There’s nothing better than escaping in your 4WD, heading down your favourite track or crossing the country. There truly is an endless number of places that you can escape to where there is nothing but trees and an abundance of Aussie wildlife.

As an avid enthusiast trying to get to a specific destination, or the explorer that still yearns to discover what lays beyond the next bend or hill, a track that is blocked quickly puts the brakes on your adventure. Like the Vic High Country which is just opening up following another winter of heavy snow falls, some trips will be slow going as around every second bend there will be trees that have fallen over thanks to mother nature. However, if you’ve got a 4×4 winch as well as some good quality recovery gear, you’ve got plenty of options up your sleeve!

If you come across a fouled track think of your alternatives. Do I need to get past it, can I drive around it, and how can you move it if you really have to? Do I have to get my 12000lb winch out? For those that are travelling without the right gear like that 4×4 winch and recovery gear the job can become a lot harder. Avoid driving around an obstacle unless you really have to, because the more damage that is done to our favourite tracks the more pressure we come under as a community as we fight to keep these places open. Avoid blazing away through the bush where you mow down anything that stands in your way.

If you are travelling solo you will have to do everything yourself, which is where your 4WD winch will pay for itself. If you have a group then work as a team as many hands make light work. Teams work best when coordinated by one person and one person alone, so one person needs to step up and take control. This person doesn’t get involved in the actual track clearing, rather standing back, coordinating the group members to do certain jobs, and above all ensuring that no safety rules or procedures are broken. The group is his responsibility, not what’s on the ground.

MOVING THE OBSTACLE

Getting the track clear is your number one aim, but minimising your time and effort as you do so means that you can get back to what you were doing sooner. Firstly, you should try to move it without having to chop it up and this could be done simply by man handling it, or by using another strong branch or log to act as a lever as you try to roll it. If you can reduce the crown on the fallen tree then this will make it easier to roll. A brush saw or machete can help you out here.

If you can’t move it intact and by hand, a drag chain connected to the back of the 4WD is your next option. You need to be able to hook it up to the 4WD before towing into a better and out of the way position. Depending on where you are will determine if you can do this, but avoid dragging into the bush where the tree, and your 4WD, will create a wave of forest destruction in the process.

The good thing about going for a 4WD winch is that a tree that has even fallen directly across the track can be winched in a manner that will pull one end around, and the tree itself off to the side of the track. Of course you need an offroad winch, though the method and practices are the same as those used when recovering a vehicle. Safety, safety, safety. Just because it is a tree doesn’t mean that you can ignore the safe techniques employed during vehicle recoveries.

Failing that it may be time to chop it into smaller and more manageable pieces. If the fallen tree is too large then you may not have a choice but to try and find a way around it, either the short or the long way. If you can cut it up into more manageable pieces by using an axe or chainsaw, try to get rid of all of it. Get it all off the track and into a position where fellow drivers are not likely to drive into or onto it.

DRAGGIN’ IT

Drag chains are great things to have, even if they are a little heavy and seldom get used. Just like a snatch strap, it is built to do a specific job to its best ability. Snatch straps are for recovering stranded 4WD’s, and drag chains live up to their name by being designed and built for ‘dragging’ things that would otherwise damage a 4WD recovery strap.

Drag chains have two ends; one with a large looped eye and one with a hook on it. A drag chain will be used with either end attached to the 4WD or winch, and the direction that the tree or obstacle is being pulled will dictate the correct way around it should be.

Dragging something lengthways, the drag chain will be looped over the log with the chain passing through the loop, as this will allow the chain to tighten up and reduce the chance of it being slipped off the end of the tree. The hooked end will go through your attachment point on the 4WD such as the d-shackle, and the hook will be placed over one of the rated links of the chain to make the connection.

If the tree or obstacle is being dragged sideways, the chain is wrapped around the tree twice. This double wrap is finished off by placing the hook over a link close to the tree, while the oversized loop is connected to the 4WD.

Using your drag chain in this manner gives the best strength, grip and tension required to pull the tree in a certain direction. It is very important that you do not try to ‘snatch’ the chain as the sudden shock can break or damage the strength of the chain, and if the hook is not secured properly, it may slip and come off becoming a flying weapon.