Proper Recovery Techniques

[MarcusAurelius]

I'm looking into preparing my 4runner for small recovery applications (car stuck in snow, etc). I read up as much as I could on the subject and found out a lot, but I still have some questions.

I understand never to use tow strap for recovery, I've seen the videos online of them snapping and either going through the rear windshield or much worse. I understand to use blankets to dampen the vibration and to reduce the force if it snaps.

I'm planning to use a D ring shackle on my hitch and I've read to match the strength of the shackle with that of the rope. Why would it not be good to have a stronger shackle and a weaker rope? I current have a shackle rated for 10K lbs and I'm thinking of upgrading to something in the 20K lb range. Would this be a good range for average recoveries? Is having a strap/shackle that is rating too high in these applications detrimental?

Thanks in advance!

 

[GhostRing]

First off, please do some research on the difference between a TOW strap and a RECOVERY strap.

They may appear similar, but serve very different purposes.

 

[Quatre Coureur]

Synthetic rope or strap doesn't store energy like wire rope(cable). Use of a heavy blanket or tarp is for winching. Tow straps don't stretch like a recovery strap will to multiply the retrieval force. The stretch also reduces shock load to the vehicles. If the recovery strap is rated too high, it wont stretch much, depending upon the weight of the vehicles. :

 

[MarcusAurelius]

Synthetic rope or strap doesn't store energy like wire rope(cable). Use of a heavy blanket or tarp is for winching. Tow straps don't stretch like a recovery strap will to multiply the retrieval force. The stretch also reduces shock load to the vehicles. If the recovery strap is rated too high, it wont stretch much, depending upon the weight of the vehicles. :

I can't see the harm in throwing a blanket over a recovery strap. In the unlikely event that the recovery point breaks free and comes flying back at you with a hard end.

I can understand having a 10K lb recovery strap for light work instead of the heavier straps, but I don't see why you would want a 10K lb rated shackle to go with it. If the strap breaks it's no big deal, if you shackle breaks you may have a projectile coming your way. I would think you would want the shackle to be tougher than the rope so the rope will fail before the shackle.

 

[Quatre Coureur]

Most 3/4" and 7/8" clevis' are rated about 7.5T to 10T. And that's vertical lift load. There is quite a bit of safety margin factored in to them. At least the American-made ones. I've seen cheap foreign made ones bend and/or strip the threads at work.

 

[MarcusAurelius]

Most 3/4" and 7/8" clevis' are rated about 7.5T to 10T. And that's vertical lift load. There is quite a bit of safety margin factored in to them. At least the American-made ones. I've seen cheap foreign made ones bend and/or strip the threads at work.

Preferably I'd like to buy some 10T shackles, but everything I seem to find on amazon like smittybilt is 7/8 and is only around 6.5T / 13K lbs. Do you have any brands that you prefer?

Also, will a standard trailer hitch pin handle this weight or do you need to find something beefier for attaching it to the receiver?

 

[Quatre Coureur]

Preferably I'd like to buy some 10T shackles, but everything I seem to find on amazon like smittybilt is 7/8 and is only around 6.5T / 13K lbs. Do you have any brands that you prefer?

Also, will a standard trailer hitch pin handle this weight or do you need to find something beefier for attaching it to the receiver?

First off, let me clarify my statement regarding weight capacities. The 3/4" clevis' are rated at 7500 to 8000 pounds not tons. The 7/8" rated at 10 to 12,000 pounds. Sorry 'bout that(brain fart). Anyway a good brand is Crosby. American made and the best quality. As for the hitch pin, u should be fine. Again just avoid Chinese crap and ur good to go.

 

[MarcusAurelius]

First off, let me clarify my statement regarding weight capacities. The 3/4" clevis' are rated at 7500 to 8000 pounds not tons. The 7/8" rated at 10 to 12,000 pounds. Sorry 'bout that(brain fart). Anyway a good brand is Crosby. American made and the best quality. As for the hitch pin, u should be fine. Again just avoid Chinese crap and ur good to go.

Thanks, I'll look into getting a Crosby. I figure it's probably best to have a 5T setup and a 10T setup and have them both just in case. I'm not planning on going off roading or anything and I think that should be plenty for the occassional car stuck on the side of the road.