A few questions on recovery gear

[XpeditonTERRA]

I have a stock xterra and I am looking at getting some basic recovery gear to start with. I have a good spare and a good set of Khumo AT tires and I put together a good trauma kit an a first aid kit. It also has a tow hitch which I think a rated to 6000lb for a rear recovery point. I have a shovel and plan on getting a compressor but I was looking a straps for now.

Anyways I have been researching a lot and I understand that snatch traps are more effective than an ordinary recovery strap. So I came across TJM Snatch Straps like this, which I believe is the correct rating for my vehicles weight.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/tjm-867oxs6000?seid=srese1&gclid=COKNxbzqt7wCFe5lOgodYnEAmg

My question is can I use a snatch trap with my stock front recovery point and my tow hitch? Are they strong enough?

Should I just go with a recovery strap like this one from rugged ridge?

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/rgg-1510402/overview/

Also what rating of shackles should I get If I get the snatch strap?

And one more thing, Are these strap of decent quality? I am on a budget but I want to be confident in my gear, so I am trying to get middle of the road stuff.

I have been learning a lot recently by reading this forum and I am looking forward to getting some real world experience soon.
I will appreciate any help or suggestions.

 

[BigSwede]

Both elastic and non-elastic straps have their uses. I carry both an elastic strap and a couple of non-elastic straps. One strap is a wide one that serves as a tree strap, and can also be used for pulling. Elastic is great for pulling out of mud or snow stucks, but sometimes all you need is a little tug to get off if a rock or log you are high centered on, and a non-elastic strap is better.

 

[ExploringNH]

I have a stock xterra and I am looking at getting some basic recovery gear to start with. I have a good spare and a good set of Khumo AT tires and I put together a good trauma kit an a first aid kit. It also has a tow hitch which I think a rated to 6000lb for a rear recovery point. I have a shovel and plan on getting a compressor but I was looking a straps for now.

Anyways I have been researching a lot and I understand that snatch traps are more effective than an ordinary recovery strap. So I came across TJM Snatch Straps like this, which I believe is the correct rating for my vehicles weight.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/tjm-867oxs6000?seid=srese1&gclid=COKNxbzqt7wCFe5lOgodYnEAmg

My question is can I use a snatch trap with my stock front recovery point and my tow hitch? Are they strong enough?

Should I just go with a recovery strap like this one from rugged ridge?

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/rgg-1510402/overview/

Also what rating of shackles should I get If I get the snatch strap?

And one more thing, Are these strap of decent quality? I am on a budget but I want to be confident in my gear, so I am trying to get middle of the road stuff.

I have been learning a lot recently by reading this forum and I am looking forward to getting some real world experience soon.
I will appreciate any help or suggestions.

You most certainly want a recovery strap and not a tow strap. You need a strap with stretch to properly extract a stuck vehicle. Tow straps should be used for static loads only!

The Rugged Ridge strap is pretty low quality. I would recommend a different brand if you plan to use it more than a handful of times per year. If only for emergencies or a few uses per year then it will serve you well. The TJM straps are well built. ARB is very nice. Warn makes a good one that is priced reasonably. There are also plenty of cheaper ones on eBay or Amazon, the KEEPER brand comes to mind. Make sure that whatever strap you buy lists as a stretch strap. Usually they will say that it has 20% stretch or some number along those lines. It could also say something like kinetic, dynamic stretch and recoil, etc.

For shackles you will want 4.75 ton shackles. Usually sold as 3/4" (7/8" pin size). This is a very common size.

You are talking about your factory rear receiver hitch? That should be good for any recovery. You will want something like a receiver shackle bracket. Check the weight ratings. A lot are rated to 5,000lbs, which I would not trust in a recovery. The Warn one I linked to above is expensive but nice. You can probably find a good one for around $35-40. I just linked the first one that came up in a search. The hitch pin should only be used in emergencies as you are likely to bend it with a good pull. You could wrap around the receiver itself but you run the risk of damaging the strap on a sharp edge or pulling it so tight (especially when wet) that you need to cut it off. It works, but a shackle bracket is a better solution.

Check out this post I made yesterday on this exact subject including places to buy from and things to look out for:
http://forums.exploringnh.com/showt...-Equipment-List-suggestion-and-shopping-guide

 

[tarditi]

Elastic can be great if used properly - too much running start and you just break parts and put people in danger.

If you have to have just one, go with a brand-name 20,000# static recovery strap.

Once you get a winch, then you get into a recovery kit with tree savers, snatch blocks, choker chains, etc.

 

[ExploringNH]

Elastic can be great if used properly - too much running start and you just break parts and put people in danger.

If you have to have just one, go with a brand-name 20,000# static recovery strap.

I would have to respectfully disagree. If you are getting enough of a running start to break equipment with a kinetic strap, the same running start with a static strap would cause exponentially more damage. The kinetic strap is safer and more effective in a recovery situation when you are pulling truck to truck. A kinetic strap should not be used as a winchline extension or tree saver.

Trail run after trail run (50 trail runs with 10+ vehicles in 2013 alone, some of those runs with 50+ trucks) we see that a strap with stretch is far more effective than a static strap. Static straps create shock loads. Any good static/tow strap will say right on the package that it is not to be used for recovery. They are for static pulls only. A static pull is usually not enough to get someone else unstuck. People start getting a running start with a static line and this is when damage to vehicles, equipment, and people happens. The shock loads are many times greater with a static strap than with a true recovery strap and this shock load is what causes problems.

 

[emmodg]

There's a time and place for EVERY piece of equipment, static or kinetic.

Tight trails with tons of trees or car size rock or around turns or up a hill can make for a scary-*** kinetic recovery with a KERR (kinetic energy recovery rope)! On over 8,000 wooded acres of training grounds there are few safe places we could use a KERR. A simple slow tow worked wonders. Hell, if you don't need to use vehicle momentum with kinetic energy why use it. I'll take a nice slow predictable tow any day over a "1, 2, 3 hit it!"- snatch. It all depends on where you are and it all depends upon your initial recovery assessment before you reach for anything.

I like KERR but it certainly isn't my "go-to" method. Personally I have a tow strap (static tow use ONLY) and a KERR. I use the tow strap more.

 

[ExploringNH]

There's a time and place for EVERY piece of equipment, static or kinetic.

Tight trails with tons of trees or car size rock or around turns or up a hill can make for a scary-*** kinetic recovery with a KERR (kinetic energy recovery rope)! On over 8,000 wooded acres of training grounds there are few safe places we could use a KERR. A simple slow tow worked wonders. Hell, if you don't need to use vehicle momentum with kinetic energy why use it. I'll take a nice slow predictable tow any day over a "1, 2, 3 hit it!"- snatch. It all depends on where you are and it all depends upon your initial recovery assessment before you reach for anything.

I like KERR but it certainly isn't my "go-to" method. Personally I have a tow strap (static tow use ONLY) and a KERR. I use the tow strap more.

It is my position, and the manufacturers opinion, and the opinion of several companies that are well versed in extraction, that a tow strap should only be used for static loads. If you can effectively use it without placing a shock load on the vehicles or strap, then it is a proper application. A light stuck or a stuck on solid, high traction ground would be a fair use, as long as you could perform the recovering without utilizing momentum or creating any slack in the strap that could be taken up quickly and create a shock load. I have seen, in my region, that a static recovery is not possible in a vast majority of cases.

The great thing about a kinetic strap is that you don't have to "1, 2, 3 hit it!" on each use. Hook it and let 4lo do the work. If it doesn't get you unstuck, then apply more force. In low traction situations there simply isn't enough traction to perform a static recovery. There seems to be a misconception that a snatch strap will launch you several feet after a recovery and that all recoveries need to take place at high speed. They don't. Any situation which requires momentum or a snap of the strap should NOT be performed with a tow strap. If you cannot perform a static recovery with a tow strap then it should not be used. This is the place for a recovery strap.

Each strap has a place in the market, like you said. A tow strap certainly has it's place and would be better suited for towing or possibly for dry rocky areas. A tow strap does not have a place in MOST recoveries of a stuck vehicle.

 

[emmodg]

It is my position, and the manufacturers opinion, and the opinion of several companies that are well versed in extraction, that a tow strap should only be used for static loads. If you can effectively use it without placing a shock load on the vehicles or strap, then it is a proper application. A light stuck or a stuck on solid, high traction ground would be a fair use, as long as you could perform the recovering without utilizing momentum or creating any slack in the strap that could be taken up quickly and create a shock load. I have seen, in my region, that a static recovery is not possible in a vast majority of cases.

The great thing about a kinetic strap is that you don't have to "1, 2, 3 hit it!" on each use. Hook it and let 4lo do the work. If it doesn't get you unstuck, then apply more force. In low traction situations there simply isn't enough traction to perform a static recovery. There seems to be a misconception that a snatch strap will launch you several feet after a recovery and that all recoveries need to take place at high speed. They don't. Any situation which requires momentum or a snap of the strap should NOT be performed with a tow strap. If you cannot perform a static recovery with a tow strap then it should not be used. This is the place for a recovery strap.

Each strap has a place in the market, like you said. A tow strap certainly has it's place and would be better suited for towing or possibly for dry rocky areas. A tow strap does not have a place in MOST recoveries of a stuck vehicle.

Where in my above comment did I say that I use a tow strap in kinetic recoveries?

Like I said - when I TOW a vehicle as a means of recovery I do so with a tow strap. When I use kinetic energy to strait a vehicle I use my KERR. Maybe you didn't see that in my prior post?

Where you drive and/or train you use a KERR more frequently than where I drive and train. In Iceland KERR is used almost exclusively but that's Iceland, in tight wooded trail where I am it just isn't. When I trained in Nevada we used KERR quite a bit. When we trained in wooded wet land in SC we used a tow strap. I trained a lot of students on how to use KERR. You're right it certainly doesn't always "launch" a truck several feet. Again, there's a time and plaice for everything. I witnessed a group of students try and use KERR in a swamp to extract a truck - I stopped them before they did it as there was a stump anchoring the truck by its front diff. Can you imagine what would have happened if they would have gone ahead with a snatch?

Please make sure that you quote accurately before making a comment. As an aside - I worked with side by side with makers of recovery gear - I know what they say and what they don't. So, where where you mislead into thinking that I'm using a tow strap in anything but a static recovery?

 

[ExploringNH]

Where in my above comment did I say that I use a tow strap in kinetic recoveries?

Like I said - when I TOW a vehicle as a means of recovery I do so with a tow strap. When I use kinetic energy to strait a vehicle I use my KERR. Maybe you didn't see that in my prior post?

Where you drive and/or train you use a KERR more frequently than where I drive and train. In Iceland KERR is used almost exclusively but that's Iceland, in tight wooded trail where I am it just isn't. When I trained in Nevada we used KERR quite a bit. When we trained in wooded wet land in SC we used a tow strap. I trained a lot of students on how to use KERR. You're right it certainly doesn't always "launch" a truck several feet. Again, there's a time and plaice for everything. I witnessed a group of students try and use KERR in a swamp to extract a truck - I stopped them before they did it as there was a stump anchoring the truck by its front diff. Can you imagine what would have happened if they would have gone ahead with a snatch?

Please make sure that you quote accurately before making a comment. As an aside - I worked with side by side with makers of recovery gear - I know what they say and what they don't. So, where where you mislead into thinking that I'm using a tow strap in anything but a static recovery?

I misunderstood your post then. It sounds like we are on the same page.

Use a real recovery strap for any non-static load.

Use a tow strap for static loads.

The only thing we seem to disagree on is the usefulness of one over the other. I believe that if I had to choose only one strap, I would take the recovery strap without question. It sounds like that from your experience, you would prefer to only carry the tow strap (if only one strap was allowed). If I am wrong about your position, please correct me.

 

[emmodg]

We're on the same page.

Yeah, it's all about the situation and where you're stuck.

 

[XpeditonTERRA]

Ok I think I will get the TMJ snatch strap and two bow shackles to go along with it. I think I will get a static recovery strap as well.
I was looking at those receiver shackle brackets but I think I will just by two hitch pins and that should work for now.

 

[86tuning]

Be careful when yanking with hitch pins. They have a very strong shear strength but can be bent. If they're badly bent, they may not come back out of the hole.

Also, Viking, Masterpull and a few others make a 3/4" and 7/8" x 20' kinetic recovery rope that works very well.

Most of the time I don't need to snatch people, if you use it like a tow rope it will still have a yanking effect without the banging impact, and give a nice soft pull. Works great for snow stucks.

In any case, its not a matter of which one is better, but usually which one to get first. I have a cheap 20' tow strap that I use for urban stucks of other cars in the snow. My kinetic recovery rope stays packed away to save wear and tear, and to help keep it clean.

When off pavement, the obvious first choice is usually the kinetic rope.

Whatever you use, be aware of the dangers of things breaking. Straps, shackles, recovery points can all be broken off under the proper circumstances, and can have lethal results.

Stay safe!

 

[Shocker]

Bubba Rope seems to have a good rep.

 

[86tuning]

^^ yes.

I have both a Viking and a Masterpull yanker, both are excellent. I believe the Bubba is of the same design.

 

[XpeditonTERRA]

I have another question. From what I understand you want a snatch strap rated at 2.5 to 3 times the weight of your vehicle. With a 4000lb xterra plus people and gear that would be around 13,000 pounds. Is that the rating I want?
I was looking at ARB straps and the lowest rating is around 17,000 pounds. Would that be usable with my truck or is it to strong?

Thanks for helping me out everyone.