Bridging ladders?

[ArmyRover]

I honestly think they would probably be horid in that situation. After all they are just inflatable pillows.

In the vids they posted you can see them collapse and shift under the weight of the vehicle.

 

[MUSKYMAN]

of camber I see them rolling over sideways and causing a roll over...just like if a rock rolls sideways off camber it transfers the force really quick and there is almost no time to recover with a up hill or down hill power turn.

I would really be intrested in taking a set on a trip off-road and waiting till a less modified truck is really stymied and then see if they would work in a easy to use way.

ramping up things that allready could be climbed is not where I would be thinking.

they may have a few applications in filling voids, people are often suprised how snow for example can make tough terain easier to cross because it fills the voids that otherwise would have hung up a truck.

 

[Roving Beetle]

The pillow things are a nice product for what it is - could be very handy and easy to store.... I was on the local fire dept for nine years and trained in auto accident scene extrication and we used a lot of really heavy duty air bags to move/pull/push stuff all over the place. They can be a VERY handy tool. Also great for getting the fire trucks out of a ditch on an icy road.

Anyway - nice product - FOR WHAT IT IS. That said I would NEVER use it in a situation like that steep hill climb the Rover is doing, not without a good deal of further stabilizing from the sides. That is NO way to climb that shelf, very unstable and a good chance to slip sideways and possibly have all sorts of trouble.

Hard to tell from sitting behind a computer but it seems you (pillowtracks) are asking a bit too much from the product.

If they are reasonably priced, I'd love a set. There are times when they would be very very nice to have.

As for the Kia issue..... Well; having spent a fair bit of time living in Ausi and NZ.... they tend to use smaller cheap 4x4's to a much higher degree and extent than we here in the States would ever DREAM of. Some of them are actually quite impressive with a good driver and some guts.

 

[Pillowtrack]

The D110 driver on the picture is a highly experienced expedition team leader. The Pillowtracks did not explode; the D110 did not roll over (I guess he knew what he was doing...). He might have went all they way up - but I do not have the pictures

...Anyway - nice product - FOR WHAT IT IS.

Thakns, yet those Pillowtracks are NOT aimed at H1 level vehicles, they are for use by most SUV's and 4x4 you could imagine in COMMON off-road situations.

Hard to tell from sitting behind a computer but it seems you (Pillowtracks) are asking a bit too much from the product.

You are right? Yet, people using their Pillotracks keep telling us more of what they do with them. During the first days of the Hi-Lift-Jack it was used only for Jacking wasn't it?

If they are reasonably priced, I'd love a set. There are times when they would be very very nice to have.

They are priced at $US 290 per kit (2 Pillowtracks + 2 installed bladders + 1 carry bag). Soon available on the Web, and hopefully soon in the USA as well.

As for the Kia issue..... Well; having spent a fair bit of time living in Ausi and NZ.... they tend to use smaller cheap 4x4's to a much higher degree and extent than we here in the States would ever DREAM of. Some of them are actually quite impressive with a good driver and some guts.

Pictures speak loader than words - see attached (photos taken in Israel)

 

[nosivad_bor]

loader indeed..

 

[antichrist]

During the first days of the Hi-Lift-Jack it was used only for Jacking wasn't it?

No. It was marketed and used as a multipurpose tool.

 

[antichrist]

they may have a few applications in filling voids

Yeah. Thing is, $290 for the pillowtracks vs $130 for the waffle grating that is a lot less hassle, and probably more versatile. I don't see the point.

 

[MUSKYMAN]

Yeah. Thing is, $290 for the pillowtracks vs $130 for the waffle grating that is a lot less hassle, and probably more versatile. I don't see the point.

I tend to agree Tom, I would try these but I dont really see them as a must have expedition tool.

 

[Pillowtrack]

Tom,
For pure bridging the waffles are excellent.

Yet they are double the weight of the Pillowtracks (11Kg Vs. 5Kg) and should be mounted externally.

Pillowtracks are more versatile: the waffles are useless when stuck on high center or when stones have to be piled up.

BTW: There was a guy in the SEMA show presenting ladders similar to the ones in your initial post - he specifically said they would not fit off-road conditions.

 

[antichrist]

Since pillowtracks can't be used as bridging ladders, that means you have to take both. So why bother with the pilowtracks, which will add another 5kg? With a real bridging ladder and a bit of ingenuity, there's no need for the extra weight, space and hassle of pillowtracks.
For people who don't normally off-road, or who go unprepared, I can see how they would be useful. For people who do it a lot, are experienced and have a prepared vehicle they are redundant.

 

[MUSKYMAN]

For people who don't normally off-road, or who go unprepared, I can see how they would be useful.

I see this same group of people getting hurt trying to use them...just as they do trying to use high-lifts, straps with hooks, ropes, chains, lumber, floor jacks...etc etc

I have just come up on stuck people on the trail to many times and seen all kinds of stupid antics in action.

I guess I really would need to see these in action but I just tend to think they are poser BS.

 

[ArmyRover]

I have to agree if you don't use it properly someone is getting hurt. I also agree with Anti that this is just extra crap since you'll still need the waffles...

But they might make a pretty good air mattress for sleeping on

 

[Pillowtrack]

Since pillowtracks can't be used as bridging ladders, that means you have to take both. So why bother with the pilowtracks, which will add another 5kg? With a real bridging ladder and a bit of ingenuity, there's no need for the extra weight, space and hassle of pillowtracks.
For people who don't normally off-road, or who go unprepared, I can see how they would be useful. For people who do it a lot, are experienced and have a prepared vehicle they are redundant.

Tom,
It is a different concept ("filling ladders" if you want) and once you take it you see the new possibilities it offers. Pillowtracks has proven to do anything a bridging ladder would do and MUCH more.
Not to mention that 5Kg in the trunk will be much better for COG than 11kg mounted on a roof rack J

 

[stolenheron]

the pillowtrack idea is cute, but i gotta agree, waffle boards and a few things lying around on the ground from mother nature could cover its uses in the same amount of time it would take for those things to get unrolled, blown up, and put in place. its gonna be hard for a product like that to get much respect on a site like this unless we try it out ourselves..... personally, i'm not gonna trust my disco on some balloons.

"filling ladders" how would this be useful in someplace under icy or flowing water conditions? you can drop a set of waffleboards in place in a creek if you had to (regardless of how uncommon that might be) and not have to worry about losing them. you can't always "fill" a gap with something like that.

you'd still need waffleboards if you had pillow tracks, i'd rather have 11kg on my roof rack than have 11 + the 5kg inside the ride, and the space taken up in the back.

 

[antichrist]

Pillowtracks has proven to do anything a bridging ladder would do and MUCH more.

:rofl: Good one. You ever been off-roading before?
I was seriously trying to give you the benefit of the doubt up untill that post.

 

[Rugbier]

The pics you posted from ISRAEL , looks like they were taken in Nahrya or Nethanya, anyhow, those sand dunes are driven often with 2wd cars.

Yet, I am looking for the USE of your Pillows in those pics, can you point it at is?

 

[Pillowtrack]

Good one. You ever been off-roading before?

No, as a matter of fact I am logged on to the Internet most of time - have no idea what 4x4 is all about ....

I was seriously trying to give you the benefit of the doubt up untill that post.

Pillowtrack is based on experience, not JPEG speculation.

 

[Pillowtrack]

Yet, I am looking for the USE of your Pillows in those pics, can you point it at is?

In the attached photos the vehicle was stuck high centered on the dune top.
The tiers are AT 215/70/15 (max allowed by law)
Tiers were deflated to 16PSI before getting stuck
The skid plates, all the way to the rear axle, where on the sand.
All 4 wheels lost traction.
The Pillowtracks were inserted under the rear wheels and inflated.
The body was lifted about 10 inches - rear axle elevated from the ground.
Wheels regained traction.
The vehicle slowly driven out (on 1st' low gear).
Self recovery.

Working out of this situation with waffles you would also need a jack of some sort + a pressure plate, or to do lots of shoveling.

35" tiers would sure cross this dune, but most probably would get stuck on the next one (there is always a higher dune)

The pics you posted from ISRAEL , looks like they were taken in Nahrya or Nethanya, anyhow, those sand dunes are driven often with 2wd cars.

No photos taken in Naharya (no sand dunes up there...).
Nor in Natanya (Forbiden by law).
Some where taken in Cesarea - in the location used by the guys for racing-recovery training (for Paris Dakar rally, Pharaons rally etc.).

The photos in this post where taken on the edge of the Sinai desert close to the Egyptian border. You are welcome for a visit

 

[stolenheron]

an ARB Xjack would do a hell of a better job on a high center car like that. same concept, but a bit bigger and beefer than a "pillow". still, nothing a shovel and a few hands couldnt have fixed on their own with some time

 

[ArmyRover]

or just use more skinny pedal on the approach