Sand-Ladders, Recovery Tracks and Waffleboards

Starting aids are a great way to get out of a difficult situation in the terrain, even if you don’t have a winch with you. Especially in deep mud, snow or on the beach the small boards often do a very good job if you know how to use them properly. Furthermore, the boards can also be used where there are no anchor points (trees, ground anchors) for the winch.

There are some differences to consider when choosing the right product. In general, the starting aids can be divided into these groups:

• Rollable approach mats, rolling grilles (floor mats)
• Inflatable products
• Sandboards, Recovery Tracks
• Alu-Boards
• Waffle Boards

Even though some starting aids are designed so that you can also dig with them, a proper shovel should always be on board when driving in soft terrain. At least a folding spade can be an enormous help if you do not want to carry a big shovel.

In addition, you should always take into account that spinning wheels can damage the parts very quickly. So it is always advisable to use the off-road reduction and to try to get out of the situation with low tire speeds and a gentle foot on the gas.

We also recommend that you always connect the sand boards with a long rope to the trailer coupling or a towing eye. This way you don’t have to dig the things out of the deep mud or sand by hand after you got free and you don’t have to stop immediately to pick them up again, but you can drive a few meters with your swing until the ground gets solid again.

Method

For all starting aids, proceed in this order for the rescue attempt:

You dig the tires as deep as possible so that you can push the board in front of the tires in the direction of travel and best of all a little under the tires. The flatter the angle that the vehicle has to take out of the “hole”, the higher the probability of success
This is of course done on as many tires as possible or as necessary. Sometimes it is enough to give grip from a single wheel (if you have good difflocks). Otherwise you just have to dig a little bit more and do it on several wheels.
Now you start slowly. In the best case the starting aid should pull itself now by the tire rotation under the tire, so that sometime the vehicle stands on the starting aid. Unfortunately, this does not always work, depending on the nature of the ground and how well the starting aid slides on the ground.

Comparison of the different models

This is not intended to be a comparative test for specific products, but only to provide a general overview of which of the different variants have which advantages and disadvantages.

Rollable starting aids, inflatable starting aids

These simple, mostly small and light rolling grilles can be easily stored in the vehicle and therefore have the advantage of being an “always with you” gimmick. The performance in real off-road use is however low. The rolling grilles offer relatively little grip and often press themselves very deeply into the ground. They are therefore not suitable as a base for attaching a jack or similar device in soft ground.

The inflatable starting assistance has additionally still the disadvantage that they must be inflated for use and that damage can occur quite fast.

Conclusion: Simple, light and small – but unfortunately also not very powerful

Sand Boards, Trekboards, Recovery Tracks

These quite modern, stackable starting aids, usually made of plastic in gaudy colors, are the means of choice for many offroaders. On the one hand these boards are usually relatively light, on the other hand they often offer the possibility to dig a little bit with them. The functionality of this product category is quite high. In addition, such a board can also be converted into a small bench, step or small table in an emergency.

Conclusion: All in all a good choice and probably the most used product

Waffle Boards

These often very robust starting aids are also highly recommended, just like the sand boards. Sometimes the grip is a bit better with the classic Sand Boards, but the Waffle Boards have another important advantage. They are built so stable that, depending on their height, enormous weights can often be carried by the Waffle Board. Thus, if the Waffle Board is chosen correctly (based on the vehicle weight), the Waffle Board can also be used as a small ramp on very steep places or rocks or even as a small bridge. In addition, the Waffle Board can be used as a base for the attachment of a jack. Unfortunately this advantage is bought with a relatively high weight:

Conclusion: As a starting aid almost as good as the Sand Boards, additionally also usable as a bridge or ramp, but unfortunately heavy.

Aluminium boards

The Aluboars are the classic among the starting aids and known from old documentaries as Camel Trophy etc. These boards have a military origin and are equipped with hooks and eyes, so that you can connect many of these boards together and build up whole lanes. Nowadays these heavy and comparatively slippery boards are rarely used. Mostly they are attached to the vehicle as a small eye-catcher mainly because of their classic look, without the application being the main focus. In the end, the aluminum board is a good product in terms of functionality, but is somewhat behind in comparison to the modern sand and waffle boards.

Conclusion: Cool old school look, heavy and in comparison to the plastic versions worse grip, but still somehow cult.

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All information as always to the best of our knowledge and belief, but without guarantee!