Essential Recovery Kit: Bridging Ladders

[the roadie]

If you regularly need to go across rock gaps, shelves, or stairsteps that could swallow your tires, destroy your rocker panels, or hang up your bumpers, you might be in the market for what the expeditionists call Bridging Ladders. $450-500 a pair. In aluminum, about 20 pounds each.



If all you need is something to throw under your tires if stuck in sand or mud, then use Sand Ladders at $200-250 a pair:



All proper desert-outfitted Camel Trophy Land Rovers have these as part of the kit:



But if you're a bit more frugal like me, and looking for the most modern (and recycled) multi-purpose stuff, you should be looking at a set of fiberglass/resin bridging ladders. One vehicle in a group should have these, and in my group of usually one vehicle, I guess that's me.

Seller:
Norman Klapper
info@pecboulder.com
Ebay vendor: infopec
2" FIBERGLASS MOLDED GRATING, VINYLESTER RESIN
Current Ebay listing: 120286393067 (will change)
Current description:
TRACK PADS & BRIDGING LADDERS - OFF-ROAD USE /12" x 48"
12" x 48" PAIR OF TWO (2)
$96.00 plus shipping

18 pounds each - shipping weight for 2 about 40 pounds from Colorado.





Note minor deflection - was accompanied by minor creaking noises.





After taking the Envoy off 'em, they came back exactly to flat again. I would have no hesitation to use these on a trail I had to use them to get OFF of later. Highly recommended!

[JamesDowning]

NICE FIND!

I saw a pair of these for about $300. I can't believe the price! That is on my 'need to get' list as of now.


These were the ones I was looking at originally. Due to price, it WAS alot lower on my priorities list.






Great find man....

[the roadie]

Thx. You were looking at the same ones I was with the embedded "angular quartz" in the top edges. Dura-tred or Trakmat. Nice, but overkill for us. Around $200 was a vendor from around Chicago: amgrating. This is the first vendor I've seen with a fair price around $100. That was my trigger point.

These can make up for a LOT of deficiencies in approach angle. I can see 2-3 local trails now coming onto my radar screen that were unapproachable before.

Pinyon Squeeze, for one:

[hrddrv]

If I had those I think I could have gotten myself ustuck istead of having someone pull me out. May get some sometime.

[the roadie]

Since the factory jack is useless in mud, that's the other reason many (some?) of us also get a HiLift jack and their adapter to pull up on the wheels from the outside of the vehicle, so you can stuff things like a sand ladder or rocks underneath:

[bigbadbowtie088]

Looks like a very useful piece of equipment for us offroaders. Wouldn't a 2.6 or two work just about the same? I'm not sure on how much weight they would hold.. just thinking out loud.

[the roadie]

Originally Posted by bigbadbowtie088

Wouldn't a 2.6 or two work just about the same?

Not sure what you mean. These are 2" thick with 2X2 openings. Like 2" all around.

[JamesDowning]

Originally Posted by the roadie

Not sure what you mean. These are 2" thick with 2X2 openings. Like 2" all around.

I believe he was referring to a 2x6 piece of construction wood.

And it could hold, if it was short enough (max maybe 18 inches long for a static load?). You would probably need some 3x12 laminated joists if you were going to span 48 inches. But they would provide little traction if muddy or wet...



The waffle boards are far superior.

[bigbadbowtie088]

Originally Posted by JamesDowning

I believe he was referring to a 2x6 piece of construction wood.

And it could hold, if it was short enough (max maybe 18 inches long for a static load?). You would probably need some 3x12 laminated joists if you were going to span 48 inches. But they would provide little traction if muddy or wet...



The waffle boards are far superior.

I agree they would provide very little traction if muddy or wet.

I was watching tv and typing that.. guess I got a bit distracted. I was refering to a 2x6 as James mentioned above.

[PAblzr]

Originally Posted by JamesDowning

NICE FIND!

I saw these for about $300.







Great find man....

Originally Posted by the roadie

TRACK PADS & BRIDGING LADDERS - OFF-ROAD USE /12" x 48"
12" x 48" PAIR OF TWO (2)
$96.00 plus shipping





creaking noises.




Highly recommended!

roadie,

The $300 pair are available in red and green. Can the $100 pair be had in Pewter? Traversing speed bumps or climbing onto little parking lot islands at the mall would be soooo cool if I had bridges that were color matched to my TB!

Seriously, Mrs. PAblzr LOVES the turn signals I learned to instal by visiting this web site ( safety first!) The Blistien HD shocks were normal wear items like brake pads and tires ( as I explained it to her) and some of the little stuff she does not even know about. However 4 ft X 1 ft ladders are not something I can sneak in with the newspaper! How am I to explain they are used to go across rocks and up & down stairs? Unless you, Alex, and James can give me some real world advice about how to convince the Mrs. she wants the add ons you guys have been getting for your TV's I am going to have to ask my internet provider to block the Off Road section of Trailvoy.com so I do not become even more jealous and frustrated.