Connecting Straps, Cables, Chains, etc.
A 4WD Recovery Kit is an essential, not optional, part of any 4WD gear. A Recovery Kit consists of at least a snatch 'em strap, tow strap, tree trunk protector, snatch block, and two rated shackles, all in a neat (if not heavy) carry bag. The use of these items is discussed in this section and other sections of Hints & Tips.
Know where your tow points are on your vehicle and practise connecting a shackle & tow rope to them while your standing up, leaning over, and blindfolded. Why? In case you need to connect a tow rope to the tow point while it is submerged under muddy water in a bog or while you're stuck in the middle of a three-foot deep, freezing-cold stream. Axle-deep in the middle of a water-filled bog or bumper-bar deep in water, you won't be able to get your body down low (unless you have scuba gear or very good eyesight under mud) and so you'll have to bend down and rely on feel only ... and what a bugger if you fumble and drop that shackle pin in gooey, muddy water that is deeper than your arm or down amongst those heavy river boulders!!
When recovering another vehicle, do not use the tow ball as an anchor point for either vehicle. The tow ball could break and become a lethal projectile. Instead, remove the tow ball and place a shackle through the tow-ball hole and connect the strap or cable to the shackle.
For vehicles which have the square-tongue tow-ball set-up that slots into the towing chassis and is held in place with a pin: When towing another vehicle, remove the tow-ball set-up completely, then replace the pin into the chassis, having the pin pass thru the hole of the snatch 'em strap, holding it in place.
When recovering another vehicle, do not use the bull bar as an anchor point for either vehicle during a snatch recovery. The bull bar could be ripped off the chassis under the severe forces of a snatch recovery. A bull bar can be used for a normal tow recovery if there are no tow points, but it is not recommended.
When using shackles, don't tighten the shackle pin - once a recovery load has been placed on the shackle you may not be able to un-tighten it without the aid of a tool. Simply finger-tighten the pin, then back-off a 1/4 of a turn. This will allow you to easily undo the shackle with your fingers after the recovery. There is plenty of thread on the pin, so don't be afraid of it loosening completely under load.
Don't use the vehicle manufacturer's tie-down hooks as towing points. These points, which are under the front and rear of the vehicle, can only withstand the pressure of tie-down straps during transportation on trucks, etc. They will easily break under recovery loads. Check your owners manual, or have with your dealer show you the correct recovery points.
When joining snatch 'em straps, when one is not long enough, do not use a shackle to join them. One of the straps could break and the shackle could become a lethal projectile. Instead, pass each end of the straps thru the hole of the other so that when pulled the straps are joined together. Now, to stop the straps from "locking together" due to the weight of the recovery process, roll up a newspaper and place between the straps where they join - the paper will allow you to easily un-join the straps. If you don't have a newspaper, a small branch will do. If you don't place something between the straps, you won't be able to pull them apart! The diagram below shows the technique for joining the straps:
A snatch recovery can not be used with a standard tow rope or cable. Only the specially designed snatch 'em strap with it's elastic properties can be used. 4WD Recovery kits usually come with both a tow strap and snatch 'em strap which can look similar at a glance - don't confuse them.
An essential part of your recovery equipment, when using cables, is a pair of leather gloves (they cost less than $10). Cables, even new ones, are notorious for having small splinter-like fragments of wire which are painful, and near impossible, to remove from your hand.
When using cables to tow, place a bag or blanket over the middle of the cable. If the cable breaks the bag will act as a cushion, reducing the whipping affect of the cable and hopefully preventing damage to the vehicles or persons.
People Safety: When using tow cables or snatch 'em straps to recover another vehicle from a bog or such, have all persons except the drivers out of the vehicles and as far away from the vehicles as possible. Firstly, the less weight in the vehicles the better. Secondly, if a cable breaks and comes hurtling thru a windscreen, there are less targets (people) it can hit. Thirdly, if a strap or cable breaks, people must not be within the distance of the strap or cable (especially if shackles are used) as they can be lethally struck be these objects. Finally, people must be well away from both vehicles in case one gets out of control (for example, slips in the mud) and begins to careen towards the people, or both loose traction and roll backwards on steep slopes.
See the section on winching to see how the shackles, cables and winches are connected for that purpose.
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