jimgrms
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Location: oceanside ca
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towing
Was watching a neighbor pulling out a stump, his tow strap broke and snaped over the top of his tahoe put a dent in the top the lenght of the roof
and broke his front window..
as a old retired sailor i thought some i would impart some info on the group , i, which i am sure you all know
place some small bags of sand a blanket clothes on the strap or wrap a 3/8 rope around the strap or tow chain ,several wraps will do, then
ileaving some slack in the 3/8 rope then if something breaks the rope or sand bags will stop the tow chain from whiping around or up that will
prevert injuries or damage , i use the small rope as i always carry a rope .
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Bruce R Leech
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use a chain is safer 3/8 high test . you wont brake it . and if you do it will just fall on the ground.
I have almost been killed with straps and ropes to many times. I wont even partake in a project that includes them.
Bruce R Leech
Ensenada
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Barry A.
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From the "stop to help others" thread----
Saying the same thing as "jimgrms", --------------
"I have totally lost count of how many folks I have pulled out of the sand----------litterally dozens. I have never broken a chain, tho----------that
is really spooky, and I am sure hard on windshields, not to mention nearby folks legs, etc.. An old sleeping bag, or even another loose chain drooped
over the towing chain would help dampen the whiplash of a breaking tow chain, I understand. Personally I use the Nylon rope (1 inch) slingshot method,
and seldom use chain. For motorhomes, I have a 2 inch diameter nylon rope----works great. "
I use soft "loops" on the end of my nylon rope, not a clevis, as I do not want that clevis becoming a missile if the rope breaks. In all the years of
using soft nylon rope, I have NEVER broken a rope pulling someone out.
Barry
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Barry A.
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I just saw your post, Bruce------
In the 13 years I was a BLM Ranger pulling out motorhomes at the Glamis Dunes (100's of motorhomes pulled out of the sand) I NEVER have seen a broken
nylon rope. If you have seen ropes break, like you say, they were using totally too small diameter ropes and straps. We never used any rope less
than 1 inch in diameter, and NEVER used the commercial "tow straps"------they just were not up to the task.
We bought a huge spool of 1" nylon rope, and made up our own "slingshot tow ropes", each 25' long, with soft loops spliced into each end. When we
were ready to pull somebody out, we put one loop over our trailer tow balls (which had one inch shanks) and the other end we fastened to the motorhome
frame with a piece of US NAVY aircraft tie down chain (3 feet long) which had a chain hook on one end-----this way we were assured that we would not
be cutting our tow rope by some sharp edge on the motorhome frame.
As I said, after 100's of slingshot pullouts, I NEVER saw one of the ropes, or the Navy chains, break.
One of my rangers reported that he DID break a rope once, but with no hardware on either end it simply rubberbanded into the back of his pickup with
no damage.
You certainly do not want any person within 50 feet, or so, of the rope when pulling------that is just common sense, I am thinking.
The "slingshot" effect of using the stretching nylon rope makes pulling people out so much more effective than using chain, which of course does not
stretch at all.
I hope this makes some sense.
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jimgrms
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the guy i was watcing pull the stump tye first try he spun tires so he backed up and got a run he was using 2 ton strap , and when he started
backing up i went in the hosue, i figured it was going to happen and he is kind of a know it all,
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Barry A.
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jimgrms-----
----a "2 ton" strap is TOTALLY inadaquate!!! You need one that is rated for 10 ton +.
The guy was using the proper technique, he just did not have a tough enough strap.
With our 1 inch nylon ropes, you could hit the end of the rope after a 10 foot run with your vehicle and the rope would never break, but it would
stretch, and the vehicle being towed would litterally "jump" out of the holes that it had dug with it's tires--------with motorhomes, they would not
"jump" (to heavy), but they WOULD come out, usually. Sometimes, tho, the motorhomes would not budge, and then we would have to winch them out, or call
a tow truck.
YOU NEED A REALLY TOUGH NYLON ROPE, OR STRAP, TO DO THIS---------AGAIN: 10 ton (20,000 +lbs) Plus rating!
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Sharksbaja
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We once pulled a vehicle out of a swollen river and up a steep embankment using the slingshot method.....and they said it couldn't be done. Chains are
good for anchoring but rope is much more forgiving on the vehicles.
DON\'T SQUINT! Give yer eyes a break!
Try holding down [control] key and toggle the [+ and -] keys
Viva Mulege!
Nomads\' Sunsets
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Barry A.
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Jimgrms--------et all
-----I decided that since I was throwing all these capacity numbers around I had better check my facts-------it seems that I am conservative in what I
said.
Checking my notes, and the catalogue where I got my rope, I find that a 1 inch Nylon rope is rated at 25,000 lbs, or 6 1/2 tons. The big 2" Nylon
rope that I use on motorhomes is rated at 92,000 lbs, or 46 tons.
The 4,000 lb rated tow strap that your neighbor was using is sort of a joke, and a dangerous one at that.
In the NORTHER SUPPLY catalogue, the biggest tow strap that I could find was rated at 39,000 lbs, and is 4 inches wide------this is a pretty sturdy
strap, and I would not hesitate to use it.
The biggest Nylon rope that I could find is a 2-1/2 inch wide rope rated at (are you ready???) 140,000 lbs breaking strength.
There is no way that you are going to break any of these bigger ropes and straps unless you abuse them, and they are far superior to chains in
extracating folks, as Sharks (and I) points out.
If you don't need these "gorrilla" ropes and straps, there are smaller straps that are rated at 18,000 lbs (30 feet long x 2 inches wide) for $38, or
one 30 feet long x 3 inches wide rated at 27,000 lbs for $60.
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Sharksbaja
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"The 4,000 lb rated tow strap that your neighbor was using is sort of a joke, and a dangerous one at that."
I use em all the time......behind my garden tractor.
DON\'T SQUINT! Give yer eyes a break!
Try holding down [control] key and toggle the [+ and -] keys
Viva Mulege!
Nomads\' Sunsets
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TMW
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At the 2005 Baja500 past the Simpson jct (up near Mike's Sky Ranch) a couple of miles down course a race truck was off in a ditch. A bunch of guys
were trying to wench it out with what looked to be a 1/4 or 5/16 inch wench cable. The ford van was being pulled to the race truck instead of out
mainly due to the angle. I loaned them my pulley and strap to put on a tree to get a straight pull on the truck. Then I got way out of the way because
they wouldn't listen to me and were not putting anything on the wench line. I usually put a coat or blanket on it. Anyway they pulled the truck out
with no problem, but a lot of guys would have gotten hurt if that cable had snapped.
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jimgrms
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Barry where do you get those straps for 38.00 and the strap my neighbor was using was from his quad towing kit
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Barry A.
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Jimgrms-----
Those quotes were coming out of the "Northern Tool and Supply" catalogue (used to be "Northern Supply") which can be accessed on the web at:
"NorthernTool.com"
I am sure there are other places where they can be located, but I am not sure where.
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Geronimo
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I use the Kepper strap from Checker/Kraken. I have pulled 9000 pound vans trough sand washes, 5000lb race trucks across 20 miles of race course, cute
girls in little cars off the beach at Petes, ect. ect. I have never had one break. I bought one of the super straps from Red Art that weave together
but have not used it yet.
Dont use the ones with steel hooks, they are very dangerous. Any 4X shop will have a strap in stock, 2" x 30" is what I use. I have chains in the
tool box of my trailer and use them for what they where made for, pulling dead trees apart and straping down steel.
\"The only cure is to be perpetually South Bound\"
~Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers from the song Mexicosis
Geronimo
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bajalou
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The red one that you weave is great - don't know the rating but for the usual pulling some stuck it's great. I always have a couple short 2-4 ft
pieces of chain to attach to the vehicle so strap doesn't get cut on bumper etc.
No Bad Days
\"Never argue with an idiot. People watching may not be able to tell the difference\"
\"The trouble with doing nothing is - how do I know when I\'m done?\"
Nomad Baja Interactive map
And in the San Felipe area - check out Valle Chico area |
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Geronimo
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Location: Salome Arizona/San Felipe BC Mex
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I looked and it is a 20,000 lb strap.
http://www.redart.com/
\"The only cure is to be perpetually South Bound\"
~Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers from the song Mexicosis
Geronimo
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bajalou
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The one I have is the 10,000 don't think they had the 20,000 when I got it a more than a year ago. But it sure works great - good stretch for a good
jerk out and never having to worry agout it getting knotted up by tieing it around something.
No Bad Days
\"Never argue with an idiot. People watching may not be able to tell the difference\"
\"The trouble with doing nothing is - how do I know when I\'m done?\"
Nomad Baja Interactive map
And in the San Felipe area - check out Valle Chico area |
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