Tow straps with metal hooks?

[TwistedCU]

Anybody have them? The fact is that our hobby should have us using recovery straps and not tow straps anyhow, but add the little metal hooks to the already inadequate tow strapsa and they are disasterous. Most clubs and trails prohibit them, and here's an example why.

This story was forwarded to me via the MRR4X4Club:

Man dies after being struck by metal from tow strap
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HEATH TOWNSHIP, Mich. A Holland man died after being struck in the head with a piece of metal that was attached to the end of a tow strap being used to pull a truck from the mud in Allegan County.
The sheriff's department says 33-year-old Jonathan Blystra was among a group of friends driving four-wheel drive trucks through a mud bog in Heath Township yesterday when his truck became stuck.
The group tried to free Blystra's truck with a tow strap attached to another truck, but the strap broke.
The piece of metal went thorough the windshield of Blystra's truck, striking him in the head. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
______________

 

[90Xjay]

Harbor Freight tow strap w/metal hooks... $9.99 with nice made in China metal ends....

Not worth your life:redface:

I bought a good 20K lb strap from 4Wheel Parts for around $35 I think.

 

[Magua308]

I never even thought of the difference between recovery straps and tow straps. I guess I'll go shopping. Anyone know a good source?

 

[90Xjay]

I never even thought of the difference between recovery straps and tow straps. I guess I'll go shopping. Anyone know a good source?

4WheelParts.com
Click here:

http://www.4wheelparts.com/4wp/products/productLine.asp?cat=SUS&prodline=463&catName=Suspension&man=PRO&parentProdline=SusAccPRO&expand=sub7

 

[Magua308]

I think I might just find a 30 foot piece of mooring line (I am active duty Coast Guard) that way all of your tax dollars can pay for it.

 

[JeepMonkey]

Anytime you use a strap you should always hang a heavy blanket or jacket over the line. That way if the strap breaks the weight of blanket will pull the line to the ground and hopefully keep it from going thru the windshield. I think someone even sells something specifically designed to attach to the line to do this. I would think as long as the object is heavier then the metal hook you wouldn't have to worry.

 

[90growler]

I have seen a strap snap and go right through the radiator of some guys Bronco. Pretty scary now that I think about it.

 

[redrooster]

That's nuts to think it had the velocity to go through the windshield and still carry enough force to kill.
There are also some new products out like the Winch Saver that prevents the hook from getting winched into the fairlead as well as being used as a weight when winching. It's a pretty good idea and you could probably make your own on the cheap.

 

[bchcky]

yeah they sell the blankets that you can put over a winch line incase that snaps. my old roommate used to always put his hood up when he was winching as the terrain allowed, that way, if anything ever snapped back, might not be 100%, but i'd rather take my chances in the car with the hood up, than with just the windshield in front of me.

 

[90Xjay]

I think I might just find a 30 foot piece of mooring line (I am active duty Coast Guard) that way all of your tax dollars can pay for it.

Well, according to the Naval IG, if the item is under $2500 in value, your good to go.

http://www.ig.navy.mil/Complaints%20%20(Theft%20of%20Government%20Property).htm

 

[Sparky-Watts]

I worked a few nasty accidents when I was a paramedic that involved straps and hooks, also chains and nylon ropes combined. None are meant for recovery, only for towing, as the name implies. I have a tow strap with the metal hooks, and I use it for pulling logs down on the farm, towing the occasional stalled vehicle, and for pulling limbs out of trees. I'd never use it for pulling a vehicle out of the mud, and always tie a blanket around the strap when pulling anything with it anyway, something my dad taught me a long time ago.

Long before I was a paramedic, there was an old farmer here that was pulling a combine out of the mud with a tractor, using a 1" nylon rope and a 1" logging chain. The chain broke and the rope contracted, sending the chain through the back of the cab of his tractor, nearly cutting him in half. His spinal column was fully exposed from all sides when they removed the chain in the ER. Suprisingly, he survived with a bad limp, and walked hunched over with a cane, only to die 20 years later from skin cancer......