tow rope, recovery strap or chain?

[ToadHill]

I prefer a wire cable.

 

[MossRoad]

One of our main problems is where we are working is wide open farmland or pasture. Very few trees or anything to anchor a winch to. I know they make the anchors you can bury, etc but it really is not that practical. Also winches are expensive and dangerous in their own way. The cables on them can be a pain to deal with if you do not know what you are doing. I like winches for my personal vehicles and they definitely have a place but they don't seem to be the best solution for our problem.

I find that curious...

In my opinion, if you are breaking chains, you are doing something wrong or at the least, abusing the equipment.

When we used to do a bit of off roading with our Land Cruiser and friends, we always had a winch, some chains, some straps and some connection hardware. We could almost always pull out larger vehicles with smaller vehicles with a winch. The larger vehicle had to "assist" some times with its drivetrain, but no big deal. The nice thing about a winch is it stores the cable for you.

If I were you, I would get receivers on the front and back of both of your work trucks and a winch with alligator clip electric leads mounted on a 2" bar. Then you could transfer it to the front or back of either of your vehicles as needed.

 

[tractorman1234]

I find that curious...

In my opinion, if you are breaking chains, you are doing something wrong or at the least, abusing the equipment.

When we used to do a bit of off roading with our Land Cruiser and friends, we always had a winch, some chains, some straps and some connection hardware. We could almost always pull out larger vehicles with smaller vehicles with a winch. The larger vehicle had to "assist" some times with its drivetrain, but no big deal. The nice thing about a winch is it stores the cable for you.

If I were you, I would get receivers on the front and back of both of your work trucks and a winch with alligator clip electric leads mounted on a 2" bar. Then you could transfer it to the front or back of either of your vehicles as needed.

The thing about is that we are working, not offroading for fun. We are having to drive down fresh cut right of ways that often cross creeks, etc. There are often times there are places that you look at and you know you will get stuck but you have to go through to get the job done. I have seen our trucks buried in mud so deep the doors would not open. A simple pull is not going to get that out unless it is from a big tractor or dozer. Thus we have to yank on them to get free and sometimes things break.

I will think about the winch idea but I would be looking at probably $1000-$1500 a truck to set it up as your describe and I have 5 trucks. That much $$ could buy a lot of chains or ropes.

 

[DANOCHEESE]

sounds like a pipeline job. Get a tow strap you can give it a jerk and the rubberband effect will help in tugging out the unit. I worked a pipeline ROW once we always got stuck the worst on Friday at quiting time.

 

[alchemysa]

The situation you describe just about necessitates the snatch strap. You've already said you need the momentum of the tow vehicles to give you the extra yank. Thats exactly what the straps are designed for. If you went to a stronger chain you'll just rip something off the pickups. And it would be awfully heavy.

But I think the correct method with snatch straps now is to have just a little free play in the strap, and move slowly and smoothly away from the bogged vehicle. The days of slingshotting the bogged car out of the hole are over.

 

[bearhawk]

Maybe just a couple of these with a shackle or two?

Tow Straps W/ Cordura Eyes 4''x30' 2-ply (2x strength) - $142.58

 

[MossRoad]

The thing about is that we are working, not offroading for fun.

It makes no difference. Working or playing is no excuse for using the wrong tool to get unstuck. Yanking with a chain will eventually damage your trucks, break chains or hurt someone.... all of which are costly. Get a snatch strap for the quick pull outs and a winch for the really stuck situations.

 

[Reg]

The thing about is that we are working, not offroading for fun. We are having to drive down fresh cut right of ways that often cross creeks, etc. There are often times there are places that you look at and you know you will get stuck but you have to go through to get the job done. I have seen our trucks buried in mud so deep the doors would not open. A simple pull is not going to get that out unless it is from a big tractor or dozer. Thus we have to yank on them to get free and sometimes things break.

I will think about the winch idea but I would be looking at probably $1000-$1500 a truck to set it up as your describe and I have 5 trucks. That much $$ could buy a lot of chains or ropes.

No,
The THING is that you are going in without adequate equipment and refusing to face up to that fact.
But, but, but,,,,, mumble, mumble about costs and having to use nothing bigger than what you get stuck in there, more mumble about expecting to break stuff.

At what point do you admit that some number of injuries are inevitable ?
and what are ACCEPTABLE levels of injury ?
(within the constraints you have adopted).

 

[N80]

I don't think the quality of the chain is the issue. If you're breaking any halfway decent chain then you're probably jerking it. That is not what a chain is made for. And its dangerous.

For vehicle to vehicle recovery I think a recovery strap or 'snatch' strap is by far the most useful tool. But, it needs to be a true recovery strap and not just a tow strap. And they are fairly expensive. And it needs to be of sufficient stregth to handle the application. And you have to use it correctly.

I have a 4" wide 20' long strap. To use it properly you still don't 'snatch' it violently. You connect the two vehicles with just enough slack so that the middle of the strap touches the ground. The towing vehicle then steadily drives forward and when tension starts to slow it down, more gas is applied. The strap is made to stretch a little and then recoil. The combination of the recoil and the steady forward movement of the towing vehicle extracts the stuck vehicle. And even though you do apply a slight 'jerk' this is still a fairly slow, controlled extraction.

I've used chains, winches, cables, come-alongs, and countless chains but I've never seen anything work better than a snatch strap. I still carry two 15' chains though.

 

[2manyrocks]

How about a picture of your vehicles and a typical condition where they get stuck?

If chains are consistently breaking, I'd be looking into changing methods, getting stronger chains, and looking at safety practices to avoid injury the next time a chain breaks.

Why are employees driving into mud so deep the doors won't open?

 

[N80]

I would guess that if they are breaking chains and solve that problem with bigger, better chains, then they'll just end up breaking trucks.

 

[orezok]

Here's a picture from one of my current projects. That's a 49 ton D9 that's stuck about 6' deep. It was going to push out the water truck which you will notice is also stuck. They brought in a second one to pull it out and it got stuck, a third and it got stuck. This was an area of saturated silty sand that acted like quick sand. They finally got them out with the help of a large excavator in effect "trenching them out".

The bottom line is that the ONLY thing that graders use to pull equipment out is wire rope.

 

[Egon]

Nice picture.

Lugging 1 1/2 in. slings around ain't no fun!

 

[N80]

They brought in a second one to pull it out and it got stuck, a third and it got stuck.

I saw this EXACT thing happen on a plantation in Charleston, SC where I used to hunt when I was a kid. The first one had only the cab above the mud. The third one had some hood and cab showing. The third one was buried up to the treads. This was in November. They did not get them out until the next summer when it dried out. All three had massive winches on the back. Why they didn't use them I have no idea.

Wire rope is great but often not very practical for basic off-roading. The size cable necessary for vehicle to vehicle extraction needs to be fairly robust and this makes it impractical for carrying around and store. Its just a pain. On a winch, no big deal. However, even though I've never owned a winch, I doubt that the winch companies recommend hooking the winch cable to a tow vehicle and then pulling with the tow vehicle. And wire rope in anything but perfect condition stinks to mess with. I had plenty of experience with it working on a telephone line crew. Broken strands are rough on your hands!

 

[cisco]

Snatch cords can be tricky, though do work, and Warn winches come with disclaimers re. injury if such are used. I've found the Warn winch rigging kit (contained in a fairly compact bag - no larger than a briefcase) useful, and got it for about $85 online. It contains a 7000 lb rated snatch block (a type of pulley), 14,000 lb rated strap, and 2 D-clamps with clevis pins. All you need is a winch, iwith another pulley only if you intend to double capacity. Now, if you don't have anything to attach the winch cord to except another vehicle, then you've got problems if you pull vehicle moves and the stuck one doesn't.......then it's time for burying a tire behind the pull vehicle and all sorts of other time consuming shenanigans.

 

[masscity]

Please don't attach a chain or strap to a trailer ball hitch. Use a clevis or hook.

A young man was killed here recently when the ball broke and came through the window.

It wasn't a freak accident, I've read where many others have been killed this same way.

 

[N80]

I have always heard that too and I have never used a trailer ball for extractions. But when I think about it, it doesn't really make sense. I would think that ball would be rated as high or higher than anything else you'd bolt or weld to a truck. Could be wrong.

I did see a video where an actually tow hook came loose and struck someone in the head causing serious damage. It involved a tow truck.

 

[Soundguy]

I like to lay a piece of old carped over a tight chain.. I have also slid chain thru old fire hose too.

soundguy

 

[Highbeam]

I've got a 30,000 lb rated tow strap under the truck seat at all times. It was manufactured with loops on both ends. It is lightweight, highly visible, and long. I save it for emergencies since mud, sunlight, and abrasion compromise a strap's integrity.

When I need to winch a dead tractor onto my flatbed trailer I use a come-a-long and the transport chains since no snatching is involved. The transport chains are 3/8" grade 43 and are extremely sufficient for a 2-ton come-a-long.