Any experiences of a fail with a PullPal out there? If not, hypotheses of the result of a failure?
Mike
Hello Mike:
No experience with PullPal failure, but some hypotheses based on reading the manufacturer's comments on the difference between the RW14000 and RW16000:
1. The 16K has "wings" added to the plow spade to increase the surface area. Thus I'd suspect that overloading a 14K with a load appropriate for a 16K could result in the PullPal slipping in the substrate. It might not "surface" but it might continue pulling through the earth and thus not function as an anchor.
2. The 16 K has a heavier duty down tube and shaft than the 14K. Thus it would seem that bending or twisting the down tube and shaft could occur if a 14K was "overloaded". There are a couple of points on the assembly that are connected with fastener hardware so it might require larger or higher grade bolts to handle the increased load.
The connection of the winch line to the PullPal would depend on the shackle you used. If you attached a snatch block to the PullPal and fixed the end of the cable back to the vehicle with a 16,000 pound winch you might load that shackle to 32,000 pounds. Cheap shackles rated to 32,000 could have pins of 1.25" or larger. If the 16K PullPal came with a hole smaller than that at the end of the shaft and you liked cheap shackles then the shackle could fail. On the other hand if you use shackles completely constructed of alloy steel, like Skookums, you can get a 1" shackle rated to 32,000 lbs (safe working load).
Just guessing, I'd say the most likely "failure" would be that the PullPal would pull through the substrate, but I'd like to hear some empirical observations!
Howard
