Retractable tow strap...?

[LUISJG]

I was thinking it would be nice to have a tow strap on the rear bumper
that can be retracted and installed permanenty.

so maybe like a 30 ft sintethic winch rope and intaling a aluminum fair lead,
only thing is how to make it retract itself, I like the idea of having a winch in the back like the "brute" but I dont like the weight. that made me come up with the idea of the retractable rope. always there and never forget it at home.
a hand crank will be a choice but rather have some spring loaded deal

any ideas?

 

[Alaska Mike]

My issue is how the strap will be anchored. A spring-loaded spool won't have any strength for tugging, and could be very, very dangerous.

On trail rides that I will be doing a lot of tugging, I hook up a strap to a tow point and throw it up in my Jamboree rack for easy access. That way if I really get buried in the muck (and can't winch forward) I won't have to dig to hook up a strap.

 

[LUISJG]

well ,the spring will be only for storage,, for use it will have to be pulled all the way out and get the strengh fron the towing point not the spool.

 

[paulj]

You just need a proper bumper

 

[LUISJG]

:victory: ............................................

 

[ntsqd]

I can see a spring loaded spool working so long as there is a method to lock the spool in the extended position. A ratcheting mechanism wouldn't be good, would want it either all the way in or all the way out.

The spool, it's axle, and the mount would need to be designed to be stronger than the strap, with some Factor of Safety included. Given the hazard potential, 2:1 would be a good starting place.

The developers of lots of innovative ideas were likely told that it wouldn't work prior to their proving the nay-sayers wrong. Edison reportedly found 10,000 ways to not build a light bulb before he found a way that worked.

 

[DaveInDenver]

The developers of lots of innovative ideas were likely told that it wouldn't work prior to their proving the nay-sayers wrong. Edison reportedly found 10,000 ways to not build a light bulb before he found a way that worked.

<drift>
That may be true of the first guy (named Humphrey Davy) who really invented an electric light in (I think) 1810. The first real light 'bulb' (i.e. filament in a vacuum bulb) was made by a German named Henri Globel in 1855, a full 25 years before Edison figured out a way to commercialize it and make boat loads of money. In fact, Edison bought the actual patent for the light bulb from Henry Woodward and Matthew Evans (they hold a patent from 1875) and only just evolved its design. What Edison (or at least his company) did do was make the bulb more reliable, such that by 1880 one would burn about 1000 hours. I just wanted to make sure that the fellas who really did invent the light bulb got credit, far too much credit is given to Edison IMHO. If Woodward and Evans had the capital backing that Edison did, it would have been called Woodard and Evans General Electric instead of Edison General Electric. But they did not and in 1879 they sold the patent rights to Edison and the rest is history. Absolutely no relevance to this thread, just a very wide aside.
</drift>

 

[pete.wilson]

Hey

You have to design a racheting system that would strong enough to support the vehicle, much in the same way a winch is built or even a come-along (?). Then hide it behind the bumper. A good stout bumper and a removeable strap eliminates any mechanical failures; I like the KISS principal.

 

[DaveInDenver]

You have to design a racheting system that would strong enough to support the vehicle, much in the same way a winch is built or even a come-along (?). Then hide it behind the bumper. A good stout bumper and a removeable strap eliminates any mechanical failures; I like the KISS principal.

I could see the retracting part being all out or all in, so that the vehicle side of the strap is permanently attached and the reel doesn't have to take any recovery forces. But if it's a variable amount of strap pulled out, then the idea gets increasingly complex it would seem. I like the idea of having it attached and ready to go, though.

 

[Alaska Mike]

I guess my main problem with the concept is that it really doesn't serve a functional purpose that justifies its existence- especially in an expedition/off-road situation. An enclosed spool has more chance of becoming bound or otherwise obstructed, and the mechanisms required add weight that doesn't need to be there. A couple tabs welded on either end of the bumper to spool the cable serve the same purpose and allow the rope/strap to be used for other purposes.

I completely understand the need to store as much as possible outside the vehicle- I drive a CJ-5. I just see the downside being much greater than the upside in this case. As Pete said, the KISS principal applies here.

 

[ntsqd]

Mike, I hear what you're saying though I think that a good design would add little and not be subject to binding.

Conversely, a poor design would suffer from everything you (& I) fear.

I see no good things in trying to use the spool to adjust the strap length. I feel trying to do this will result in major problems.

Personally, I'd start with looking at the strap winches used on OTR flatbed cargo trailers and move forwards from there.