ATV Florida Forum

This is what happens when you have 3 straps together , straps 1&2 at ther other cars end were hooked together with an 8inch d-ring shackle.  when i was pulling in reverse the strap had a fray in it and broke at the stuck vehicle, slinging the shackle my way.....

carefull people this was pretty scary at 3am, sounded like a .45 went of in the jeep..... if i had a passenger they would have been killed.

yea, them and chains if you use them. you have to be very careful. we had a chain break and they fly with no intention of stopping without inflicting maximum damage. my dad had a friend that got hurt really bad from a flying chain. and when pulling atvs if a strap breaks youre in big trouble if one of them breaks and slings the hook at ya. i always wear a helmet when doing that on a quad.

thats crazy. my brother in law got busted up real good when a winch cable snapped and the hook caught his face. ripped half of it off and he lost a couple teeth.

That is why you never hit a strap or a chain without a Jacket or a Towel to kill the recoil in case of a break. The weight kills the recoil instantly and anyone pulling out another vehicle should know and use this safety precaution.  They have winching and pulling classes available on DVD.

I remember when I was anchoring you trying to pull out that john deere atv at RR. I saw you ducking down and ready to hide from the flying cable if it snapped. I also think I remember you yelling at the people walking over the 3 winch cables pulling on it.

 People have to understand the force involved and what can happen under tension. anything can help to kill the recoil on a tough snatch or winch effort a t-shirt tied is better than nothing.

is it similar to a barb wire fence on a dirtbike? :o

 Yes sir and that is why I respect it... first hand my brother


                                       as you know. ;)  RR on LD  b there.

the amount of force was shocking.  not only did it do what you see but it went completel through the steel sound bar, and the roll bar to. it cut through all that metal so fast and all i heard was one loud bang...

normally if I am going to pull someone out, I hook it up, and I use my crain strap period.

RESPECT, RESPECT, RESPECT!!!! I try and teach my two teenagers that always..its never ending. I've got a sixteen year old  :O now driving and I tell him like I learned...when behind the wheel your driving a #5000lb. missile that can kill...we always check our straps when we stop for fuel and such. As far as winching the jacket or shirt or even a floor mat from the vehicle will all work for laying over the cable, another thing some folks do if your in a truck is to put up the hood. I've always hated the fact on my ATV when winching some one out or myself that the toggle switch is on the handle bars and you have to stand right there to operate it..my next winch will at least have the extension. Dirty1, Glad no one was hurt! ;D     

Donkey can you explain  exactly what you mean by using a jacket or towel to kill the recoil....I want to make sure I have it right.

Ya thats a good one JoeDirt, i never heard of that either, I'm always ducking under my dash when getting pulled out, I don't wan't a trailer ball come flying at me, I only use straps, chains only when I got to.
That pic. is scary, It came close to the driver, i would say if the wind blowing a little more the other way it mighta got you.

I'd like to know about this towel or jacket SwampDonkey's talking about too.

WOW! thank god nobody was hurt! this is a good piece of advice!  ;) i had a strap break where is was frayed as i was pulling out of a gas station and my YFZ went rolling out the back of my trailer! luckily when it went rolling across the median and 3 lanes of on comming traffic they were all waiting at the light. the bike weaved through the stopped cars and jumped the curb on the other side and stopping in the grass almost rolling in a pond! i was so lucky and my heart dropped when i looked in the rear view watching my quad roll out!

They are talking about wrapping a jacket, towel or the like around the chain or winch cable halfway between the vehicles.  If the chain breaks the weight of the towel will kill the recoil.

 Easy: Whenever extracting a stuck vehicle either with a winch or a strap ALWAYS use a Towel, jacket, floormat, blanket ECT. to kill the recoil. You should place the weighted object as close to the center of the tight strap/cable before winching or pulling. If the strap/cable were to break the weight of the towel/jacket will kill the recoil and keep it from hitting anyone. ARB also sells a weighted recoil mat made specifically for this reason but if on a budget any of the previously mentioned items will work...PLEASE use something.

Swamp is right, anything will kill the recoil. We never use shackles
or anything with a strap, we "marry" two or more straps together if we need more lenght.

Lets say you have a strap on the right and one on left.
Take the loop from the left strap and push it through the loop from the one on the right. Then take the other end of right hand strap and pull it through the loop from left hand strap.
 The two are " married " together and will always come apart, no stress or knots on the straps.

10/4 I thought that was what you meant. Thanks for the advice.

I didnt know that. That is very good to know. Thanks for the advice.

There is some good advice in this thread. I once had a 3/8 steel rope break during a pull and come through the back of my truck cab and out the front windshield. Missed me by about a foot.
Driving home really sucked.

  Are you sure it missed??  LOL   I had a chain break about 15 years ago and do the same thing...I use a recoil killer every time now or take cover  ;)

beware that the recoil thing won't necessarily work for ATV's because you as a human are so close to the hooking point to the ATV.  Let's say the strap broke from the ATV you are pulling out, it will recoil half way back, which is most likely the exact same length from the middle of the strap to you.  This idea works great in vehicles, but ATV's might not work soo well, becuase each of you are the equal distance from the middle.  Two jackets (one a third of the way from you, and the other a third away from the other ATV) will work much better. 

The recoil thing saves lives, but does not necessarily save tailgates.  Very good information though.

  wouldn't you always be equal distance from the MIDDLE?? LOL only joking. ATVs are not a serious as you are using a shorter strap and less tension, but in cases when you are putting pressure with a 100ft winch cable the middle is sufficient.

Would have bounced off my hard head anyway.  8)

yeah about that tailgate thing.................. you can almost see the idividual chain link marks

Your danged if you do and danged if you don't.  If you are too vague, people slam ya becuase you didn't supply enough information, if you go above and beyond the normal explaining you get slammed too.  WHAT TO DO???  JK, I try to be as descriptive as possible.

I think we can all agree, ANYTHING on the cable or chain is better than nothing. ;)

We all agree, I was just taking it to the next level.

LMAO, the next level would be intentionally snapping a fat cable for a cool video and some high speed photos.


Anyone want to let me borrow their truck for a little while. ;)

I will gladly take a rain check on this.

  I will use my truck but You have to be carefull...becuase each of you are the equal distance from the middle :o  lmao

if you do this, wear protective gear.

your killing me.  I might take a tape measure and make sure next time I pull somoene out.

Besides a helmet, what do you recommend? ;)

idk, a chest protector, and maybe some street bike leathers. lol. be careful though.

 Condom...you can never be sure where the person you are pulling out has been :o

I'm thinking it should be made from kevlar.  ;)