Revolutionary Ground Anchor - 4 x 4 Recovery Equipment

Published In NZ 4x4Action Magazine, July 2008

When Lan-cor demonstrated its new ground anchor recently, Mike Sheppard was there to report

Recently I was lucky enough to witness two demonstrations of a new ground anchor. The Lan-cor is the brain-child of Miles Moffat, from Christchurch. A four wheel driver with 10 years experience. Miles was frustrated that the ground anchors that are currently available were bulky, heavy and didn’t work well in a lot of instances. He thought surely there must be a better way and spent the next two years experimenting with a variety of existing designs until he realised that a radical rethink was needed. This led him to the revolutionary new design of the LAN-COR.

The LAN–COR is something completely different. It puts a new twist on the old auger or screw principle using an auger blade with a length of wire rope attached just above the auger to attach your winch to, and then several detachable lengths of shaft above the blade to be used to screw the anchor into the ground. The first thing that strikes you about the LAN–COR is its small size. When packed in its carry bag it measures only 46 x 20 x 17cm’s and weighs just 9kg’s. This is a ground anchor that can be added to your recovery equipment easily, and will take up minimal space in the back of your truck. (Space is at a premium for those of us with SWB four-wheel drives!). But does it work?

The first demonstration was on sand. The first part involved a VX Cruiser bogging itself in the sand down to its axles. The LAN–COR was wound well in and the VX proceeded to winch itself out as a dead weight, i.e. no driving or digging to assist the recovery. This was accomplished with apparent ease. The second part involved getting two! VX Cruisers bogged to the axles and then winching both from the same ground anchor. In the second test both VX’s helped the winching process by driving slowly as well. The LAN–COR held solid through both tests. In reality if bogged alone in sand, you would normally undertake a lot of digging first to assist the process of recovery. But in this demonstration no digging was needed, with both vehicles easily recovered.

The second demonstration was something that all four-wheel drivers have faced, a steep, slippery exit from a deep mud hole. In this demonstration a SWB Safari attempted without success to claw its way up the steep bank. The LAN–COR was deployed up on the flat, on very hard ground. Because the ground was so hard a spade was used to cut the ground in front of the anchor to help the wire rope cut in. The Safari winch was attached and the first try saw the LAN–COR straighten slightly in the ground. The winch was slackened off, and the LAN–COR re-angled and wound down another turn. The next attempt saw the LAN-COR straighten a little and then it stopped moving and the Safari winched itself up the slippery steep slope without any further problems. Two impressive demonstrations of an impressive ground anchor.

Even though I only have a hand winch, I have always wanted a decent ground anchor for those occasions when you find yourself bogged without a convenient tree to winch off. For me the key thing about the LAN–COR is its compact size and weight. This is one of those must have 4WD recovery items, a “get you home” insurance policy that can be stored easily in the back of the truck and forgotten until you find yourself bogged with no easy recovery point to attach your winch to. It can be used easily with both power and hand winches, and has the advantage of being able to be placed in the most advantageous place as an anchor point to recover yourself on.

Further information and video clips of the LAN-COR can be found on their website