I've got a shackle in my car. It isn't rated as high as my line is, but if it were, I don't think it'd fit through my facotory tow points.

Roberttheii:

you might be suprized. I found some military shackels that have like 15,000 pound rating that were considerably small.

Just out of curiosity what kind of tow points are you talking about? better question, what kind of care do you drive that will tell you the rating of the atachment points,

Also if the shackels exceed the weight of the car by 2 times then you should be OK, even if they don't match the tow strap.

Interesting! I've often wondered what sort of ground anchor could be improvised. Given that and come-along could solve all sorts of problems. Any other ground anchor stories out there?

a company called Master pull has a soft ground anchor that actualy digs in deeper as you pull against it. the anchor colapses down for storage.

I have seen and used stakes in the ground in a picket fence technique to create anchors.

i wallowed off the lane to my cabin more than once trying to bull thru deep snow in my Honda and used a come a long anchored to a tree to get be back on the track..and then walked up and got the snow blower..which i should have done in the first place---if your alone the cable puller is the only choice and you may have to do it in several pulls..

I'm no expert, but some random thoughts.

* Unless you understand the properties of the line you are using (and the procedure), using it to extricate or tow your vehicle can very dangerous. Climbing rope, and random stuff you might be find at your local box store are very unlikely to be suitable for safe vehicle recovery.

* Amsteel Blue, the line referred to in the original post is a high tech fiber called Dyneema, which IIRC is a Spectra/Nylon blend, and is not comparable to most of your run of the mill line of similar thickness.

In fact, it is sold as winch cable.

* Winch line, or lines with similar properties, is NOT what you want to use to pull your vehicle out using another vehicle! Look up a technique called "snatch recovery" or "kinetic recovery" and understand the process and get the proper gear.

* The "tow hook" on your Subie, probably isn't! This is probably a tie down and it is unsafe to try to use it as a tow point. In general, you'd probably be better off with a tow hitch and a receiver shackle bracket.

* Understand the properties of your line. Especially some of the high tech lines, while they may have some very impressive benefits, people often overlook they sometimes have gotchas. Like being very slippery and not holding knots, to losing all their strength if bent around too sharp of an object.

* Your recovery system is only as good as its weakest link. Understand all the links.

* Check out a TIFOR or "hand winch" over a come-a-long. Black Rat Hand Winch Working with a hand winch

Random links:

* Tom Moyer - High Strength Cord
* Recovery

My suggestion? Get a proper recovery strap and associated equipment, understand the attachment points on your vehicle, and read up on vehicle recovery.

Good luck.

-john

If you go 4-wheeling enough you get to learn all the various ways of recovering stuck vehicles -- both good and bad. About the funniest one I've seen was on YouTube where a guy got his jeep stuck in the mud and his buddies tied the winch to his roll-bar and proceeded to rip the body of his truck right off!

I've never seen a pull go wrong if a stretchy recovery strap was used properly. Between mud and snow I've probably pulled two or three dozen cars and trucks with snatch straps. Not all of them required a running start, but several did. But if you've mastered the static-line pull then I guess stick to what works best for you. In any case, it's not as controversial as suggesting to use paracord to rappel in an emergency. ;^)

Burying your spare is a well known trick with off-roaders and is mentioned in most courses on the subject. Saw a trail buddy use a Pull-Pal once and it worked OK after it finally bit into the sand (he wasn't stuck, just showing off his new toy). I'd like to get 30' of that nice dynamic recovery rope from MasterPull, but at over $100 I'm hoping Santa is reading this forum tonight because I've been an exceptionally good boy this year!

I'm sure people will disgree w/my conclusion but I think I'm going to go for 1 inch nylon rope w/a breaking strength of ~25k lbs. I'll splice loops into each end. It seems to have similar stretch properties to nylon snatch straps and I like it better, because it is rope. I have more confidence in my ability to maniuplate rope as needed than webbing.

I'll keep my Dyneema for length and slow, no jerk, pulls, and because I love it.

Shackles I have to look at. I believe my front point is actually referred to as a "recovery point" in my manual, but I'll check.

I have a hitch in the back that I use for rear hookups.

Roberttheii:

just a thought if you are using the back tow hitch as a pull point, try to find a Reciver Shacle Bracet that will fit your hitch. putting a line on the ball can sometimes make for a quick and deadly cannon ball if the tow strap sheears off the tow hitch ball

http://www.4wheelparts.com/Winches-Winch...p;t_pn=EXP69312

And if the point on the front of your car is called a "recovery point" then it is probably rated to take a pull out of the snow or what ever got you stuck.

Agreed - "recovery point" sounds promising. Agreed, use a proper receiver shackle bracket when using the tow point.

Also, in my concern about the various suggestions, I forgot to mention that you did a beautiful job on that line. While I have some concerns about using a fairly static line, the Amsteel Blue is a great material, and is quite strong. Certainly if used carefully it probably will do the trick, and as you pointed out is small and light enough to always be in the car.

-john