I have a 2002 F-150 XLT 4x2 5.4L V8 with 94,000 miles on it (yeah, I know, the value went way down because of the mileage, worth about 12k or less now).

I am wondering if anyone has any links to a good rope/chain or advice on one to buy, I really need one for reasons I'll explain in the end of the post.

I will use this for pulling a small 1990 S10 (probably under 2k lbs.), and/or another friends 1992 Dodge Ram 50 (about 2k lbs.) or vice versa (they are pulling my truck out). I need something to handle the strain, we've broken several small ropes and now a walmart rope with heavy duty hooks (was only $9.99 but it's nearly ripped).

Onto the explanation, I was stuck real bad trying to get my friends 4x4 out (he was worse), we were in the middle of nowhere, dug for nearly 6 hours and gave up, tow trucks couldn't reach us, we had to spend the night and had a tractor pull us out the next day (the tractor bent these little "leafs" or "flaps" with a hole in each one, there is one on the left and right side of the factory hitch), we missed class the next morning and I do not want this to happen again, I need a long tow chain or rope if I can't get to the vehicle. My truck is stock and just yesterday I started having my first real problem (this is another issue) with the engine, it shutters and has a great deal less power when accelerating and shutters even in idle, sometimes the shaking of the engine is violent, I'm guessing its the spark plug or the coils, we'll see.

link
is the link above truly a great mod? I was thinking of the Diablo Predator ($400) or this. Thanks for your help.

 

You might want to fix your current issues before adding aftermarket performance parts. A Diablo isn't going to help much if you aren't even running on all 8 cylinders.

And if you want to come off of more than $10, you can find oodles of decent tow straps at any auto parts or 4X4 store. Cheapos run $25 and good ones can cost $40-$50. Do not use chain. It has no stretch and will tear up your truck (more than you already have).

 

No matter what you use make sure you put a heavy towel or blanket over the chain/strap somewhere in the middle. If it were to break, instead of going through your cab and or tailgate, with a havey blanket on it it will fall to the ground. People have been illed by snapped chains and this simple procedue can save a life or alot of money. Whatever you do good luck. Also make sure you get your engine cleaned, how muddy did it get under the hood?

 

dont get a chain, they are heavy , messy, dangerous and not usually as strong as a real good two strap anyways. Try to avoids metal hooks, in fact avoid all metal. Im sure most of us have varying degree's of horrer story's involving a a hook or chain that has come loose. My advice would be to get a good nylon strap with loops on the end. I use a 2"x20' 18 000 pounds one myself. The nylon is great because it will stretch a little bit helping to give you beter initial traction and giving you a "slingshot effect to get people un-stuck. The only problem I have with these type is that sometimes they are a pain to attach to both trucks because each end has a closed loop. The best solution I figurd out was to loop one end through the other, and then put your free end into your empty hitch receiver and pass your hitch pin through it. Also dont forget to make sure there is nothing sharp that the nylon strap can come into contact with because it will cut easily when under strain. Oh, yeah, make sure if it get wet you dry it out good because the nylon can develope mildew and slowely rot. I hoep some of this helped.

 

Thanks a lot everyone, I will have to take a pic of what it looks like under the hood but its not clean, I can tell you that much, I also get a small clickety clack sound under the hood, is this normal, I don't recall hearing this, it sounds like a small plastic ziptie is tapping on something but thats just a comparison, I doubt thats the case.

I will definitely use this advice, the $10 rope I have is in fact a rope, not a chain, it just has metal hooks, so I would think its a decent choice, I realized the possibility of a chain snapping and snapping back and breaking a windshield or ripping off your bumper (my friend sucks at stick shift, he yanked my truck and ripped the rope, lol).

 

I would be very wary of a $10 rope from Wal-mart for what you are doing. A "tow strap/rope" is different from a "recovery strap". The cheap set ups are often just for pulling without any resistance; not what you get with being stuck. Recovery straps are designed to stretch. Also sounds like maybe you were off-roading somewhere you shouldn't have been.

 

Rules do not apply to me *whips hair back*


:P

 

Rule #1047 - 'With the passage of time hair follicles are replaced at an ever decreasing rate'.

*whips back bald head*

 

Oh hush up and let me have my fun. All I need to know is a good rope and you've all pretty much helped me in that sense, especially with the towel in the middle of the chain, sounds like a really effective method, I really hope it is because I'll be reassuring the others that it is...if it breaks a window...my f'in god...

 

Keeper makes an excellent strap, up to 30-ft long 6" wide 60,000 lbs capacity. JCWhitney has them at a pretty decent price.

NEVER slip it into a receiver and slip the pin through. That applies a bending moment to the pin which is almost guaranteed to bend and/or break it. Get a Warn Receiver shackle and you'll have a solid tow point for the receiver. The tabs are meant to take savety chains and are meant to take the strain of a trailer hitch, should it disconnect from the hitch ball. Thay are not designed to carry the loads encountered when extracting a stuck truck.

-Joe

 

I picked up a 7/8" clevis to attach a tow strap to the front of my truck should I ever need to loop the other end over itself. I currently have a 20' 17,000lb tow strap from walmart ($25) but am in need of a RECOVERY strap as there is a diffference that I was recently made aware of on another board.

I still think that he tow strap will do me just fine as I don't go wheeling and any pulling out of vehicles is likely to be from a ditch on the side of the road or in snow.

 

Hey GI Joe, not to be rude, but can you explain to me how the hell my tow stap inserted into the receiver with a hitch pin through it, is somehow going to bend a half inch thick steel pin? I dont see how this is any worse then attaching the strap to a reciever shackel which in turn is help in by the same pin. No matter what you have attached, all the stress is trasmitted through the oin to the two holes in the reciever that the pin goes though.

 

I'm not a physics teacher but here is how I see it.

The pin is receiving the same amount of stress with the receiver and just the pin. With just the pin inserted, that stress is distributed over a portion of the pin. With a receiver hitch, the stress is transfered to the hitch which aplies the force to the entire length of the pin. aka...distribuites stress to more of the pin thus less bending.

1/2 inch steel sounds strong until you realize how much these trucks weigh plus the extra stress from being stuck.

I hope I made some sense.........

 

The reason the pin can hold the weight is because the pin is in shear. If you attach the strap right to the pin you have a centralized load on the middle of the pin. Think about someone holding a pencil on each end and you pulling on it in the middle. if you use just one finger you will most likely bend and snap the pencil, however if you grab the pencil with your whole hand and pull, you arent going to break it. You would have to "shear" it at the load points. The receiver shackle does essentially that, as dye said, the load is distributed across the pin making the load entirely in shear stress.

 

Thanks eddy, that was a well explained answer and makes alot of sense. But when I put my pin through my tow strap, my strap is pretty wide so it spreads out across the pin, right to the ends. The load is probably still more centralized on then pin then with the receiver shackle, but i would imagin it would still take a hell of alot of force to bend that pin.