Recovery thoughts, ideas, advice

[luthj]

For liability reasons, having the owner connect to tow strap or kinetic rope is a good idea. The factory recovery points are often off center, and may be on the wrong side depending on how the vehicle is stuck. These recovery points on light cars and crossovers, are mostly designed to tow the vehicle on smooth roads, not to yank out a stuck vehicle.

That being said, for a light pull, its not likely to be a problem. When you get into a kinetic recovery (with correct rope!), they can be a liability. Having one fail creates a fairly dangerous slingshot with a 1-2lb projectile on the end.

For a light pull a tow ball is okay. There is really no risk of failure in that usage mode. If you are doing a deeply bogged off-road recovery that's a different matter entirely. Its incumbent on the operator to know the practical safety limits of the pull points and gear.

A bridle with assorted hooks can be useful for attaching to suspension assemblies. Typically the lower control arms are either welded stamped steel or cast. Both may need different hooks. You can also wrap the strap section around a smooth suspension or body component. Putting one of these on each control arm connected with another bridle to the main strap can do the trick. These should never be used with a kinetic recovery.

 

[Joe917]

I use a length of braided nylon to connect,(old climbing rope) and a knife to "untie" it. The owner of the stuck vehicle can loop it on but I will check the location and tie the knot., If I don't like it I won't pull. Since I am pulling with a 10 tonne 4X4, whatever I tie to is coming out! The climbing rope should break if the load is to much.

 

[Metcalf]

I carry a short 3' section of chain for the 'odd' attachment to a vehicle without decent tow points. It only has a chain hook on one side. I usually tape or wire the hook in place so it can't come undone.
This is a last resort, but is much better that ruining an expensive recovery rope/strap. The chain also come in handy for trail repairs and can be made into a great binder with a section of all-thread and a few nuts and washers if needed.

I prefer to use soft shackles these days whenever possible, but they don't really like sharp edges.
Most tow points, even some modern jeep front hooks, have some pretty sharp corners on them.
The rule for maximum strength on a soft shackle is the bend radius needs to be 2x rope diameter to reach the lines MBS.

The T or J-hook idea is a good one, but beware that you can distort the frame around the slot when pulling hard.
Spreading the load out as much as possible to multiple attachment points is best if at all possible.

I see a lot of questionable recovery points on vehicles these days from the aftermarket. They might look beefy, but rarely are the connected to the frame in a way to spread the load out correctly. Many are what I would call 'cosmetic' recovery points that look the job, but have almost no structure at all backing them up. I always try use both recovery points on an end of the vehicle when practical. Beware of off angle pulling also and how it can stress the attachment point.

 

[CampStewart]

I see a lot of questionable recovery points on vehicles these days from the aftermarket. They might look beefy, but rarely are the connected to the frame in a way to spread the load out correctly. Many are what I would call 'cosmetic' recovery points that look the job, but have almost no structure at all backing them up.

One of my favorite examples is the front tow rings on the front of Fords. They have this big ring which is probably 7/8" thick and it looks like it is strong enough for a crane. Then when you look underneath you see it is attached with 2 bolts which are about 7/16" diameter. In my opinion totally inadequate if a F550 is buried and using a stretch strap.

 

[DaveInDenver]

One of my favorite examples is the front tow rings on the front of Fords. They have this big ring which is probably 7/8" thick and it looks like it is strong enough for a crane. Then when you look underneath you see it is attached with 2 bolts which are about 7/16" diameter. In my opinion totally inadequate if a F550 is buried and using a stretch strap.

It could be completely adequate for the designed purpose. All OEMs give us similar cast (or if you're lucky forged, since the material can be thinner) hooks and without knowing otherwise one can only say is they are sufficient for a static pull up to the GVWR of the vehicle. That's because the recommended use in the owner's manual is usually to hold the truck down while shipping or pull it (e.g. recover it) on to a flat bed wrecker. Doesn't seem many are keen to give an absolute capacity, which is unfortunate for sure. But from a business standpoint putting anything more isn't cost effective when 99% of the people won't even care. They should IMO give a rating and thus an opportunity to up sell better "off road" ones perhaps. But I bet the liability is prohibitive.

So I figure it's probably safe for typical situations, e.g. grass, dirt, pavement, shallow mud or snow on fairly mild slopes since the capacity needn't be all that high really. Force required to winch or recover doesn't usually exceed vehicle weight until you have grades steeper than about 30° or bogged to the axles. In deep snow with a vehicle in a ditch it's possible. You can pull the vehicle back through its own tracks so it's not necessarily bogged that badly but the slope could be significant.

Just an example, there's several different guides about how to deal with how much force is required.

 

[luthj]

7/16" grade 8 bolts have a proof load of about 12,000lbs IIRC. So 24,000lb before deformation starts for the pull point. That seems in line with the ~20,000lb F550 GVWR. That is more than enough for a F350 in all but the most extreme situations.

 

[DaveInDenver]

7/16" grade 8 bolts have a proof load of about 12,000lbs IIRC. So 24,000lb before deformation starts for the pull point. That seems in line with the ~20,000lb F550 GVWR. That is more than enough for a F350 in all but the most extreme situations.

A 7/16" fastener torqued to 80 ft-lb provides about 11,000 lbs clamping but isn't the capacity of the tow point going to be the clamping of two bolts on the interface surface area in single shear?

I'm only familiar with the way Toyota designs their "recovery" hooks, which is almost insulting. So a photo would be helpful to understand.

 

[luthj]

A 7/16" fastener torqued to 80 ft-lb provides about 11,000 lbs clamping but isn't the capacity of the tow point going to be the clamping of two bolts on the interface surface area in single shear?

Your right, I assumed they were loaded in tension (bolts parallel to direction of pull). I can't find a good photo of how they are mounted. Single shear would be ~13k lbs (26k total)?

 

[DaveInDenver]

Your right, I assumed they were loaded in tension (bolts parallel to direction of pull). I can't find a good photo of how they are mounted. Single shear would be ~13k lbs (26k total)?

It think it'll depend on model and year. A hasty search of "F550 tow hook" came up with this, which appears to have 4 in shear and 4 in tension. I doubt there's any question on that but that's probably not typical of all Fords nor even all Super Duty.

 

[shade]

For a light pull a tow ball is okay. There is really no risk of failure in that usage mode. If you are doing a deeply bogged off-road recovery that's a different matter entirely. Its incumbent on the operator to know the practical safety limits of the pull points and gear.

I'd skip the tow ball and use the receiver pin through a strap eye or soft shackle instead. Even with a light load, I'm not a fan of leaving things that free to move off an anchor point with both ends of the tow also moving, especially with an unknown quantity piloting the stuck car. I've had people turn the exact wrong way when trying to pull them, or even step on the brakes because they were scared of going too fast - uphill.

But I'm paranoid.

 

[Metcalf]

Your right, I assumed they were loaded in tension (bolts parallel to direction of pull). I can't find a good photo of how they are mounted. Single shear would be ~13k lbs (26k total)?

Clamping force will be a substantial bonus with the parts being steel on steel with a high friction coefficient.
Of the top of my head...(bolt clamp force divided by interface surface area ) x coeffecient of static friction.

 

[PSea]

I like the idea of short shackles, but I haven’t seen too many smooth surfaces under a vehicle to wrap around. I’ve used tow straps for things other than recovery and seen how easy it is to start cutting through them. Don’t want to cut through my new purchase.

So when you are connecting the recovery strap to the chain, what’s the best way? Hook the chain in 2 spots and run the center through the strap? Put a shackle between the two?

I don’t plan on doing any yanking on anything that’s not built to take it. That includes my truck. I am sure the hitch shackles are strong, but I’m not convinced they are yanking strong.

(not all points directed at this particular post)
1. mistake to compare dyneema thread w/ what they use for tow straps.
2. dyneema is used all over sailboats that deal with extreme and enduring strain and last years doing it...in much harsher environments (sun/salt)
3. have a hard time believing it would be harder to use a soft shackle vs a regular shackle
4. they're lighter, more flexible, likely have other uses and can be attached to more places than a regular shackle imo
5. doubtful you're going to use these shackles even a fraction of the duty cycles you see dyneema used on sailboats.

 

[shade]

(not all points directed at this particular post)
1. mistake to compare dyneema thread w/ what they use for tow straps.
2. dyneema is used all over sailboats that deal with extreme and enduring strain and last years doing it...in much harsher environments (sun/salt)
3. have a hard time believing it would be harder to use a soft shackle vs a regular shackle
4. they're lighter, more flexible, likely have other uses and can be attached to more places than a regular shackle imo
5. doubtful you're going to use these shackles even a fraction of the duty cycles you see dyneema used on sailboats.

?

I'll add that one of the reasons I recommended a short strap or sling is that they're usually cheaper than a soft shackle, and can be treated as a sacrificial item, as @rayra said. If a powered recovery has to happen, and some gear is going to get roughed up in the process, a $20 sling isn't a great loss.

I cringe every time I see the phrase "yanking strong".

 

[old .45]

Not sure where to post... so please forgive me...... I have been looking on you tube videos of off roading in the Philipens (sp) and although interesting and they seem to have some well equipped 4x4's their recovery practices are very scary.... would not like to go anywhere in the bush with them... check it ou you will see what I mean I think.

 

[billiebob]

If you are not comfortable with the task, technique, quit.

There is always the option of calling in professionals.