Thread: Bow Shackles

Tank, can you suggest any suppliers of rated collard or swivel bolts/recovery point tha could be adapted to our use?

Originally Posted by uninformed

Tank, can you suggest any suppliers of rated collard or swivel bolts/recovery point tha could be adapted to our use?

Google up "Rigging Supliers", been years since I bought rigging gear, used to be Blackwoods was the place to go in Alexandria Sydney, but last time I drove through Alexandria it was all high rise Yuppie flats, go figure, as I have no idea of where you live, could also suggest if you live in the country to try Farm machinery/hardware retailers, Regards Frank.

LB wire ropes in Girraween NSW have a great selection of stuff and are well priced. They'll make steel slings (crimped or spliced) and since I turned up a couple of years back with dyneema and asked them to splice a new hook on and they hadn't dealt with it before they researched and found a tech rep to come out and train, and even asked me out as well. They are also looking at manufacturing dyneema products such as slings etc.

They also have a test bed setup for static and dynamic testing.

Working in the mines means you have to sit a 4x4 course, and I did mine recently. Went in with the 'huh, this'll b a laugh', and 'been doing it for years, is there more to learn?' attitude. I came out having learnt several things. Some good, some bad. The bad things I learnt are how many people don't inspect their recovery points before attaching another vehicle and heading off at wharp speed... On a previous course a week before mine, when demonstrating a 'snatch recovery' 'they' hand managed to remove the decent cast hook, the 2 bolts attaching it, and the piece of plate that was welded to the chassis from the 'dead vehicle' and imbed it in the back of the aluminium tradie box on the back of the tow vehicle... This surprised me as I was always taught that if the recovery points are not bolted direct to the chassis using at least two high tensile M16 or larger bolts, don't snatch off them! Someone didn't check did they!!! I'm also surprised at the lack of stretch in the supplied 'snatch straps' available here... A max of 20% stretch... I'm used to using KERR ropes (hence earlier post about Kinetic Energy Rope Recovery rope supliers in Australia) with at least 40% if not 50% stretch, which means you can utilise the tow vehicles weight and torque rather than the heavy snatch I've seen here.. The two good things I've learnt is that 1. If a tow bar assembly has the 50mm box section outlet painted yellow it is snatch rated. (This is to be confirmed by the plate welded to the frame, and the use of 10.9 or higher grade bolts affixing it to the chassis). This means that the tow ball section can be removed, and the loop of the snatch strap slid into the receiver and the locking pin refitted. The other thing I've learnt is the grades and ratings of shackles (inc colours). It transpires my UK rated shackles I've used for years are not suitable! I've attached a pic of shackle ratings and colours that might be of use. 'bubba' ropes are worth checking out on YouTube as well.. Cheers.

These blokes have some interesting gear. have a look at their 'lifting and lashing point catalogue'

http://www.rud.com/en-au/products/li...2a9afce22.html


Don

Really interesting thread that has answered a few questions, so thanks to those far more knowledgeable than me for contributing.

I'm trying to do the right thing by setting my Disco up with the pieces I need to recover as safely as possible should the need arise, eg winch bar and, based on research on this site, 'rated' recovery points.

There are some points in the catalogue that nod_130 posted that would seem to satisfy some of the problems regarding force distribution AND that would satisfy the AS for their application. When matched to appropriate fixings this would seem to ensure the load point is not the weak link.

Is there a precedent for the use of this kind of industrial gear in recreational 4x4 recovery?

I saw the rotating RUD eye bolts a while back and thought they'd be great but was advised that they couldn't recommend them. They aren't rated that highly have issues in cruddy conditions with seizing.

I just use some 6.5T bow shackles, which are differently colored to the chart above but are rated and eye bolts rated higher. I spoke to xrox about their bar as it's drilled for smaller eyebolts than I have but is plated behind and they have no issue drilling it out up to 1.1/8" for larger eyebolts. They just do it that size as it's the size for the most common sold in 4WD stores (3T). I also use a spanset endless sling (20T) as a equaliser between the eyes, long enough to get the correct minimum angle between them to maintain the rating on the points, and to stop the shackles twisting too far in the eyes.

The weld on points are great looking things too but rely on good parent material which can't be satisfied by the bar plus even better welding than we could probably afford.

Good info - my xrox is being fabricated as we speak!

This would seem to go against the conventional wisdom of not recovering from a bull bar though?