Mike Tabone wrote:Oh yeah I'm pleased to inform you all that I dropped 180 bucks on recovery gear at Tractor Supply yesterday. 1 30' strap rated for 85,000lbs payloud, and a bunch of tractor shackles so I don't have to cut this new 80 dollar strap off of cams truck again.
PLEASE READ THIS:
VEHICLE RECOVERY BIBLE:
http://www.pirate4x4.com/tech/billavista/Recovery/
If you in fact bought recovery straps (like you should for recovery; they are like rubber bands to a point), DO NOT use shackles to connect them together. I had a friend who was killed doing this, and there are MANY, MANY other cases of this out there if you do a search. Shackles do fail from time to time (no matter their rating), and when they do in a recovery situation, they slingshot right back into one of the vehicles, destroying anything in its path. Failure is more common than one might think, I have personally saw recovery equipment fail twice this past summer alone, and both times it was due to someone using it the wrong way.
Instead a little trick I came up with is to put a light, but thick stick between the loop connecting recovery straps. It something snaps, the mass of a stick is MUCH less than a shackle, and it could be the difference between life and death.
Secondly, regular tow straps (no matter their rating), should NEVER EVER be used for recovery due to the forces involved. With a recovery strap, they forces gradually build up as you pull on the stuck vehicle (like I said, they are like a rubber band until they reach max. stretch, then they rebound and very easily and safely yank the vehicle out). With a standard tow strap, 85,000lbs or not, when you start the pull, you are imparting HUGE forces on both the stuck vehicle and yours, and you will very quickly find yourself with either damaged or completely snapped off parts on your vehicle, or worse off the vehicle you are trying to save.
One final thing... Using a shackle to connect two straps will always cause the strap on the open end to lide down the bolt into the 90degree angle with the closing bolt and the leg. It will rip this open and cause a deadly flying shackle if enough force is applied. This kinda gives you an idea. Using one to attach two straps together will end up like the 'improper' image below...
A common, quick and easy method of extracting a stuck vehicle is to connect another mobile vehicle to it and yank, pull, or tow it free. Because of the enormous forces generated in this type of operation, extreme care should be exercised. NEVER EVER use chain, wire rope, or a winch to yank another vehicle free. The shock loads developed can multiply the force applied many times, so that a stuck truck requiring a 10,000 lb steady pull to free, can cause a shock-load of 50 000 lbs if jerked or yanked suddenly. This is extremely dangerous to man and machine. As such, only properly designed, constructed, and rated recovery straps should ever be used for yanking vehicles free. DO NOT ever use tow ropes, tow straps, emergency tow ropes etc. These are designed only for easy flat road towing of a non-running vehicle (and are dubious for that, in my opinion) - not for the rigors of off-road extraction and recovery.
The proper recovery straps are designed to stretch when yanked, storing potential energy, which they then release as they "rebound" providing tremendous kinetic energy to free the stuck vehicle, in the safest manner possible. It is best and safest to use recovery straps that have no metal fittings, but rather just sewn loop ends (called eye and eye by industry).
Improperly recovering a stuck vehicle is extremely dangerous. I suggest reading the bible of vehicle recovery.
VEHICLE RECOVERY BIBLE:
http://www.pirate4x4.com/tech/billavista/Recovery/
Not trying to get on your case, but you NEED to know how to properly recover a vehicle. People get killed all the time trying to do it improperly.
Even if for some reason you dont care about your own safety, think about those around you and also the person you are recovering.
Have fun out there while being safe....
I have had my fair share of stuck as can be seen here, here, and here....
http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?a ... 1013395293
(good one)
http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?a ... 1013395293
In Grant though, i walked through the crowd to the caboose and around the depot, didn't spot you... Stopped the chase after they went across the bridge at Newaygo.
