It’s easy to spend thousands of dollars and pack your rig with recovery gear, yet when the time comes to use that gear it just doesn’t meet your needs. When we came across the LiftTrax we were very intrigued by the possibilities. LiftTrax use pneumatic power of trapped air to support your truck in recovery situations. According to their website, they can be used to avoid high centering, to cross ditches, climb shelves, or as traditional sand ladders.
They arrived rolled up in a canvas case that’s very stout. LiftTrax includes instructions as well as two Schrader adapters to make inflation easy. They’re very stout, and although they’re made of fabric they look like they can take beating. The inflation tube is easy to find and although the instructions call for a standard air compressor or hand pump, we used our CO2 tank to put the 2-8psi depending on the need. LiftTrax is clear that you should never exceed 10psi to avoid bursting. The LiftTrax can also be tied together end to end to create a longer recovery device.
We took our LiftTrax out to the local play hill to see how they perform. We tried a few different obstacles with the LiftTrax as a traction aid, and they’re definitely easier to move around than heavy rocks.
We tackled shelves, rocks, and ditches near the infamous “Moab Hill” just outside Colorado Springs. Other than a couple of slippages due to an over-excited driver, they did their job very well. We tried several orientations along with the obstacles and it’s clear that a little practice with these is necessary so you can recover quickly and effortlessly.
The LiftTrax worked great, and while they won’t get you out of every jam, they’re tough and very easy to use. There are many different recovery options for your FJ Cruiser, and we’ll be including the LiftTrax in our kit from now on.
More Photos!
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