Hey all! Seeing the recent and expected snowfall up here in New Hampshire, I've been thinking. Does anyone have experience using their Q7 to recover stuck vehicles?

I seem to have the towing package on my 2015, and I have the equipment for recovery from my last vehicle (recovery strap, D-hooks, hitch pins, all that fun stuff). Tires currently seem to be great in the snow, but I just genuinely don't know how capable it'd be.

Any suggestions/advice/personal experience is welcome! Thank you!

 

Hahaha..... oh, yes! I've had a lot of fun with mine. People's reactions, especially when recovering a full-size pickup or larger, never cease to amuse me.

I use a kinetic recovery rope (1"x30') along with D-rings, soft shackles, an 8' "tree saver" strap (great for the under-car portion of connecting to the stuck vehicle in order to protect the more sensitive parts of the gear, like the rope), tire chains for all four corners, and a pair of tow hooks connected to 8' of heavy chain that I use to grab the front A arms on low-slung vehicles for quick purchase. Of course, I rarely use all of this gear during one recovery, but with all this gear, it is even more rare that there is a stuck vehicle recovery I cannot perform.

I just did ten recoveries two weeks ago (unseasonable weather with wicked ice that caused all sorts of havoc), and my son made some quick recordings of a few. I keep meaning to throw together a quick montage video, but I have yet to do so.

 

That sounds great! My equipment is very basic (20' recovery strap, D-rings, shackles, and hitch pin) but I'll have to look into more. How are the chains, do you recommend I get some? I seem to be fine so far, but I guess you can never be TOO safe.

 

Chains are entirely dependent on surface. In snow recoveries, I never use them. On ice recoveries, it depends on the situation. But, if we're talking freezing rain, cannot stand up, car just follows gravity sort of slick conditions, even really good tires, possibly even studs, just won't give you the traction you need to overcome the stuck vehicle's inertia.... particularly if you're pulling with a strap (where you can't take advantage of your vehicle's motion). But, even with a kinetic rope (100% recommended; don't leave home without it; GET ONE OF THESE), often it is slick enough that you're taking a big chance by not having chains. With chains, I can run sideways, backward, and upside down on slopes that otherwise I might be able to traverse with no outside forces, but just barely. If you try pulling, you have no chance. And, with a kinetic rope, could also risk being rubber-banded back toward the person you're trying to free.

Last weekend, I was using spikes on my boots just to enable walking. Recovering without chains would have been a huge risk. I did two of the recoveries without chains:

1. Friday. Side road, road was not yet saturated, so traction was low, but present. F350, fully chained, 8' plow blade. Stuck due to pushing too far off the side of the road and becoming high-centered with one rear tire about 2' into the air. I used the kinetic rope, receiver to receiver, pulled uphill with stuck vehicle in reverse. One pull, truck was free.
2. Monday. Driveway, road was ice-covered snowpack, but with a little gravel sprinkled over (very little!). Access road was about a half mile, sheer ice, no gravel. I could barely maintain directional control on the access road. It was very sketchy. Once I made it to the driveway, I had enough traction that I could recover the stuck vehicle (I was pointed down hill this time), but it really whipped me around when I reached the end of the rope, and I had to struggle to keep my Q7 oriented. I probably should have used chains on this one, but I was being stubborn due to time constraints.

The chains I have for mine, all four corners, are "Laclede Alpine Sport Light Truck Tire Chains - 2326," purchased in 2017 from O'Reilly Auto Parts, and they work great! I use additional tighteners (10" EDPM heavy duty bungies w/ S-hooks, two per wheel) when I am using them for anything more than just a single recovery (i.e., get to site, install chains, recover vehicle, remove chains) as they help ensure that everything stays nice and snug while taking much of the stress off the built-in tightener.

 

I struggled a bit with the bush but it came out. lol I hated that bush, It was full of extra large THORNS

 

That's awesome. I just so happen to be looking at the exact same chains on Marketplace, as someone's selling a pair locally for $50. Might have to take them up. Here in NH, we don't usually have too many issues with straight ice, most of the time it's just deep snow. Still figure it's better to have and not need, than to need and not have.

 

Maaaaaan you should've just kept pulling! Unless you have a kinetic strap, it's probably best to keep constant pressure and use the Quattro's traction to your advantage.

 

Picking up a pair of chains tomorrow. $50, never used. Think I'm fine with just one pair for now on the rear wheels or something? Supposed to be getting a looooooot of snow this weekend and I have to drive 30 miles to work lol

 

I'm far from being a pro at Winter extractions, but a lot depends on the surface conditions, the tires you got mounted, and what 'hook-up' options you got with the vehicle to be extracted, as well as your available tow rope type...be it stretchy or a static line type. I was actually quite shocked with how my new set of Cooper Discoverer Road & Trail AT tires did with literally 20" of new snow with an icy underlayer, which then turned into a lot more ice as the snow got compressed, melted, refrozen over & over again. Never had any problems though. With my OE Pirelli's I had prior, I'd have been in a ditch or high centered for sure. So be sure you have appropriate tires and/or chains. As these are unibody vehicles, use of a kinetic/stretchy tow line is much more ideal than just yanking on a static tow line.

The key element is just to give it a decent tug sufficient to get it unstuck. To do this on any slick surface/off-road you need to turn off your ESC/stability control button (next to the emergency flasher button below MMI screen), as this allows the AWD system to give maximum grip from the get-go.

 

I had visions of the rope breaking the bush and somehow smacking the car window. Don't want to end up on Fail Army. It's not really a kinetic rope. It used to be on a fish packer boat to tie up to the dock. I once tried pulling a dump truck from being stuck. At the time, My ride was a GMC dually and even with a running 3 foot start. Failed to move the dump truck and rope did not break.