Sad and Tragic Recovery Accident in AZ.

[ovrszd]

and

And many more at:

https://www.youtube.com/@MadMatt4WD/videos

Bruce

and

And many more at:

https://www.youtube.com/@MadMatt4WD/videos

Bruce

Good stuff. But he completely wears me out. He's taking 9 minutes to show you 1 minute of information. But he's making money so who am I to condemn.

 

[JasperFrank]

Always look for and at, potential energies, in what ever you are doing.

 

[MossRoad]

Always look for and at, potential energies, in what ever you are doing.

Yep. I was working on our garage door today. Paid special attention as I was re-tensioning the springs. They are extension springs with virtually no tension on them when the door is open, so working on them in that position is relatively safe. However, when the door is closed, they are under extreme tension and could kill you in a heartbeat.

 

[Jstpssng]

Yep. I was working on our garage door today. Paid special attention as I was re-tensioning the springs. They are extension springs with virtually no tension on them when the door is open, so working on them in that position is relatively safe. However, when the door is closed, they are under extreme tension and could kill you in a heartbeat.

My cousin was a game warden, and retired as a sergeant. His worst on the job injury occurred while he was opening a garage door to wash his truck; the spring let go.

As you know, that's why they run the cable up through the middle of the spring.

 

[Stephen D]

Thanks for the video, your "be overly cautious" approach is the correct frame of mind for such potentially dangerous endeavors.
I was a trained and certified crane rigger long ago and wanted to throw in words of caution- when soft shackles get frayed the factory rating becomes meaningless. Ditto the web straps/ropes. It's really hard to discard such pricey stuff but it's better than the photos of the worn piece showing up in court during the lawsuit. Their ratings apply to a dead straight pull on the strap with both ends ideally attached. Any departure from ideal begins to derate the advertised capacity. Using a choke attachment, pulling at an angle, etc. all derate the factory specs.
I guess if all of the rigging involved is massively overrated for the job you can think less about it, but I'd like to know if anyone from the towing/rescue world knows the kinds of loads are involved (like from a winch with a load cell) in pulling out a heavy mud bound vehicle, uphill, and at an off angle? Not my area but I bet it can be many, many times the weight of the vehicle at some single instant during the job.
Be safe.

 

[MossRoad]

Thanks for the video, your "be overly cautious" approach is the correct frame of mind for such potentially dangerous endeavors.
I was a trained and certified crane rigger long ago and wanted to throw in words of caution- when soft shackles get frayed the factory rating becomes meaningless. Ditto the web straps/ropes. It's really hard to discard such pricey stuff but it's better than the photos of the worn piece showing up in court during the lawsuit. Their ratings apply to a dead straight pull on the strap with both ends ideally attached. Any departure from ideal begins to derate the advertised capacity. Using a choke attachment, pulling at an angle, etc. all derate the factory specs.
I guess if all of the rigging involved is massively overrated for the job you can think less about it, but I'd like to know if anyone from the towing/rescue world knows the kinds of loads are involved (like from a winch with a load cell) in pulling out a heavy mud bound vehicle, uphill, and at an off angle? Not my area but I bet it can be many, many times the weight of the vehicle at some single instant during the job.
Be safe.

That reminds me that my employer provides fall protection equipment like harnesses and ropes, etc. We have to inspect them before each use, and they inspect them annually. If there is so much as a knick in one thread they confiscate it and have it sent in for repair/recertification/disposal.

At least they're looking out for us (and of course, they don't want to get sued).

 

[dodge man]

I can’t remember if it’s in this thread or another one but they stresses trailer hitches to failure. Ripped them off the truck with a bulldozer as I recall. It seems like the area around the bolts to frame failed

 

[Kschwennsen]

As an Engineer in towing, I agree with most of the commentary in the video. One thing to always keep in mind is your system is only as strong as your weakest link. In this case, the ballmount was incorrectly used (never use a ballmount for shock loading), even the hitch bolted to the vehicle was overloaded. Bumper towing on the pull vehicle is less than the 18,750lbs that was mentioned. Even with the gear discussed in the video, the hitch may have failed. Everything has a weight rating, the ball, ballmount, pin, hitch and vehicle. Shock loads and static loads are night and day different and all towing ratings are tested to V-5 or SAE J684/J2638 which don't test shock, loads are applied slowly.

To recover this vehicle properly, a winch with block and tackle should have been used and the stuck vehicle unloaded of cargo and passengers.

 

[Flogger]

Every recovery accident I have ever been acquainted with involved a tow rope. I quit using them 30 years ago when one came apart on my father and put him in the hospital with head injuries and did $5500 dollars of damage to his tractor cab.

 

[bcp]

With chain or cable, you KNOW you will break something if you aren't gentle. The stretchy ropes invite people to jerk out the slack with a running start, sometimes the full length of the rope.

Years ago, I carried both a chain and a 1/2 inch nylon rope. The chain was used in gentle recoveries, and the rope was used to tow a car once on the road, where its stretch prevented jerks.

Bruce