We are huge fans of Maxtrax recovery boards and consider them a quintessential part of any off-road vehicle’s recovery kit. 

These Australian boards are made incredibly strong from UV-stable, fiber-reinforced, engineering-grade nylon. They won’t break or crack and they can be used to provide traction for your tires to self-extract out of places such as sand or mud where winching is not an option.

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Step 1 Our full setup from Overland Kitted came complete with a new set of Maxtrax MK2 boards, the full-size universal mounting plate, the Spare Tires Accessory Bracket, a genuine Mac’s ratcheting strap, Maxtrax locking pins, and hardware.

Maxtrax boards have built-in handles and a shovel on each end to help move snow, mud, dirt, sand, or whatever debris is keeping you down. Genuine Maxtrax boards are even backed with a lifetime warranty, unlike many of the copycat products available on the market.

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Step 2 The Maxtrax MK2 boards are made from fiber-reinforced, engineering-grade nylon. They are UV-stable and won’t crack or break. Thanks to aggressive teeth, these boards provide traction when your tires are overwhelmed by the trail conditions. Maxtrax boards are available in a variety of colors, including the gunmetal gray versions seen here.

However, as useful as they are in a pinch, finding a secure place to store them can often be an exercise in frustration. They don’t fold, are an awkward shape, and frankly, at 45 inches long and 13 inches wide for the full-size boards, they take up a lot of space. This might not be a problem if you have a large truck or a roof rack, but for those with slick-top SUVs where interior space is at a premium, you might find difficulties in bringing them along.

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Step 3 Mac’s custom tie-downs are the premium choice in tie-downs and straps, and it is great to see that Overland Kitted didn’t skimp on quality when building out this kit.

So how can you pack your tracks while maximizing your interior storage space? The answer to that question is the universal Spare Tire Accessory Bracket from Overland Kitted. Different from other mounts on the market that place the boards on the face of the spare tire, blocking the rear camera on vehicles like Jeep Wranglers and Ford Broncos, the Overland Kitted design mounts the board to the side of the spare.

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Step 4 We started our install by threading the Mac’s strap through the powdercoated aluminum Spare Tire Accessory Bracket before positioning it on the spare tire, wrapping the strap around its circumference.

This bracket uses a clever anti-wobble design that compensates for the crown of the tire and pushes the bracket into the tire, away from the crown, for a completely solid mount. Four dimple-died holes at the ends of the bracket add strength, reduce weight, and prevent the bracket from trying to rotate. Their location at the end of the bracket where the attaching strap passes through ensures the dimple dies are under constant tension and mechanically engaged with the tire tread.

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Step 5 Next, we positioned the bracket so that it was perpendicular to the ground on our Jeep. The universal nature of the bracket’s design means there is no right answer for bracket orientation, only what works on your rig.

For this product, Overland Kitted partnered with one of the premier strap manufacturers, Mac’s Custom Tie Downs. The included Mac’s strap, like the Overland Kitted bracket, is an American product made in America. It is a 2-inch, heavy duty, ratcheting strap that is designed to be easy to engage and disengage while providing a secure fit to any spare tire up to 40 inches in diameter. It also means that you can easily remove the entire assembly when not adventuring, keeping your boards safe in the garage when not needed.

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Step 6 Before ratcheting the strap tight, we made sure that the ratcheting mechanism was located in a spot that wouldn’t interfere with opening of the tailgate.

Best of all, the Overland Kitted Spare Tire Accessory Bracket, when combined with Overland Kitted’s mounting plate, is designed to work with genuine Maxtrax boards and is compatible with Maxtrax mounting pin hardware. The Spare Tire Accessory Bracket is also designed for use with RotoPax products.

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Step 7 Next, we placed the universal bracket in a location that would keep the boards spaced away from the tailgate, keeping in mind that we didn’t want the bottom of the boards any lower than the bottom of the spare tire.

The Overland Kitted Spare Tire Accessory Bracket is one of the easiest ways to get recovery boards mounted to your rig and took us about an hour or so to install with basic tools. Read on to see how you can get boards mounted for your next adventure.

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Step 8 After deciding on the positioning, we removed the strap and brackets and assembled the components with the included hardware.

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Step 9 Thanks to the design of the brackets there is a massive amount of adjustment, making it possible to fit just about any application.

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Step 10 With the brackets mated, we installed the Maxtrax locking pins. The pins’ design allows you to easily carry two or four boards without any play.

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Step 11 The shape of the pins only allows the boards to slide on one way, and once the boards are stowed, the top of the pins can be rotated to lock the boards in place.

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Step 12 With four boards mounted to the bracket, we now have the ability to self-recover without taking up valuable interior space or losing any clearance.

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Step 13 Overall, we love the Overland Kitted execution on this bracket, and whether we are heading out for a day or a week it is the perfect addition to our off-roading loadout.

Sources
Overland Kitted
Spare Tire Maxtrax Mounting System
URL: overlandkitted.com

Maxtrax
Maxtrax MkII Recovery Boards
URL: maxtraxus.com

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This article originally appeared in OVR Issue 02. For more informative articles like this, consider subscribing to OVR Magazine in print or digital versions here.

 

 

 

 

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