I took out 4 stumps last weekend. Worked great in 4 lo. Just a little gas and the truck did the work. No way will the chain I used break. I could see it breaking if I were trying to pull a tree stump that was 2 feet across and large uncut roots. I'd never use my truck in that situation though. These bush stumps were perfect for the F150. Success!

 

Cool! All in a day's work for the mighty F150!

 

Whatever you do, DO NOT PUT A CHAIN WRAPPED AROUND YOUR TOW BALL! That tow ball will shear and end up being a 16oz bullet that could do a lot of damage or even kill anyone standing in range.

Best thing to do if you're going to pull with your truck is use the tow hooks provided since they are completely encolsed. Either that, or buy a heavy duty shackle that fits into your receiver. The hook that was pictured in a prior post is better than the tow ball, but it too can bend and send a chain flying through a window.

 

all this talk about chains and straps....makes me wonder if everyone on here knows the pros and cons about a chain and strap and what to use them for.
Ok, now i have worked on a ranch for years now and pulled things out with loaders, my truck, etc....both chains and ropes come in handy, but they are used for diffrent things.

use a TOW ROPE, this includes, manila, nylon type straps for pulling another truck out, this way you can let the rope absorb some of your weight and "bungie" them out if you will.

use a ChAIN, if you want to pull a stump out, lift something, pull a tree etc.... something where you dont want stretch. if you use a nylon strap around a stump 2 things can happen,
1 you wont be able to get the strap off
2 the stump will come lose or something of the sort and come back and hit your truck....and that sucks, ive seen it happen twice.


for all of you saying a chain is going to come back and hit you,...yes, this can happen but...it only happens when people who dont know what they are doing are using a chain, usually they are using a chain that is not strong enough and they are "yanking" at the chain. a chain is used for pulling not yanking.
For those of you saying a chain will break, chains are a hell of alot stronger then ropes, go buy yourself a good 20ft 70 series chain 1/2. it has a breaking strength of about 27k pounds, and will weigh about 100 lbs. it will last forever and you can use it for anything. we use them for pulling around huge logs with our skidders and we have never had one break, and usually if they do break they are so heavy that they fall to the ground. so if your freekin out about it coming back and cutting you in half or something just think that that chain can pick up nearly 4 times your truck. chains are also used comercially for pulling out things, lifting things, and dragging things. they last longer and are more predictable. The best thing to use on the end of one is a clevis for their locking ability.

hope this clears some things up, if i missed something please jump in

 

DO NOT USE ROPE!!! unless you want a stump lying on your dash

 

I beg your pardon, Mr Sackett.
The old saying about a 'chain is only as strong as it's weakest link' is true but,

you'll break your chain or
you'll grenade your transmission or
you'll rupture your tires off your rims or
your engine will throw a rod or
you'll shear the bolts under the frame off your hitch....

...before you will bend my HOOK.

Pencil and beer cap provided for size reference.


MFG stamp 10,000 LBS


And even if it was to bend, what window are you talkiing about?
The window in the tree stump?

 

I have one of those tow hooks and depending on what kind you get they usually are rated very high but if you rae pulling out some crazy stump it would be better for your hook to bend than for a D ring of other hitch to break and fly into your window.

 

ha, im not the one pulling it out, but i have seen one of those bend and the rope come flying off. all it did was dent the other guys tailgate a bit, but if i were you, i would find a hitch that has a "D" ring or clevis attached to it, they are more usefull anyways, hooks are old school

 

I used a steel braided cable with my 2WD and pulled out a stump with some deep, long tap roots.

I killed the tree first with some root killer.

 

Ok, wrong choice of terminology on my part. The 10K lb stamp on your Tow Hook can easily be exceeded. Besides, that 10K lb stamp is the "Tensile" strength rating, not the amount before your hook bends and releases a stretched cable/rope. I've personally seen a very similar tow hook bent when a 3/4 ton Chevy 4X4 was stuck up to it's axles in a rice patty and a 7020 John Deere came in to pull him out. The truck was so stuck that mud-suction wouldn't release the 37" tires without blowing 2 beads and almost pulling the truck off it's axles! We ended up putting a clevis in there and getting it out.....but it wasn't easy.

I'd much rather have that hook than a tow ball attached to a chain. The window reference was made to the original post considering it was right next to his house and there were probably windows there....

 

Ok, I just misunderstood that part.

But, now you done snuck a 7020 John Deere tractor in on me.
You'll do anything to bend my hook.