I carry an assortment and use what's most appropriate to the situation. I usually carry two 20' x 5/16" grade 70 chains, a 20' ****** strap, a 6' tree saver strap, and multiple clevises. First choice is always the strap if I have a good attachment point, because of the slight stretch to minimize jerking. Chains are handy where a longer tow line is needed, for rigging bridles to multiple points, and because length is easily adjustable. Even with the strap, I try to never shock load anything. Hard on the tow vehicle, hard on the vehicle being recovered, and hard on the equipment. I'm not a professional towing company and I don't carry the insurance to be one. If a steady pull doesn't get it done, I'll drive someone into town or help them call a wrecker. I'm not going to start yanking on things and risk the liability.

I always prefer to have the person I'm towing hook up their own vehicle, but it's not always possible. Seems like the people that would be comfortable doing that usually aren't the ones getting stuck. A lot of the people I tow out are elderly, female, disabled, or just clueless. This isn't a business, and I don't accept money no matter what. I'm just a country boy helping out someone else that needs it. I look at it as trying to do what I would want someone else to do to help out my wife if I wasn't around to do it.

 

Yup! That's how I look at it... "how would I feel if I was the one stuck?" I'd want help!

 

i hate getting stuck! but it does happen..

Ray

 

I always try to use a strap. when pulling big trucks especially. That is usually when chains will break. If you have to use chains you can always hook a tire in between two chains to work as a shock absorber.

 

It didn't miss his head, the guy had to be life flighted to a hospital.

 

That sucks.

 

Oh my.....

 

I use a strap whenever possible and I hadn't seen one go through a windshield until now. Wow, that was brutal. It does show that pulling a vehicle out is serious business and that things can go very wrong.

Has anyone had any experiance with laddering a frame when pulling someone out?

 

Well here is my take on it for where I live. I live on a 5 mile stretch of all nasty red clay raod. It is rough when it is dry, and it is slimy when it is wet. The people that ask me for a tow 98% of the time, have NO business being on the road. Here is the deal, there is one other house a mile south of me on this road. There are 7 landowners. The landowners maybe 1 time per year one guy will get stuck. These guys have 4 wheel drive vehicles and know to slow down and go straight. They aren't the problem. I am tired of helping the idiots that go out in their mom's mini-vans and 2wheel drive pickups and drive 50 mph through the muck and get SLAMMED into the ditch by a nasty rut, not to mention they make the road that much worse for me to drive. And then act like I owe it to them for a tow. I have a rule that I made up a couple of years ago, If they have no business on the road, I give them one tow, then I chew their A%& and explain my side of the story and tell them to not even call me a second time. I actually pushed one stuck in the middle into the ditch with my tractor earlier this winter. He has been a problem for years, and he got it stuck in the middle of the road (12" ruts and he was in a mini-van). No one was around and I need through. I lowered the loader and put two old tires on each side (so not to damage the car) of the bucket and pushed it over into the ditch. Maybe this makes me a cold hearted bast(*& but I am tired of people whining to me after they get a scratch on their bumper after begging me to help them for the 5th time. JMO

 

I'd love to see the look on the guys face when he came back and his van had been moved.

 

I am sure he knew it was me, but oh well. I did no damage to the vehicle and made it just a little harder for him to get out. Most of my neighbors are also tired of him and his antics and they won't pull him out either. It would be funnier if it wasn't such a pain in the a$$

 

next time u get a pro to tow ya to the repair shop ask to see his chains on the end should be the followin 1 t hook 1 hook 1 j hook 1 s hook if not tell him to send another truck each 1 of the 4 will hook in to your truck or car properly the other 3 will hook in in a very unsafe way connecting these 4 hooks is a shackle witch is very much over needed strength needed for any job he does 1 of the 4 hooks will fit safely to your car or truck no matter year make or model this hook point might not be where u might think it should be using a strap and this shackle u will have a great towin strap my fav is the s hook it will hook in a it is a pain to get in and out but it is made so that it will not wiggle fall or be jerked out and it works with almost everything the dude in the pic would not have had that problem if using this problem with the shackle set up is its about 80$ to get 1 hope this helps someone brought to u by your local pro

 

This is why you want a RECOVERY strap not a Tow strap.

http://www.offroaders.com/tech/Recov...p-Accident.htm

That being said, i have a braided steel tow cable for ditch saves that is nearly 2" thick. Also do have a chain for last ditch efforts (no pun intended) but wont use unless i absolutly have to.

 

Sounds like they were using frame hooks. I always figured frame slots and hooks were intended for tie down locations, not pulling points. I use to haul cars and those slots will bulge quite easily sometimes, so the fact that it broke out of the frame does not suprise me.

This whole thread got me thinking why doesnt a guy rig up a safety strap on your rigging if you are using a clevis. Have a short strap attached to the same clevis your tow strap is then attached to another tow hook or equiv. It seems the danger comes from the rigging breaking loose from the object being towed, so if the first setup came loose somehow the second one would keep everything from becoming a missle. If the strap breaks it doesnt have the mass to be the major missle, it is the clevis on the end that is dangerous. I know the short strap would need to be at least equal capacity of the tow strap if not more, but it wouldnt be hard to set it up. Just a thought.

 

The danger is in using metal parts, whatever they may be: chains, hooks, whatever. Steel cable is an exception, though it should generally just be used with winches.

Last night I came across a little Mazda hatchback in the ditch, so I offered to help. I have a recovery strap in my truck. I went to hook it up to their car, but the way they were buried, I only had maybe two inches of clearance under the rear of the car. Fortunately, I was able to find the tie-down loop (presumably for shipping purposes), but there was no way my ****** strap was going through that. So, I grabbed a motorcycle tie-down strap (not ratcheting), doubled it over so that both hooks were hooked under the car, then looped the recovery strap around that and through itself. I also tied off the "tightening" end of the cycle strap. I knew if there was a failure, it would be in the cycle strap. As I was getting ready to move my truck into position (I had it blocking one lane of the road), somebody came up in a 4WD TrailBlazer, and he had hooks on the front (my truck is good-ol' ONE wheel drive). Since the road was patchy ice, I let him pull--he just backed up easy and the car came right out, didn't even have to use the "******" aspect of the strap. Of course, I just unhooked from the two vehicles and threw everything in the cab of my truck--I haven't tried to take the two straps apart yet...

Jason