So i have a hitch/recovery question

[ntsqd]

What about using one of these?

That is what I use for rear recovery on my truck.

Harley

The only thing you have to watch out for with those is the weight rating of the shackle. If you look at what is stamped in yours you'll likely be scared. Just remember that they are rated for overhead lifting to OSHA stds. The Factor of Safety is at least 3 times, and might be as much as 5 times the max rated load. To be safe I would limit the 'overload' to twice the weight rating. So if it's rated for 4,000 lbs consider the max to be 8,000 lbs and remember that when the slack goes out of the strap the loading could easily be twice the vehicle weight. Billavista's article on winches has some rules of thumb for estimating how much a given stuck is going to load all of the recovery bits.

Out of curiosity I calc'd the area in shear of the 1" ball shank and the 5/8" hitch pin. The shank is in single shear while the pin is in double shear. The pin is still smaller than the shank so it should fail first. For the ball's shank to fail first indicates that some bending load is adding to the Stress on the shank of the ball.

 

[dhcomp]

I've never broken one, so i don't ahve any pictures. I also haven't really done any "real" wheeling.....im just going on the laws of physics and the experiences/stories of others.

And when i said i've seen pictures of a trailer ball through/into a tailgate, one truck was pulling another out, back to back. The ball on one truck broke off, and the strap recoiled with teh ball, throwing the ball at the back of the other truck.

THink about it though, what is the max rating on a "good" trailer ball. 15,000lbs? Now think about how much force a 5000lb truck can generate if say, it accelerates for 5-10 ft before the strap gets tight. Or if a truck is stuck in mud, or gravel, or you are pulling up hill, the force needed to extract the truck quickly multiplies itself.


Another place to read up on stuff like this would be on Pirate's Recovery Bible
http://www.pirate4x4.com/tech/billavista/Recovery/index.html

BTW, in no way am i trying to get into a heated arguement over this. It just one of those things that makes a lot of sense when you figure it out, and can cause a lot of damage or injury if you have to learn the hard way. This is why i keep repeating myself....hopefully someone who's got a reputation around here will step in and back me up (i know im a "newbie" to posting here)

 

[jrpeebles]

We have been using pintle hooks in receiver hitches connected to 2,21/2 inch boat rope with very good results.These tend to be rather violent pulls out of deep mud;multiple fullsizes hooked together to pull one truck,etc.So far,I have only seen rope,strap,and hook failures - never a broken pintle hook.

 

[Hossbaby50]

The shackle that Warn supplies with that setup is rated for 4.75 tons/9500lbs. That is almost a 30,000lb break strength with the safety factor. If you want to up it even more you can replace that shackle with on rated for 6.5 tons.

Harley

 

[az-k5]

I was always under the impression that the ball was more brittle. It is also in single shear, with the load placed at least .5" above the shear point.

 

[Jonny-K5]

i like using the pin thru reciever hitch, but i've been told its possible to bend/break them. i think it would be pretty hard to do tho. and as for shackles, there is a big difference between ones made in usa and ones made in china. i was at a crane rigging shop a couple weeks ago, and they guy behind the counter said if your doing any heavy lifting,dont even consider the china ones. even tho they are rated the same the material isnt as good. cost about half as much too.

oh and the shockload the hitch/pin/shackle see's is alot less if you use a real recovery strap instead to a towstrap. big difference. a rec. strap is made to stretch like a rubber band. also pulls harder than a towstrap due to this design, when it sucks back together.