The article below saves me a lot of typing and explains things a little clearer than I do.
I like you , have used anything I could get my hands on to pull/drag, but Not Snatch, someone out of a Minnesota Snowback after almost every snowfall. I would help my uncle who owned a trucking company.
I used your 1/2“ rope, $40 “Tow Strap” , even ratchet straps..lol
Blind Luck and going to Church every Sunday was often the only thing keeping me from an Early Pine Box..lol
Almost everyone of these recoveries, were a Drag, not a Snatch. HUGE DIFFERENCE.
A KE Rope is Almost Always Safer in a Dynamic Recovery, from what I’ve learned and have been taught. The Article above, that initiated this thread, sadly Demonstrates exactly what I’ve been taught by others. IMHO, a fuxcked up Recovery Attachment Point, drop hitch, is only one of the mitigating circumstances.
Had the Recovery Vehicle had a Recovery Point, similar to our Raptors, using the same tow strap, I believe at a minimum there would have been significant vehicle damage to one or more likely, both vehicles.
What you get from a Strap, used as a KE Rope, is a HARD HIT, not a controlled Yank.
A few visuals that folks have used to explain it to a simpleton like me.
If you are sitting in stuck in the mud, to the frame vehicle, such as above, Do you want to be the recipient of a 20’ running start Hard Hit from a tow-strap, being used as a KE Rope, or would you rather have someone, that understands the dynamics of the above Recovery, progressively, Yank you out, without putting you in the Trauma Center? I always choose the KE Option. I will cover this more in my point #2.
Also covered in point #2, if someone is going to help un-stick you , such as above, make sure they know what they are doing as well as you and you are both on the same page.
My uneducated guess of the above would be this, it easily could have been ME in either vehicle 30 years ago. I would have shown up with my $40 Wally World Tow-Strap, did a 3-second assessment and determined….Brooooo, you are STUCK AS A MFER in that Mfing Muck!! Have No Fear, BUNMAN RECOVERY has arrived!
Next I would have slung my strap over my Drop-Hitch. Followed by me backing up between 10’-20’, remembering that my friend, whom I’m about to kill, is REALLY STUCK UP TO HIS FRAME IN THAT SHIXT. Thinking to myself the whoLe time…man he is going to owe me big time for interrupting my Call of Duty Marathon.
The next sound I would have heard is my engine Roaring as I Floored my accelerator, rapidly taking up the 20’ of slack in my strap. Reaching the end of the strap, feel a sharp jab in my neck which is followed by a sudden release.
I realize, my hitch has broken and has killed my friend….how will I ever forgive myself? How can my friends wife and children ever forgive me….I couldn’t if I were them….
This was easily me, 30 years ago, Not Knowing…What I didn’t know …
Today (Always easy to Second guess someone when you weren’t there) if you were in the stuck truck and you called me, if I answered, I would tell you go Fuxk yourself, then I would begrudgingly come on out. The first 30+ min, WE, would look at all of our available options, utilizing all the Shixt I brought with me.
Again, without having been there, I would dig , let me strike that, HE would dig out the front end and tires. MaxTrax for the front tires. Dig, MaxTrax for the rear tires. Using Soft Shackles, attach both ends of my KE Rope to designated Recovery Points on both Vehicles. Once again discuss our plan, ensuring we are both On Target. He would put his hood up. All bystanders would be removed from the kill zone, acknowledging, they ARE NOT to re-enter the designated Kill Zone , until I instruct them to do so.
Both drivers are ready, I proceed forward, taking the slack out of my KE Rope. I then back up 5’ to give him the first KE hit. If available, we have a 3rd person, that can see and communicate with both of us, acting as director. Radios if available.
After the 5’ hit, if it didn’t do the trick, we assess what we accomplished with the 5’ KE hit, move MaxTrax if needed.
Repeat as needed, increasing the length of the KE Hit each time. My personal rule is, any KE hit over 5’ the receiving vehicle is in neutral, until forward/backward momentum is achieved. If, a big if, I’m using a strap for any kind of hit, the receiving vehicle needs to be neutral due severity of AC strap-Hit.
Im sure I forgot something but hopefully, you have an idea of what I would be doing..
Recovery straps are a vital piece of equipment for anyone that goes off road. But how do you pick the right one and use it properly? We explain.
www.4wheelparts.com