Before You Buy: Recovery and Safety Products For Super Dutys

Oftentimes, people buy Super Dutys because of their ability to tow and haul stuff in the bed. It doesn't matter if you have a 2004-2007 Super Duty with a Bulletproofed 6.0, a 2011-2016 6.7L, or even the new 2020 Super Duty with the V8 7.3L gas engine these trucks due to their size and stature are perfect workhorses. However, the truck is only half the battle when it comes to hauling as many people know. It does not matter if you have the perfect 2012 F350 diesel if your cargo is not completely secured. On the same note, it doesn't matter if you have the ultimate off-roading truck if you do not make sure that you have a decent winch on board to pull your truck out of tough situations. Gathering the proper recovery elements on your towing/ off-road rig is as important as making sure you have the proper off-road front and rear shocks before going out to conquer rough terrain. The three main things that you should make sure to have in your Super Duty at all times are some Recovery & Tow Straps, Traction Aids, and a decent Winch.

Recovery & Tow Straps For F250 and F350 Sized Loads

We have all seen it, the truck on the freeway that makes us step on our brakes just a bit to make sure we are far enough behind them because they don't have their load secured. Or maybe you're like me where you hit the gas to get around them. Either way, it's a serious hazard to be hauling something that is not safely secured. One of the more competitively priced options that we have to secure your load is the Bubba Rope 12' Ratchet Tie-Downs. These tie-downs have a breaking strength of 1,200 lbs and utilize vinyl-covered S hooks to hold your cargo safely. S hooks make it easier for a secure connection depending on where you connect it in your truck bed or on your trailer. If you take these tie downs and make sure to place it on the proper spots of your cargo then it should not go anywhere. That stuff works when you're hauling something in the bed or the trailer, but what about pulling other vehicles. Another thing we see or have experienced often is towing someone else's inoperable vehicle to something like an auto shop, a fuel station, or in some cases just a safe space that's not in the middle of a highway. Situations like this are why it's important to have something like the Bubba Rope "Big Bubba" Heavy Duty Recovery/Towing Rope on board. Hard to believe considering how light-weight this material is, but Bubba Rope's "Big Bubba" Recovery/Towing Rope is strong enough and more than capable of moving any heavy-duty, full-size trucks and large SUVs. This monster snatch rope features a breaking strength of over 52,300 pounds! Bubba Rope "Big Bubba" uses kinetic energy to actually stretch and actively get your stuck vehicle moving again. Bubba Recovery Tow Ropes feature an inner nylon core, braided looser to absorb more of the lower loads, and an outer nylon jacket that's braided tighter for higher loads.

Traction Aids for Super Dutys

On the chance, you are in a state where the off-road trails aren't surrounded by a bunch of trees to tie your winch cable to, check out these traction aids. These are powerful off-road recovery parts slip under your vehicle's tires and provide just enough extra grip to help pull yourself out of tough spots out on the trail. There are two different types of traction aids that exist. The first is something like the Rugged Ridge Traction Aids Recovery Kit or the ARB TRED Pro Recovery Board - Monument Grey. They are somewhat lightweight boards that you put in front of your tires that help them catch tread to propel your Super Duty out of whatever hole it is stuck in. The second type of traction aid has the same idea but rather than boards, it's more of a track similar to a military tank. One product that is this particular style is the ARB Bushranger X-Trax Series II Off-Road Recovery Tracks. This pair of folding recovery tracks provide your vehicle of choice with an enormous amount of tracking in just about any condition, allowing you to pull yourself out of trouble without getting out of the heavy artillery. Each X-Trax Series II Track is made out of heavy-duty rubber with aggressive tread patterns that give your vehicle's tires the grip it needs to get unstuck or over slick obstacles. The rubber segments are held together with galvanized steel cables and fittings for additional toughness. The X-Trax Series II tracks even come with a reinforced PVC carrying storage case.

Winches For F250s and F350s

One of the sure-fire ways to get your Super Duty out of a rut is to install a decent winch. Some of the winches that would work out well are winches like the Bulldog Winch 12000lb Standard Winch w/ Wire Rope, Smittybilt Gen2 X2O Comp 10000 lbs Wireless Winch, and Warn VR EVO 10 10,000lb Winch with Steel Cable. Each of these winches is created to help large vehicles get out of tough recovery situations and pull hard enough to get work done at the job site. One of the best parts about getting a winch is getting the serious bumper upgrade that is needed to hold the winch. Unless you're getting it to mount in the bed or on a trailer you own, in that case, the best part is having it do all the work while you push a button safely off to the side. Unfortunately with the regular stock bumpers, there is not space to properly mount said winch without an upgrade. The good news about that is you do not necessarily need to spend thousands for an upgraded bumper to make it work. A simple grille guard similar to the 2017-2019 F250 & F350 Westin Sportsman Winch Mount Grille Guard (Black) or even just an under-mount like the 2017-2019 F250 & F350 Warn Semi-Hidden Winch Mounting System that allows for you to keep your stock bumper will do just fine. Something cool about all these winches that were mentioned is that each comes with a remote that allows you to be a safe distance from the winch cable. Though if you are worried about this then it is really easy to replace the steel cable in these winches with something like the Bubba Rope Jumbo Heavy Duty Recovery/Towing Rope. This particular rope is designed to just fall flat under extreme stress rather than whipping back like a lot of steel cables are known to do. Sure, a lot of these things are mainly used recovering our trucks from different ruts we put them in when we have a little too much fun. However, these products can also be used for things like helping family members move, recovering vehicles, or strapping down some cargo on a long haul. Oftentimes these products are only thought about as far as off-road use but each one has so many more uses than people realize. One example is if you are loading a vehicle on a trailer that sits low, the traction aids can help you get that vehicle's bumper up just high enough to safely go on the ramps without wrecking the front bumper. Believe me, that is not a cheap fix. With these products mentioned, it usually better to have these onboard and not need them, rather than need them and not have them.

Products Mentioned In the Article:

• Bubba Rope 12' Ratchet Tie-Downs
• Bubba Rope "Big Bubba" Heavy Duty Recovery/Towing Rope
• Rugged Ridge Traction Aids Recovery Kit
• ARB TRED Pro Recovery Board - Monument Grey
• ARB Bushranger X-Trax Series II Off-Road Recovery Tracks
• Bulldog Winch 12000lb Standard Winch w/ Wire Rope
• Smittybilt Gen2 X2O Comp 10000 lbs Wireless Winch
• Warn VR EVO 10 10,000lb Winch with Steel Cable
• 2017-2019 F250 & F350 Westin Sportsman Winch Mount Grille Guard (Black)
• 2017-2019 F250 & F350 Warn Semi-Hidden Winch Mounting System
• Bubba Rope Jumbo Heavy Duty Recovery/Towing Rope