System U

Overview over the four Traution Traction Systems

This graphic shows the variants of the U_System. Forward-backward and their combination with sidewise right-left.

System U is the universal talent and in many cases the best compromise between traction, climbing ability, reduction of ground clearance and demands for installation space. It is mounted to the under-floor, is thereby almost invisible and doesn't require any more room at other parts of the vehicle. Because the traction-feet touch the ground near the center of gravity, the System U is offering a very high traction.
This system exerts hardly any bending moments to load-bearing parts, which makes it possible to be dimensioned small and lightweight, compared to the other systems and therefore cheap.

The biggest disadvantage of the System U is that it can reduce the ground clearance of passenger cars in some cases (not of trucks or other vehicles). In its flattest configuration, it is 5 cm (2 in) thick and can therefore reduce the ground clearance by 0 to 2 in, if the girders cannot be placed into existing voids. Many passenger cars and almost all SUVs, off-road vehicles and pickup trucks can however be raised by up to 4 in by simply inserting spacers above the springs and thereby recreate the original ground clearance. In trucks, there is usually no impairment of ground clearance, becaue the parts can be mounted under the main chassis beams, which lay above other parts of the under-floor. We haven't developed a System U for ATVs yet, we recommend the System L for them.

If you don't have a favorite system yet, we recommend the System U for your vehicle, if you can raise it or live with the resulting ground clearance and if you don't have to climb over big obstacles because the System U is lightweight and cheap.

System U: forward-backward

Mountain rescue car stuck but gets unstuck immediately thanks to a Traution traction system. In the four by four sector and cross-country, recovery devices are of great help. Getting stuck in mud, sand or snow is hardly possible anymore. Emergency response vehicles benefit greatly.

For an advancement on very bad ground conditions, System U with a forward-backward-only functionality is totally sufficient.
At the under-floor of the vehicle, guide rails or - for ultra flat versions - sliding plates will be mounted at proper positions. In or on these, V-shaped extendible traction feet can be shifted hydraulically. If a vehicle gets stuck, the feet are extended, lift it near its center of gravity, push it in the lifted condition forward or backward and lower it again after that. Then the feet in their retracted condition are shifted back to their starting position and the procedure can be repeated as often as necessary until the wheels find adequate traction again.

Sheriff police car stuck but gets unstuck at once due to a Traution traction system. Grip and traction are offered in abundance everywhere off-road in rough terrain. Emergency response vehicles and rescue vehicles need to get unstuck in an instant.

Commercial vehicle stuck in mud, sand or snow but gets out again quickly due to a mounted Traution traction system. Any truck can get unstuck within seconds, especially in off-road or cross-country conditions. The truck driver doesn't even have to get out because the push of a button activates the recovery device with superior traction.

The right schematic picture shows a forward-backward System U on rail guides. It is particularly applicable for trucks and other heavy vehicles, because the rails can be directly mounted to the main chassis beams. But in most cases, it can also be used in SUVs, off-road vehicles, pickup trucks and trailers when there is room at the under-floor in which to fit in the rails. Mostly there are parts beneath the under-floor of cars and trucks that loom deeper towards the ground, e.g. the differentials, so that these define the deepest point of the car which determines the ground clearance. By mounting the rails to the right and to the left of the differential, the ground clearance isn't compromised.
The rail system is robust and cheap but vertically lower than the flattest version with sliding plates. There, the system can be minimally 5 in thick and will be explained in the example below, where the forward-backward-right-left-version is explained but it can also be delivered as a pure forward-backward-variant which is totally sufficient in most cases.

The third picture on the right shows a System-U-forward-backward-version with four feet that is able to lift the vehicle completely, without one of the wheels still having contact to the ground while the system is in the lifted state.

Traction system for the under-floor in its retracted state.

View from below to the
underfloor

retracted
condition

Traction system for the under-floor in its expanded state.

extended
condition

Double traction system for the under-floor in its retracted state. This way, the entire vehicle can be lifted and shifted for maximum possible traction (grip).

retracted
condition

Variant with four feet

System U: forward-backward and sideward left-right

Car VW Golf stuck in sand, snow or mud but gets out at the push of a button thanks to a Traution traction system that is assembled to the under-floor. Thus getting unstuck off-road and cross-country is easy because of the massive traction and grip of the recovery device. A built-in rescue system for all episodes.

In case, you also want to move your vehicle sideways through difficult terrain, we offer you our High-End-System, which enables movement forward-backward, as well as sideward left and right.

This is facilitated by our patented sliding plate system. In place of rails there are two flat plates mounted to the under-floor. The upper one is fixed to the vehicle while the lower one is slidable on the upper one in both directions. There are four V-shaped extendible traction feet assembled to the lower plate that can lift the vehicle. In the lifted condition the lower plate, including the feet is then shifted which means that the vehicle is shifted in the desired direction when the feet are touching the ground.

Each foot can be adjusted in its hight individually, so that it is possible to keep the vehicle hoizontal during lifting and shifting even if the feet touch the ground at different elevations.

Furthermore there are four additional extendible feet at the outer corners. They can only lift the vehicle but are not shiftable, because they are pivotably fixed to the upper plate. Their function is to keep the vehicle lifted horizontally when the ground underneath is strongly inclined, while the shiftable main feet retract and slide back to their original position. These additional feet therefore enable climbing high obstacles and prevent the under-floor to seat on the edge of the obstacle while the main feet retract and slide back so that the cycle can start again.

This is the traction system U for the under-floor in its High-End variant with the most functionalities. Thus getting stuck off-road or cross-country is now impossible. This version of the recovery device does not only offer great traction and grip but also the ability to climb.

View from above to the ground

extended
condition

This shows the traction system U in its most potent version with motion in both directions and lifting possible. Thereby the car has the greatest freedom of motion and superior traction and grip. Especially off-road in mud and snow or cross-country in sand. A recovery device for emergency situations even with climbing abilities.

extended
condition

ultraflat in the retracted condition