Snatch strap misuse danger

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Originally Posted by wrinklearthur

ever try to lift a grader tyre into the back of a ute?
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I see what you mean. No. I am flat out lifting my own wheel now. 900 x 16. Like all us old buggers, back problems.

Didiman

Okay, so I get why the examples offered in the video were completely in the wrong, but can someone tell me the one, true and proper snatch strap method?
i've heard conflicting reports over how to execute it.
Obviously you shouldn't fang away with the strap attached but is there a proper "speed range" for snatch recoveries, do you take up the slack first, etc?
Sorry if this seems ignorant but i've never had to use the snatch strap before, and asking on the internet is like using an 8 ball fortune teller- results may vary :D
Also, someone has to ask slunnie about the army drivers and their hand winch! :eek:
Cheers
Muppet

heres my take on it.

1. is everything you're about to hook up rated for recovery work and in good order and intended to be used in the way you are about to use it in?

2. have you got room to do it safely? dont forget to include run on room for after you get him out.

3. Have you got a safe and sane plan that everyone understands?

4. is everyone who doesnt need to be anywhere near the game outside of playing field and safely in the bleachers?


once you've got a yes on that lot you can go ahead.


in the normal run of the mill type of bogged on the beach recovery that snatch straps are so great, quick and easy to recover from you want him trying to drive out gently and you want to bounce off of the strap in 1/2 low and low middle revs (1500-2krpm tops) let the clutch up, get up to speed and when you hit the end of the straps stretch punch in the clutch let the strap rebound you and then ease up on the clutch to arrest the backwards motion and get the vehicle moving forwards again repeat untill he comes out.


the effect this has on his vehicle is to rock it back and forth compressing the ground thats sticking his vehicle and eventually you'll shape it enough to pop him up and out.

Keeping the engine revs constant and judging the clutch action is the hard bit but once youve got it its a skill you wont forget.

Okay cheers for that.
Now i have to decode it into auto speak :D
So....gentle acceleration, and several attempts not hard acceleration and out in one go?
Cheers
Muppet

basically but you rely on modulating the loud pedal from idle to 1500ish RPM and doing so in such a way that

a, you dont break traction, spin the wheels and dig yourself in
b, you dont roll back into his car
c, don't have it shift near the end of the strap stretch killing your applied to ground power
d, you dont trail the throttle too much stopping it from pulling you back "just right"

some guys pick 1 high others use 3/Dlow Never having done it with an auto I suggest you go get a good friend with a heavy vehicle and give it a go on firm ground while he just sits there playing anchor with the brakes on hard.

Hey Muppet, Sometimes you don't have to snatch at all, just a tow will do, but in the video the strap still stretched about a meter or so

This truck got stuck on a building site I was working on, I mean really stuck, (but nothing like the 90 in the NASA video ) It was new topsoil fill and been raining for a week, a couple of blokes came and stuck 4x2's under the back wheels to no avail.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0OxtbelTPE]LandRover helps stuck 8 tonne truck - YouTube[/ame]

I had my trailer attached & not wanting to undo it as I left my jockey wheel at home so pulled him out backwards, I could not get a proper straight pull because I wanted to "follow" my trailer , Also not recomended to pull in reverse but I was leaving an option to winch him if the pull didn't work

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Originally Posted by MR LR jnr.

No offence, but in my opinion anyone saying a snatch strap is dangerous or should not be used is an idiot. Its how you use anything that determines this, a tow rope can be just as dangerous, heck don't sit on your kitchen chair the leg might snap and you could fall, geez people. I'm 17 and i do consider myself a very competent recovery operator, in the harvest of 2010 i spent 6 weeks driving a tractor with a chaser bin on the farm, it was an extremely wet year and the header (harvester) got bogged at least twice a day (no Frank it could not be avoided, we had to get the crops off), in this time i became very proficient at using a great big 40 ton snatch strap to pull the 36 foot John Deer out, but with only a relatively small New Holland T6080 (150hp) a few times we had to run a second tractor next to it with another snatch strap as the header was that far down. Without the snatch strap we would have needed at least 4 tractors with drag chains (trust me we bought the snatch strap a week into harvest haha). Since then i've gotten my Discovery and recovered many others in 4wd's that show huge incompetence, i always rig everything up my self (strap round hitch pin in drawbar of car) as i've had people try and put it over the towball when i've gone to pull them. The towbar on a 4wd is plenty strong enough to snatch off as long as you aren't doing anything too stupid, front recovery points should never be used in anger though IMO, the vehicle should always come out the way it went in. I don't own my own snatch strap as i've never needed it, mates i travel with have them and i use theirs to recover them, but it is on my birthday list haha, i've been stuck once, and it was a self recovery from a bog hole with the winch, if you don't go anywhere you won't get stuck, but i'm pretty sure people don't go places to try and get stuck normally, its just a fact of life. I agree that education is the key, i was taught to snatch by my dad, and my uncle as well as the header contractor, all of whom own 4wd's and have experience, from comparing it to what i've read, my method is the safest and most effective.

Rant over, Cheers
Will

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As I am an "Idiot" according to 17 year old sage Will's opinion, maybe with his wealth of knowledge he can explain to all of us Idiots why Industries that use rigging gear all day every day why it is they don't use Kinetic energy straps, slings or ropes and why is it illegal to do so. Maybe his untold knowledge can explain why so many people have died or been horribly injured using Snatch Straps. I have never seen a bogged vehicle that with a bit of commonsense and some digging around the wheels couldn't be towed out with a conventional sling, winch cable or strap. Will and snatch straps, what a combination, BTW Will if you want to call me an idiot, wait till you get the chance to do it face to face, Regards Frank.

Dave is pretty spot on with the gearing, low range and CDL IN, in an auto just wack it in 2 or drive, whatever floats ya boat and boot it (don't give it too much as he says). Manuals i like 2nd low for snatching (td5), witht he tractor (18 speed) i was in B3 to snatch so that is right in the middle of the ratio spread (flat out is 39km/h, lowest is hardly moving). If you get a good pull on a boggy surface keep the power on a bit (try to maintain grip without wheelspin unless you have to). You want to avoid the vehicle staying below the surface (this is really for mud, like in a paddock), so keep your foot on it till whatever you're snatching rides up on the surface (i've had the Mack truck on the pull for over 100 metres, before it rides up). Repeat until they pop out, if you've got oog gear and most important good recovery points, just give it what it needs you'll get the hang of it pretty quick, 2 150hp tractors bouncing off a John Deere header at full stuff is pretty fun, it was a bit of an adrenalin rush LOL, best thing about it, despite taking the chaser bin off twice a day and putting it back on.
1/- GET THE RIGHT GEAR, always use a shackle rated for well over what you are snatching, if pulling from a car with a reciever hitch put the strap through the tongue and secure with the hitch pin, i prefer this to the slide in things with the D shackles as i think they are a bit of a wally thing IMO, too much extra to go wrong (a snatch strap will be about 50mm wide anyway so it shouldn't bend the pin). Don't pull from the tie down points on the chassis rails, fastest way to bend your chassis) For cars i reckon no less than a 10 tonne strap
2/- DO NOT JOIN STRAPS TOGETHER each end should be on either vehicle, no drag chains etc, and if it snaps, tie it, most important is no D shackles between straps joined, if you have to join them use the loops, but avoid it if possible
3/- Get the idiot who bogged his car to have some drive going to his wheels, won't help if he just lets you pull
4/- Back up about 1/3 of the length of the strap in my experience
5/- Give it some beans, but just go gentle, back off a bit when the strap goes taught (unless the surface is soft underneath, then you'll need to keep pulling in my experience) Let the momentum of the tow vehicle do the work
6/- Repeat if needed and adjust to best suit conditions etc.

If you're still stuck get a tractor LOL

Cheers
Will

Each to there own, idiot was a bit harsh, sorry if i've offended you Frank and it was uncalled for, i don't know what experience you have so i should not have commented on it, i am sorry. But my basic point still stands, that snatch straps are not a pointless tool. I may be 17 but i've got more experience at recovery than most people would get in a lifetime IMO, so don't rubbish me on that, everything i've learnt is from older people who are in the industry and do this stuff everyday and i have had a lot of cencentrated experience. To answer your question, IMO indistries don't use them because they have the gear, sometimes you can't get a winch or enough grunt (grip aswell) on a drag chain to pull on something, an energy multiplier (which is what a kinetic strap is) is like a pulley system attached to an anchor you could say. In this case it is transferring momentum to apply a greater force for the given circumstances (HP, grip), in my opinion they are a good and valuable tool if used properly. Sure if they snap the **** can hit the fan, quite literally, but for them to snap they have to be used incorectly or not maintained, a winch cable can snap too, are you suggesting that they should not be sued in industry either, winch cables go off a lot harder than a snatch strap, i've watched both.

Cheers
Will

I spent much of my mis-spent youth in a dune buggy club. Everyone had snatch straps, they were always secured to robust tow points, nobody went bananas with them (at least not more than once) no-one ever got injured by them, a day wasn't over until you had snatched a dozen times. A bit of common sense, training for newbies, a look-out person, some simple club rules on vehicle construction and they made each day a fun exercise. I've still got my original strap from 25 years ago, it's a little frayed for serious 4WD use so is retired from heavy work. I would snatch a bogged vehicle any day if needed, using the correct fittings.