Thread: snatch strap used for towing?

At the risk of being told off I had a snatch strap cut in half and professionally restitched, it makes a sweet tow rope. There is probably a maximum length for a tow rope on the road and I feel a 8 metre snatch may be pushing it.

Most advice I have been given says do not use snatch strap for towing and do not use a tow rope for snatching. I don't know if you know that a snatch strap has elastic properties that allows for the storage of energy. The use of a snatch strap to tow would give a less jerky tow but you would probably reduce the life of your snatch strap. For cost reasons alone it would be preferable to tow with a rope which could be replaced for 1/2 or less of the cost of a snatch strap.

As for the use of a rope as a snatch strap, the shock load that would be delivered if you took a run up would be excesive and possibly damage either the recovering or recovered vehicle.

Drag chain is used to drag fallen trees off the road or to drag logs to use as fire wood.

Chain or snatch strap could be used for towing in an emergency.

If towing a disabled rig from the bush on the main roads I use an old snatch strap.
You do need to think of the loads on each rig and anchor point though.
I've found the elasicity in it helps remove the "jerking" that happens when the strap isn't kept tight.
Also when starting off you get a little momentum up before the full weight of the towed rig is on the strap, kinder to the running gear.

A tow rope or extension strap have no elasticity so you need to take up all the slack before moving.

A drag chain is used mostly for draging trees off the track.
I have a chain that is used on trucks, I use it for draging trees ect..
I also use it as a back up winch when combined with a high-lift jack.

i towed about 80km on and offrd with a snatch strap after a pootrols starter motor took one for the team(yes it was a auto) towed it home no probs, did it kill me strap?? its still in one peace,, complete with a very precisely placed knot

worked well, apparently is illegle to tow a car onrd enyway, dont no how true it is

Originally Posted by stig0000

, did it kill me strap?? its still in one peace,, complete with a very precisely placed knot

I was going to say probably, until I read about the knot. Now II can say definitely.

Short version, you can use either a snatch strap or a chain for towing.

The first is hard on the strap but easy on the vehicle the latter is easy on the chain but harder on the vehicle.

in more detail.

the reason you dont tow with a snatch strap is two fold.

first it stores energy so if you stop both vehicles and its tight there is an unquantified amount of energy stored in the strap. The other reason and in my opinion the more important reason is that it wear the strap.

Snatch straps have a limited number of uses, every time you pull on the strap you use up a percentage of its life and the strap looses some of its elasticity, once thats gone its no longer a snatch strap, its a tow strap. Abrasion of the strap significatnly weakens it.

Thats why you use a rope for towing, a rope has a much better resistance to chafe damage than a strap.

The chain is for making up anchor points or doing stuff with that would kill your rope or the strap. Its also used when you need a Zero stretch connection like when you're winching or tying something down.

Wrecked my brothers new snatch strap years ago by towing another vehicle - worked great, but when we got home, I found that the towed vehicle (driven by a friend) hadn't kept the strap tight all the time, so it had got all fluffy in the middle from dragging on the road... Broke the next time my brother used it. Needless to say, he wasn't happy, and I had to fork out for a new strap...

Ive got a strap that ive used for towing a few times (from when i had a sierra and ended up getting dragged off fraser with it) and its a bit fluffy and has abrasions on it. I wouldnt think for a second of using it as a snatch strap. Or towing over off road conditions. Only time ive used it since was to jar the clutch on a mates toyota stout with everyone well out the way and pretty much idling only.