I also as well as Hauling in Dixie spent lots of time in front of or being pulled by towing devices, and I agree whole heartedly about strap strength. 10-20k lbs for your truck is reasonable over this amount and you will encounter breakage beyond the strap possibly causing bodily harm. Chains are no longer accepted as when they break produce shrapnel and flying debris in excess of 1000 fps (feet per second), cables are lethal as when they break do not drop or fall straight but usually kick out to one side or the other and have cut peoples heads off. General rule with cable is 20ft cable= 40 ft kill zone, tow/winch trucks can have up to 150 ft of cable out, think about this one. I prefer a 2" double layer lift strap with the eyes doubled over and re-enforced rated at 12000lbs, if you need to attach to another vehicle without tow hooks/pins I also carry 2 3"x4' slings to wrap a crossmember or drive axle. Watch for sharp edges always, on the rear I use the reciever hitch based on they do make winch reciever mounts rated for 12000lbs winches with a front mount available. The insert is a 10000lbs 2 5/16 1" shank ball so that when pulling the pressure is distributed across the whole rear of the truck frame, weak spot is 5/8" pin holding insert. What can be done is this hole can be drilled out to 3/4" but should not be necessary, any more than 24" of snap exceeds all limits including your frame unless using a pressure distributing mount. If vehicle can not be recovered this way winch it properly including communication of operation of the 2-3 people who should be doing the winching, any more than 3 people doing this task are called organ doners re;cable kill zone rule. I like Dixies idea of making the towee responsable by signing a waiver and if you accept compensation for this it is considered a commercial venture which makes you completely responsable as towing expert. I know this will cause a flurry of disagreement but I know a farm boy we grew up with who if he could still talk would concur. The bail wagon he was pulling out by the factory tow pin broke but their was a clevis attached to the cable and came directly back. The cable/clevis combination went through the protective roll cage at the top richoted down hitting him in the head 1 1/4 " above his eyes, he is still alive and can walk, eat and dress himself. However by not using the nylon tow sling his father had bought to be used on that truck which saved ?? seconds not needing the extra clevis his GR12 86% average is of no meaning in his life. Why buy $40k in truck and not spend $3-400 Safety/Emergency equipment, if you can buy a hitch, Edge box, turbo, holiday trailer,chrome goodies you can afford these items. PK

 

PK you make good points. I also did not go into the safety of tow methods. I cable should not be used by anyone that is not experienced with one. They snap like a rubberband and like PK said, they are nothing but lethal. All flat bed truck are required by a leasing company and some states laws to have up to 12 chains for load securement. In my case I long ago came up with my standard equipment which is 12 fifteen foot long 5/16 high tensel strength chains. These are not Walmart specials. A 15 foot chain will not get you into too much trouble if overstressed. There is also not much way that a CTD can devolup enough pressure to break one.<br><br>When running 100 foot of cable from the back of a wrecker or other tow vehicle, you use approprate safety proceedures. I have seen a 1/2&quot; cable snap and destroy most of the assessories on the front of a cement mixer engine. Of course it went through the grill, sheetmetal, radiator, etc, first. Experience also tells you that they break at a pulley or a bend in the cable, not generally on a straight run unless it is damaged. Same for a chain, they break at the weakest link, usually where it is wrapped around something. There is a lesson here, for good strength you do not wrap around anything, a clevis or other mechanical device does that.<br><br>One of the biggest mistakes made is to loop the chain, cable or strap through both tow hooks. Good way to bend the frame unless a spreader bar is used. I like using the trailer hitch cross bar, the bar is the first thing to bend. On a badly stuck vehicle, the axle is not a great place to tie to, good way to shear the centerbolt in the spring and pull the axle out of alignment or do other damage to coil spring setups.<br><br>A good cheap tow strap can be made from 4&quot; DOT approved truck straps. They are rated for 10,000 at 30 feet, can be bought in any truck stop and a good upolstry shop can sew them to any fixture that you design. A 30 ' strap rolls up in about a 6&quot; roll.

 

I guess nobody has ever used the &quot;braided 100' electric extension-cord trick&quot;?? :

HERE,,,,,,,, Hold my beer and watch this!

 

How about the snow chain hooked over both vehicles trailer *****. ;D Braided lamp cord..... jeez

 

[quote author=Haulin in Dixie link=board=11;threadid=7622;start=15#73750 date=1038617054]
How about the snow chain hooked over both vehicles trailer *****. ;D Braided lamp cord..... jeez
[/quote]

Uhm,,,, Bill,,,,,,,
How come I don't think you just made up the &quot;snow chain-trailer ball trick&quot; off the top of your head? ;D

 

And I thought that I would at least get a &quot;what is an old man from Alabama doing with snow chains?&quot; Ha, we all have pasts

 

I have had good luck with these. http://www.4wheelparts.com/product2....AKHLV8ET177G76<br><br>I have the 20k ones and have yet to damage them.

 

Hi,<br>I have been involved with 4 wheel drive since the late 70's. ******'em straps as we called them are a great, light weight and rather compact thing to keep in your truck. <br>First, decide exactly what you want to do with it. Do you want to drag something large with it? Do you want to put someone else out of being hung up or have your self pulled out?<br>Many folks make the mistake of buying too heavy of a strap for vehicle recovery. That defeats the purpose and can damage you and your truck. It should act as a large bungie cord. A 4&quot; x 30' is probably your best bet. A 3&quot; strap would work, but likely not for long if you used it often.<br>A 5&quot; strap would possibly inflict pain on you or the soul that you are recovering, if you ****** them out.<br>Never, ever buy a strap or rope with metal hooks on the end, or you could be your end!<br>Install only quality tow hooks, using grade 5 or better bolts and make sure they are tight, or they become a lethal weapon.<br>If you use your hitch, make sure it is at least class 3 or better and consider using a ball with at least a 1&quot; stud. Make sure that thing is quality and is very tight! If it is loose, it becomes weak. Really dangerous, then.<br>They make tow hooks that fit into your receiver. Only $25.00 in JC Whitney. Makes the process very easy.<br>Using that strap with that truck, make sure the strap does not become fraid,or cut. Replace it if it gets that way. Even the nylon hoops can do quite a job on you. Keep it dry. If you get it wet and muddy. Take it to your local car wash. Pressure wash it and let it dry, before putting it back in your truck and it will last much longer.<br>Even when they become completely brown, the will wash back to yellow.<br>Keeper and ******'em both make fine straps. 4x4 shops, 4x4 catalogs(like 4 wheel drive Hardware), and JC. Whitney carry them.<br>Remember to always think safety. I know of a 4 wheeler in Colorado that had his finger severed with one. Lucky for him,the could reattach it and has most of its use. Could have been worse.<br>When pulling someone out. Make sure the coast is clear, you have a clear running spot, everyone has their seat belt on, all loose items are strapped down our out of the vehicles.<br>When pulling someone out. Let them know when you are ready to take off and have them put his vehicle in gear and have them apply enough power to just spin the wheels. <br>Use only enough momentum needed to get them out.<br>I have pulled out farm tractors and many 3/4 ton pickups with my CJ7 using a 2&quot; strap. Even won bets doing so. Yes, I had to get on it and yes, it sometimes took more than one try. Never broke anything on my Jeep. A fellow hook the strap to the bumper of his Blazer and yes, I removed clean as a whistle. (Sort of funny looking)<br>If you buy a clevice. Don't cheap out. You sure do not want that thing to break!<br>Consider a quality winch sometime, in the 10,000 to 12,000 lb range. Buy the complete recovery kit with it. ( gloves, tree saver, ****** block, etc.) They are even more dangerous.<br>That is an entirely other thread. Common sense goes a long way there.<br>The United Four Wheel Drive Associations has a 4x4 Awareness program that covers recovering stuck vehicles and in particular winching. Warn and Ramsey have how to do booklets as well.<br>See ya!

 

Great post PS