recovery.

Goodwinch do 3 sizes of hand winch, ranging from about 1tonne to 5 tonnes, very good value too, check them out

Just dipping into the conversation. A few things to consider......
Its been said but the best recovery item is.......another truck(or 2) it's not advisable to lane alone, leading into.....
Winches are great while you have power! Perfect for play days etc.. But if you lose power for any reason and are alone you need basic recovery principles in play first. The winch will typically be on the front and fixed too so unless you have something to winch from in front and/or a ground anchor it will only work in the ideal sense of a recovery.
Your idea of ratchet straps i get but i wouldn't want to have an extra big old lump of metal as a link in a recovery, they're not designed for recovery. The weights mentioned are often relating to a static level pull, the forces involved with a stuck vehicle off road can often be multiplied 3+ times the weight of the vehicle. Even using a Tirfor style winch i would still use a strap on the cable in case the cable gives up.
1st plan of attack would be to try and dig some of your way out and use waffle boards. After that a ground anchor, snatch block and tirfor will be your friend! They're slow but unless you have seriously mis-read the route you shouldn't need to be winching every few meters of the way.

Waffle boards can be used in multiple ways, i would recommend waffle boards over sand ladders. They're flexible and you can use 2 together to create a ramp against an obstacle. Weight shouldn't be a big deal if you only put them on board for the outing. Sometimes they can be best used too with another person on hand to reposition them provided they know what they're doing and don't put themselves in danger.

A final option would be a hi-lift but they are tediously slow with a short pull, worse to store and while more useful for jacking you need jackable sills and bumpers. There are attachments for your wheels to jack from but that only works if you can get access at that point.

There's no reason to over-complicate things.

There's always power for an electric winch. Well, as long as you have power on the battery. But the engine doesn't have to run to use the winch. But of course, the standard Jimny battery has it's limitations.
Why do you think most comp-trucks with mechanical or hydraulic winches also have a small electric winch fitted? So they can recover themselves if they're up-side down, and the engine not running.

If in need of a ground anchor or a tree for winching and neither are around, it's no big deal digging a trench for you spare wheel, and use this a a recovery point.

TomDK wrote: There's no reason to over-complicate things.

There's always power for an electric winch. Well, as long as you have power on the battery. But the engine doesn't have to run to use the winch. But of course, the standard Jimny battery has it's limitations.
Why do you think most comp-trucks with mechanical or hydraulic winches also have a small electric winch fitted? So they can recover themselves if they're up-side down, and the engine not running.

If in need of a ground anchor or a tree for winching, it's no big deal digging a trench for you spare wheel, and use this a a recovery point.

I am soooo glad I don't do this stuff. I wonder if Suzuki ever envisaged the Jimny to be taken to these lengths??

helijohn wrote:

TomDK wrote: There's no reason to over-complicate things.

There's always power for an electric winch. Well, as long as you have power on the battery. But the engine doesn't have to run to use the winch. But of course, the standard Jimny battery has it's limitations.
Why do you think most comp-trucks with mechanical or hydraulic winches also have a small electric winch fitted? So they can recover themselves if they're up-side down, and the engine not running.

If in need of a ground anchor or a tree for winching, it's no big deal digging a trench for you spare wheel, and use this a a recovery point.

I am soooo glad I don't do this stuff. I wonder if Suzuki ever envisaged the Jimny to be taken to these lengths??

I think that goes for many 4x4's.

If suzuki ever envisioned the jimny being used how they are offroad they would have atleast given us decent recovery points!!!

ive seen some videos of peoole using waffle boards for recovery and they look very versitile, I think taking into account all the other things that would be needed to accompany a hand winch (tree strops snatch blocks extra ropes etc) waffel boards are the most cost effective solution and will take up the least space.

TomDK wrote: I wonder if Suzuki ever envisaged the Jimny to be taken to these lengths??

I think that goes for many 4x4's.[/quote]

It's an interesting thought. What would you like to take into the Sahara desert?? Say you could go out and by any motor from a Maverick to a Range Rover, which would you think is envisaged for this sort of use??

a fully equiped 4x4 capable of all you can throw at it and to suit everyones needs would cost us thousands to buy and is only marketable to a limited amount of people. manufactures will not see this as viable business.

helijohn wrote:

TomDK wrote: I wonder if Suzuki ever envisaged the Jimny to be taken to these lengths??

I think that goes for many 4x4's.

It's an interesting thought. What would you like to take into the Sahara desert?? Say you could go out and by any motor from a Maverick to a Range Rover, which would you think is envisaged for this sort of use??[/quote]

No question. A Toyota Land Cruiser BJ/HZJ 75/78/79

TomDK wrote:

helijohn wrote:

TomDK wrote: I wonder if Suzuki ever envisaged the Jimny to be taken to these lengths??

I think that goes for many 4x4's.

It's an interesting thought. What would you like to take into the Sahara desert?? Say you could go out and by any motor from a Maverick to a Range Rover, which would you think is envisaged for this sort of use??

No question. A Toyota Land Cruiser BJ/HZJ 75/78/79 [/quote]

Yeah, bang on. I have always wanted one but never had the dosh. Loved 'em for years. Mind you I need to try a BMW X5 for a year too. But the Landcruiser is THE tool. Also I lust after an old Ford Bronco. I guess I'll never get them now.

This might have been mentioned before....

But what about using an air jack to lift the J up, which would allow you to get the waffle boards under the tyres? I was thinking about this whilst out walking yesterday, and funnily enough there are a load of YouTube videos demonstrating the same thing

I must admit I would prefer using an air jack over a high lift jack as it seems safer, and you are spreading the load a bit more under the vehicle when lifting. I guess with a high lift you need specific jacking points. Also an air jack is less likely to sink in the mud, again because it spreads the load.

Another idea I had was to tie some strong rope to my waffle boards so I can pull them out of the mud without digging them out with my hands

GuardianAngel wrote: Another idea I had was to tie some strong rope to my waffle boards so I can pull them out of the mud without digging them out with my hands

this had crossed my mind, couple of lengths of guy rope from a tent which is pretty strong and a couple of pegs to peg the ends down so you dont lose the end of the rope

seen many pictures of people waist deep in mud trying to find their waffel boards