I made this tow line last winter to keep in my car. The specs are as outlined in the attached doc. It has movable tubular webbing for chafe guard and the same webbing on ones loop. I figure I'll put the unprotected loop on my car which has fairly non-chaffing attachment points. It does not stretch much. Some people are against this because it results in sudden shock loads on the line and vehicle. They have a valid point, however, I like that little kinetic energy is stored, so if the line breaks it should mostly just fall to the ground.

I'm far from an expert on the matter of towing vehicles, but this seemed sufficient to pull my Subaru out of a snow bank, or hook up between trucks to assist one up an icy boat launch/ramp.

What do you folks carry for this purpose?

I didn't need this during the recent storm! +1 for Nokian WR2s

Really nice work on those splices!

I don't know much about rope strength, but a 9mm rope seems rather thin for towing purposes... I notice that most ropes sold are about twice as big, or maybe I'm confused on rope diameter... I'm sure more knowledgeable members will chime in on diameter / strength considerations.

I carry two, both are purpose bought for the job:

- One elastic with hooks on each end, will extend about 2-3 times its length. For towing you really want as much elastic as possible, if the rope isn't taut it will go under the rear vehicle and very likely snag on the wheels.

- One regular rope with spliced loops. For pulling out of the snow bank. If you have limited room in the direction of the pull, too much elastic is a real pain in the butt.

A breaking rope is a lethal hazard, elastic or not. Take care!

I'm realizing I think of this as more of a "get unstuck line" not a "tow line" for moving a vehicle a great distance. I don't have anything I keep w/me for that.

Nice job.

Reminds, me... I have a 150 ft Blue Water static rope from my younger days that should really be retired. I could cut it in half and put 75 ft in each vehicle kit. No need for hooks, knots are more versatile.

But
I
just
can't
bring
myself
to
c-c-c-cut
it.

Just think how cute the coiled rope just 75' or less would be!

Yeah, the AMSTEEL BLUE doesn't hold knots famously well and there is the endless debate of which weakens line more, certain knots or certain splices.

Ultimately I spliced with other users in mind. My father or brother could easily be using this w/o my presence someday and they're far less familiar w/knots than I (though I just know the basics) so I figured the splices are safer. The splices did consume a lot of line though!

Hmm, thinking about this, I have to look at the shackle I keep w/this for attachment, I wonder if it is up to the spec of the line!

You usually want stretchy if using a vehicle to pull another out, the idea being to multiply your vehicle's pulling capability by converting mass x speed into kinetic energy to unstick the stuck vehicle. If you just pulled slowly forward until a non-elastic rope or chain got tight and then tried to pull, you would need to put more horsepower on the road and could easily lose traction before breaking the hold on whatever the stuck vehicle is hung-up on.

Non-stretchy is for use with a winch or come along attached to an immovable anchor (tree, boulder). Amsteel rope is sold to replace steel aircraft cable on recovery winches, so it doesn't stretch much.

I always carry a 30' of 4" web snatch strap (stretchy), 12' of non-stretch 3" web strap (tree strap), 12' of heavy chain. In the winter or when off-roading I add either a 2-ton come-along or a Hi-Lift jack, or sometimes both. I've used the snatch strap several times, and the chain, tree strap and come-along a few times, to get others unstuck. I've been lucky enough to never get seriously stuck myself.

What do you use the chain for? My uncles always use chain for vehicle to vehicle removal, which I feel is pretty dangerous.

elaborate please

As in, he (my uncle) uses chain to hook from his truck to another and rip it out of a snow bank, up a ramp, etc, which as far as I know chain has little stretch and thus would be bad similar to how my line is bad. So I'm curious what Mark_M uses chain for, I'm guessing w/the high-lift or come-along.

R