2009 Jeep Patriot Owner's Manual - Page 284

282 STARTING AND OPERATING Vehicle Recovery If you drive off-road, you may encounter a situation where you will need to recover your vehicle. Vehicle recovery should always be given consideration before attempting a questionable obstacle. You should never go off-road driving without the ability to recover your vehicle from a situation. Having another vehicle with you usually works best for most situations. The first thing to do is assess the situation. Why are you stuck? Are you hung up on something? Would it be easier to go forward or to go backward? Can you still move the vehicle? Are you alone or do you have another vehicle to help? Is there high risk of vehicle damage during the recovery process? Answering these questions will help you determine the best method of recovery. If you can still move the vehicle slightly and the only issue is slick ground, then rock cycling your vehicle would be the first choice. If you have ample room, an additional vehicle and there is low risk of vehicle impingement on the surroundings, then using a tow strap to the vehicle tow hooks would be fast and easy. If the vehicle is severely hung up or in a situation where great care needs to be taken during the recovery, then nothing can do the job better than a winch. If you are severely hung up on something you should jack the vehicle up and stack something under the wheels to allow the vehicle to roll off the object without causing further damage. This should be tried before attempting any recovery method. CAUTION! Pulling the vehicle off an obstacle, without first clearing the object, may result in additional underbody damage.