Use stretchy rope to tow out a stuck heavy vehicle

[bruceknee]

Be careful,       I will try and post the photo of the 2" 3 strand nylon rope imprint showing up as a raised welt on my upper back and neck. After the rope took out the back and side windows, it hit me. The winshield and metal dash were clearly outlined around my upper torso and head just like they were sandblasted. My back looked like I had been shot with a shotgun, through a jacket and 2 shirts. The rope was in good shape bur still parted just below the splice.

[H3Jim]

DML,

If I read your mock ebay ad correctly, your max size rope was 1" in diameter.  With all those tows, and heavy buses, did you ever have one break? 
Any idea what the breaking strength was?

This last weekend in watching the guy using the chain, the only time he made any headway with moving the stuck vehicle, was when he got a running start of say several inches as the slack came out.  That is very dangerous with a chain, or something that has little perceptable stretch. They did the same thing with the non stretchable nylon strap. Getting out of deep sand is more than just normal towing. I think not having that sudden jerk puts a ot less stress on the rope, and the attach  points.

I want to reiterate about putting a tire or a blanket over the rope / chain as you are using it.  I believe that all the stories in this trhead about catastrophic failure and folks gettig hurt, would have been prevented if they had simply hung something over it. 

[DrivingMissLazy]

BK, a tow strap is not in the same class as a nylon line. It will not stretch. At least not enough to be of any benefit. I have tried everything in the sand dunes and in some mud bogs and nothing available even comes close to the nylon line. It is really amazing to watch. You see the slack come out of the nylon line and then you expect a jerk of some kind, but nothing happens. The tow vehicle just keeps going for what appears to be another 50 feet or so, then the bus just seems to kinda start moving. No jerk at all.
Richard

[Dallas]

BK, a tow strap is not in the same class as a nylon line. It will not stretch. At least not enough to be of any benefit. I have tried everything in the sand dunes and in some mud bogs and nothing available even comes close to the nylon line. It is really amazing to watch. You see the slack come out of the nylon line and then you expect a jerk of some kind, but nothing happens. The tow vehicle just keeps going for what appears to be another 50 feet or so, then the bus just seems to kinda start moving. No jerk at all.
Richard

Richard, Would you tell me the reason a strap is not the same as a rope? Isn't a round profile the same as a flat profile?

"Warn" uses recovery straps, Holmes uses recovery straps and AATAC uses recovery straps. Believe me, I've used lot's of these companies products. Is it posible they would not use a rope in place of a strap?

This would be interesting to persue farther.

Personally, I've towed out logging trucks in Idaho using nothing but a 4" cargo strap nad a 1 ton service truck. It had lots of stretch and snap.

Dallas

[kyle4501]

I'm not sure, but I believe it has to do with the weave pattern & maybe the compressibility of the core. The straps may also be more sensitive to nicks on the edge.

[DrivingMissLazy]

Dallas, a tow strap does not stretch.very much if any. At least none that I have seen. The nylon line stretches at least 50% or more I believe and you end up with a lot of stored energy in the stretched rope.

Remember you start off with the tow vehicle back bumper up against the front bumper of the vehicle being towed and 100 feet of line curled up under the truck.

It is really a scary feeling the first time you do this, to see the truck take off and then the line finally getting all stretched out. As the line actually stretches you feel nothing in the bus, until there is enough energy stored in the line to start moving the bus. Many times the tow vehicle will come to a complete stop for a few seconds just spinning in the sand until the bus starts to move. You really have to see this to actually believe it works so great.

My son used to make lots of spare change pulling people out when we went to Glamis or Pismo Beach. In many cases it was after a wrecker had tried and failed. The winch on a wrecker would just pull the wrecker backwards in the sand.
Richard

[Ace]

Sort of like a bungy jumper jumping off a bridge...

the bridge being the stuck bus (vehicle) and the vehicle doing the pulling, being the jumper!

HMM... I can see it now.

Picture this!

Pulling vehicle takes off from a dead stop hitting somewhere in the neghborhood of 50mph plus, stretching this tow rope (bungy cord) and comes to a another dead stop at the end of the rope and even leaves the ground, THEN, all of sudden, the pulling vehicle starts a return trip back towards the stuck bus. I sure hope the rope is long enough so as to not hit the bus! THAT could be devastating!

Yea I can see where the driver of the pulling vehicle would think it's fun! 

Ace

[bobofthenorth]

Its all great until someone gets hurt.  Anytime you are depending on a glorified elastic band to get you out of the glue I think its time to go find a bigger tractor.  IMHO

[DrivingMissLazy]

Hey ACE, you hit it on the head. A very good example of how it works. The nice thing about it is that with a 100 foot line and then another 50 feet of stretch the chances of the tow vehicle coming back all the way to the bus is very slim. Especially since it is sitting there with all four wheels spinning trying to move forward.
Richard

Sort of like a bungy jumper jumping off a bridge...

the bridge being the stuck bus (vehicle) and the vehicle doing the pulling, being the jumper!

HMM... I can see it now.

Picture this!

Pulling vehicle takes off from a dead stop hitting somewhere in the neghborhood of 50mph plus, stretching this tow rope (bungy cord) and comes to a another dead stop at the end of the rope and even leaves the ground, THEN, all of sudden, the pulling vehicle starts a return trip back towards the stuck bus. I sure hope the rope is long enough so as to not hit the bus! THAT could be devastating!

Yea I can see where the driver of the pulling vehicle would think it's fun! 

Ace

[Busted Knuckle]

BK, a tow strap is not in the same class as a nylon line. It will not stretch. At least not enough to be of any benefit. I have tried everything in the sand dunes and in some mud bogs and nothing available even comes close to the nylon line. It is really amazing to watch. You see the slack come out of the nylon line and then you expect a jerk of some kind, but nothing happens. The tow vehicle just keeps going for what appears to be another 50 feet or so, then the bus just seems to kinda start moving. No jerk at all.
Richard

Richard 1st off I've only been around, owned & worked tow trucks ALL my life, so I'm sure I know less than anyone on the board about getting vehicles unstuck!
Second I worded my post incorrectly as the "Tow strap" I bought is actually a rope! it is very heavy duty! As I said B4 if the ARMY uses 'm I guarantee they are strong enough for any of our uses! BK 

[Busted Knuckle]

My son used to make lots of spare change pulling people out when we went to Glamis or Pismo Beach. In many cases it was after a wrecker had tried and failed. The winch on a wrecker would just pull the wrecker backwards in the sand.
Richard

With an experienced operator the wrecker should never leave with the disabled vehicle stuck! BK

[DrivingMissLazy]

Have you ever tried to retrieve a motor home on a beach with the tide coming in and the M/H actually with the wheels covered in ocean?
In this case the wrecker actually had two big truck tires and he backed up on them to try and keep the wrecker from sliding back down the sand dune while he used his winch, but to no avail.

We were able to retrieve the motor home with the tow line. Fortunately it was a front engine M/H so that it could keep going after we got it started. We then towed it all the way to the beach entrance ramp as the wet sand was all covered with water and we had to get out over the dry dune sand.

Over the years I saw several vehicles inundated with the incoming tide. Not really a pretty picture.

Richard

With an experienced operator the wrecker should never leave with the disabled vehicle stuck! BK

[DrivingMissLazy]

Hey Jim, thanks for giving me credit for that. I know it is not copywrited or patented, but you have my permission anyhow to publish it. LOL
Richard

Sometime ago I traded messages with Driving Miss Lazy regarding good ways of getting a stuck bus out of the sand.  First, I am happy to report that I have not yet had the privilege of getting my bus stuck.

DML suggested stretchy rope so that the towing vehicle can get a running start, and since the rope stretches, it won't yank the axles off, or bumpers or whatever you have tied it to.

In preparation for the awful day when I do become stuck (I go to the desert all the time) I purchased a 60 foot length of 1" marine rope that has 15% stretch in it. 30,000 lbs breaking strength.  I always carry it with me.  This last weekend, I used it to tow out motor homes with trailers, trucks and camping trailers etc.  I used a friends truck so I didn't have to get the bus in the sand.  I am now a great believer, and so are most of my friends about using a stretchy rope to tow with. One group of folks was using a flat nylon tow strap to tow out a big class A with trailer, when the strap broke, it took out the motor home's  radiator. When they got out a chain I was afraid they would do some real damage so I went over and lent them my rope.  they had been working for several hours to try to get the unit out, but the rope just popped the out in several minutes.  ( I had been away from camp when they were originally stuck or I would have helped them sooner, before the radiator got trashed.)

Its really remarkable how well it works.  My only issue is being able to find the big stuff at a reasonable price, I paid a lot from the marine store for this - although still less than a tow if I ever need it.

The main point of this post is to let everyone know the dramatic difference there is in using something that gives as opposed to chain or other non stretchy stuff.  Much safer, way more effective.

[H3Jim]

DML - LOL  Thanks for your permission!

It still seems a controversial topic, but you are right, once you see it work with even a little bit of stretch, its really amazing and will make a believer out of anyone.  As you know, getting stuck in the sand, especally deep sand, is a very different type of stuck than most folks encounter.  Did you ever have a rope break?

[DrivingMissLazy]

NO, I never saw a rope break, that is why I think a one inch rope is plenty big.

And you are absolutely correct, getting stuck in soft sand is really something else. Especially if there is no firm ground to get the tow vehicle on. Have to send BK to Glamis or Pismo Beach sometime. LOL

I have had a rope come unhooked a couple of times, till we learned a surefire method to prevent it, but even then the rope end never even came close to coming back to the bus. I think because it is so long and the end of the rope is just not heavy enough to fly back that far.
Richard

DML - LOL  Thanks for your permission!

It still seems a controversial topic, but you are right, once you see it work with even a little bit of stretch, its really amazing and will make a believer out of anyone.  As you know, getting stuck in the sand, especially deep sand, is a very different type of stuck than most folks encounter.  Did you ever have a rope break?