Tow strap / chain safety / adding protection

[BIG DOOLEY]

Had one serious close call years ago pulling a car out of an impound yard to take to a bodyshop for repairs helping out a local policeman.
the car was frozen in the mud and would not start.
We used my 4x4 to free the car from the frozen mud it had been sitting in.
he had hooked the strap to the frame and as i pulled slowly forward the hook cut and tore thru the steel frame and hit the back of my pickup 2 inches down from the top of the tailgate.
we never though the grab hook would pull thru the steel frame.

some times you cannot get close to the log and must drag it up out of a low spot etc...
then lift the log off the ground so it will not catch when pulling.
i have also used a 3" wide keeper tow strap with clevis to grab ahold of logs and when pulling removed 5-6 feet of bark from the log letting the strap and clevis slide off the log that had no limbs.
i probably should hav cut a notch in the lod for a more solid bite.
live and learn.
the few extra minutes to cut a notch for a chain or strap to bit into might save a life.

i am adding some rear protection to the back of my tractor.
a solid piece of metal on the bottom of the rops.
then i was going to frame in a piece of expaned metal, heavy mesh steel or punched sheet steel to mount to the rops.
tom
ideas anyone?
any pictures of what you have done?

[bcp]

we never though the grab hook would pull thru the steel frame.

Some grab hooks have a nearly sharp wedge shape where it would meet the frame.





Others are lots more rounded.

[rich_ncal]

I remember a story about hook like those posted by BCP. I use those on a steel chain when pulling with my Tractor. I you use a steel cable or nylon rope if the hook come off it becomes a projectile. The story I remember is someone cutting a tree with use cable with a hook on the end to control the direction the tree was going to fall. It didn't work. The cable broke and the hook hit him in the neck. It almost killed him.

When I use the nylon tow straps I only use the tow strap. I have had nylon strap break or come loose.

[MBTRAC]

Some grab hooks have a nearly sharp wedge shape where it would meet the frame.





Others are lots more rounded.

A grab hook is designed solely for the purpose of linking back onto the pulling or lifting chain, attaching a grab hook directly to any item you're wishing to retrieve is tempting undesirable outcomes......

[CDN Farm Boy]

Chain pulling thru the frame of the car is not a surprise, especially if it was a unibody car. Watch any reputable tow truck operator, they always hook AROUND something: frame, suspension arm, axle etc.

As far as pulling the logs using a chain or logging cable is way better than using a nylon strap -- straps are not designed for this use. The width of the strap will significantly reduce the friction applied to the log (in psi) allowing the slip. If using a chain you need to use a slide hook at the log end to allow the chain to tighten against the log. If using cable, you need a proper logging clip (not sure the proper name) not a hook on the end as a hook directly on the cable is asking for the cable to break.

Cutting a notch in the log is a bandaid solution for not using the proper equipment.

[Qapla]

I like the way you have the radio installed.

[beeforty]

With a cable you want to use "choker" as from Wire Rope Cat Chokers for Logging Rigging from WRS, Cat Chokers feature a nub on one end with an eye on the other and a micro-midget choker hook in the middle.

[CDN Farm Boy]

With a cable you want to use "choker" as from Wire Rope Cat Chokers for Logging Rigging from WRS, Cat Chokers feature a nub on one end with an eye on the other and a micro-midget choker hook in the middle.

That's exactly what I was referring to for cable. Thanks, now I know where to find it if I ever need one.

[BHD]

make sure what you have the line secured to is proper as well,

The tractor dealer in our small town had two employees moving a tractor or trying to pull start it, (do not remember exactly what they were doing), but in the process of pulling it or towing it, a bolt that they had the tow rope fastened to the towed tractor, gave way and the tow rope propelled the bolt through the back of the cab, in one eye of the tractor driver and the bolt lodged behind the other eye, He did survive the accident, but not his eye sight.