Tow Straps

[razrwild]

got 2 2" x 25" straps rated for 20k from the cummins tool sale at $20 a piece and a 10k come a long. work well so far

 

[ChesterSPL]

I have a tractor supply right up the road and also a place called agri supply. They have a web site agrisupply.com. That place is like walmart for farmers and they carry everything, let me say it again, EVERYTHING. Next time I go in there I will take a picture for you guys, you will never believe this place.

 

[Will]

I use a chain. I got tired of worn out straps breaking. If I jerk a piece of someone's truck, that's their problem. I'm not a take-care-of-nylon type person.

Chain is safe. It doesn't stretch--there are no long continous fibers--and if it breaks, the links just wham into each other and lie down. Nylon stretches and can pop off a hook or hitch ball and **** you up. A jerk strap is good because it loads up energy and throws it off quick, but that also makes it dangerous. A 30' chunk of 3/8" transport chain is better if you aren't good at caring for straps--which I'm not. It's heavy though.

 

[dogboy]

One thing I've learned is a tow strap and a recovery strap are much different.

Tow straps are meant for pulling something once it is unstuck, or pulling something out WITHOUT getting a run at it. These types of strap do not strech very much (they do, just not a whole lot)

A recovery strap is what you need for getting that run at the end of the strap to yank the stuck rig out. The recovery strap will stretch and allow you to get alot more of the "spring" / "rubber band" effect.

That being said, I have a 3" x 30ft, 30,000lbs Pro Comp recovery strap. I have only needed it once, but it does strech quite a bit. And I avoid chains if at all possible.

 

[Rico]

I don't know how chain got such a bad reputation but I think they're safe. I've seen chain break before several times and there is no wild snapping back into the air. All it does is just collapse. I've also seen it stretch so much that it gets as straight as a pencil which is kind odd. The down side is it's really heavy.

Straps on the other hand ARE dangerous when it gives because it will whip into the air faster than you can react. Which is why they are a little more of a maintenance item than chain.

 

[smallfarm123@aol.com]

one of my buddies was pulled out by a chain and it snaped and broke his front window and his sun roof and the person pulling him had to fix his roof.
saying that i have a 2x20ft strap and a 4x30ft strap. that i use for pulling and just in case i have a 60,000lb loging chain that i mostly use to pull trees with the tractor

 

[dogboy]

The main reason I don't use chains is becuase chains don't give... at all... A strap will stretch quite a bit, which keeps it from ripping the front or rear of your truck off when you NEED that yank. A chain will yank a bumper off in a heart beat, where as a strap will take a little more effort to do the same thing. That being said, obviously you SHOULD NOT hook the strap up to the bumper, you are asking for damage doing that (you'd think everyone would know some things, but you'd be suprised...).

 

[JohnnyU]

A pair of fuzzy dice can be fatal in the right moron's hands...

If you use a little bit of common sense, you'll be much safer no matter what recovery tools you decide to use.

 

[valleyvinyl84]

It might be overkill but I got a Pro Comp 4"X30' 40,000 pounder. Not saying how much I paid for that though.

 

[Mechanickid]

Ive seen both a chain and a tow strap break. We used two tow straps to pull out a log from a damn, and one broke and sent the other towards my dads 86 ranger, he ducked and the steel hook on the end somehow went right between the mirror and the window and turned the wing vent (it was open) to sand.

What us redneck Hillbilly's up here in W.V use are good old fashioned chains. 2 chains and an old tire. Simply hook a chain to each truck and an old radial in the middle for the bungee effect. Cheep and reliable and damn hard to break if you have good chains.

 

[Destroyer000]

one of my buddies was pulled out by a chain and it snaped and broke his front window and his sun roof and the person pulling him had to fix his roof.
saying that i have a 2x20ft strap and a 4x30ft strap. that i use for pulling and just in case i have a 60,000lb loging chain that i mostly use to pull trees with the tractor

so if you have straps an chains WHY are you calling me at 12:49am asking to borrow mine to pull some one out lol

and yes chains an myself dont get along to well... snaped a chain.. left indents in my roof an broke holyford86s windshield and sunroof.. those were the good ole days when we didnt know better an were TARDS! that was a mistake we learned from an since then have SMARTENED UP!

 

[Southern3.0]

I used to carry a wally word 2" x 20' looped end strap with me, a stock 2 dig truck doesn't do to well in the real loose sugar sand so that's all it was ever really used for. Now adays I dont go out in the woods or sand much, so now I just carry a 3/8 15' chain with me, that normaly just gets used for towing my friends broke down trucks home at 3:30 in the morning

 

[Twitch57]

20 buck 2 inch harbor freight strap

its worked so far...

 

[91rangerxlt]

i just use a heavy duty oil field chain. aint had to problems with it. its pretty heavy.

 

[3.0ranger1227]

Nylon is scarier than chain when it breaks... I've seen a nylon rope snap under load and dent the back of my friend's 92 suburban. I am carrying a 150 ft Kevlar rope with a wire to rope splice at the end - can be shortened easily, easy connect with the shackle, doesn't stretch.

Need ideas for front recovery point though