What do you guy's use when you have to pull someone/buddy/family/etc.. out of a snowy ditch ???


I only see the 2" x 20' x 10K straps at the local places.. I would think something with a higher weight/breakage rating would be in line ???

i usually carry around a 12' piece of heavy duty logging chain in the winter. the guy at tractor supply made it for me and put a hook on each end which would be handy to pull the chain through a tow loop and hook back onto itself. it barely fits under my rear seat, but i reckon it's good to have.

i've never used it though.

I have a tow strap that I use.

Keeper vehicle recovery straps, there is quite a bit of difference between tow and recovery straps.

Chains can break & I've seen some nasty brakes, even the biggest and strongest are weaker than the really good Keeper recovery straps. We used the Keeper straps on the farm & they were cheaper easier to use and stronger when snatching out stuck tractors & trucks.

Don't forget ya can't snatch with a chain.

I have some 2" rope used in a local companies' extruding machine, they replace it often. I have no idea what it's rated at, but I'd pull a tractor with it and not worry. Got a chain also. I can send you some, shipping might be a bit high though.

This post has been edited by pdog1517: December 28th 2008 5:27 AM

Thank you for the offer Pdog , but I'll pass and try to fine something here locally.


Rampy those Keeper straps look good, I did a quick search and they sure do spec out better than the straps I've seen lately.

What do you guys think will be the most handy ? 2" x 30' @ 10K or 3" x 30' @ 15 or Other ??


This also caught me eye: Receiver bracket w/shackle.



(I don't plan on driving around yanking people out of ditches, but I went by a young couple pretty stuck the other day and I would have stopped if I had the right equipment. Just thought it would have been nice to do.)

The 3"x30' 15k strap sounds like the ticket, and those receivers with shackles are the safest way to hook up a line like that. I use Keeper straps as well, though my preference is for heavy chain. I don't jerk people out, if I can't get them with a steady pull, any jerking is going to do some damage somewhere. If the chain doesn't give, I'd better have a REALLY good attachment point on the stuck vehicle, the wife's pickup weighs 6500 pounds, if it hits the end of a strap/chain and the stuck rig doesn't move, something stands a very good chance of breaking pretty catastrophically.

Absolutly Pepper !

I think there would be a need for a "weak link" somewhere... and not part of either vehicle ..

I thought about a lower # rated shackle but wouldn't want it to turn into a grenade if it snaps..


I dunno, I'll keep reading.

this is kinda random, but when i read terms like "snatching" and "jerking" it brings back a childhood memory.

my dad bought a couple acres adjacent to his property and he cleaned it all off as it was mostly all field except for this one big tree. we cut the tree down and chopped it up for firewood but we didnt' have a good way to get rid of the stump. a neighbor had a decent sized dozer so he came over one day and strapped a chain to it to pull it out of the ground.

well, he tried to "snatch" it out and the chain broke and flew back into the dozer and missed his head by about a foot. it was an open cabbed dozer and that guy coulda died that day.

"snatching" anything is not a good idea IMO.

QUOTE

this is kinda random, but when i read terms like "snatching" and "jerking" it brings back a childhood memory.

Your story wasn't exactly where I though you were going with your opening line


But I agree with you, no "snatching" a stuck vehicle. If slow and steady doesn't do the trick then they call a tow truck.

Heck guys, I don't know. Mines pretty old. I just bought a new one but can't remember that one either other its at least rated twice the average car which is kind of a rule of thumb of mine.

I will tell you I have a rule of thumb. I don't tow empty cars period. Pulling someone out of a ditch with them behind the wheel fine but empty, they stay in the ditch. Brakes are a good thing. I also do the hookup or no deal. Too many I want to put it on the flimsy bumper guys out there or I'm going to hook it up to something that will come off flying back at you like a missile types.

It shouldn't come as a surprise people here don't know how to drive in snow. You know how it is in Yankee land that first snow, like everyone forgot how to drive in the crap, well its like that here every time it snows.

I use to take vacation time on snow days. I'd volunteer to deliver food and meds to the elderly and while at it pull out as many poor souls as I would run across and guys here there is always many. I got pretty good at it over the years but I also got pretty bitter. I became very blunt, I'll pull you out but you have to do what I say when I say it or you can wait here on the wrecker and they're pretty darn busy right now.

One of my favorites was the wife yelling at her husband as he was about to give me crap, "You better listen to him. Look how he's dressed." I use to think I was the only one here who had real winter clothes. I certainly have the only snow shovel in my neighborhood.

Another favorite was this couple on a ditch on a hill. I say, "Now you listen bud and do exactly as I say. When I pull you out, your car is going to slide sideways in the road until it lines up straight. That's gravity and just what we want it to do. Whatever you do, do not hit the gas. If you do then its bang right into the other ditch and I'm not doing this a second time. All I want you to do is sit there, keep your wheels straight, and I'll pull you up this hill." Sure enough, zing, zing, zing, the rear wheels spinning right into the other ditch. Now this was frustrating for this is the ditch right in front of my house and I've pulled dozens of cars out over the years. He starts giving me crap as I'm unhooking my strap asking me not to leave him. OK, I bend. I look at the guy and say, put your wife behind the wheel. She doesn't hit the gas and I pull them straight up the hill.

I did this type stuff a lot but then I also knew when to simply drive away. There's simply a point where you can't help without causing more damage to the vehicle and that's when its best to let the wrecker go to it.

Tj

i am betting that guy didnt' get any for a while.

I leave them there, go to the bar, and wait till spring.