Dec 11
5
I was at a 4WD show last weekend, and was told that 6 people were killed in the last year due to four wheel drive recoveries going wrong. It’s become more and more obvious to me, as someone who is frequently four wheel driving that safety isn’t taken as seriously as it should be. I see people all the time doing recoveries dangerously, and it’s no wonder more people aren’t hurt. I need to clear something up, as a primary objective in this article. Please do not ever use your tow ball to recover off. Whether you are using a snatch strap, tow rope or chains, a tow ball is not to be used.
They are rated for downwards force, and not horizontal sheer force (which is what you apply when you try to recover a four wheel drive). What happens so often is the tow ball snaps, and they fly like bullets wherever the momentum takes them. If you imagine a solid ball flying towards your car at over 100km/h, perhaps it will put you off using the tow ball. Not only do they do serious damage to vehicles, but if they hit you serious injury or death can, and does occur.
There are 2 correct ways to recover. The first is to remove the reece hitch completely and feed the strap into the towbar, with the pin going through the strap. Worst case scenario is that the pin bends, but no one is hurt. The second, which is even better is to buy these neat recovery hitches for about $35. They bolt into the towbar, and have a shackle hanging off the back which you can safely attach the strap, winch or tow rope to. Make sure that you have the pin through the tow bar correctly (with the R clip through correctly too).
You should always have a dampening blanket over the strap/winch cable/tow rope in case it breaks. This limits the distance and speed that it can travel at, and will save you time and time again if something goes wrong. No passengers should be in the vehicle during a recovery either; you are putting them at risk if they are. Make sure that observers are at least 20 metres away too, as things can go wrong. The further you are away, the safer you are.
Above all, take it slowly, think about the recovery and do it safely. No one wants to hear of deaths because you were rushing or didn’t think about a 4WD recovery enough.
Snatch Straps can be very dangerous in the wrong hands. Have a look at my article to learn the correct way to use a Snatch Strap. Even better, get yourself a set of Maxtrax and then you can recover quicker, safer and easier than messing around with winches and snatch straps!
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