Send Help In Trouble Recovery

07/09/2025

When you need help, how are you going to ask for it?

When you plan your trips off-road, you might plan the route, where to buy fuel, what food to bring.

But do you plan on how to communicate when things go wrong?

On a recent job, the nearest mobile phone coverage was about 3.6km up a steep hill and it was minimal reception at best.

Fortunately, the customer had a Starlink Satellite system with them and were able to contact a friend via Facebook who then started calling recovery companies.

Starlink isn't the only option.

If you are with Telstra postpaid and have a compatible phone then you can SMS via SpaceX.

There are also dedicated satellite text communication devices like Spot and Garmin InReach.

There are full satellite phones of course.

All of these options will let you send a message out explaining your situation and what sort of assistance you need.

UHF radios, as common as they are in four wheel drives, are not reliable at all.

The terrain can greatly limit your range, in fact on a recent job the radios only worked within 1km.

PLB's, or Personal Locator Beacons, are great emergency help devices. But they only say who you are, where you are and that you need "help".

Search and Rescue will respond to locate you and assess your situation with a focus on saving the people, NOT your vehicle.

The other thing to consider, is who you are going to call.

Make a list of phone numbers, the local general stores, pubs and recovery companies.

I hope you never need to make that call, but I know you will be thankful for the ability to make the call if you ever do need to.

* This is not an endorsement or sponsorship of any service or company, just a selection of options to motivate you to find one that works for you.

Image generated by AI

01/09/2025

After a long night in the bush, I took a moment's break to stretch my legs and enjoy the view over the Latrobe Valley.

A job in the Woods Point area had me climbing over the snow capped Mt Selma to assist some people stuck on steep dead end track with no room to turn around.

One thing a lot of people aren't aware of is the proper technique to winch backwards with a front mounted winch.

Whilst I'm here to help, I'm just as happy to see people self recover and so I'll turn it over to Robert Pepper's excellent video on this winching technique.

https://youtu.be/nVnbPNyLu_c?si=vqTXl7U12aJbznrj

30/08/2025

After multiple jobs in the sand this week, having a play in the snow with my Mum was a nice change.

Got to watch the end of a vehicle recovery on a more adventurous section of Tamboritha Rd and chat to a lot of nice people along the track.

The icing on the cake were the wonderful venison pies at Licola Caravan Park & General Store.

So good we had to go back and buy more to take home.

26/08/2025

Customer states: "You think that will pull me out?"

Yes, with the correct technique my "little" GQ Patrol can pull out a truck buried to the axle in sand.

My wheel chocks continue to impress me with how well they dig in and anchor my vehicle in place.

11/08/2025

Thank You.

For those who may have missed it, Rule 79A was updated on July 1st of this year to include incident response vehicles such as tow trucks and roadside service vehicles.

Fortunately as an offroad recovery business, most of my jobs are far away from sealed roads and high speed traffic, but occasionally vehicles become enviromentally challenged on the sides of roads and so I must give credit where it's due.

To everyone who passed me at well below 40kph and gave me as much room as they could, thank you.

Your actions not only helped to keep me and my customer safe, but also made us feel safe in a potentially dangerous situation on a narrow road in thick fog.

Again, thank you and drive safely.

There are rules for how we travel on our roads, to ensure the safety of workers operating emergency, enforcement and incident response vehicles.

15/06/2025

Always nice when the General Store has comfy seats in front of a fire.

14/02/2025

They are bulky and heavy, but these custom wheel chocks are exactly what is needed.

Spiked feet to grab on hard rocky ground, a wide flat bottom to distribute the weight on soft ground and chain pockets to ensure my wheels can't roll over them, these chocks will help anchor my vehicle in place during difficult winching operations.

Speciality equipment is never cheap, but my decision to support a local business was a smart one as Maffra Sheetmetal Works returned that support by giving me a good discount.

Given that my goal is to help people in an affordable way, anything that reduces my expenses is greatly appreciated.

Thank you Maffra Sheetmetal Works, your generosity will be passed on.

01/01/2025

Introducing Send Help In Trouble Recovery.

Whilst the business might be new, my passion for 4WD recovery work is not.

I first responded to calls for assistance on Facebook groups around 10 years ago and the satisfaction of helping someone in need has never diminished.

I've had a number of different jobs throughout my life, but a common theme in them is helping others, like my 11 years as a volunteer firefighter and my service in the Australian Army.

I hope to continue my community service in a new way, taking advantage of my extensive off-road driving experience and training to resolve the situations of the environmentally challenged in a safe and professional manner.

I hope you never need to call me, but if you do I'll be happy to help you.

Call now to connect with business.