Most of what you've said so far has made some sense but you're out of your damn mind.

I'd love to see someone pull me out without snatching. Give me a break man.

 

Well, whenever you want to get educated, feel free to ask.

Grim

 

I saw the front bumper, grill, fascia and parts of the front fenders pulled off a Dodge Dakota one night after a few two many sudsy pops and the law bearing down on us. Turns out the stuck kid was on some sort of house arrest deal and was out past his curfew. When he saw the law making their way back to us, he had us hook the 454 Chevrolet with 44's that we were in to his front bumper with a chain and was screaming for us to just yank him out........

Not only did he get escorted home by the police, he got to explain to his parents where the front end of his truck was.....

Ripped the bolts right out through the frame.

And for what it's worth... Grim is right. Inertia from a running start will cause you to mess up a rearend when hooked directly to it, but if you just tension the strap or chain without trying to ****** it, hooking to the axle is a lot more rigid than hooking to the hitch. Mechanical design field for 16 years.... I also currently happen to work for Dana....

 

Where are you located? I had a bunch of friends that used to intern at the Reading, PA location a couple years ago.

 

Tennessee

 

I almost never use my rear axle when pulling someone out via towstrap2hitch, there is so much wheelslip from the muck my axle takes minimal abuse, much less than when I punch it on pavement. Please think about it and save this forum it's resources. I hope you did not engineer anything I come in contact with, preferrably my truck

Seriously though Grim, I do not mean to push this on you but it's ludicrous to think your axle is a strong tow point. Even before assembling my 6" Fabtech lift I could have told you the exact reasons it is a bad idea, your axle would rip right off the leaf springs (that is ALL it's held on by), have you taken a look at your u-bolts? Do you trust 15,000lbs+ of pulling force on your axle & housing with those? Good luck and make sure to keep the cameras rolling when pulling with your axle. Depending on tire traction, there is not a whole lotta stress put on your axles when yanking someone.

I think that sums up your experience. If you don't need a running start to pull someone out you are not stuck (there is a reason recovery straps are made of nylon). For some reason I doubt your experience.

 

Those little U-Bolts you mention? Towing with the axle bypasses those completely. Particularly with a lifted truck, I'd think you would have noticed the load you're putting on the suspension when you pulling a heavy load. I said it before--if you're jerking someone out, the axle is a bad place to connect. If you're trying to pull someone out using power, not mass, connecting to the axle is the best place to connect. Tie to the axle (the strongest part of the truck for a controlled pull), and you've bypassed the leaf springs, U-bolts, lifting blocks, etc. Those weak U-Bolts you mention? I'm not putting any extra load on those. You guys that keep wanting to debate this, think about how the truck delivers POWER to the ground. ALL POWER goes through the axle housing. If you want to deliver the most power to the tow stap the safest way possible, connect to the rear axle housing. Power goes straight from the axle to the strap. If you're connecting to the frame, you're completely relying on those weak U-Bolts to carry the entire pulling force.

If you want to get a run at it and yank someone out, be my guest. In my experience, that's a great way to break a lot of expensive parts in a hurry. It also completely changes how you should connect, because you're using mass, not power. The equation also changes if you're in 4WD because you're splitting power between the front and rear axles.

Grim

 

Grim, that is correct. I did not read whatever post you made that in obviously as I was clearly talking about yanking. Pulling (not yanking) someone out is never going to cause that much force to break something anyway so it doesn't matter which you use, unless you're on dry pavement maxxing out your load (who pulls someone out of a stuck on pavement though).

 

Exactly!

I will give Grim credit that the axle is a more rigid location when referenced to the tires, but that doesn't make it a good tow point. There is no where to really attach a strap on a axle in the first place unless you wrap it around the axle tubes which is not a good idea.

Grim sounds like the typical mechanical engineer that I come in contact with on a daily basis and I have literally worked with hundreds. They are very "book smart", but when it comes to practicality or just good old common sense they're not the goto person.

And FYI... I don't share the amount engineering experience that you have, but I am also a Mechanical Engineering graduate from the University of Michigan and am currently employed by Ford. Previous to my engineering position at Ford I was a prototype mechanic and fabricator for Ford... which is where a lot of my practical knowledge comes from. I also have an associates degree in automotive technology from Henry Ford CC and am a ASE and state of Michigan certified master mechanic.

 

From your help in my thread I could tell

 

I didn't see you say that and yes the axle may be the most ridgid in reference to the wheels, but it's not the strongest. Axle tubes dent easily and bend often. Why do you think when you look at a true baja truck or something that's got massive amounts of HP and torque the axle is gusseted and strengthened like a ****?

 

And BTW... an education doesn't make you more credible. Neither does engineering experience... which mostly consists of sitting at a computer designing things in CAD that when you take them to technicians they don't work and don't fit.

Working in the field with trial and error while getting your hands dirty is a much better teacher than 50 years of engineering experience sitting at a desk punching keys on a computer.

 

That's why you go to grad school. So you don't have to sit infront of a computer all day and report to people that are in their position not because they know more, but because they have been there longer.

 

That's good to know. Engineering taught me how the power gets to the ground. 18 years on a muddy farm in the Ozark foothills taught me how to pull stuff out of the mud. I had to learn how to do it right the first time without breaking anything because parts were expensive.

BTW, I only brought up education because I believe you were insinuating that my IQ was low.

Grim

 

That's true as well.

I've worked for Ford Motor Company for 9 years. 7 years as a technician/fabricator and the last 2 as an engineer. I have encountered literally hundreds if not thousands of engineers and they are all very smart, but when you're the D&R engineer for the engine mounts on the F-150 and they don't fit because the "round white thing" is in the way and wan't to just remove the "round white thing" and I have to say that that "round white thing" is the oil filter and it can't simply be removed.

How the hell can a D&R engineer responsible for releasing the engine mounts on an F-150 not know what a damn oil filter is? There are so many engineers out there with no hands on experience it's pathetic. Don't get me wrong, they're very intelligent people when it comes to "book smarts"!