Who’s Snatch strap should be used?

[XJ Junkie]

When someone gets stuck off-road & needs recovery, there’s a commonly accepted etiquette that the person whose vehicle is stuck must provide his rope & not the person performing the recovery.

Whilst the above is a sign of good manners, there’s another logic that’s often overlooked.

When selecting a recovery strap/rope, consideration needs to be given to its rated breaking point. Whilst there’s no hard & fast rule, it’s accepted that the Breaking Point rating should be at least 2.5 times your vehicles weight. There’s other suggestions that it should be 3.5 to 4 times your vehicles weight, but I believe that’s too high.

The above is determined according to the weight of the stuck vehicle, because that’s where most of the recover energy ends up.

So if we have a lightish vehicle attempting to recover a big Patrol or Cruiser with a rope that’s rated for the lighter recovery vehicle, it’ll increase the risk it snapping.

It’s obviously impossible to know what weight of vehicles you’re likely to encounter that need you to recover them. That’s why this is a good idea, namely to buy a rope/strap that’s rated to your vehicle, not somebody else’s.

I think it makes sense.

[XJ Junkie]

Yes in that instance the rope wouldn’t be strong enough. But most ropes’ breaking point is at a force of 8 ton, which will work for most vehicles.

When ropes with a higher breaking points are used with lighter vehicles, then the kinetic action will be reduced.

[XJ Junkie]

Yes you could but the kinetic effectiveness will be reduced.

[Reenen]

[Mad Manny]

Great question Neil...

Two scenarios.
Att Se Gat: Ant 4Gee & I had to help apair of drunk, Jeep Driving Boneheads (lots of repetition there) who were stuck in the dying daylight.
We took Fearless & helped them but made them attach their rope to Fearless (for liability & blame purposes).
However, their rope (strap) was such a piece of crap, we then used our own.
But these guys were such chops, once we had got them partially safe we quickly departed - there was a high risk of something going wrong with these suip & dryf assholes.

River Trip: we came across an old 2WD ranger overloaded with crates of beer that had sunk in the River.
We decided to help, but we made them attach the winch hook (firstly for liability reasons & secondly because you had to walk a good few meters into the water & attach it under water).
This proved to be the right decision as water they attached it to kept breaking. At least it wasn't our fault.

There are lots of things to consider:
* Use theirs & it damages your vehicle?
* Use yours & something goes wrong &damages their vehicle?

Personally I'm always reluctant to recover strangers...

[Shane]

Yes you could but the kinetic effectiveness will be reduced.

Ok but what if your shackles are only rated 3-4t?

I have been looking around and the highest rating is 4.75t (iirc), that would mean your shackle would potentially break before your rope snaps?

Shouldn't it rather be the other way around?

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[KurtG]

The breaking force of a shackle is way higher than the 4.75t annotated on it, more like over 20t. Let me look for a YouTube video about it...

[KurtG]

Here Shane:

https://youtu.be/66BXmM_JuBI

[XJ Junkie]

By ons gebruik ons gewoontlik die naaste ou se tou. Almal is vriende, en daar is nie so iets van ek sal jou nie met my tou uit trek nie. Almal help almal.

Same with our mates. We use each other’s stuff. But that’s different. A stranger won’t replace your rope

[XJ Junkie]

Yes you could but the kinetic effectiveness will be reduced.

Ok but what if your shackles are only rated 3-4t?

I have been looking around and the highest rating is 4.75t (iirc), that would mean your shackle would potentially break before your rope snaps?

Shouldn't it rather be the other way around?

The breaking point on a bow shackle is 4 or 5 times the working load limit. So a 8T strap will snap loooong before your shackle fails.

[Shane]

The breaking force of a shackle is way higher than the 4.75t annotated on it, more like over 20t. Let me look for a YouTube video about it...

Thanks Kurt!

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[XJ Junkie]

Good video Kurt. There’s also a strap stress test somewhere on the net

[Shane]

Yes you could but the kinetic effectiveness will be reduced.

Ok but what if your shackles are only rated 3-4t?

I have been looking around and the highest rating is 4.75t (iirc), that would mean your shackle would potentially break before your rope snaps?

Shouldn't it rather be the other way around?

The breaking point on a bow shackle is 4 or 5 times the working load limit. So a 8T strap will snap loooong before your shackle fails.

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[XJ Junkie]

A lot of people disagree but I believe that the rope/strap should be the weakest point in the recovery gear.

[Ricof4e]

A lot of people disagree but I believe that the rope/strap should be the weakest point in the recovery gear.

It makes sense. I would rather have a strap snap than have a broken shackle go through my rear window.