Pulling Vehicles out of a Ditch in the Snow

[JethroB]

It's a shame Good Samaritan laws don't apply to vehicles.

Sue-crazy. She's a hottie in the US.

 

[MoKelly]

It's a shame Good Samaritan laws don't apply to vehicles.

Sue-crazy. She's a hottie in the US.

The only reason lawsuits work in the good ole USA is the jury agrees to award damages. Without juries awarding big $$$, there would be no lawyers interested and hence no lawsuits. Insurance companies wouldn’t be afraid to fight in court and so willing to settle to avoid the risk.

It is a shame but it’s a fact of life.

MoKelly

 

[square1]

Good ole' boys are going to continue using snatch straps, cables, and chains to extract vehicles.

"I make them hook to their vehicle" might, and might is the correct word, make you less liable for damage to the vehicle being recovered but it will be of little comfort when the improper connection made by someone other than you fails at the end of a hard tug and the loose end comes flying back at the recovering vehicle opetator or bystanders in a fraction of a second.

Another issue that isn't being addressed - you are on a public highway, likely uninsured for such activity. We've all seen the secondary mishaps of otherwise uninvolved vehicles coming up on an incident unable to stop or over reacting and crashing. Guess who the insurers of those drivers are coming after? Anyone & everyone involved in creating the hazard.

I have been sued for a situation in which I was basically a bystander in the wrong place at the wrong time. It cost me nothing, my insurer settled out of court. To this day it chafes my azz because I was not involved in any way but someone recieved 10s of thousands of dollars anyway.

Sure...Check for injured, offer to call for help, make sure the exhaust isn't restricted. Check to be sure running the stuck vehicles engine for cabin heat won't cause further damage. Obstruct traffic...not unless there is life threatening circumstance. Hook an extraction method up to my vehicle...not on my life. YMMV

 

[LD1]

I agree with the general theme of this thread and let a professional recovery service handle it. That what you dont risk damage to your stuff or theirs....in which you would most likely be liable for.

That and these new vehicles still amaze me at the lack of anchor points of even hooking something to.

I'll stop and make sure everyone is ok, have a phone, etc. But about the most I am willing to do....in most cases, is remove some snow to clear their path to see if they can get out on their own.

Short of a truck that has a hitch in the back or front tow hooks....just not worth the risk hooking a chain/strap to some strangers vehicle.

 

[MossRoad]

I think most of you may know this, but for those that don't, a lot of cars that don't appear to have tow hooks actually do have tow hooks. You ever see those little cap-looking places on bumpers? You can pop those cap/covers out. In there is a threaded hole. You go to the trunk, access the spare tire, find your tow hooks, screw them into the threaded hole, pull your car out.

 

[deezler]

Dang, hard video to watch. How many times did you blast in reverse to get a hard bang on your loader? Dozens? It's NOT made for that. Also kind of baffling how you first expected to pull that big tuck sideways up a ditch, lol.

Sorry to sound like a hater, but there's a lot of lessons to learn and avoid in your video. We all gotta learn somehow.

So many of the failed recovery videos show someone doing hard yanks on poorly attached straps/chains. And it makes me insane how many people in the car to be recovered ARE NOT EVEN HELPING, not even trying to spin their tires, or sitting there with the wheels turned.

 

[PILOON]

One of my nicer tow experiences!

Fedex van was stuck in my driveway.

I chained him with my CUT and next day a nice 'thank you' gift was delivered by, guess who?

 

[Stan B]

I think most of you may know this, but for those that don't, a lot of cars that don't appear to have tow hooks actually do have tow hooks. You ever see those little cap-looking places on bumpers? You can pop those cap/covers out. In there is a threaded hole. You go to the trunk, access the spare tire, find your tow hooks, screw them into the threaded hole, pull your car out.

Interestingly, I have a 2013 Nissan Altima and it has that little plastic cover in the bumper. It also has a spot in the spare tire foam cover for the threaded hook thingy. But, it has neither a threaded hole behind the cover, nor the hook attachment. :confused3:

 

[CobyRupert]

Looked like you actually got the tractor standing on its two front wheels at one point (~4:18) when you were pulling with the loader up above the hood?
Good thing there was enough snow on road and slippery enough to slide the tractor to a straight pull first or you would of tipped yourself over.
Signed,
Monday Morning Quarterback

 

[MossRoad]

Interestingly, I have a 2013 Nissan Altima and it has that little plastic cover in the bumper. It also has a spot in the spare tire foam cover for the threaded hook thingy. But, it has neither a threaded hole behind the cover, nor the hook attachment. :confused3:

Does that car have CVT?

 

[RjCorazza]

Lots of good information and suggestions.
I have helped a few people out over the years, but I knew them. I also would not work on a secondary road with traffic.
As has been mentioned, I wouldn't use the loader especially elevated (at all). I keep a shackle on my drawbar for dragging heavy things.

 

[Stan B]

Does that car have CVT?

Yes it does.

 

[k0ua]

One of my nicer tow experiences!

Fedex van was stuck in my driveway.

I chained him with my CUT and next day a nice 'thank you' gift was delivered by, guess who?

Mine was a huge brown UPS truck, I did get a verbal thank you from the guys( driver and the UPS mechanic that came over to assist) but I didn't get any nice gift.

The driver said that if they had to call a wrecker he would be fired. It was his first day on the job as a driver.

 

[k0ua]

Looked like you actually got the tractor standing on its two front wheels at one point (~4:18) when you were pulling with the loader up above the hood?
Good thing there was enough snow on road and slippery enough to slide the tractor to a straight pull first or you would of tipped yourself over.
Signed,
Monday Morning Quarterback

It is all so easy to see after the fact isn't it? But most of what I know has come from "doing bad things" and scaring the "heck" out of myself with near mishaps. Don't think for a minute that I haven't done a bunch of stupid things with a tractor. A bunch, and I have lived to tell about them and learned from them. If I can pass on a little of that knowledge to someone else to save them injury or money, than that is what I want to do.

 

[k0ua]

The only reason lawsuits work in the good ole USA is the jury agrees to award damages. Without juries awarding big $$$, there would be no lawyers interested and hence no lawsuits. Insurance companies wouldn’t be afraid to fight in court and so willing to settle to avoid the risk.

It is a shame but it’s a fact of life.

MoKelly

Yep, it is.

 

[SylvainG]

It is all so easy to see after the fact isn't it? But most of what I know has come from "doing bad things" and scaring the "heck" out of myself with near mishaps. Don't think for a minute that I haven't done a bunch of stupid things with a tractor. A bunch, and I have lived to tell about them and learned from them. If I can pass on a little of that knowledge to someone else to save them injury or money, than that is what I want to do.

Like they say, "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger"...

 

[blee03]

I definitely wouldn’t hook up to anyone on a main paved road
On the back roads around here, I’ve always used my truck and good sling strap with no metal hooks or ends
I actually keep a sling strap in my truck at all times

No chain, no cable, no metal ends, just fabric.
And always pull them out the way they went in, it’s easier to follow ruts then make new ones

 

[dodge man]

I drove by someone today that was stuck. Young guy driving a light duty truck, bigger than a van but the type that delivers furniture. Either he missed a driveway backing up or more likely spun out into the ditch. One set of rear wheels was in the air. I wasn’t going to try that one. The last stranger I pulled out was a truck and I lent him my hitch to pull on. Cars are nearly impossible to find a place to hook onto.

 

[Reb954]

I have never backed away from pulling someone out due to liability concerns.

My process is to evaluate the situation for the following,
First, is there even a chance I can pull them out?
Second, can I do it without risk of injury to them or me?
Third, can I do it with minimal risk of property damage?

If the situation passes those tests then I will hook onto them but I will also give them instructions on what I want them to do. If they don't do what I ask I will reinstruct. If they still don't do what I ask then I just unhook and leave. I can only think of three I have left over the years.

Funny story, years ago I come across a guy stuck on the side of the county road. I pulled up so I could hook onto his blazer, I had a bronco. I hooked up, told him to leave his vehicle in neutral, I will just pull him out. I start pulling, in the mirror I see his tires spinning so I stop. I go talk to him, tell him to leave it in neutral, he says there is on way my bronco will pull him out. I just smiled and said, Yup, you are absolutely right, then I unhooked from him and drove away.

 

[deezler]

^ why wouldn't you want him to help propel his stuck vehicle some, and lessen the strain on yours? Other than him possibly driving into you (unlikely), I can't fathom why you would demand them sit there in neutral not helping. Enlighten me, perhaps?