snatch strap on tow ball not a good idea

But still, It's amazing how many people still dont know how dangerous some recovery methods can be and worse, those that do and still do them!

"you can read and be told about the dangers........" Well not every bit of recovery equipment sold comes with proper instructions for correct use, I think it's about time that standardised methods are drafted and should be law to enclose those proper instructions with all equipment, especially when there is some substandard equipment on the market i.e.- el cheapo snatch straps and tow balls etc. which should be illegal IMO. I think it would help save some misery for those who would otherwise get hurt or damage property.

A few months back I was chassis stuck in a hole up the Border track. My bro in law promptly jumps out his rig, gets his old and slightly frayed snatch strap, throws it over our tow balls and proceeds back to his rig.
Meanwhile I undid everything he did (much to his offence) and rigged my own snatch strap through the tow bar hitch sleeves. His comment was, "my tow ball hasn't broken yet!" My response, "and I aint gonna be the first to see it!"

Succinctly put, Willem.

Some people just can't comprehend that fire is hot without getting burnt first, no matter what you tell them.

John

No such thing as plain stupid, they come in all shapes and sizes Willem.

Hi John

Hi Bonz

Speak for yourself...hahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You can tell some people, others can read it in a book but still some people pee on the electric fence!!!!!
NickR

Had to be, unless, the tow ball went into orbit!

it was a back to back snatch ball broke on the cruiser.

al

I guess the front wishbones were anchored in the sand!!! (tongue in cheek).

Laughing here.. My sisters father in law said a few years ago after watching russell coight... Gee he doesn't seem to get much right!! yeah!!! i guess he didnt get it LOL!!!

That's the problem with Russell Coight..... too many people would watch it and think it's a serious documentary! Your sister's father-in-law is obviously one and he isn't alone. I have watched quite a few of his shows, (ever notice that the tv station airs him when there isn't much competition?) and to be honest the only time I ever got a really good laugh was when he was demonstrating karate and kicked his way through his tent. I didn't see that coming! (Usually I find his "stunts" predictable) Too often he shows the "wrong" way which may be good for a laugh, but doesn't correct himself. So many people would think it's ok to do these stupid stunts, thinking he just got it wrong on the day.
The other annoying thing is that other countries probably watch it and think all of us Aussies are a bunch of dimwits like him!

Yeah I snapped a towball whilst coming out of a steep dipping driveway, the van hit the deck because of the angle we were on, had it been the other way (on a crested driveway) who knows where the a frame of the van would have ended up (probably in the back door like yours). As you said even rated towballs can and will break. Murphy's law says it will happen at the most inoppotune time.

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replace the c with an s

You saying its not happened? I dave my houbts

Hello Roachie,
Is this DVD distributed by your club?
Sounds like something those of us outside SA should see.

Geoff.

G'day Geoff,
AFAIK, each club has (or should have) a copy of the DVD. Even though I'm the president of our club (YP 4WD Club), I'm not sure if we've got one....if we have it is probably in the hands of our DT coordinator. It is a very long (and somewhat boring) powerpoint presentation mainly about the theory of 4WDriving etc, but it has a couple of these short DVD segments amongst it.
I've actually just come back from 2 days of DT up at Spear Creek (near Pt Augusta) and the trainer we had (from Adelaide) was one of the blokes involved in the filming of that demonstration.
I would think that most clubs across the country should be able to access this stuff through the ANFWDC.
Cheers mate
Roachie

Maybe I'm picturing this wrong, but if the strap was just hooked onto the towball and the ball broke wouldn't the ball just travel a short way and fall to the ground and the snatch strap go flying back at the car like a slingshot. I can't see the ball staying snuggly in that big loop at the end of a snatch unless it was physically tied on, which it may have been.

If it would snap , I wouls say that the momentum would get it going somewhat . It would be a one in a million that it would have balance the center of weight in the ball to make it a projectile .

One unlucky bloke ?????

My GQ has got a pretty reasonable dent in the back door from a flying snatch strap and that was snatch strap only. It was a night time drive with a shorty GQ stuck in a mud hole and the tow hook on an ARB winch bar upright straightened out on the 3rd try and the strap hit the back of my GQ with a sound like a bomb had gone off. Unfortunately, the "arrestor" bag which was on the strap about 1/2 way along had "jumped" off during the previous 2 snatches and no one noticed as it was dark.
I'm sure in my mind that if it had been a shackle, it would have gone through my rear door with no problems at all.
Regards Andrew.

rock crawler
think what you will i only put this article on here as warning to others
if you think it is safe to snatch on a tow ball go a head we will be reading your
death notice one day or someone else that may be snatching you.
you sound like one of these guys if i haven't done it or seen it it could'nt happen i'm glad i don't go 4wding with you.
regards
al

I smell bovine faeces here too

Good grief, go to 4wdmonthly forum and search for the video of a good and bad snatch when a strap breaks and goes through the rear window of a 60 series when snatching a GQ out of a mud hole, then you might wake up.

The video is mudfest 2004.

Ok , lets get the story straight , I have done my fair share of recoveries , and as stated above , I WOUDN'T snack from a tow ball,

My reason , to much chance of the snack coming off.

My coment IS .... as stated above I find it hard to believe that a tow call can snap UNLESS it was loose or non rated ( havent seen a unrated tow ball in agess)
. Then if it did ,,, you would have to be the unluckies bloke it the world to send it though your window. The fact that it went though the back window is no suprize to me .

What has me stuffed if that it went though a cargo barrier .... This is what I want pictures of.......

A shackle is attacked to a snack , so no suprize to me there that it headed in the right direction.......

Now dont get on a high horse and think we all have no idea on recoveries , because I have been called out in the middle of the night more times that i wish I had. You only need ask people here that have been out with me to understand how seirous I take recoveries.

I hope you have photos of what ypou say happened , so I can say F^&*K what a unlucky B^&*^%D . Unless I see picls I would swear black and blue it wouldnt have gone through the barrier ...

Enjoy your wheeling

Quote ........you sound like one of these guys if i haven't done it or seen it it could'nt happen i'm glad i don't go 4wding with you.
regards
al ..........

Dint you say you gave the guy a beer ?????? is this the right way to treat someone for shock , give him Alcohol ?

Unlike you , I would never with the death of anyone , I hope everyone stays safe

The loop of the snatch strap would be very tight around the neck of the towball when max. force is reached. I'd expect the neck, or narrowest part of the ball to be the bit that breaks, although it could be the bolt that breaks off due to the levering force. Either way, I'd doubt that loop would let go the instant the ball breaks.
MikeyS

You can take a horse to water but you can't make it drink.

To me, common sense dictates that a purpose built recovery point OR the hitch pin in a HR tow bar have got to be far better/safer propositions than a bloody towball.

One guy I recovered from sand tried to justify using his towball purely on a time taken basis. For crying out loud!!!!

I laughed, removed his towball assembly, connected to the pin, told him to shut up and get in his vehicle and snatched him out easy as pie.

He was still arguing the toss as I replaced his towball, stored my strap and drove on.

I suppose the next good samaritan will have to go through the same rigmarole with this fool.

i dont think it is wise to use the tow ball , I am just astounded that it snapped . a shackle in the tow ball hole is a much better option

I've never seen a towball snap either and I'd prefer to stay that way.

We all acknowledge how dangerous recoveries can be. It's a matter of making it as safe as possible under the prevailing circumstances. That may mean waiting for a better equipped vehicle, more knowledgable/experienced person or spending a lot of time digging etc. Some situations may call for more risk taking than others. As usual there is no black and white to cover ALL situations.

As stated in another post, THINK before we ACT.

Good advice gramps

Hi tuff , if you say you have seen a ball go though a cargo barrier , then that make 2 people who say the same thing , has me dumfounded of the force needed , especialy under foing though a window, then to have enough momentum to go through a front window after that is sceary

Hi Rock Crawler, I don't question the validity of it happening, could have, lots of ifs though. Conditions would have to be pretty good for the broken ball to lock in to the loop until it reached max velocity and then be released at just the right time. One in a billion chances but it could happen and I don't pass judgment on anyone's credibility. Let's for the exercise say it did do this. Could a strap snap off a tow ball?? Course it could, many factors would allow it to happen. Would it have the inertia to go through a rear window, cargo barrier (like a Milford) and then a windscreen??? With the conditions above (ideal) damn right it could!! Could calculate the inertia knowing the mass and terminal velocity or acceleration and distance but no need. Under ideal conditions with the weight of the ball it would pass through the lot and if your head was in the road that too. I'm talking everything to the max here, large strap, max vehicle accel, bogged vehicle not budging, and ball breaking at point of max energy in the strap. However the conditions for the hold and release of the ball would have to be pretty good, hope they are not the odds for me winning lotto.

would be a great one for mith busters . Really bad odds of it all happening lol . Scary thought , very scary

Rock Crawler, I was not saying I had seen a tow ball go through a cargo barrier, by the 60 being violated i meant by the trailor we were towing at the time. I have seen all sorts of things destroy cargo barriers, just loose objects that have become missiles in front end accidents, they either tear the barriers loose or pass through them. I was just saying they are not as strong as people percieve. Could a tow ball go through sure, somewhere on the net is a video of a bowling ball going in one side of a car and out the other(taking one door with it) so it is all about the mass and momentum, which someone else can work out.

Thats an interesting comment about Rio Tinto banning snatch straps, I understand completely why they did this, I would add that I have never seen a snatch strap on any construction or industrial site that I have worked on.

I have mentioned this before that what we do as 4 wheel drivers would not be allowed on any sort of industrial site.
Non tested components, questionable techniques and a severe lack of training by most individuals all spell disaster.

This argument also extends to the use of tow bars in general, No manufacturer will rate their bar for snatch recoveries, nobody can calculate the precise force exerted on the bar at anytime, this includes the tow ball and the snatch strap.

Good practice (Not) to attach an 8000 kg snatch strap to a 3.4 or 5 tonne shackle or ask yourself "How much strength is left in a 8000 kg snatch strap after its been stressed once or twice"?????.
As for using repaired equipment that is now known not to have been rated by the manufacturer (In any form) is also a disaster.

As I said, I know what we do as 4 wheel drivers is not the same as industry but it would be interesting to hear what a coroner may say about our methods and techniques after he has heard expert testimony from someone in industrial safety.

My personal preference is to winch rather than snatch as you can maintain a better control of the whole situation, with a more even and consistent pressure being applied to the loads.

Please just be bloody careful out there and think before you act.