Another snatch strap death

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Originally Posted by garrycol

Putting aside the obvious things like rated shackles and tow points etc - get away with this stupid idea of a damper in the middle of the snatch strap - it does not stop a metal bit flying half the length of a strap (and hitting at the secured end) before the dampper starts to slow things down.

I use two dampers - one at either end of the snatch maybe a meter or so from the ends so if a bit breaks the metal bit has to fly pulling the damper with it.

To me the current recommended system with a damper in the middle does little.

Garry

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Wot we woz taught at a 4WD course. Large-ish damper, AND secured to strap - to prevent it sliding out of said damper.

If the recovery vehicle is on solid ground a tow is usually all that is required. If there is no solid ground to tow from its time to use a winch. Rated recovery points are almost as expensive and heavy as a winch, and a winch is better. Its time to strongly discourage snatching.

I have been driving off road for almost sixty years - and snatch recovery has always scared me so much (I understand the physics involved!) that I have managed to avoid it, even when the alternative has meant a lot more work (like a hand winch).

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Originally Posted by Tote

[...]Looks like the attachment point gave way, always be careful what you hook up to and bear it in mind when you are doing a recovery.

Regards,
Tote

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Better pay a lot of attention, too, if ever someone else offers to recover you! If his tow point breaks off in a snatch recovery - the deadly projectile is coming your way!

Full story here

https://mr4x4.com.au/man-killed-snap...sletter+%23204

Still leaves it open to conjecture. The strap broke, or a fitting it was attached to. If the photo attached to that article actually had anything to do with the incident, that strap should've been binned ages ago!
While he is, quite correctly, highlighting the dangers involved, and making some commonsense suggestions, Pat is simply regurgitating the info in the original article.
As I said earlier, no true information as to what happened, means very limited lessons will be learned by anyone reading the article.

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Originally Posted by JDNSW

I have been driving off road for almost sixty years - and snatch recovery has always scared me so much (I understand the physics involved!) that I have managed to avoid it, even when the alternative has meant a lot more work (like a hand winch).

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I am with you here, Using a snatch strap would be a Last resort for Me.
Usually a shovel, lowering the tyre pressures more and a set of recovery boards (maxtacks/treads) will get me out of a bog.

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Originally Posted by trout1105

I am with you here, Using a snatch strap would be a Last resort for Me. Usually a shovel, lowering the tyre pressures more and a set of recovery boards (maxtacks/treads) will get me out of a bog.

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Or some good old bits of tree branch under the wheels .

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Originally Posted by Tote

"Initial investigations suggested a tow point on the bull bar of the car being towed broke, causing the towing strap to fly through the back window of Mr Poulsen's car and hit him."

Looks like the attachment point gave way, always be careful what you hook up to and bear it in mind when you are doing a recovery.

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Those little eyes on the bottom of, for example, an older ARB bullbar are not recovery points. I wonder if they put the shackle pin through one of those.

That’s what I was thinking actually
Regards
Tote