2017 Dodge Ram 2500 - An Overland work in Progress

Bayou Boy

Adventurer
A standard which recovery kit should handle most situations. Just make sure it’s quality and don’t concentrate on price.

You will be hard pressed to find a prebuilt "kit" designed for a diesel HD truck and a 16,000# winch. Most are designed for 4-5000# Jeeps and 8-10k# winches. Trying to recover a truck that can weigh 10,000# loaded with most kits is a good way to hurt or kill someone and at the very least, damage a vehicle.
 

chet6.7

Explorer
Since you are asking, that Smittybuilt recovery strap looks awfully light duty for an 8000# truck. It would work as a tree anchor though. Extensions depend on where you wheel. How far away are anchor points? Only you can answer that question. Soft shackles? Shackles should never touch the winch line so that's up to you. If you buy real shackles, do not buy anything Warn, ARB, etc. They are all Chinese junk. Crosby or better is the only thing to trust.
I have some Crosby shackles and the lighter version of these shackles.I will be ordering the higher rated soft shackles now that they are available.
https://www.amazon.com/Gator-Jaw-17...8&qid=1532667713&sr=8-6&keywords=soft+shackle
 

Explorerinil

Observer
Question for the experienced here:

Given I'm opting for the the synthetic rope, what kind of additional recovery gear should I be looking at. If my ignorance wasn't obvious, I just found some interesting information on "soft shackles". While spendy, it seems like a must have item(s). I've also seen some information about rope extensions. Given I'm looking at recovery equipment thats specific for a Dodge Ram 2500, in your opinion, what kind of recover equipment (winch related) should I have on board?

Thanks in advance for the advice!
The syn rope is much better than a cable, I’ve seen a cable break and snap back, I had a friend almost cut a finger off with a frayed cable while on the trail. For a kit, build your own, call custom splice.
 

Bayou Boy

Adventurer
I have some Crosby shackles and the lighter version of these shackles.I will be ordering the higher rated soft shackles now that they are available.
https://www.amazon.com/Gator-Jaw-17...8&qid=1532667713&sr=8-6&keywords=soft+shackle

My big question with soft shackles is this. Most recovery points have fairly sharp edges on them. Shackle mounts, receiver hitches, some snatch blocks, etc. All fairly sharp edges at the point that you actually attach the shackle. Everything I know about synthetic winch line is to keep it far away from sharp edges. Kind of tough to do with most recovery points on a truck. I guess you work around it but, other than factory tow loops on trucks, I haven't seen a bumper built with recovery points to fit soft shackles. They all have the sharp edged loops for shackles.
 

ttengineer

Adventurer
A standard which recovery kit should handle most situations. Just make sure it’s quality and don’t concentrate on price.

You will be hard pressed to find a prebuilt "kit" designed for a diesel HD truck and a 16,000# winch. Most are designed for 4-5000# Jeeps and 8-10k# winches. Trying to recover a truck that can weigh 10,000# loaded with most kits is a good way to hurt or kill someone and at the very least, damage a vehicle.

That’s why I put the last line in my comment that you so conveniently left off.

But I’ll put it here again.

What ever you buy, just make sure it has a working load of at least 1.5x your rig. 2x preferably.


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Dalko43

Explorer
The syn rope is much better than a cable, I’ve seen a cable break and snap back, I had a friend almost cut a finger off with a frayed cable while on the trail. For a kit, build your own, call custom splice.

Wearing gloves and using a weighted cable bag are 2 easy solutions.

I do think cable is inherently more durable (perhaps only relevant if someone intends to frequently drag trees and/or uses the winch in rough terrain).

That aside, synthetic rope has its advantages too, namely that its lighter.
 
So I got the call today. The bumper is ready for shipment. Its been a few weeks now and I look forward to getting this next box checked. In the mean time, I've been educating myself on recovery equipment from those with more than my rookie knowledge. Thank you to all those who share knowledge on this forum! I look forward to posting a few more picks when things start coming together.
 

Betarocker

Adventurer
I had a Road Armor on my 2004 F350. I will probably get one for my 2016 F350, but still deciding if I want the Titan II or base Stealth. The only thing I would do is get it raw and have it galvanized before painting/coating black. The powder coating, like most other steel bumpers, is too thin.
 
Finally got the bumper installed and lights mounted, but it will take me a week or so to get all the wiring and winch spooled up. Still, its at least on and the heavy work is completed.

Thanks for the recommendation for this bumper. The shop hands couldn't believe how easily it was to mount and it's rugged construction. I'm happy!

IMG_3924.jpg
 

SoTxAg06

Active member
Finally got the bumper installed and lights mounted, but it will take me a week or so to get all the wiring and winch spooled up. Still, its at least on and the heavy work is completed.

Thanks for the recommendation for this bumper. The shop hands couldn't believe how easily it was to mount and it's rugged construction. I'm happy!

View attachment 471606

Nice looking bumper! What’s the weight of it?


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