All wheel drive is great, but....

[Martinjmpr]

I used to drive through snow like that somewhat often when we lived on a road that was rarely plowed.

 

These cars really aren't very good in deep snow without snow tires. With snow tires on the other hand they will plow through powder up to the bumper. BTDT.

 

In this case the snow was a good 6-10" above the bumper, which was the problem. It's not a question of traction, as the poster above said, if your wheels are not in contact with the road, all the drive in the world won't help.

[uniberp]

Just run another 6-8' length of lighter rope through the eye and knot the other end to some part of the car when you're going to snap someone out of the ditch. It will serve as a safety line and keep any loose end from launching. I think they call it a "spring line". Nah that's a nautical term.

 

Feeding the line back through the loop will only work on one end of the line anyhow. You need a hook on at least one end.

 

 

So, I surfed around and got a recommendation from serious off-road guys that retrieval straps should have fabric loops only, as if they have steel eyes and the strap breaks, it will turn into a missile.

 

Then, I looked at that tow eye on the rear of my OBW. It's probably too small to put a loop on unless I added a pretty big anchor schackle.

 

Then, I went to WalMart and found what I thought was the perfect 30' strap. Got it home - and it was the model with steel hooks FTL!

 

So, will this be OK in case I auger in (or someone else does) or should I replace it with a retrieval strap with fabric loops only? Then I'd have to get some good sized anchor shackles to attach it, which are $7-10 each.

 

30' seems like it will be a lot more practical than 20 - any reason to go shorter? I used to carry 25' of nylon anchor rode but knots are not great in this application and it took up a lot of space.

 

The one I bought is from Highland. They seem to be widely distributed at several auto parts chains, KMart and WalMart.

 

It is the 30' model of this:

The material is the same as that on their recovery strap but seems to be tubular so the max load is much higher.

 

The company is at http://www.highlandusa.com/home.asp

[Martinjmpr]

Just run another 6-8' length of lighter rope through the eye and knot the other end to some part of the car when you're going to snap someone out of the ditch. It will serve as a safety line and keep any loose end from launching. I think they call it a "spring line". Nah that's a nautical term.

 

Feeding the line back through the loop will only work on one end of the line anyhow. You need a hook on at least one end.

 

Mine has hooks on both ends. Yes, it's more dangerous but also much easier to use. If I was a 4-wheeler and pulled people out (or needed to be pulled out) on a regular basis, then I'd probably invest in the two-loop kind (although in order for those to work one vehicle, at least, has to have a tow hitch or pintle.) Really, it's a calculated risk. I've literally only used this tow rope 2-3 times in 20 years, so I'm willing to accept a little extra risk if it makes it easier to use the rope.

 

And besides, even if you have the two-loop kind, you still have the risk that it might not be the tow strap that fails, it might be the point where it attaches to a vehicle - the tow hitch or whatever - which could still result in a piece of metal flying away from the vehicle at near bullet speeds.

 

So the safest thing to do is have everyone stand clear when using a strap. Drivers in their vehicles with the doors and windows shut and everybody else at a safe distance.

[johnceggleston]

some of the terminology used regarding the use of tow straps is unsettling, especially "snap someone out of the ditch". do you really jerk them out or is this just a term used when pulling someone out.

 

i would think that loading the strap slowly would be much safer, for by-standers and the cars.

 

idon't do any rock / mountain climbing, but i hear that ropes use for that are rated by the number of "falls" they can handle. ie: a 3 fall line or a 5 fall line. once used up, it's retired. any similarities?

 

Mine has hooks on both ends. Yes, it's more dangerous but also much easier to use. If I was a 4-wheeler and pulled people out (or needed to be pulled out) on a regular basis, then I'd probably invest in the two-loop kind (although in order for those to work one vehicle, at least, has to have a tow hitch or pintle.) Really, it's a calculated risk. I've literally only used this tow rope 2-3 times in 20 years, so I'm willing to accept a little extra risk if it makes it easier to use the rope.

 

And besides, even if you have the two-loop kind, you still have the risk that it might not be the tow strap that fails, it might be the point where it attaches to a vehicle - the tow hitch or whatever - which could still result in a piece of metal flying away from the vehicle at near bullet speeds.

 

So the safest thing to do is have everyone stand clear when using a strap. Drivers in their vehicles with the doors and windows shut and everybody else at a safe distance.

[Ranger83]

Off-roaders do "jerk" other vehicles out - which is why straps designed for that purpose seem to have yield strengths of 20,000 to 40,000 lbs.

 

I would not try it on an Outbck, or any unibody vehicle, for that matter, unless you had a really secure attachment point.

[99obw]

Some people put a jacket or blanket over the center of the tow strap to dampen it somewhat if it were to break loose. I don't know how well this works.

['05 Outback 2.5i]

Some people put a jacket or blanket over the center of the tow strap to dampen it somewhat if it were to break loose. I don't know how well this works.

 

The weight of the jacket or blanket helps to "ground" the section of strap or cable that it is upon if it breaks. However, the other end that doesn't have this weight on it is pretty much unaffected (this is my experience). I've never used such on a tow strap, but we use them on winch cables all the time (my off road background is in trucks). Generally use two, with the hope that there will be weight on both sides of the cable break should it let go.

 

For what it is worth, I've broken, and seen break both tow straps with and without metal hooks. Honestly, I've never seen the hook become a danger (generally it is still hanging from the vehicle's tow point after the break). What I have seen be dangerous is when the attachment point fails, and it becomes a very dangerous projectile, regardless of whether the tow strap had a hook or not. I've seen D-shackles with weak tow hooks attached punched through the tailgate of a pickup, and it sounded like someone fired of a 30-06 rifle!

 

In my experience, the security of the tow point is far more important than the type of strap..

[Ranger83]

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