Tow rope recommendation

[n brown]

if there's no-one to pull you ,you can use a couple of logs or scaffold tubes

 

[RV2MAX]

It is well worth paying attention to the posts warning of the dangers of recovery when you either dont have the experience or training . It can become very dangerous very quickly . I saw a range rover in Australia that had done a "snatch recovery" on a toyota that was in a salt pan . they had not used a proper recovery point on the hilux . The eye in the bumper mount became detached it went thru the rear window of the RR and hit the mount for the interior mirror it bowed the roof up and took the front screen top about a foot forward , there were two people sat in the front at the time , no one was hurt . Many years ago my younger brother was asked to pull a guy in a hilman minx out at a drag race meeting in UK . He was bogged in a recently ploughed area. The guy attached the rope himself , The front bumper , and then the front anti roll bar was pulled off the vehicle before he got the message that it needed to be hooked to some thing solid. That damage was done with a Haflinger ( 650cc) !! . If you re towing with a normal size non professional strap that is rated as say 5 ton and that breaks then best left to some one with the right kit and knowledge

 

[n brown]

and don't assume ''professionals'' know what they're doing . i failed to oversee a recovery guy winch my old merc onto his truck on a peage , he'd put his hook on the track rod and bent it into a wishbone

 

[Fazerloz]

I use old out of date 2t lifting strops. Call into a crane hire place they only skip the old ones. Its cheaper for them to replace than to get them tested and it saves them going to landfill.

 

[Clunegapyears]

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bit short ,but it's towing strap you need to look for , you may need to buy shackles separately

Thanks ... spotted this one too ... my only concern is that it doesn't come with shackles. And looking on eBay these seem to be REALLY expensive, to get appropriately strong ones.

 

[Clunegapyears]

If it's for towing a stuck vehicle you need to consider a long length or you may end up stuck as well

Towing stuck vans isn't good for that clutch

We've rubbish traction anyway, so would even consider using our motorhome as a tow vehicle ...
Thanks for tip about length too.

 

[Clunegapyears]

They seem like a good idea if used correctly. I think scientifically you may not be using quite the correct term. The stored energy at maximum stretch is "extreme". The forces at any point are probably less than trying to jerk a stuck vehicle out kintically with a more rigid chain or tow strap.
Like one video said "like being pulled out by a soft cloud".
You should not attach them with anything heavy like a steel hook. If they break that hook can be catapulted with high speed. With any method you should stay well back.
They should cause less clutch wear. Do not get one heavier than about 3 times your gvw. You want to use that 30% stretch, which an oversize one will not, also you want a 50 pound sterling KERR to break not the attachment point to either vehicle.

Thanks for the info about 3 x gvw ....
But you say not to attach it to anything heavy like a steel hook ... I assumed I would have to buy shackles too ... that should be OK if correctly weighted?

 

[Clunegapyears]

In terms of the original post, I'd be tempted to not go any greater unless you know the capacity of the attachment points on the vehicles. Prefer a broken rope than broken anchor point.

Also I'd suggest a spade, to help dig out in front of the wheels, so the loading is much less, if rope is even needed after the digging

Thanks ... we have a spade and this is what we used in the end to get her out ...

 

[n brown]

Learn to tie a bowline ,you won't need shackles, also sometimes you only need a little extra help ,and a small car can make a difference. and on sand , you could have tried lowering the tyre pressure on the drive wheels to 20 psi to give you the extra traction

 

[Clunegapyears]

These type of aids can be incredibly effective in slippy conditions....
Available in various grades of heavy duty Ness...
From these metal types to plastic lighter duty ones.
And don't take up much room.

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We already carry snow chains and waffle boards ...

 

[Clunegapyears]

I carry a 15ton strap and a "brother recovery strap" to stop the front end being pull off my van.

Googled that!

 

[Clunegapyears]

if there's no-one to pull you ,you can use a couple of logs or scaffold tubes

If we had logs, a wildcamping camper would burn them!

Our jump leads came in handy today ... had to jump start her!

and don't assume ''professionals'' know what they're doing . i failed to oversee a recovery guy winch my old merc onto his truck on a peage , he'd put his hook on the track rod and bent it into a wishbone

And we had a cracked bumper and broken tow pin as the idiot recovery moron tried to tow us at a sharp angle in Corsica in the summer. £4,700 worth of damage!

 

[Baden87]

Just join AA Or RAC

 

[n brown]

i quite agree , get some breakdown cover . but , do both -if you're a bit daring and go off tarmac , you may not end up axle deep in sand and mud, but rather spinning your wheels on a bit of soft dirt ,gravel, wet grass etc . so rather than wait hours for help to turn up , you can be proactive and make some farmer or 4WD owner's day by letting them help you out ! plus you can maybe help others

 

[Clunegapyears]

Thanks for all your help ....
Have ordered a kinetic 32mm 5m rope with rated shackles. £87 delivered to the Aged P's.
Really helpful chap at:

32mm Kinetic Recovery Tow Ropes

32mm Kinetic Recovery Tow Ropes - 8 strand nylon heavy duty Kinetic Recovery rope, It is a heavy duty towing rope for recovering rolling loads, 8 strand nylon

www.ropeservicesuk.com

Weight for it is just about 14 kgs ... the rope will have to come back to Greece with me hand luggage ... the shackles in the hold ... not leaving much room / weight for all the other bits and bobs I've ordered to be delivered home for me to bring back to Greece! lol

Question: the chap I spoke to was adamant that the towing pin should not be used for towing out of mud ... but attached to the chassis. Do we loop the rope around the centre of the chassis and use the shackle to tie it onto itself?

 

[Wully]

In a real emergency a seatbelt is a quick get out of jail trick. I’ve done this once but cut them from an old scrap jag.

 

[jagmanx]

IMHO a stretchy Kinetic type tow rope is a recipe for potential disaster.
It can store too much energy !
Like a spring the energy stored if it stretched too much has to be released. Thus once the towed vehicle gets out of the real problem and on better terrain it could accelerate too fast with the resistance almost gone.

Give me a suitable Strop/Strap such as "Wully's Seat belt" but longer of course.

Opinion based on simple mechanics (Hooke's Law and Energy stored in a stretched spring).

 

[Robmac]

I also carry a manual winch.

They are a bit slow, but often you will only need to move the wheels a couple of feet out of a rut to gain some traction.

 

[Clunegapyears]

IMHO a stretchy Kinetic type tow rope is a recipe for potential disaster.
It can store too much energy !
Like a spring the energy stored if it stretched too much has to be released. Thus once the towed vehicle gets out of the real problem and on better terrain it could accelerate too fast with the resistance almost gone.

Give me a suitable Strop/Strap such as "Wully's Seat belt" but longer of course.

Opinion based on simple mechanics (Hooke's Law and Energy stored in a stretched spring).

The chap I spoke to said a 4m rope was the minimum due to this.

 

[trevskoda]

Thanks for all your help ....
Have ordered a kinetic 32mm 5m rope with rated shackles. £87 delivered to the Aged P's.
Really helpful chap at:

32mm Kinetic Recovery Tow Ropes

32mm Kinetic Recovery Tow Ropes - 8 strand nylon heavy duty Kinetic Recovery rope, It is a heavy duty towing rope for recovering rolling loads, 8 strand nylon

www.ropeservicesuk.com

Weight for it is just about 14 kgs ... the rope will have to come back to Greece with me hand luggage ... the shackles in the hold ... not leaving much room / weight for all the other bits and bobs I've ordered to be delivered home for me to bring back to Greece! lol

Question: the chap I spoke to was adamant that the towing pin should not be used for towing out of mud ... but attached to the chassis. Do we loop the rope around the centre of the chassis and use the shackle to tie it onto itself?

Dont use the centre of chassis but do use a y section with a spacer to ether side of a strong x member.