gmwelder86
Adventurer
Also don't forget decent shackles. Generally don't trust anything but USA for critical pulls. Get this main from rigging at work.
Recovery advise
- Thread starter jhill15
- Start date
No, I don't have this one. It was just a pic to show the pin holes going in both directions. I would have zero reservations about using that one. It really comes down to using a great shackle. I only use 7/8" pin shackles that have a WLL of 6.5T. Yes, they cost a more, but the peace of mind is worth it.
onetraveller
Adventurer
Putting the tow strap loop into the hitch point and securing it with the cross pin works fine. It's in double shear and won't come out. The same pin secures these hitch shackle mounts everyone is talking about. The flat strap webbing actually does an excellent job of distributing the load across the hitch pin. I've done this for two decades as have many others.
Where a hitch mounted shackle is useful is for securing a snatch block for a double line winch pull. I made my own by drilling a couple of holes through a piece of 2x2 steel tubing and I've been using the same one since 1988. It does get a fresh coat of Rustoleum every couple of years.
As noted, if you are the pulling vehicle, try to limit your pulls to pulling from the rear and driving forward. The way the differential gears are cut means they can put excessive pressure on the diff housing when trying to pull in reverse. This is a common way to either damage the gears or crack the housing.
Your recovery gear is only as strong as your weakest link. A common problem is shackles made in Asia that have a WLL stamped on them, but no certification process. I only buy shackles that are certified for lifting use as they go through stringent quality control efforts to ensure that there are no flaws in the manufacturing process. Like Beowulf my shackles have a WLL of 6.5 tons and a breaking strength that is 3-4 times that.
Mike
Where a hitch mounted shackle is useful is for securing a snatch block for a double line winch pull. I made my own by drilling a couple of holes through a piece of 2x2 steel tubing and I've been using the same one since 1988. It does get a fresh coat of Rustoleum every couple of years.
As noted, if you are the pulling vehicle, try to limit your pulls to pulling from the rear and driving forward. The way the differential gears are cut means they can put excessive pressure on the diff housing when trying to pull in reverse. This is a common way to either damage the gears or crack the housing.
Your recovery gear is only as strong as your weakest link. A common problem is shackles made in Asia that have a WLL stamped on them, but no certification process. I only buy shackles that are certified for lifting use as they go through stringent quality control efforts to ensure that there are no flaws in the manufacturing process. Like Beowulf my shackles have a WLL of 6.5 tons and a breaking strength that is 3-4 times that.
Mike
I Leak Oil
Expedition Leader
Regarding the receiver shackle setups.....You aren't spending a whole lot more $$ by getting a name brand, better quality (potentially safer) piece. Like buying a no name brand farm jack vs. a Hi-lift. If it's something you really need and health and safety are at stake why take the chance? Just my opinion.
rayra
Expedition Leader
I've got the Harbor Freight shackle (got it on sale for about $10), used it to tow a friend's car down the road, but I would not count on it for a heavy duty recovery. I'm looking a the Smittybuilt and Tuff products, as they seem to use a solid hunk of metal, where as the HF piece is thin metal tubing. Your pull with the HF will depend on just those two little crappy butt-joint welds on the plate holding the shackle pin.
I was also troubled by the slack / play in the shackle-pin-flange area, figuring any sort of off-axis pull forces would readily torque and bend the whole thing. I shimmed all the slack I could with fender washers, hoping to forestall any bending. But I'm also intending to cross-drill the hitch tubing so I can rotate the whole thing 90deg such that the shackle can swing side to side instead of up-down, so I can re-pin the thing to match the off-angle of any particular recovery. It'll have to do until I can afford to upgrade.
If you can afford better, avoid it.
eta in fact looking at that HF catalog image, the angle it was photographed basically conceals the defects I described. I'll go take a pic of my ugly 'fix', back in a couple minutes.
eta2
I was also troubled by the slack / play in the shackle-pin-flange area, figuring any sort of off-axis pull forces would readily torque and bend the whole thing. I shimmed all the slack I could with fender washers, hoping to forestall any bending. But I'm also intending to cross-drill the hitch tubing so I can rotate the whole thing 90deg such that the shackle can swing side to side instead of up-down, so I can re-pin the thing to match the off-angle of any particular recovery. It'll have to do until I can afford to upgrade.
If you can afford better, avoid it.
eta in fact looking at that HF catalog image, the angle it was photographed basically conceals the defects I described. I'll go take a pic of my ugly 'fix', back in a couple minutes.
eta2
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As far as replacing the ball with a shackle, that would be perfectly ok given a whole lot of "if's" relating to your hitch capacity. Without being entirely confident in knowing exactly what you have, I wouldn't do that. In general, use things as they're meant to be used.
You are correct, putting the hitch pin through the strap loop is more likely to bend the pin.
Generally speaking, I agree with the above regarding Harbor Freight. Except for their 3" 27k polyester recovery straps. I've been using and abusing them for years and I've never broken one. Even giving it the ol' college try. I've had a few get frayed at the loops using them where I shouldn't and not cleaning them off properly, and I promptly threw them away and got new ones. At $40 each, they're a darned good deal as compared to ones from name brand manufacturers. Yes, the QC is going to be higher on the name brand stuff, but if you're just starting out, I see no reason to spend that much so soon; especially for occasional uses where you're not likely to need the abrasion resistance, low fiber relaxation times, and tighter breaking strength margins. To my mind, that stuff is principally for the guys doing very serious off-roading, professional vehicle recovery, or off-road racing.
I used the Harbor Freight shackle for quite a while without issue. They don't list 10k as the "breaking strength". Even if you assume that it is made of Gr 36 steel (which is pretty low) I get a tensile yield capacity of about 45k. So i suspect that the 10k rating is a WLL and the actual breaking strength exceeds the shear capacity of a 5/8" hitch pin (approximately 32k).
It is worth noting that even though I'm an engineer and can calculate such things, I only used the HF shackle because it was cheap. When i could afford it, I upgraded to one much the same as in your first post.
In recovery, always make sure that your strap is the fuse (the weakest link). If your strap breaks, you get a dent in your tailgate or grille. If a piece of steel breaks, someone dies.
You are correct, putting the hitch pin through the strap loop is more likely to bend the pin.
Generally speaking, I agree with the above regarding Harbor Freight. Except for their 3" 27k polyester recovery straps. I've been using and abusing them for years and I've never broken one. Even giving it the ol' college try. I've had a few get frayed at the loops using them where I shouldn't and not cleaning them off properly, and I promptly threw them away and got new ones. At $40 each, they're a darned good deal as compared to ones from name brand manufacturers. Yes, the QC is going to be higher on the name brand stuff, but if you're just starting out, I see no reason to spend that much so soon; especially for occasional uses where you're not likely to need the abrasion resistance, low fiber relaxation times, and tighter breaking strength margins. To my mind, that stuff is principally for the guys doing very serious off-roading, professional vehicle recovery, or off-road racing.
I used the Harbor Freight shackle for quite a while without issue. They don't list 10k as the "breaking strength". Even if you assume that it is made of Gr 36 steel (which is pretty low) I get a tensile yield capacity of about 45k. So i suspect that the 10k rating is a WLL and the actual breaking strength exceeds the shear capacity of a 5/8" hitch pin (approximately 32k).
It is worth noting that even though I'm an engineer and can calculate such things, I only used the HF shackle because it was cheap. When i could afford it, I upgraded to one much the same as in your first post.
In recovery, always make sure that your strap is the fuse (the weakest link). If your strap breaks, you get a dent in your tailgate or grille. If a piece of steel breaks, someone dies.
Strictly speaking, you are correct, the strap does uniformly load the hitch pin. But you don't want that. You want point loads near the supports of the pin. A uniform load induces bending stress and shear stress. Point loads at the ends induce shear stress and minimal bending stress. A 2" long 5/8" pin is a steel beam with a span to depth ratio >2. Typically beams with S-D ratios >2 are governed by bending strength not shear strength. It is possible that your pin has a high enough yield strength that you haven't failed it yet. But the simple fact is that it is weaker this way.
Rayra, if you look down the tube you'll find that those two plates actually have tangs that stick through the backing plate. I was in the same boat as you until I saw that. Even so, the capacity of those welds (assuming they meet AWS standards) should be ~35k without considering the tangs that stick through the plate.
I don't want to suggest that there is nothing wrong with the HF shackle, and my math is largely presumptive of meeting some minimum material properties, so take that with a grain of salt. But they're not just heaps of junk. I've used them pretty hard and not had problems with them.
jhill15
Explorer
I ended up getting a champion recovery shackle from cabellas. It was only $25, I don't like that it mounts with the shackle sideways but for the price it was a much better option than the hf version. However, i do like that all though its a tube it seems to be one chunk of metal and there isnt any welds...or at least you cant tell there are any welds. I ended up running out of time to order one of the better brands like warn, rugged ridge, smitybuilt etc... so if I end up not needing it on my trip then I will take it back and something better.
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Thanks for all the replies guys.
Has anyone tried the habor freight version of these things.
http://m.harborfreight.com/d-ring-receiver-hitch-66212.html?utm_referrer=direct/not provided
It says it has a 10k limit but looking at the "d ring" it appears to be only 5/8 and everything I have looked at that is 5/8 is not rated for 10k
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The Harbor Freight one is an actual "D" ring - these are made for straight pulls, typically with chain. The others shown or "discussed" (Warn, Champion...) come with a screw-pin anchor shackle of the bow variety. Bow shackles are designed for use with straps (kinetic rope is ok) and the bow allows for off-axis pulls.
I would use HF for other things and not vehicle recovery where forces can be in the thousands of pounds.
Antichrist
Expedition Leader
dp7197;1875853Bow shackles are designed for use with straps (kinetic rope is ok) and the bow allows for off-axis pulls.[/QUOTE said:
These are two examples of shackles designed for use with web straps.
These are two examples of shackles designed for use with web straps.
You should never use the top one with the pin held in by the clevis pin for recovery. The red one is made for straight pulls.
I ended up getting a champion recovery shackle from cabellas. It was only $25, I don't like that it mounts with the shackle sideways but for the price it was a much better option than the hf version. However, i do like that all though its a tube it seems to be one chunk of metal and there isnt any welds...or at least you cant tell there are any welds. I ended up running out of time to order one of the better brands like warn, rugged ridge, smitybuilt etc... so if I end up not needing it on my trip then I will take it back and something better.
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It looks like the way the shackle is placed is the best position. Seems like it will put less stress on the shackle by allowing it to move left or right as its being pulled. Now if your lifting then I agree the angles bad.
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rayra
Expedition Leader
Last Wed. I finally got around to cross drilling my HF piece about a 1/2" closer to the shackle so the HF piece sits deeper into my receiver and at 90deg rotation from the existing holes, so the shackle pivots on a vertical axis. And drilled this way, I can re-orient the shackle whichever way seems best at the time.
jhill15
Explorer
I ended up not needing my shackle, so I will more than likely return it to cabellas...as long as they will accept the return.
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