Trailer hitches.......

[R3]

This came from a face book group I follow in MT.

A man died this week when a tow hitch & ball they were using to try to snatch-recover his truck from a mud hole broke. The hitch broke off from the recovery rig and the strap, ball, and part of the hitch went through the windshield and hit him.

NO TOW BALLS FOR SNATCH RECOVERIES
This has been in the news a bit recently. People still seem to think it is ok to throw a snatch strap over the tow ball when recovering a stuck 4WD. This is a dangerous mistake.

Tow balls are not designed for the stresses a snatch strap or even a winch can put on them. Many tow-balls are rated as low as 2000lbs, but even a 10,000 rated ball is not enough for snatching a bogged rig safely. If you snatch off a tow ball, it can shear off and go flying through the air like a cannonball.

That piece of flying metal has the potential to kill and has done so in the past. In just one example, a lady was killed while recovering a stuck 4WD in deep sand. The tow-ball broke off the stuck vehicle and flew through the front window, of the recovery rig, and killed the driver. Such a tragedy and she was just trying to help out.

Please don't use tow-balls for recoveries.

 

[Mudskipper]

There was a little book they used to include in the Jeep Jamboree registration packs, a guide to off-road driving, by Mark Smith

There’s a pic towards the back of the book that really gets your attention.

It’s not just hitch balls that are a danger of becoming a projecile. Clevises or D rings can do it, too.

check out the pic.

 

[Nacho]

There was a little book they used to include in the Jeep Jamboree registration packs, a guide to off-road driving, by Mark Smith

There’s a pic towards the back of the book that really gets your attention.

It’s not just hitch balls that are a danger of becoming a projecile. Clevises or D rings can do it, too.

check out the pic.

They have an updated flip book, that I thought had some great info:

Jeep Jamboree Ultimate Guide To Safe Common Sense Off-Roading

Jeep Jamboree Ultimate Guide To Safe Common Sense Off-Roading

jeepjamboreeusa.com

 

[R3]

It all boils down to recoverying a rig is dangerous if the wrong equipmetn and techniques are used. A little inforamtion and some hands on goes a long way. I see shakles with out a work load stamp being used all the time. one vid of wind rock show agroup trying to recovery a rig with a snatch block that is design to be used with a steel shackle, flying at the recovery rig becaused that used a soft shackle.

Clubs should be a place to find information and have available training for such things to limit events like this one described.

 

[Freedom]

I agree that you shouldn't use the tow ball normally. It's not designed for shear stress. However, using a winch or snatch line is inherently dangerous, and any connection point could fail and become a flying object, or the line/strap could fail and could do injury or damage. We have to exercise prudence, safe procedures, and use the proper (and tested) equipment, including a winch/cable dampener(s). And don't forget that proper equipment can still fail.

 

[majestek12]

In agreement with all points. Looking at pictures of the incident also shows the inherent danger of ridiculous length drop hitches.

Takes an extra 30 seconds, but pull the hitch pin, remove the hitch, and put the loop of the strap into the receiver held by the pin. Doesn't address the tension on the strap, but that's pretty inescapable. Putting the hood up may not be an end all, but at least gives another layer of protection.

Easy, cheap, packable line dampener is a zippered bag filled with rocks, wood, whatever's handy and laid over the line.

 

[Nacho]

Here is a lot more really good information some of it general about recovery and more details about what happened in Arizona. Definitely an interesting read about a horrible event.

Colorado 4x4 Rescue and Recovery

Today we’d like to post some information on the tragic story floating around the internet regarding the tow ball failure that killed a father, and forever changed a family in Arizona. The original...

www.facebook.com

 

[R3]

Some interesting discussion. Recovery points: Frame mounted hard points. trailer hitches do not count as a recovery point neither do the accessories that attach to them. Recovery point mounted to the frame are either welded or attached with Grade 8 hardware. The reason I say no trailer hitches is you are pulling in the middle of a beam that is not design for shock loads. The sheer point is the mounting hardware with two angle of force being applied straight pull rear and side load from the bending moment of the cross bar. I have pulled my fair share of trailer hitches off vehicles towing and once with a winch. The big reason I do not like bumper pull trailers.

Close loop recovery. No open hooks for stuff to slip off or partially slip resulting in an explosive situation. What is closed loop simple no open hooks, every attachment point is fulling captive of the attached line .

Recovery a weighted "blanket over the mid point of a recovery lines helps slow the force of a broken rigging. Also an old school trick is to raise the hood to shield the occupants of the vehicle.

Most important things in a recovery:
1) one lead... too many cooks will get someone killed.
2) unless someone's life is in imminent danger there is no need to work fast. Slow down and think it through.
3) quality rigging, this includes winch line. Yes you can get a cheap recovery kit and yes you can spend a fortune on high dollar gear. Whatever gear you choose needs to have an established work load rating (WL) equal to or or rated for more than you winch is rated for.
4) what are you stuck In? a 4500# rig in the mud might be a 10,000# load to recovery with the resistance. Rocks simple enough until you have to pull a dead wheel over a rock. The load goes from 4500# to in excess of 10,000 easily. if the vehicle has power, power the wheels to help in the recovery ( this means gently not dig holes to china)
5) Recovery lines and winches are great but of no use if you are pulling an axle thru a rock, something will break and it is not the rock. Hi-lift jacks properly used and recovery boards can be the difference between breaking rigging and retrieving a rig.
6) People are NOT BALAST. let me say that a different way, PEOPLE ARE NOT BALAST. I have seen people hanging off tippy rigs and get away with it. I have carried head trauma victims off the trail who did not get away with it. If you are worried about the rig tipping stop and reassess, re rig, find a new line, think.
7) There is no harm in using a winch when you get stuck. If you ego gets in the way you are a danger to all around you.

 

[Nacho]

Added thread to best of section.