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M&S Posted February 26, 2010 Share Posted February 26, 2010 Hmm, don't like the "might bend the hi-lift" part...who's to say you'd not bend taht and tehn still find yourself stuck, with no ground anchor and no jack for lifting the vehicle to get it unstuck? Oh, you'd have a second jack on the other vehicle... so...why the need for the ground anchor? I like the "everything must have two uses" mantra, don't get me wrong, but if the second uyse is a compromise that risks breaking a (potentially) vital tool then I'd rather compromise some more and get digging to bury the spare . Just my thinking of course, each to their own Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardAllen Posted February 27, 2010 Author Share Posted February 27, 2010 Just thinking about the use of spare, we will have picks, shovels, 4 people and 4 spares, so it is certainly a potential solution for us. Is there any preferred orientation of the wheel ? And what is the neatest way to attach a winch cable to the wheel ? Regards Richard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
widget Posted February 27, 2010 Share Posted February 27, 2010 Richard - I think a book you would relish is the Vehicle Dependant Expedition Guide written by Tom Sheppard. It's been discussed herehttp://forums.lr4x4.com/index.php?showtopic=16107 I've scanned a picture from Land Rovers little guide - Winching in Safety. The picture shows a ground anchor pin(?) across the tyre and the winch cable and hook passed through the wheel hub hole. The only time I did this I used a wheel brace across the wheel to hook the cable off, err, a bit less than ideal. But probably safer than the device of death (farm jack). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmgemini Posted February 27, 2010 Share Posted February 27, 2010 I keep reading this and now I wonder. Are you going overlanding or mud plugging. Really overlanding is a journey, not the Camel Trophy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveG Posted February 27, 2010 Share Posted February 27, 2010 I keep reading this and now I wonder. Are you going overlanding or mud plugging. Really overlanding is a journey, not the Camel Trophy. The overlanding oracle has spoken again! FFS Mike, take off the blinkers!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redneck Posted February 27, 2010 Share Posted February 27, 2010 Following on from the snow anchor theme, why not use the hi-lift for an ice axe tee slot anchor, less digging than for your spare wheel. Very much depend on the ground though. But doesn`t require any extra bits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diff Posted February 27, 2010 Share Posted February 27, 2010 Burying the spare wheel is an EXTREMELY labour intensive excercise even in relatively soft soil and would be exhausting, even for several diggers. If you need a ground anchor, you should think about 3 'T' stakes. These stakes are hammered into the ground in a line, or 'v' formation and linked by lashing a long length of light but strong polypropolyene rope between them - top to bottom, top to bottom. The stake at the front is supported by the two behind. Have a look here: http://www.difflock.com/offroad/bowyer/winching2.shtml This type of anchor is very effective and easy to store. Hope this helps, Regards, Diff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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