Snatch Strap Comparo in 4wd Action Magazine #128

[The Adam Blaster]

Speaking of safety factors, what do you all think is a good safety factor (ratio of breaking strength to vehicle weight) for a snatch strap?

Charlie

I always thought the rule of thumb was 2x the vehicle's weight.
Truck weighs 5000 pounds, you need a strap that can handle at least 10,000 pounds.
I believe this extends to winching as well, but with winching you have the ability to use pulleys to extend the pulling power of the winch.

Personally, the strap I use the most is rated for 18,000 pounds, and on the trail I drive a 4500~ pound Cherokee. I would prefer to have a 10,000# strap that was more stretchy.
I also carry a tank strap. I bought it from a member of mailing list, these things are former military equipment and rated at like 60,000 pounds. I'm not too concerned that it will ever break during an extraction that I'm involved in. :Wow1:
They do not stretch, or at least I haven't been able to make it stretch yet.
It is good to get that solid "jerk" if the stuck vehicle has to get popped out of the muck, but they are hard on both vehicles because of that same aspect.

 

[chuck45]

The choice of a tow strap is easy as you just need to ensure that its capacity is sufficient. You don't want any stretch.

The choice of a strap or rope for extraction is a two edged sword. If you go too high in rating it will act like a tow strap with no give. Our semi pump trucks (about 80,000#) get out in dicey dirt road situations all the time; especially in the snow and mud seasons. They all carry HD snow/mud chains to chain up but often that isn't enough. If they are going to towed out by a D8 Cat a cable is used as no give is needed or wanted. The Cat has sufficient weight and traction and control is more important. If another Semi, or hopefully body load (three axles not five - same weight), has better traction and is going to try to pull them out they use a huge Yanker rope of around 2" in diameter (I've never actually measured it but it is big) and with the ropes stretch they can often get the truck moving again.

I gave up on ARB style flat tow straps some time ago as they never seem to stretch as much as they are supposed to. I've had better luck with the Yanker style ropes as they seem to have much more stretch at an equivalent rating. My rig is about 5500# (6000# fully loaded) and I use a 7/8" rope rated at 28,500 to good effect. If you use a strap and a rope of the same rating you can feel that the strap has less give and is harder on the rigs.

I mentioned chains above. I've got a set of Heavy Duty LaClede (USA made) mud and snow chains and I've been impressed with how well they work. Yeah, they're a pain to put on but when you need them they are great. Last time (off road, snow and ice on rock) I had them on I ended up running with them about 10 miles. A guy with Chinese chains made it 20-30 ft before two of the four came apart. One rig was running German RUD chains and they held up too. I don't carry the chains all the time as they are heavy; but in the winter or in muddy conditions they come along.

 

[The Adam Blaster]

I use the terms "tow strap", "snatch strap", "yank strap" etc. etc... all interchangeably. It's not 100% accurate, I know, but I am just describing the type of strap I use to get another vehicle (or myself) unstuck.

 

[ntsqd]

An RoT that I use to simplify some engineering calcs for converting dynamic loadings to static numbers is 3X.

So a 6k lbs vehicle would want, at minimum, an 18k lbs rated strap or rope.

 

[chuck45]

I use the terms "tow strap", "snatch strap", "yank strap" etc. etc... all interchangeably. It's not 100% accurate, I know, but I am just describing the type of strap I use to get another vehicle (or myself) unstuck.

Not to belabor a point but there are differnces. Using the wrong item in a recovery could cause problems. There is a reason ARB has their different type of straps color coded. Using their winchline extention strap for a ballistic pull could cause problems and using a snatch strap which is designed to stretch as a winchline extention could cause problems. I guess I just think it's important that we be clear in our language so we don't lead anybody astray.

 

[The Adam Blaster]

Not to belabor a point but there are differnces. Using the wrong item in a recovery could cause problems.

I do realize that.
I certainly didn't group braided winch rope in that group of terms.

 

[NovaScotiaYota]

I just picked up a nice shank of snatch rope. 22', double braided nylon, eye on each end. 1" diameter, 6 lbs weight, 33500lb breaking strength. Made for use in the fishing industry. Came to $50Can, which I thought was pretty decent given it's specs. I also have a 60' piece the same that I found quite a few years ago, but it's too long for most situations. In Nova Scotia, it's damn hard to find suppliers of decent off road gear, and with the exchange rate, it pretty well rules out purchasing from the states.

 

[Crikeymike]

I got a copy of the full article in PDF (3mb file).

I've uploaded it to Google Docs, so if you want to see if, PM me your email address, and I'll send you a link so that you can see it.

 

[dzzz]

It seems in the U.S. the heavy duty kinetic rope readily available is "Super Yanker". Anyone know what rope this brand is made from?

What strength should I use for a 25000 lb+ truck? Do the x3 rule of thumb still apply, or is a lighter weight O.K.?

I see short kinetic rope sold as tree saver. Opinions?

What's a proper bridle for a heavy duty kinetic strap? Can short ropes be used to avoid metal connectors.?

 

[Crikeymike]

It looks like google changed the link rules and I can post a direct link to the document. Here it is.

http://docs.google.com/fileview?id=...mUtOWJiZC00OTVjLThmMmQtNzk3MDViZjY5MDIx&hl=en

 

[maclean216]

It seems in the U.S. the heavy duty kinetic rope readily available is "Super Yanker". Anyone know what rope this brand is made from?

What strength should I use for a 25000 lb+ truck? Do the x3 rule of thumb still apply, or is a lighter weight O.K.?

I see short kinetic rope sold as tree saver. Opinions?

What's a proper bridle for a heavy duty kinetic strap? Can short ropes be used to avoid metal connectors.?

Super Yanker is a Master Pull model.
http://www.masterpull.com/cpage.cfm?cpid=425

I followed the weight guide that was on masterpull.com

I own 2 10 ft tree savers to also use them as tow ropes. The way I rig them makes it easy and puts less shock on both vehicles.

I have used shackles, an axe handle, and a section of 1" wooden dowel to join multiple ropes together. Not sure what the safest way is. Its all we had.