4WD recovery boards - MaxTrax

Introduction

if you are going off-road, especially in sand or mud, taking at least one pair of quality recovery boards such as MaxTrax is considered mandatory

can be used for:
- under the wheels of a bogged vehicle to get out of a bog (sand or mud) even if winching or using snatch strap as it will make it much easier
- as an anchor lock under the wheels of the recovery vehicle to reduce it from moving in sand or mud when trying to winch a bogged vehicle
- as a wheel chock
- as a sand shovel
- to add height under a flat tyre so you can fit the bottle jack under - use 4 MaxTrax and drive flat tyre wheel onto them
- can be used as a level to help get a heavy 4WD wheel fitted
- to provide a better track such as on river beds, mud, etc
- as a tyre protector placed over sharp tree roots, etc
- stabilise the edge ridge of a sand dune
- as a bridge to drive over a hole or over a log
they are NOT generally useful on hard gravel surfaces where a wheel is stuck in a ditch - the boards just get pushed out and the wheel stays where it is

no-one wants to put a muddy wet recovery board back into their car - even if there was room - so there are 2 options - mount it outside, or get a smaller one and a bag
recovery boards can be a target for thieves

most popular option are the MaxTrax Mark II orange boards - see https://maxtrax.com.au/collections/maxtrax-mkii/products/maxtrax-mkii-signature-orange
- each one is 3.4kg, 1150mm long X 330mm wide x 85mm tall and the mount holes are 270mm apart
- 6 built-in handles, each end can act as a shovel for sand
- 88 hard, rugged teeth designed to interlock with your off-road tyre's tread
consider adding a second pair of MaxTrax so each wheel has one if you have room
most mount to M10 channels
this is where things can get expensive!
- lockable mounting pins are ~$AU50 for the 17mm ones for a pair of MaxTrax Mk II boards, or pair of minis (Xtreme boards need Maxtrax X-Series Pins)
- padlocks
- mounting brackets tend to cost ~$AU130-300 depending on what you need to mount it to and how
- optional shovel holder ~$AU100-150
- you may need a rigid board as well ~$AU200-300
MaxTrax sell lockable mounting pins which need to be used with their rack mounts or with 3rd party mounts as per options below note many are specific for various types / models of crossbars or roof platforms

need flat mount kit such as:
- MAXTRAX Universal Flat Rack Mounting Kit - stainless steel $AU129
- https://www.kaon.com.au/cross-bar-recovery-board-mount-bracket
- https://www.kaon.com.au/maxtrax-tred-folding-mounting-board-cross-bars - folding pins style so less height when not using the boards
as the mounting pins go below the plate, the crossbars must NOT coincide with the 890mm spaced board mounting pins hence crossbar spacings must be less than 830mm or 950-960mm to allow for 60mm wide crossbars

allows more room on your roof platform or crossbars and option for a long shovel but adds height
need side mount kit such as:
if you don't have a roof platform and only crossbars, they need to be spaced 890mm apart to coincide with the recovery board mounting pin holes

see https://www.tacticvans.com/shop/p/tactic-vans-max-trax-mk2-pins-and-magnets
and a video test: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qX11kO8Tco
you do need a FLAT panel of your vehicle that is STEEL and NOT ALUMINIUM but they would be easy to steal
perhaps only suitable for taller campervans and motorhomes which tend to have large flat panels

a smaller board is not a good option if you have a truck chassis heavy 4WD - you need the big boards!
you will want a waterproof bag to put them in once they get muddy if storing inside the vehicle
MaxTrax Lite
- only for lighter SUVs (rated to 3500kg whereas a MkII is rated at 4500kg)
- cannot be stacked on mounting pins with Mk IIs as the mounting pin spacing is ~635mm
- each one is 1.8kg, 895mm long x
- 66 teeth; 4 handles, shovel at each end
- cannot be mounted with a Max Trax II as mounting pin spacings are ~635mm
- these will fit sideways in the boot of a Subaru Outback nicely behind a fridge

if you mainly drive on snow and not mud or sand then consider:
- GoTreads foldable traction boards - practically unbreakable although ridges are easily damaged, too narrow, gets filled with mud. Postage is expensive! May not be a great option in soft sand either unless you use a double length track. They do make for nice adjustable height chocks to level your vehicle.