What to buy to pull things with? rope? chain?

[Rara Avis]

Since I've used all of the above...I thought I just post how to use stuff to recovery vehicles...Thank you U.S. Army...

http://www.pirate4x4.com/tech/billavista/Recovery/US Army driving manual vehicle recovery ch22.pdf

 

[Kendall69]

There are newr products on the market. Where the chain Grade 70 Transport Chain will give you 6,600 Lbs.

Depending on the configuration SPANSTETS will give you a whopping 75,200 lbs.

For me chain gets too heavy to use day in and day out. I've switched to the Spanset system years ago, and have never looked back. Just a few weeks ago I used the smaller Stage Sling to pull out a 12k lb, truck that was loaded with tree chippings, which was stuck up to both axels in the sand. At time I even took a running start to yank him out, and the strap held and yanked my tractor backwards.

Twintex® Stage Slings

High Capacity - Class 7 - Yellow - Nylon

 

[Reg]

Specifics ?
Well, kinda depends on what tractor you have and how (almost) immovable the objects are. I've had good luck with the 16ft or 20ft lengths of 3/8 inch trucker's chain. To be tekinikal about it, maybe something witha rating equal to your tractor's weight ? {Just guessing up a number here}

 

[RoyJackson]

I'm also a believer in chain..and, get some old firehose (fairly easy to obtain if there's a volunteer fire house in your area).
Thread that chain through the hose...if the chain does snap, the hose will reduce any snap back. The hose will also protect the chain from abrasion if it's wrapped around an object being dragged.

Personally I will not use wire rope...not just a matter of the springing back if it parts (saw a Navy safety film that showed an aircraft arresting cable part and cut a flightdeck crewman in half....two legs standing there...grim). Those cable strands break and can cut the h3ll out of you if you're not wearing heavy leather or kevlar gloves.
Wire rope is just nasty stuff to work with...especially when it's under tension.

 

[SPYDERLK]

syntetic winch line would be my first choice.

Bluesteal

has all the benfits of any other steel braded rope/chain without all the nasty draw backs

Amsteel Blue Synthetic Winch Line - Info and Reviews

These are truly amazing, but dirt grinds tiny fibers very effectively. The stuff is high maintenance compared to chain in tractor applications. Nearly everything is.
larry

 

[Skyco]

I've looked into the synthetic winch line as I've managed to snap two 5/16 winch cables on my 8500 lb Ramsey Winch on my pickup.
What I found is you cannot drag the synthetic over rock or really almost anything. That pretty much kills it for use at my place in the mountains as it is loaded with rocks. I would think dragging stuff with a tractor would do it in pretty quickly, and it is very high priced.
I solved, so far, my winch cable snapping by going up to 3/8. BTW one of the snaps was pretty mild, the other sounded like a high power rifle, fortunatly neither threw cable back at me or the truck.
I like chain for dragging stuff, yeah it is heavy, but it doesn't abrade like a strap and isn't difficult to handle like steel cable. Just my opinion

 

[browns40]

Hi All,

I'm not exactly going to go against the grain here on using chain--it's extremely durable stuff, and far less likely to break on you. That being said, good quality rope or webbing that is taken care of will rarely fail, provided you are working within the limits of the rope/web.

The abrasion factor, and long pulls over erratic ground are the only times I use chain... contact with the ground, rocks, trees, & times when a rope could go herky-jerky (pulling vehicles speed is erratic) rope/synthetic is much lighter, stronger by weight, and the elasticity (which is it's drawback when it breaks) is it's strength in applications where your vehicles traction limit is exceeded, which is usually before your vehicle's towing limits in off-road applications. You can stretch it out & put the energy in it, then let it get the load moving when your momentum stops.

Snowbank and back-road truck-truck applications are where this became apparent to me... when the chain gets taught both stop, when the nylon's stretch is met often the front vehicle stops, then the stuck vehicle follows.

So, there's my answer: "It depends"

 

[tony123]

All good information!

Towing is not going to be a daily routine, and I can't see owning several items to cover all scenerios.

I realize the chain will be inconvenient at times when another material would do the job more efficiently. But still, it seems, if you're going to have just one tow material it would be chain and you could live with its drawbacks once in awhile. You can't live with the drawbacks of some of the others when chain is whats needed.

 

[emmy71]

tony123,
Check out Lowe's if you have one near by. They sell the Campbell 5/16" Grade 70 chain (clearly says made in the USA on it) in 20 foot lengths with clevis hooks on each end. Comes in a reusable pouch. I believe the price is around $39.00. That was the best deal I could find and the quality is clearly superior to some of the junk others carry. I use this chain to skid logs and brush and it works great.

Terry

5/16" x 20' Tow Chain w/ Case Sys7

 

[SnowRidge]

Worked over at our other place today. Had to drop and skid an 18" 60 foot pine. It was totally unplanned, and I was lucky I threw the chainsaw in the truck at the last minute. Didn't quite fall beside the pond, as I had intended, but fell into the #$%^*&# pond instead.

I grabbed two of my grade 43 3/8" binder chains off of my trailer, the ones that were used to tie down the front end of the tractor on the trip over. Choked the tree with one of the chains and hooked it to the other to get some length, then skidded the tree out of the pond with my Branson.

Sometimes all you need is the chain you have at hand.