Thread: Mitch Hitch as a recovery point

I tried to recover my son in law's 80 series in Esperance when the back end was half buried in a flowing creek on the beach. I used the pin through the snatch strap method on my Mitch Hitch. I broke the 12000kg snatch strap and bent the hitch pin slightly while nearly going through the windscreen in the D4 (figuratively speaking, I had my seat belt on). No damage to the Mitch Hitch or the car, however.

I wouldn't normally use so much force but we were desperate as it was getting dark and the tide was coming in. The 80 didn't budge and wound up staying there over night with sea water about 1m deep through the back of the car. He ended up getting pulled out at great cost by a local farmer's telehandler the next day.

I also reiterate, never never never use a tow ball to recover anything. I don't even like using just the pin as we did, in case it manages to fly through the air. However, the fact that it carried enough force to break the snatch strap in extreme conditions shows that this is a reasonably safe recovery point.

I have recovered vehicles on several occassions with the Mitch Hitch and it has not shown any signs of damaging the neoprene bush or bolt that runs through it.