I have no recovery equipment so I have three questions about getting a recovery strap. Should I get a 20k or 30K lb., 20 or 30 ft, 2 or 3 inch width strap? I'm looking at getting this one: http://www.4wheelparts.com/Winches-W..._pn=S%2fBCC230

 

For pulling a Toyota out, the 20k strap should be more than adequate.

Buy at least two D ring shackles with a WLL of at least 5 tons (or higher).

Never double the strap back on itself and you should be fine.

 

I would go with the 30ft one, a little lengh is always a good thing.


RobD- I was wondering why you should never double back a strap on its self I never heard of this before.

 

Is the factory front hook strong enough for recovery? I am just trying to cover myself and not worried about pulling anyone else out.

 

Depends on how much pulling you're planning on doing.

I found it to be just fine for pulling my buddy's jeep out a few times.

Have strap will pull.... heh.

Still it never hurts to upgrade your recovery hardware. You don't want it breaking during a recovery, it can become a deadly missile far too easily... Plus once it breaks and you're still stuck what do you do?

Just my .2...

 

Well, it depends on what you've wrapped it around. But the basic idea is that straps are designed to be pulled in a straight line. Think of a sheet of paper being pulled from opposite ends. A sheet of paper is fairly strong when it's being pulled along its length. Now, wrap the sheet around something and pull. It's more likely to tear if a side load is put on it.

All that said, if you loop it around something without edges and is fairly flat, you probably won't have any trouble with it. But why sacrifice your potentially only means of retrieval?

 

^ Ok that makes sence.

 

Plus is you double the strap you also double it's stiffness so it'll stretch less. The main advantage of a strap is that you can put some momentum into it to stretch it then have that stored energy add to the pull on the stuck vehicle.

 

you probealy want something to pull on in the back too, it is usualy easyer to get pulled out backwords, because you know its clear

 

go with the 4 inch wide ones!! those 2in ones snap like nothing. haha we were trying to pull out this truck from the mud pit and the 2in snapped after the 3rd try, the 4in however stretched like a mofo and pulled him out.

 

I'm using a winchline.com 3/4" tug rope (19k) and it works great. Nice and stretchy, and you won't really need anything bigger than 20k to pull out a pickup, unless you're buried past your axles in soupy goopy muck. In which case a winch is in order for self recovery.

A bit spendy, but worth it, IMO. I've also got a pro-comp 20k 20' for closer tugs. And a cheap ($10) 8k strap with hooks on the ends for towing cars out of snowbanks in the winter.

http://winchline.com/mcart/index.cgi...D=IT62&code=13

 

dont get your d rings from 4wheel parts. they are way overpriced, get them from northern tool, or just anywhere not 4wheel parts

4wheel parts is more for really specialty stuff, which is still overpriced, but the only place to get it

 

I just bought the 30', 30k lb strap from pep boys for $60. We'll see how it works. Looks pretty burly.

 

I'm using a 20ft strap at 20k lbs strength. I've used it multiple times. It works great! Got me out of this mess...

 

I just snapped one of those ones like the OP posted yesterday night trying to un-stick my buddy's Bronco. He slid the back end off the edge of his driveway and couldn't get back up due to a set of very bald tires. It held the first time, but I was taking it easy, and being that I don't have a front drive shaft, and it was about 14 degrees out, I had no grip. Gave it 2 feet of slack and 1st gear low range walked through it like it wasn't there. We snapped it 2 more times before the truck got out, and it really wasn't stuck all that bad, just a really awkward angle. The utter lack of recovery points on a stock Bronco didn't help much (ended up tied around the frame rail) but it didn't instill much faith in those things for me. While they are cheap, and it worked great for dragging a VW Rabbit down the road after it broke down, I would want something more substantial for pulling a stuck rig out.

 

no wonder it broke. i'd give it a few inches for a 'bump', but no way would i yank 2-feet of slack. that's just asking for a broken part on your or your buddies truck.


to the OP: i have a 4" wide strap that is 20' or 25' long. works great. got a lot of use the past 2 weeks pulling people out of the snow. keep your strap clean and dry and it will last a long time. i always coil mine up after use, most people just throw them in the back, and become a tangled mess when they need to use it. then they have knots in it, and wonder why it breaks the next time they use it.

Al

 

I gave mine close to 15 ft and yanked it. Didn't break. Get a better strap. Shouldn't matter how far you yank, as long as it doesn't exceed the limit.

 

i wasn't complaining about a broken strap, the guy before me was....

15 feet? well don't call me when you break stuff on your rig or the thing you attached it to became a projectile and took out your buddies head. that's just dumb. the limit is holding strength, not yanking strength at speed.

Al