Pulling stuck vehicles out of the ditch with a tractor

[bcp]

Many, not all, have a removable tow point, but is is mainly for moving a rolling car, not for pulling out a stuck car, other than minor stuck, and definitly not for yanking.

Bruce

 

[Paul McILwain]

If I can’t find or reach a suitable towing point on the vehicle I put my strap thru the spokes of the rear wheel ( if towing from behind on a front wheel drive car) or if from the front make sure the driver is not trying to help. I prefer to use the tow bar on the rear of the tractor and not on any 3pt hitch implement as it is then pulling on the 3pt hitch arms. Also don’t like to attach to the loader as it can get bent

 

[5030]

Long ago I not so fondly remember pulling a CJ out of the ditch down the road and I had the driver hook up my chain to his Jeep and he hooked it on the tie rod and I gave that Jeep a serious case of bad wheel alignment as in both front wheels were pointing inward. Oh well.

 

[RayIN]

Long ago I not so fondly remember pulling a CJ out of the ditch down the road and I had the driver hook up my chain to his Jeep and he hooked it on the tie rod and I gave that Jeep a serious case of bad wheel alignment as in both front wheels were pointing inward. Oh well.

Yup, I never attach my tow strap to a vehicle that does not belong to me for that reason.
I don't like to use a chain to tow a vehicle, I use a nylon tow strap. It's easier on both vehicles, plus the rebound effect of the tow strap gives an extra uuph to getting the towed vehicle out of the mud/snown.
I have 2 tow straps, a 10K# strap in my truck and a 100K# strap i use with my tractor. (it's way too big to haul around)

 

[YoungMark]

NEVER use the Tow Ball. You are putting the cheap bolt in Shear. A special tow hook is available for your receiver.

Also keep all spectators well behind the towed vehicle and/or well off to the side. A dozer was pulling a stuck vehicle with chain a while back and a shackle let go - a bystander was killed instantly. Plenty of Youtube videos about damage and people getting killed from failed towballs.

 

[RayIN]

Also keep all spectators well behind the towed vehicle and/or well off to the side. A dozer was pulling a stuck vehicle with chain a while back and a shackle let go - a bystander was killed instantly. Plenty of Youtube videos about damage and people getting killed from failed towballs.

steel rope can do the same thing, that's why wrecker operators will direct bystanders to move away.

 

[DutchInNZ]

There are several videos on YT where people think that vehicle pulling is best started with a very hard jerk. Those guys here would have been helped a lot better with a simple shovel instead of a tow. Wonder why the happy looking guy stopped laughing when he had even more reason to, seeing such comedy from so near.

 

[5030]

My 'towballs have way more balls than that....

 

[tjandrews]

In truth it's been at least 20 years since we had to tow a vehicle that wasn't ours. We live on a main highway that is cleared before anything else, and such incidents are rare. This time, though, it was a neighbor's daughter. We used the Case SC that time, because it didn't have any attachments on it. The Case is 2WD, only about 30HP, but those with bigger tractors are often surprised by how much an experienced operator can pull with it. And since we had all learned how to drive a tractor on my grandfather's SC, we were experienced.
Long story short, we pulled her out without incident, refusing any attempts at payment. But the following spring the neighbor, who owned a small engine repair business at the time, pulled into our driveway and dropped off an old garden tractor that he had taken in on trade, with mower deck and snowblower attachments. It needed some minor repairs, but was too old for it to be profitable for him to repair for resale.
We still have that garden tractor. The attachments wore out long ago, but I mounted a sprayer on the back of it that we now use in places where the tractor sprayer is just too big. Oh, and we are still good friends with that neighbor...

 

[WranglerX]

It's all good advice, but I want to emphasize that it must be an extreme emergency for me to hook up the car. One scratch, one dented or busted plastic bumper, and you will wish you had stayed in by the fire. One commenter said all modern cars have a tow hookup. I didn't know that and will look into that. always learning..

Only tow hooks I have observed on vehicles seem to be on front of pick ups.... Sort of seems like he man bling for trucks....