So today at work I am at the motorpool(Basically a gated concrete slab with massive amounts of military vehicles inside) waiting for my boss to give me a call. So obviously rapid movements catch your eye when your not expecting them, and so out of the corner, I see what looks to be a Chevy 1500 Extended Cab moving back and forth about 75 yards. I look a little bit closer and this guy with a Ram 1500 Crew Cab 4x4 is in the ditch nose first thats about 6 feet deep. LMAO. So after watching the Chevy fail, and the SSG(Staff Sergeant) get out of his truck and get on his phone, I figured I might as well go help. So, since I don't do any heavy offroading, I don't have a tow strap(I am getting one now though), but the guy with the ram 1500 has one. So my buddy and I hook it to my 6.7, and I tried to ****** him out. Broke the tow strap on the first try. Luckily it broke on the tip of his end and we were able to retie it onto his hitch(My Side is still fine). So this time instead of just snatching, I snug it up(truck has been in 4HI+E-Lock) and I just give it a little bit at a time in 1st and watch the rpms go and lone and behold! My truck pulled that little piece of crap 1500 like it was nothing.

P.S. My buddy completely missed my truck pulling the dodge out with his phone, so no video of picture sadly

 

Good story. Tip, put down a blanket or something on the strap so if it breaks it will just lay down.

 

Senix. Very true. Winch cable as well. Even a coat will help.

 

Thanks for the tips, I didn't even think about that. Does it matter how big or heavy this blanket needs to be?

 

no, can be a jacket or anything. All it does is prevent the strap or cable from coming back up at you if it breaks or comes loose.

 

It doesn't take much to stop a strap. We used a small towel in the desert this year and it saved the back end of my truck. Amazing when you hear it snap and watch it come at you at about 900 miles an hour and then suddenly stop lifeless just before it hits your truck.

I can't count how many times I have pulled out vehicles over the years and that was a first time for me. There's a couple of rules I follow. One is to lay something over the strap and two, never use a strap with metal hooks. Third rule is to not get involved if retards are about.

 

I just bought a SmittyBilt 30', 30,000lb strap for 40$. These Recovery strap's come in handy!
I hear the Pro Comp one's are better, but they are double the price, and I ruin them pulling log's.

 

Good rules, also add: don't ever tow from the tow ball, unless you want this to happen, and have a good chance of someone ending up with a bad case of death.

 

Epic. Absolutley on the retards are around. Haul butt and leave.safety is #1.

 

Yeah, there are lots of good rules for towing and recovery. I'll be the first to admit though that I've probably broken every one of them at some point; most in my younger years. I'll never forget the time I pulled a guy out of a ditch with a tow strap made out of all of his seat belts tied together. He was pretty desperate and looking back, was probably running from the law. This is one of the times I broke the retard rule and got away with it. Youth. <shaking head>

 

Great advice guys, I am spreading the reps around! I am pretty new at all of this, so all of this is helping me out a lot. Ok, so If I should never pull from the ball, is there a place where I should hook it up? Also I was close to ordering a 62500lb strap from Groves Custom Straps, but it comes with steel hooks on the end, I will stay away from that. I will also keep a small towel in my truck as well. Any other tips I should know? Also I appreciate all the advice you guys are giving me.

 

I have had several friends think I was a idiot when I told them throw a coat over that cable or strap. Till they got severly hurt.they had to learn the hard way.one missing a arm.

 

My tow strap is two main lines from F4 Phantom dragchute. I can't tell you how many vehicles that strap has pulled out in the last 20 years, but it has never broken.

I once pulled two Ford 4x4 trucks that were stuck in the snow. One was trying to pull out the other. I tied on to both of them and pulled them out at the same time. I did this with my 46 ****** flathead 4. The two guys couldn't believe that little flathead engine just did what they saw.

I forgot to tell them I had a mountain gear rear-end (5.88). In first gear low range that thing would pull anything, of course you could get out and walk about the same speed. It's amazing what gearing can do.....

Jim

 

I keep two straps in the truck at all times. One is 20,000 lbs X 2 inches X 20 feet and the other is 4 inches rated at 40,000 lbs. The ends are braided into a rope shape and reinforced with additional nylon webbing to resist wear. I use the 2 inch strap for most towing situations. I loop it through itself on the towed vehicle somewhere and then feed the other end inside my hitch receiver and put the receiver pin through that loop (if that makes sense). I never need hooks or additional ropes to tie anything up and you never have to worry about the strap disconnecting accidentally. It goes without saying that you want a quality pin in your receiver.

The 4 inch strap is for snatching vehicles stuck in sand or mud. This is for when I have to use forward momentum to yank another vehicle free. I use a clevis hitch in my receiver and the same loop through itself system on the stuck vehicle. It's amazing how much force you can put on that strap. I have yanked out trucks with attached trailers that were stuck up to their axles in sand. If you ever drive out onto a beach you'll need a quality recovery strap at some point (maybe for yourself, heaven forbid).

It's probably worth noting that I never use steel chains when pulling cars. Chains are only used when pulling out a tree stump or bushes and I only use big ones at that. Straps transfer energy too slowly to pull stumps and are very dangerous for that application. Conversely, chains transfer energy too quickly when pulling cars and almost always end up damaging one or both cars or breaking the chain.

 

Epic. Your spot on for sure.