btm24 Posted September 7, 2010 Share Posted September 7, 2010 last time i went out off roading my cable broke. i was stuck up past the tires and the guy who pulled me out snapped me and snapped my cable. ive been using now the cable i was using is only rated for about 2lbs. so i returned the cable to lowes with a made up story of why it snaped my bad lol but now that I'm back on the road i work like to know what is the best for recovery? i can go to tractor supply and get 20 ft of cable rated at like 15000 pounds and some hard core hooks for around 40 bucks. should i stick with cable or should i go with straps? thanks a bunch Brandon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted September 7, 2010 Share Posted September 7, 2010 straps are better. waaaaay better than what you were doing. no straps with hooks. loops only. what part of your truck are you attaching to? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btm24 Posted September 7, 2010 Author Share Posted September 7, 2010 straps are better. waaaaay better than what you were doing. no straps with hooks. loops only. what part of your truck are you attaching to? i got some new tow hooks and they will go where the factory ones go on the front bumper. y no hooks? and y are straps so much better then cable? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shelbyluvv Posted September 7, 2010 Share Posted September 7, 2010 straps are better. waaaaay better than what you were doing. no straps with hooks. loops only. what part of your truck are you attaching to? i got some new tow hooks and they will go where the factory ones go on the front bumper. y no hooks? and y are straps so much better then cable? I agree with Pete. Straps will stretch when you pull on them, cables do not. You tend to do a lot more damage with cables and chains. Hooks, they can and will either fly off and come back and kill you or really mess up what the hit. Loops, they will fly back a little but not near as fast as a hook. If you or anyone else in your group breaks out a chain, cable, or strap with hooks on it have them put it back. They are an accident waiting to happen. EDIT: Here is a video of a strap snapping back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mnkyboy Posted September 7, 2010 Share Posted September 7, 2010 straps are better. waaaaay better than what you were doing. no straps with hooks. loops only. what part of your truck are you attaching to? i got some new tow hooks and they will go where the factory ones go on the front bumper. y no hooks? and y are straps so much better then cable? I wouldnt rely on anything hooked to the front bumper mounts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CWLONGSHOT Posted September 7, 2010 Share Posted September 7, 2010 Guys, don't get confused.. There are straps that DO and those that DO NOT stretch! The straps that do not stretch are for TOWING, NOT vehicle recovery form the mud. For removing vehicles stuck in the mud you need a strap that stretches. Pete is spot on NO HOOKS on the strap!!! Concerning the winch cable... It too can also work, but what kind of winch are you using that only uses 20' of cable, let alone such a light cable? A winch properly sized for our jeeps needs to be a MINIMUM of 6500 Lbs. A 8000 Lbs is a more sensible minimum and a 9500Lb is NOT overboard!! The cable in your hand is 1/4 or 3/16" in diameter. You need 1/2" or 3/8" diameter cable. FORGET about any ATV winch. These are NOT intended to pull and 2500Lb jeep even tho the rating says it can. When sizing a winch for a vehicle you need a minimum of three times the vehicle weight. Here is a write up I found that outlines proper strap usage. http://www.offroaders.com/tech/Tow_Straps.htm PLEASE use them properly and with RESPECT. Doing things wrong can and will KILL YOU!!! CW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Incommando Posted September 7, 2010 Share Posted September 7, 2010 To clear it up a bit for those reading later: Soildly mounted hooks on the vehicle are fine. Metal hooks on tow straps and cables, especially when trying to cheap out and use the inappropriate equipment, are as dangerous as can be and should not be used. The sudden snap and stretch of a vehicle to vehicle recovery provide totally different stresses than the slow, steady, linear pressure of a winch to vehicle recovery. Even a winch cable used as a recovery strap is much more likely to fail than if it is used properly. They only thing that should really be used for a snatch recovery is a snatch strap. Everything else is designed for slow, steady constant pressure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btm24 Posted September 7, 2010 Author Share Posted September 7, 2010 thanks i thank ill go with a strap and btw i was not using that cable for a winch i just wrapped it around the frame and well just left the rest in the bed. i will how ever stay with hooks for the front just cuz i already painted them :D thanks alot guys this has cleared up alot thanks guys Brandon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted September 7, 2010 Share Posted September 7, 2010 hooks that are properly mounted to the vehicle are fine (as long as the strap doesn't slip off). It's the hooks on the ends of tow straps that are dangerous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted September 8, 2010 Share Posted September 8, 2010 thanks i thank ill go with a strap and btw i was not using that cable for a winch i just wrapped it around the frame and well just left the rest in the bed. i will how ever stay with hooks for the front just cuz i already painted them :D thanks alot guys this has cleared up alot thanks guys Brandon Where and how are the front hooks mounted on your truck? Your earlier post said "bumper," but the factory hooks were NOT mounted to the bumper, they were attached to some rather substantial supplemental brackets that bolted to the front subframe rails. PLEASE tell me you don't have tow hooks bolted directly to the bumper or directly to the frame rails. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btm24 Posted September 8, 2010 Author Share Posted September 8, 2010 thanks i thank ill go with a strap and btw i was not using that cable for a winch i just wrapped it around the frame and well just left the rest in the bed. i will how ever stay with hooks for the front just cuz i already painted them :D thanks alot guys this has cleared up alot thanks guys Brandon Where and how are the front hooks mounted on your truck? Your earlier post said "bumper," but the factory hooks were NOT mounted to the bumper, they were attached to some rather substantial supplemental brackets that bolted to the front subframe rails. PLEASE tell me you don't have tow hooks bolted directly to the bumper or directly to the frame rails. I'm sorry some times i get into a rush and i don't explain. i thought the factory tow hooks went into the torx bolt on the bottom of the front bumper. :doh: after doing more research on it i found there is not factory tow hook parts on the front bumper and that you have to make them :oops: i don't make things so... yeah. i am glad that i did not mount them there and have somthing happen. dose any body know what they were for? i am having some one else help me with the tow hook mounting so i don't screw it up :shake: thanks guys Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btm24 Posted September 8, 2010 Author Share Posted September 8, 2010 hooks that are properly mounted to the vehicle are fine (as long as the strap doesn't slip off). It's the hooks on the ends of tow straps that are dangerous. and oh ok thats not what i was thanking thanks for clearing that up for me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bounty Hunter Posted September 8, 2010 Share Posted September 8, 2010 Why we use recovery straps WITHOUT hooks: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted September 8, 2010 Share Posted September 8, 2010 i thought the factory tow hooks went into the torx bolt on the bottom of the front bumper. :doh: after doing more research on it i found there is not factory tow hook parts on the front bumper and that you have to make them :oops: i don't make things so... yeah. i am glad that i did not mount them there and have somthing happen. dose any body know what they were for? i am having some one else help me with the tow hook mounting so i don't screw it up :shake: thanks guys Here's what you need to mount tow hooks: http://www.custom4x4fabrication.com/rec ... l#brackets Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mvusse Posted September 8, 2010 Share Posted September 8, 2010 The torx bolt on the bottom of the bumper is one of (ONLY!) 4 bolts holding the bumper to the bumper brackets. The brackets made by Custom 4x4 that Eagle posted are a good solution. I have abused mine pretty badly, and now that they are obsoleted by a winch bumper with tow hooks and shackle mounts built in I put them on one of my Cherokees. No damage whatsoever after two years of abuse, including two broken straps and a stalled out 8k winch pulling on one of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btm24 Posted September 8, 2010 Author Share Posted September 8, 2010 Why we use recovery straps WITHOUT hooks: omg!!! i see that now. when my cable broke(cuz i was using one rated for 2000 pounds :doh: ) it flew a bit but wow! i won't ever use one again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted September 8, 2010 Share Posted September 8, 2010 Why we use recovery straps WITHOUT hooks: omg!!! i see that now. when my cable broke(cuz i was using one rated for 2000 pounds :doh: ) it flew a bit but wow! i won't ever use one again What you don't see in that photo is that there was a driver in that Jeep when the strap broke loose. If this is the same incident I saw other photos of several years ago, the driver was killed instantly -- got hit right in the head. Do NOT take chances with recovery gear. And learn the proper methods -- such as draping a heavy jacket or a moving blanket or something over the middle of the strap between the two vehicles to pull it down to the ground if one end gets loose. A standard 2" x 20-foot recovery strap is rated for 20,000 (not 2,000) pounds -- and even those break sometimes. That's all I carried, but a lot of the guys in NAXJA who ran more heavily modified vehicles and went on higher rated trails carried 3" straps rather for 30,000 pounds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btm24 Posted September 9, 2010 Author Share Posted September 9, 2010 Why we use recovery straps WITHOUT hooks: omg!!! i see that now. when my cable broke(cuz i was using one rated for 2000 pounds :doh: ) it flew a bit but wow! i won't ever use one again What you don't see in that photo is that there was a driver in that Jeep when the strap broke loose. If this is the same incident I saw other photos of several years ago, the driver was killed instantly -- got hit right in the head. Do NOT take chances with recovery gear. And learn the proper methods -- such as draping a heavy jacket or a moving blanket or something over the middle of the strap between the two vehicles to pull it down to the ground if one end gets loose. A standard 2" x 20-foot recovery strap is rated for 20,000 (not 2,000) pounds -- and even those break sometimes. That's all I carried, but a lot of the guys in NAXJA who ran more heavily modified vehicles and went on higher rated trails carried 3" straps rather for 30,000 pounds. thank you so much for all of the tips and warnings. this is my first truck and other then light off roading in old ford (of which i pulled a F250 stuck in the mud up to the to of the rim :clapping: ) and pulling my friends fire bird out of sand cuz hes dum, i have been lucky and un educated with off roading and off road recovery. every and all tips i hear i use and tell others. if you have any other advice that would be a big help to. thanks alot guys :cheers: Brandon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted September 9, 2010 Share Posted September 9, 2010 Well, for starters ... don't assume that you'll always take a strap from the front of your vehicle. Suppose you have to get yanked from the rear, or that you're yanking somebody else? Where are you going to attach the strap on the REAR of your MJ? The stock bumper is not strong enough, and the typical Fey-brand replacement bumpers are not strong enough. You absolutely do not want to attach either to your axle or to one of your leaf springs. Start looking for a receiver hitch, or an aftermarket bumper with a receiver built in or with D-rings built in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted September 10, 2010 Share Posted September 10, 2010 and this was after the vehicle trying to yank him out lost a tow ball (which thankfully didn't hit anyone as it flew through the air). tow balls and rear axles are not good extraction points. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btm24 Posted September 10, 2010 Author Share Posted September 10, 2010 and this was after the vehicle trying to yank him out lost a tow ball (which thankfully didn't hit anyone as it flew through the air). tow balls and rear axles are not good extraction points. very good. I'm getting a trailer receiver hitch which i will get somthing for the back of that since it is bolted into the frame Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted September 10, 2010 Share Posted September 10, 2010 Somebody (Warn?) makes a solid steel insert for a 2" receiver that has a substantial D-ring on the end of it. It's a good choice with a receiver hitch. Here it is: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayI ... 0464484442 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mvusse Posted September 10, 2010 Share Posted September 10, 2010 That's the way to go right there. Avoid the cheap Harbor Freight one. I have one and it just looks flimsy. Another good option is to put the loop into the receiver and put the hitch pin through the loop. Nice thing about the D ring is that a whinch can be hooked to it if needed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btm24 Posted September 11, 2010 Author Share Posted September 11, 2010 Somebody (Warn?) makes a solid steel insert for a 2" receiver that has a substantial D-ring on the end of it. It's a good choice with a receiver hitch. Here it is: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayI ... 0464484442 i think that this is going to be the nxt thing to be added to my list :bowdown: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bounty Hunter Posted September 12, 2010 Share Posted September 12, 2010 Works great with this mounted up front: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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