As I prepare my car and my gear for wheelin, I've been pondering tow straps and tow hooks. Over the years I've broke quite a few 2" straps, a couple 3" and one 4". When I was driving my 8000# fullsize rig, it seemed like a 6" wide strap about 30 feet long worked for most extraction conditons. Although that sounds a little heavy for a light Subaru.

 

I've also seen discussions on the grave risks involved in using straps with metal hooks on them and the potential danger in having a hook slip off one of the rigs and go flying, causing potentially fatal consequences. So I understand the requirement to only bring straps with closed eyes and no metal hooks.

 

Part of my question here is on tow hooks which are mounted on the vehicle. If they are closed such as a d-ring or a big hole in a bumper support, then a shackle would be needed to connect the strap to the vehicle. I'm guessing that the use of a shackle is an acceptable lesser risk then using an open hook, as it would tend to stay attached to the vehicle even if the strap broke.

 

I'm somewhat new to heavy wheelin, but I would think an open tow hook on the vehicle with a safty catch would be desirable as it would allow a strap to be connected quickly without the use of a shackle. Although over time the safety catch always gets beat up, bent and rendered useless.

 

My first question for you all, is what types of tow hooks seem to work the best?

 

And my second question is what length and thickness of straps would you reccomend?

 

I look forward to your comments

 

Rollie

I just did a quick read of your post, but i would still like to give my .02 cents.

 

1. Hooks of any kind are bad, so are the factory loops. with a loop the strap can slip off, and the factory hooks arn't strong once you get big tires and are in big trouble.

 

2. I'd get the biggest strap you can afford. it will last longer and generally be better all around, 50,000 pounds will be plenty, you don't need a truck 18 wheeler strap though.

Definatly get the biggest strap you can aford, even to the point of not getting a strap and saving your money up to get a good one. I will show you a couple of my straps on the walker trip, or mabey earlier if you want to get together sooner, I am off work untill jan 2.

As for tow hooks and schackles, shackles are great, never had any problems using them, I carry a couple in my jeep. The best tow hooks I have found are the factory tow hooks from GM trucks found on most mid 70's through present 4wd's. they are big and strong and will bend before they break unlike most aftermarket tow hooks that will break before they bend.

Would 15' be long enough. I see a bunch of 50,000# straps 15' long on Ebay that are pretty cheap.

 

Heres one:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Tow-Strap-3-x15-RecoverySling-4x4-OFFROAD-CargoStrap-B_W0QQitemZ4600064227QQcategoryZ43998QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

The longer the better as far as straps go.

If your pulling you or someone else out,

You may also be pulling them home...?

15' on the freeway is a real short distance!

 

The factory tow points are usless!

Don't trust them even in snow.

(that's how I pulled my loops out)

I run D rings welded onto my custom bumper in the front, and used the shackles that screw in, so I don't have to mess with the pins...

 

and I know they won't come apart, or slip off, if the retainer clip is bad.

and I'm usually not looking for spped in the recovery process

 

I'm just using a 3" strap. 15k lbs rating I think.

Long is good. You'd be surprised at how short a 25 foot strap is when off the road. I've got a 4 inch wide 50-footer, hooks on each end.

 

My 2 bucks

Those factory tow points rip off and fly through the air better than steel hooks. They're just for looks and holding the car down on the ship from Japan. On my Hatchback I connected the left and right bumper mounts together under the car and the bumper mounts go up inside the unibody as far as I could get 'em. The rear bumper is also connected to the diff hanger mounts for reinforcing. The idea was to attach the bumpers to as much unibody as possible since it's all kinda wimpy.

 

I have a couple of good quality 3"x 30' straps plus 2 six foot long tree saver slings from Northern Tool. All my straps have reinforced loop ends. The tree slings come in handy not just if you have to winch off a tree but also when you just need a little extra length or to go around a corner, or you can loop them around the ends of a tube bumper if you don't have a shackle. For a car with wimpy tow points, you could use the tree slings to distribute the force to both sides of the crossmember or whatever's solid.

 

I'm into carrying way too much extra weight, so I also carry a come-along, four shackles, an extra 25' x 1/4" cable, plus a snatch block. The old stock Superwinch on the front bumper isn't good for much and I never got the portable 4500# winch set up but it looks great on the coffee table.

I ride a bit light, but I've had some problems with my rig, so I don't get it in any farther than I know I can get out (yet), I think I've only been pulled out of a couple things, and neither were severe (were I was actually stuck, not just broken ).....

 

with that in mind, I've only got one strap, it's only 20ft long (and I think 3" wide, might be 3.5), and only one shackle. But the strap is hella strong, and gives a little, so you can snap it a bit if you need to and it's still pretty gentle on both cars (i.e. compared to a chain).

 

If I were regularly pushing my car to the absolute breaking point now, I'd carry at least 2 more shackles, another, longer strap (but keep the 20 footer, sometimes it's nice to be close, it all depends on the situation), I like the tree saver strap idea, etc.

 

hooks are bad, go with closed loop atachments whenever possible!

i'd guess 15' is too short for your needs, i'd hold out for something better. i don't know how long mine is, i think it's a 15 footer, but it's not long enough. i usually wish it were longer. it's hard to be "too long" but can get "too short" in a hurry when you wish it wasn't.

 

you guys have had the factory tow hooks pull out? i use them all the time for pulling/dragging other cars in snow, mud, whatever. what do you do in place of these hooks? and i know nothing about 4 wheeling, offroading. i've never gotten into it, i just hunt, fishin, drive through snow for fun or to go sledding...basically when i need to. never go trail riding or anything so keep the 4WD lingo to a minimum!

I'd say as long as the rust isn't structural, you're not snapping the strap (getting a run at it), and you're not trying to drag out a Tahoe....the stock hooks are fine. I use them when I pull my loyale parts car out of the woods (on it, I've got a D-Ring on my rear bumper)