Tow rope?

[reb87]

I need some advice on what kind of tow rope to get for getting trucks unstuck. I will be using it with my m919 which is 65000 lbs when full and might be pulling out 85-90 thousand lbs of m818+trailer. I dont know anything about ropes like this so would appreciate any and all advice. . Anybody have a good source?

 

[srodocker]

im also curious on good recovery rope or train. as i have a deuce and will use it to pull out people in the mud bog

 

[doghead]

Kipman, has some big ole straps that may do what you need.

 

[M1075]

I need some advice on what kind of tow rope to get for getting trucks unstuck. I will be using it with my m919 which is 65000 lbs when full and might be pulling out 85-90 thousand lbs of m818+trailer. I dont know anything about ropes like this so would appreciate any and all advice. . Anybody have a good source?

Ross, I bought a big tow rope for the M1075 at a farm show. I'll check on the manufacturer, but it is distincly blue, with protective sleeve, and huge D rings on each end. It is probably 3-4" diameter and at least 100 foot long. I think it is rated for 200,000#. When dealing with a lot of weight and/or a long reach, it gets the job done. It is nice to have positive attachement points when using the pintle and/or tow shackles. You will need to add an attachment point on the rear of your M919.

Another, more convenient rope is a military sling used by helicopters. These usually come as a 4 pack, but are easily seperated into 4 ropes, each with a chain extension on one end. We use these in all of our ranch pickups and smaller military vehicles. That have been used on occasion to pull stuck semis, although this far exceeds their rating. They are short (15-20') black/grey ropes about 1.5" diameter with black rubber loops on each end and a chain extension on one end. Look here: http://www.steelsoldiers.com/planes-helicopters/16608-aerial-slings.html

 

[Josh]

Get Tugboat ropes. They float and if im not mistaken are rated well over 100K

 

[Scout]

Towing | Recovery | Repo | Safety | Service Truck Equipment and Supplies - AW Direct

I beleive they have charts with ratings for straps

 

[srodocker]

how do you acquire a tow boat roap?

 

[Recovry4x4]

I'm going to be the odd man here. I don't just look for something that far exceeds the capacity of the vehicles. I've used snatch-um straps all my life and I can tell you, much can get done with the right one. Look up AKERR on Google. It;s also in some TMs. If you want the exact item, I suggest contacting Strapman.com - Straps and Tie-Down Products for Lashing your Load Securely He can build you exactly what you need and it will work. I have no affiliation, just trust his stuff and workmanship. The price won't be cheap but neither will the product.

 

[nightrain cowboy]

i aquired some 2" kevlar mooring lines from some small boats several years ago. ive pulled out semis, rollback wreckers, and 100 plus horsepower tractors with them and never had a problem. they do not stretch however. dead pull only. i actually ripped the rear end out of a ford 1 ton with them. oops. he hooked it i didnt. however, for size to weight capacity, you cant beat kevlar.

 

[saddamsnightmare]

January 11th, 2010.

Wayne Harris, member on here, used to have some superior ex USAF extraction straps about 60' long used to jerk palleted cargo outta the back of C130's.... So far I have about accidentally pulled out a telephone pole using it to get a tangled up tractor unstuck. Seems like the deuce doesn't begin to have enough pulling power to strain them.... They are about 8 plies of some serious nylon OD webbing.

Cheers,

Kyle F. McGrogan

 

[Lex_Ordo]

Try this site. This company sells the 10' HMMWV 43,000 lb tow strap.
Starrr Products - Product » US Army Hummer Tow Sling NSN# 5340-01-47...

 

[Recovry4x4]

Kipman, has some big ole straps that may do what you need.

That reminds me, I have 3 of them 60 footers in a duffle back in the back of the deuce. Yeah, that's right, I've not unloaded from the GA Rally.

 

[tm america]

the 4x4 club i wheel with has a tug boat rope it is rated at like 500,000lbs it is 2.5 inch diameter.it is around 100-120ft long i have hit trucks with it using my deuce fuel throttle with 80 ft of slack it doesnt even phase the tug boat rope. but it will get the truck out or pull it in half

 

[tm america]

the tug boat rope we got came from a guy that worked down at the harbor near my house .they do have some give too . we have been beating on it for over ten years it is still in great shape we clean it after every use it comes in real handy

 

[gimpyrobb]

IN addition to what Kenny said, kip has the ropes that m1075 said were good too. I have bought alot from him and give him a big "thumbs up".

 

[tm america]

the tug boat ropes are great but any snatch strap is gonna be hard on your tow points .i would put a winch on your truck get plenty of snatch blocks and do slow safe pulls.after i got my bumper ripped of at haspin i dont like the idea of snatch straps as much as winching ..even when winching you need to try to use both lifting clevises and the pintle if possible to keep from ripping the tow points off and turning the frame into a trapizoid

 

[Capt Pat]

Recovery is right, and I'm not lecturing here, but there is a right way and an easy way, and as one who has worked rigging for cargo handling, marine towing and salvage and other things I'd rather not say as they were in my younger and more "invincible" days when watching the steam off a line was 'cool and seeing if you could get the "tattletail" to stretch was fun. Those things can and will get you hurt of worse. If you're going to be "jumping" on the line, you want to do some research on your own. Some 'big ole tugboat line' could be deteriorated seriously inside, and if you don't look or know how, you could lose a buddy, his leg or the rear of your rig.
You can go on line and find charts for the breaking strength of various lines and straps, but that is for NEW stuff. Not "PRE-STRESSED" or "lightly used", better known as abused stuff. Some of the new "polysteel" and other more sophisticated lines take alot of abuse, but do yourself and those around you a favor. Start with NEW, or at least new old stock that hasn't laid about mildewing or getting dirty or contaminated with dirt or worse, metal chips. They all cut fibers, fibers make yarns, yarns make strands, strands make lines. Be safe doing it. And good luck.

 

[Jones]

If you're set on using rope then look into hawser material. "Samson Braid" is one name for it but every mfr. has their own. It's used for mooring lines and tow lines when tugs are handling barges.
The selling point of it is that it doesn't stretch much but even more important-- if it breaks it just sorta falls to the ground (or into the water). It doesn't whip back looking for someone to maim.

The AKERR (Applied Kinetic Energy Recovery Rope) that Kenny is talking about is the military version of a snatch-em strap and is intended for use in armored vehicle recovery operations. It's max. rating is for use on M110A2's which are 62,500 lbs.
The manual also tells you to only use the shackles included in the AKERR kit- that any others, even those with comparable ratings may break.
It also reminds us that "If towing attachments fail, metal pieces can be catapulted at high velocity".
And to make sure no one is standing within 100 feet of either vehicle, and that anyone operating the recovery vehicle or the stuck vehicle is inside with all hatches closed and secured.

A part of your recovery kit should also be a copy of FM20-22 "Vehicle Recovery Operations" AND a working knowledge of the manual material. It ain't enough to just have a copy on board... or home in your manual library.

Hate to sound like a mom but sometimes it's the only way to keep ourselves and our fellow MVers safe.

 

[Divemaster920]

GL has some nice chain up for bid now.
4010 - Chain and Wire Rope at Government Liquidation

 

[Recovry4x4]

the tug boat ropes are great but any snatch strap is gonna be hard on your tow points .i would put a winch on your truck get plenty of snatch blocks and do slow safe pulls.after i got my bumper ripped of at haspin i dont like the idea of snatch straps as much as winching ..even when winching you need to try to use both lifting clevises and the pintle if possible to keep from ripping the tow points off and turning the frame into a trapizoid

I'm going respecfully disagree with you on this one. My common sense tells me that the stiffer, non stretchable tug ropes would be harder on your towpoints than the more elastical snatch strap. I'd be interested in seeing the material of the strap used to rip off your bumper. I'd bet lunch that it wasn't a snatch strap at all but the more rigid and non-elastic material used for slings and such. Again, I wasn't there but the thought that a more elastic material would be harder on tow points than the less stretchy rope just doesn't make sense in my little brain.