Ooooops, that's soft over there

[Hahnsb2]

I had a strap, it's broken now... So whats the point?

Get a good strap. Don't come crying to anyone else when that chain lets go and bitchslaps your truck or you.

 

[Chris.S.]

Dishtowel- You're right, next time the girls come they're gonna have to get dirty. And I hear ya, no matter how prepared (and you're abviously better equppied than me) you think you are there's always that one weird-ass thing that screws yo over. Winch and some other stuff will be going on the truck as soon the budget allows. Fire extinguisher sounds like a really good idea, I'll have to get one of them in the truck asap. What would you have ether for? I've only ever used it for starting cold diesel's on the farm.


Before anyone points it out, I know we weren't doing things exactly as we should've. One of my celvis' dissapeared and the dodge that pulled me out didn't have a receiver. That explains why we pulled from her hitch ball and only on one side of front end. I know we're lucky that my frame is still straight and bumper is on and not bent.....



But it was fun, mud is very theraputic....

 

[Hahnsb2]

What would you have ether for? I've only ever used it for starting cold diesel's on the farm.

Inflating de-beaded tires, well, that's what I'd use it for.

 

[Chris.S.]

Ahhh, I see. I wondered what was used to do that, now I know. I hope I never have to need to......

 

[Dishtowel]

Forget rope, I have a hugh tow chain.

Sounds heavy, and rusty, lol. just teasing

As some of you know, and some of you dont. Straps are for yank/jerk/snatching a truck out of a hole. The tow vehicle gives a LITTLE bit of slack, then the strap can 'elastic band' the stuck vehicle out. Straps are (normally) built to take some shock load.

DO NOT USE STRAPS WHEN WINCHING because they stretch your entire winch line just became the deadliest elastic band any 8th grader could have imagined. Winch lines already have this danger, but it just gets amplified by a strap.

Chains have pros and cons, versatile and strong, but never shock load them. I do use them when winching, but I have way oversize chains, they are not the weak link.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

I use chains to pull all the time, but I usually have much more horse on the pulling end than just a pickup so I can just pull without jerking it. The one chain I broke just dropped to the ground without a complaint as the tractor did its best attempt at a launch. Absolutly no damage done to anything other than the chain.

Straps can act like rubber bands and do funny things when they snap too, no matter what you use you have to be ready for anything, and having to pull off of the bumper the bumper doesn't quite qualify as being prepared IMO. At least get a real hitch on that thing before you mangle your bumper and fenders by doing more than Ford intended that bumper to do.

 

[GBranger04]

a strap breaking is a lot safer than a chain breaking. that's the point and the whole design of the strap. get one that is heavier than you think you will ever need and take care of it and it shouldn't break. also a good idea to carry more than 1 incase one breaks. you can cut corners and use chains and if you're lucky you might never break it, but if you're not lucky it could break your neck... or at least do a number on your truck. i'll fork out a few extra bucks for straps

 

[Dishtowel]

a strap breaking is a lot safer than a chain breaking.

... if it's just a strap being used, alone. Straps + chain/cable = worse than plain chain. If you thought just a chain was dangerous when it broke, add a bunch of potential energy stored in the strap as it stretches.

(But I think you knew this, just adding to what you had to say)

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

a strap breaking is a lot safer than a chain breaking. that's the point and the whole design of the strap. get one that is heavier than you think you will ever need and take care of it and it shouldn't break. also a good idea to carry more than 1 incase one breaks. you can cut corners and use chains and if you're lucky you might never break it, but if you're not lucky it could break your neck... or at least do a number on your truck. i'll fork out a few extra bucks for straps

After they hook my tractor to the sled with a chain, the front end of my 5000lb tractor dances in the air for 200' down the track as the tractor does its darnedest to break the chain. I have been to many pulls over 5 years and it is still the same chain on the sled. Used wisely using a chain is far from cutting corners. That sled goes up to the 7500lb weight class DIV III tractors every night it gets pulled, same ol' chain.

http://memimage.cardomain.com/member_images/3/web/291000-291999/291515_28_full.jpg

For those that think straps are harmless, a determined idiot can screw anything up if they don't use it right:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YR22oP1WRtY&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFlnwZHb334

 

[PaleBlue90]

For those that think straps are harmless, a determined idiot can screw anything up if they don't use it right:

best saying ive heard

 

[Todd]

Ya and that is a huge chain, like to see someone carry that around for trail use. What a pain. Also that chain is never given over a 3 foot run to shock load it I would bet. Don’t get me wrong I use chains too, just not for yanking. I carry two 20-foot lengths of choker chain for winch rigging and what not.

And yes straps can bust and go flying. No part of off road recovery is completely save. I like the saying, “Treat this with respect, or it will kill you!” Very true when it comes to this sort of thing.

Again, a strap and solid tow points is the only thing that should be use for yanking out a stuck………anything.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Ya and that is a huge chain, like to see someone carry that around for trail use. What a pain. Also that chain is never given over a 3 foot run to shock load it I would bet. Don’t get me wrong I use chains too, just not for yanking. I carry two 20-foot lengths of choker chain for winch rigging and what not.

That chain is overkill enough to ensure that no matter what a 7500lb tractor can do with 300 hp it will not snap and let the tractor shoot into the crowd.

You can get chain just about anywhere that will rip a average receiver off before it snaps.

 

[hihoslvr]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFlnwZHb334

"the only thing that scared me was the ether"

 

[KELLY88]

I had a strap, it's broken now... So whats the point?

Get a bigger strap. I got one about 5 months ago. 30' long with a 35,000 pound rating. Take no chances.

 

[TrucksGetDirty]

Ah. I guess I will invest in a strap before I go out off roading again.

I had two ropes/straps and the chain, never just one.