The Tow Strap could be for you incase YOU need the tow.

you recommend any particular brand? do they require a hitch or anything to attach to? cause my car has none.

AAA and a guy to tow you is a good thing but if that was all you needed you wouldnt have gone through the trouble and expense of your BOB and car kit. We keep these things just in case. what happens if your phones dead or you don't have the $40? A large part of surviving is keeping and open mind and adapting. You took a big step by building your kits and starting to ask questions, but it is just the first step. Now that I'm off my soap box WELCOME ABOARD!!!!!!!!!!!

Erik_D, you are way too confident in AAA and mobile telephony. What if your mob.phone just discharged (broken, lost, stolen, have no service in the area?).

Ok. The real life example (not towing but happened just 10 hours ago with me):

We were on the way home from a 3 day camping trip. I had to be back to work at 2 p.m. (Monday meeting). We had plenty of time ahead as we've checked out early to allow for traffic, but was ahead of schedule because there was no traffic at all. So, we've stopped at the Santa Cruz (CA) beach just to take a look at the famous Moscow Circus 1 hour performance (highly recommended!). We've parked on the narrow heavily trafficked one way street... When we've came back, I've realized that the car's battery is dead... There was no way to stop any passing-by car and ask for a jump start assistance because nobody would like to stop and block the one way street completely. I've called AAA and spent 15 minutes explaining my whereabouts and listening to a "5 year warranty new battery sale ad/offer exclusively from AAA" thing. Just to finally hear that the estimated time of service delay is more than 1 hour! Not acceptable!

Fortunately, the owner of the pick-up-truck, parked right behind me, has showed up. And the more important thing is that he had a jumper cable too! We've joined his cable with mine and got a long enough cable to do the job in this situation in just 5 minutes... I was at the important meeting right in time.

Sure thing I've canceled the request with AAA (they were glad because my order was not dispatched yet), replaced my 6 year old battery at the local Kragen, and going to shop for a longer jump starting cable (20 feet at least).

I'm just glad it died not at the camp site (no cell coverage, no people around (Monday), rangers are passing-by just 3 times a day...

All cars come from the factory with tow points, they are used for shipping the vehicle and for use by tow trucks. Common ones I've seen are holes in the frame or small d-rings, some trucks and SUVs come with tow hooks or shackles.

As for the strap, just make sure you get a strap rated many times higher than the weight of your vehicle. When you are stuck in a ditch and someone yanks you out, the shock force on the strap can be much greater than the weight of either vehicle. Personally I'd shoot for a break strength of at least 15,000lbs. Also, be careful if you buy a strap with hooks on it. If the strap is tensioned and a hook slips off, the strap will launch the hook with surprising force. In my Jeep club, we flat out refuse to use a strap with hooks on it. However, for a hook less strap to work, both vehicles need to have popper recovery points, something not commonly found on most vehicles. On the street hooks are probably a necessary evil though, so just be careful.

Just my $0.02
Rio

Here are a pair of article I wrote that may give you some Ideas.
2 out of 3 Car Kits

Car Kit 3 “The BOB”

A rigging guy that used to work for my father (commercial construction) always taught us that if you have to use hooked strap or chain to make sure the closed side of the hook is facing down towards the ground (therefore the open side is facing up). That way if the chain/strap breaks it should fly towards the ground instead of up in the air. I've only ever had one hook break (pulling a van out of mud) and it did exactly what he said, flew towards the ground. I don't know if that is standard practice, but it is worth mentioning.

Also, don't use the hitch ball as a place to attach a strap. I've heard of them breaking, sending the steel ball flying with quite a bit of force.

I would put some more trauma-supplies in your FAK. A triangulair bandage and some field-dressings for example. And also toss out the hydrogen peroxide and replace with Betadine/alcohol

thanks for the info Rio. JIM, is betadine available at walmart or cvs pharmacies? what are the advantages over HP?

Excellent posts. Didn't see them when you originally posted.

My truck kit is based on getting stuck in the mountains in SOCAL (where it gets cold at night) or for when the Big One finally strikes, and what follows is The End of SOCAL as We Know It (TEOSCAWKI) Regardless, I have food, water and shelter to last quite a while and a walking kit for when I make the decision to abandon the truck.

The walking kit is sized for a 25 mile walk from work to home. With gear (including 5 qts of water and an MSR filter to replenish if water is available) it weighs in at 18 lbs and gets lighter as I drink the water.