btown647

I've been reading articals all night now about muddin and pullin peolple out and alot of jiberish about straps. so if i
m doin the pulling or being pulled what straps should i use. i also read something about a blancket over it for tension relief or something.
i'm young and stupid any thing to keep me and my "baby" in one piece would be appreciated.

HOHN

Buy a super beefy tow strap from here:

www.masterpull.com

They are the best in recovery equipment. Check out the super-yankers.

Purplezr2

The blanket/jacket over the tow strap is used to absorb the energy if the strap should break or the attachment point breaks. I have heard about the hooked style straps going through the back of seats and killing people

Dartmouth 12V

Straps are the safest things out there right now. They are much safer than chains although getting them attached to something without good tow points can be a trick.

The most dangerous thing that can happen when pulling someone out is that the strap will become detached, either by breaking or ripping out a tow point. When the connection breaks, there is a lot of energy stored in the strap which is turned into kinetic energy. This means that the strap could come flying up and hit the back of your truck causing major damage to it, and possibly even you. Draping an old rug or blanket over the strap will make it more likely for the strap to simply fall to the ground. Even when using a blanket, no one should ever stand in line with the strap.

The most common way for people to have problems is by jerking. You can exert a lot more force if you jerk on something rather than just pull on it. There are times when you won't have enough traction to simply pull and then it is your decision as to what to do. The best option in this case is either to find a different way to get the vehicle out or to use one of the special stretchy straps that is made for exactly this.

If you want to see a good example of what a wire can do when it breaks under tension, mythbusters did an episode on it.

btown647

yeah i saw the mythbusters episode with the pig

so were do i playce the blanket

HOHN

Put the blanket over the middle of the strap if you can.

When I was in the Desert, I saw firsthand what snapped cable can do. A Navy employee was tightening down cables on a container ship at the port. When it snapped, sliced his leg off at the thigh.

When my guys took him off the medevac plane, he was laying on a stretcher with bloody rags all over his right side-- and his right foot was about 10" below where his left foot was.

You MUST respect the energy stored in a stretching cable or rope.


That's why I like the Masterpull products-- they don't store nearly as much energy and if they do break, then tend to fall harmlessly to the ground.

jh

mudwisr2

Go with no less than a 30K lb strap. That is the smallest I use with my early Bronco and Toyota. Now that I have the 3500 I am going to step up the load limit a bit. Some people will probably tell you that this is overkill, but I have broken 20K lb straps with my Bronco. I have not broken a 30K lb yet. I try to pull out everything and everyone that I can though. I love that kind of stuff. You need to study up on proper techniques and what's safe before you go out and try it though.

btown647

yeah a my dad loves wreckers and recovery vehichels and jis best friend owns a wrecker service (MAX KING and SON couruna michigan) and hes into that stuff. went mild off road today but didnt get stuck whooped a dmaxs *** in a 2wd tug tho