tow rope, recovery strap or chain?

tractorman1234 · Dec 20, 2008

Where we are working at we get stuck a lot. Usually at least a couple times a day. We have been using harbor freight chains and they have been breaking when we are really stuck.

I did some research and for roughly the same cost per foot I can get the following

Grade 100 Alloy 3/8" chain working limit 8800 lb, proof test 17,600 lb, min break 35,200lb

3" nylon recovery strap rated for 30,000lb. Strecthes up to 40% to "yank" you out

1 5/8" polypropylene rope rated for 37,500 lb. Claims minimal 10-15% stretch.

I assume with the ratings on these I am not likely to break any of them with 1 ton pickups?

What are your thoughts on each? This really has nothing to do with tractors as all that is getting stuck is pickups and there are no tractors nearby to pull them out. If there were tractors there I would think a chain is the best as you can slowly drag them out but using just the pickups you sometimes have to jerk them and with a chain it is a bad jolt and can damage stuff.

The other issue is I have my employees doing this work and I worry about someone getting hurt. Which method do you think is safest? The ropes/straps can snap back violently if they break but as long as the rope itself breaks and not what it is hooked to you don't have to worry about heavy metal parts flying through the air. I have seen several chains break. A lot of times they don't go far but I have seen one come back at the stuck vehicle and bust through the windshield.

SCOOBY14B · Dec 20, 2008

tractorman1234 said:
Where we are working at we get stuck a lot. Usually at least a couple times a day. We have been using harbor freight chains and they have been breaking when we are really stuck.

I did some research and for roughly the same cost per foot I can get the following

Grade 100 Alloy 3/8" chain working limit 8800 lb, proof test 17,600 lb, min break 35,200lb

3" nylon recovery strap rated for 30,000lb. Strecthes up to 40% to "yank" you out

1 5/8" polypropylene rope rated for 37,500 lb. Claims minimal 10-15% stretch.

I assume with the ratings on these I am not likely to break any of them with 1 ton pickups?

What are your thoughts on each? This really has nothing to do with tractors as all that is getting stuck is pickups and there are no tractors nearby to pull them out. If there were tractors there I would think a chain is the best as you can slowly drag them out but using just the pickups you sometimes have to jerk them and with a chain it is a bad jolt and can damage stuff.

The other issue is I have my employees doing this work and I worry about someone getting hurt. Which method do you think is safest? The ropes/straps can snap back violently if they break but as long as the rope itself breaks and not what it is hooked to you don't have to worry about heavy metal parts flying through the air. I have seen several chains break. A lot of times they don't go far but I have seen one come back at the stuck vehicle and bust through the windshield.

I personally like recovery straps better. Used MANY chains in the past and broke several. I've seen a back window busted and another time a guy got hit dead center chin with the end of a chain. Tough boy, all he needed was a Goody's a stitches.

I try to always put a coat, tarp or something over the chain to absorb if it breaks.

Podunkadunk · Dec 20, 2008

I like the strap or rope, in that order. Chains are a last resort with me. They don't give, I despise the "jerk" a chain gives you when pulling on something.

Wallymart sells some really nice tow-straps, rated at different strengths. For what I use mine for, farm applications, it works like a champ.

Podunk

GEB · Dec 20, 2008

Recovery strap!!
Sooner or later someone is going to get hurt or something broke.

Reg · Dec 20, 2008

As I understand it the "Right" way to do it is with a chain AND a light rope.
Thread the rope through a link of the chain at about every foot or so and have about 5 or 6 ft more rope than chain.
If/when the chain breaks it ain't going anywhere significant, but DO stop pulling at that point.
"Snatching" is dangerous, will almost certainly lead to damage and/or injury - even if you've "done it a hundred times", eventually a big badness will visit upon you.
If you have to snatch you have too light of a pull vehicle and/or it isn't getting enough power to the ground.

czechsonofagun · Dec 20, 2008

I use poly rope in my jeep stuck situation. Don't like steel line too much and chain is too heavy and bulky to carry around.

Oldtrout · Dec 20, 2008

I use 2 in. poly rope,spliced an eye in each end,slip over the trailor hitch ball,or tow hook and go, works for me. I also have 25 feet of 2and1/2 inch rope, no eyes,we just tie a bowline knot,no matter how much strain on knot we can always untie. All our rope comes from a commercial fishing supply business,have learnt the hard way that the rope sold at Hardware stores is total crap.

radioman · Dec 20, 2008

Hmm - when you were using harbor fright chains - did you use the grade 50 the silver ones or grade 70 gold colored chains? I am curious since I have the gold colored chains for tiedown my tractor on the trailer. God forbid - but if I ever am in a pinch and need to borrow one of my tiedown chains, I want to know the breaking strength of those cheap chains.

SPYDERLK · Dec 20, 2008

tractorman1234 said:
Where we are working at we get stuck a lot. Usually at least a couple times a day. We have been using harbor freight chains and they have been breaking when we are really stuck.

I did some research and for roughly the same cost per foot I can get the following

Grade 100 Alloy 3/8" chain working limit 8800 lb, proof test 17,600 lb, min break 35,200lb

3" nylon recovery strap rated for 30,000lb. Strecthes up to 40% to "yank" you out

1 5/8" polypropylene rope rated for 37,500 lb. Claims minimal 10-15% stretch.

I assume with the ratings on these I am not likely to break any of them with 1 ton pickups?

What are your thoughts on each? This really has nothing to do with tractors as all that is getting stuck is pickups and there are no tractors nearby to pull them out. If there were tractors there I would think a chain is the best as you can slowly drag them out but using just the pickups you sometimes have to jerk them and with a chain it is a bad jolt and can damage stuff.

The other issue is I have my employees doing this work and I worry about someone getting hurt. Which method do you think is safest? The ropes/straps can snap back violently if they break but as long as the rope itself breaks and not what it is hooked to you don't have to worry about heavy metal parts flying through the air. I have seen several chains break. A lot of times they don't go far but I have seen one come back at the stuck vehicle and bust through the windshield.

Those numbers youve given are mixed between actual strength and rating, and the allusion to breaking chains with pickups has me wondering about how you are working. Straps absorb energy and moderate impact loading better than chain, but are sensitive to the slightest abusive work condition - dirt, water, sharp edges, heat caused by quick loading, etc. A chain often undergoes much higher forces than are immediately obvious because it has very little stretch - it transmits impact loading directly, to the detriment of attachment points and itself. Accelerative loading is an issue as well and is why the work load rating of chains is so far below their minimum breaking strength. However, a chain is impervious to work conditions and concealed damage/aging.

If you pull without jerking there is no way you will break even a GR70 5/16 chain with a pickup as tow vehicle. A hi grade 3/8 chain on a stronger tow vehicle would allow extraction of a stuck pickup a piece at a time.
larry

studor · Dec 20, 2008

Another way to do it is to put an old tire in the middle of two chains to act as a bit of a "shock absorber".

RobertN · Dec 20, 2008

If it is a work vehicle, and you guys are getting stuck that often, maybe time for a winch?

George2615 · Dec 20, 2008

Quote from Tractorman
Where we are working at we get stuck a lot. Usually at least a couple times a day. We have been using harbor freight chains and they have been breaking when we are really stuck.

Most of HF chains are grade 43. They have their uses and I have some but wouldn't use them for pulling someone out of a ditch. I also have a tow strap which I keep on the tractor in winter. If I tow someone with my truck I pull slow and steady with a 3/8" grade 70 chain. I don't like the pull and yank method of a tow strap. Straps may be easier and lighter and cleaner than using chains but I'll stick to my chains for pulling. All chains I own are 3/8" or larger and I haven't broke one in over 30 years and I've pulled everything from a 2K car to a 40K truck.

Scooby074 · Dec 20, 2008

I wouldnt touch any of those harbour freight or princess auto china chains or straps. I got a Erickson 3" 18K strap with chains. Works great. Made in Canada.Erickson Manufacturing Ltd.

SPIKER · Dec 20, 2008

one other good method is to get an old hunk of fire hose and slip the chain through that to act as a spring reducer, chains are for PULLING and PICKING UP things and or tieing down logs ect... Straps can be used to SNATCH but only when there is no sharp edges, also the fire hose can work with a strap if it does not have the pre-assembled hooks on the ends...

mark

Travelover · Dec 20, 2008

I found this interesting as I didn't know what the various chain grades referred to.

http://www.nacm.info/Downloads/NACM%20_Welded_Specs.pdf

tractorman1234 · Dec 21, 2008

Reg said:
If you have to snatch you have too light of a pull vehicle and/or it isn't getting enough power to the ground.

I agree, but what are other options? Our work trucks are identical. They are the same weight. They have good mud grip tires. When one is buried in the mud the other is going to have difficulty pulling it out without jerking due to simple physics.

tractorman1234 · Dec 21, 2008

radioman said:
Hmm - when you were using harbor fright chains - did you use the grade 50 the silver ones or grade 70 gold colored chains? I am curious since I have the gold colored chains for tiedown my tractor on the trailer. God forbid - but if I ever am in a pinch and need to borrow one of my tiedown chains, I want to know the breaking strength of those cheap chains.

The chains we were breaking were the gold harbor freight 5/16" grade 70. They have a specification of 4700lb working load, 9400lb proof test, and 18,800 minimum breaking force. As stated in another post I doubt you could ever break these with a pickup unless you are jerking it which in some cases is necessary to get out.

tractorman1234 · Dec 21, 2008

studor said:
Another way to do it is to put an old tire in the middle of two chains to act as a bit of a "shock absorber".

This works well and I have done it on the farm but for us it is not practical to haul old tires around.

daBear · Dec 21, 2008

In my experience chains will tear things up because they don't give at all. A good tow strap or the tire in the middle (impractical) will give some and provide the extra pull you need when it contracts after stretching. This is why all of "off roaders" use the tire trick. I gave up and put a 2" receiver on the front of my tractor and mounted a winch on a tray which slides into the receiver. Never been stuck since.

tractorman1234 · Dec 21, 2008

RobertN said:
If it is a work vehicle, and you guys are getting stuck that often, maybe time for a winch?

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.