2023 Ford Ranger build: Maxtrax Xtreme recovery boards to the rescue

Yes, it’s true, we include a set of Maxtrax on all our 4x4 builds as we reckon they are a great Australian-made product that can be the easiest way out of a boggy situation when exploring in your 4x4.

Maxtrax has also been a great friend of 4X4 Australia magazine since the product’s inception and we’re proud to carry them on our rigs. In reality, we hope we never have to use our Maxtrax as we prefer to do our driving without getting stuck, but while out on a recent photo shoot with our Ranger, we were reminded why we carry them.

It was a simple grassy track across a paddock, a bit wet in patches and it led into a section that was muddy, as it had been dug up by vehicles in the past. It didn’t look too hard and we cruised in using low range and all was going well… until the last little bit where a bit more speed would have been prudent.

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As the front tyres lost traction and the rear diff was hung on the centre of the track, progress ceased, and we couldn’t move forwards or backwards.

Inspecting the situation at hand we could have grabbed the shovel and dug our way out, used the winch on the front of the vehicle, pulled it out with the photographer’s vehicle… or opted for the easy way out. We chose the latter and grabbed a pair of Maxtrax Xtremes off the Rola roof rack and wedged them under the front tyres.

The Xtremes are an evolution of the Mk2 Maxtrax and are significantly different in that they use screw-in aluminium studs for the tyres to gain purchase on instead of the moulded composite ones of the other Maxtrax boards. This change came after users complained they were melting the composite studs off the boards by aggressively spinning their tyres on them, despite the manufacturer’s instructions not to spin the wheels.

The 88 alloy lugs are not only stronger and won’t melt away but they are replaceable should you lose or damage one or more of them. Replacements lugs are available direct from Maxtrax.

As always, the best way to use your Maxtrax is to make sure they are firmly under the tyres needing traction so that once the tyre turns it will pull the track under the tyre and lift the vehicle out of the bog, be that mud, sand, snow or whatever. They even work well for bridging a step or ledge.

Use all your vehicle’s available traction aids if you haven’t already. Make sure your tyre pressures are lowered, engage your lockers and low range and apply as little throttle as possible so that the tyre can climb on to the Maxtrax and get you out of the situation.

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That’s just what we did here and after resetting the Maxtrax a couple of times to get them in the right position, we were out of the mud in a simple and safe way.

The Maxtrax Xtremes are the top of the range traction boards and at $519 a set they are not cheap, but look after them and they should last you many years. If that’s out of your budget you can still get the more affordable and still excellent Maxtrax Mk2 or the new, even cheaper, Maxtrax Lites. All Maxtrax variants are available in a range of colours… and we love our Desert Tan set.

No matter which Maxtrax you choose for your 4x4 you’ll be glad you have them on board when they get you out of a bog.

RRP: $519 (pair)