JCFindley

If you pull people out a lot or need pulling out a bunch the reciever shackle is well worth having. Easy to change it out with a hitch when needed. I keep both in the tool box.

I have pulled a lot of tourists out of our sand when they pull off the road here and the hitch was fine for that but I wouldn't want to try and ****** someone out of a deep mudhole without the shackle.

All Hat No Cattle

Great point, I would not try it with a 5,000# ball.

My hitch is a Draw-Tite rated at 12,000#, with a Husky 2 5/16 ball, also rated at 12,000#. I don't fool around with tow equipment.

The problem is that the hitch was sitting next to my boat trailer, and not on the truck. I can't close the garage door and still walk around the truck with the hitch in.

SnowF150

Or get the tow hook ball mount for your hitch.

Tony Raine

never put a strap on a ball, no matter how "tough" it is. hooks are almost as dangerous.

both ends of a strap should be securely fastened to each vehicle. as stated a post above, you can slide the strap in your receiver, and slide the pin in to hold it. attach your strap to a tow loop with a clevis, d-ring, etc...

as far as hooking front/rear, usually pulling from the rear is best:
-when pulling from the front (traveling in reverse), you have multiplied the stress on the "backside" of your gears.
-also, you are shifting most of your weight to the front axle, which is usually weaker than the rear
-on top of that, control of the pull is limited. ever hauled a-- in a forklift? rear steer can get you in trouble in a hurry.
-with a forward pull, you have better weight distribution, better visibility, and more control in case of the unknown

yeah, this is all "best case scenario", but i almost lost an arm in a recovery gone bad. its an eye-opener when thousands of pounds is hooked to thousands of pounds, then when you least expect it, it isn't....

Johnboy429bbf

One thing to keep in mind because no good deed goes unpunished is to let the recoveree hook the chain or strap to their own vehicle. I had to use a company truck to pull out a vendor one time at work . We broke a chain and a head light on their truck. Witch of corse lead to the mine paying for it. Had I let them hook the chain they really couldn't have said anything

Tony Raine

excellent point! and don't pull unless you are comfortable with where they put it.

i was stuck in a sinkhole. bad. i hooked up the chain, and it broke.




if you look close, you can even see the scored glass. and the dents stop about an inch from where my elbow was hanging out the window. if that chain had broke one or 2 links down, i would have lost my left arm. what you can't see is the frame damage (no proper tow point in the back). also my fault.

on the way home, i bought a good strap, and it stays in my rig at all times

tareed94

Chains typically aren't advised since they do major damage when they break. I only use rope or nylon tow straps when I'm pulling someone out.

STingray1300

Chains are never advised for recovery efforts...

I can say I've been wheeling since I was old enough to reach the pedals. I've never seen anyone who knows what they're doing use a chain. Spend the money to buy a quality recovery strap. ARB makes some of the best ones. Smitty Built is junk, but it's still better than a chain.

Story: a weekend of playing at Pismo Beach some years ago, a truck was towing a Toyota pick up. What caught our eye, was the missing cab top. Looked like someone took a axe and hacked the top of the cab off of the truck. We gasped when we got the answer to our "what happened" question - "the chain broke when they tried to pull him out. No one died though, he was able to duck down enough..."

Only non-sensicle rednecks use chains. Don't use chains!

Johnboy429bbf

Great big monster straps break too. And they're just like breaking steal rope under pressure. It's more dangerous then chain.

sigma pi

Chains are used to hold the rig down on a trailer, and thats it!