When I was in College they were tearing down a building. The part they were working on was a 4 story stairway. The demo crew wrapped a chain around the top and were using a huge tractor to try and pull the sucker over. Now everyone was kept back by a fence so I can't say the exact size of the chain but it was big. I stoped to watch the show because I knew that chain was gonna break. The tractor would back up about 5 feet then slam the gas and try to get the tower to fall. The first 2 times nothing happend. On the third try the chain snapped and fell straight down. I couldn't believe it that much force put on the chain and it fell straight down. That chain had to of been freakin huge it looked like 3 inch chain. I was waiting for giant accident but nothing happened. Still watching a chain fall 4 stories was pretty cool.

 

Just cause it is a winch cable does NOT mean that wont break either. Yes it is nice that you don't have to jeopardize another vehicle, BUT winch lines still can break. I've seen a 9500 lb winch line snap like a little twig while trying to pull some guy out of a ditch cause he didn't know what the hell he was doing. The line embedded itself about 2 inches into a tree trunk. Probably would have sliced a person in half. So YES a winch cable can break just as easily as a strap or a chain when these things are not used correctly, ESPECIALLY when these items are not maintained properly.

 

I Had a pretty heavy duty logging chain that I have used with my tractor for years and took it with me for my 4wheeler, the first time I used it for my truck the damn thing broke and nearly killed my buddy who was too close to it, luckly I used a lot of wet towels and it saved my bed and the other guys truck. Like one of the guys said chains are perfectly safe for steddy pulling but I have a 40,000lb. strap I use now, it has the ends looped and covered with a protective cover and everytime I use it I will go wash it out with one of the firehoses and hang it up to dry on a hose rack. Call me stupid but I didnt think that the materials used in the ****** ropes were able to mildew?
Also here is the company I used for my tow strap, they were pretty cheap and it has been used about six times since I got it and still looks brandnew. www.talcospecialties.com

 

nah, you're right, polypro, or whatever plastic most of the newer straps wont mildew, but they are (generally) susceptible to UV breakdown and oil will degrade their strength.

 

Yeah they will break, have seen idiots do it

I have the synthetic line on my winch & wouldn't have it any other way
dont really have to use gloves when handling it & dont have to worry about it cutting someone or something in half cause i have seen winch cables snap & cut pretty good size trees almost in half

 

wait till you see a 3 1/2' cable snap. it put a nice dent in a 1/2 thick piece of metal.... of course we had 2 of these hooked together

it slung around the side and hit the front scraper.... sounded like a 12 gauge going off

 

I'm in the navy and work with lots of lines and straps. The best type of line to use is double braided nylon, it will strech 48 percent of it's length before it parts. i use 4 in. personally it has a breaking strenght of 50,000 pounds. idealy u would want 2 1/2 in. use grade b shackles (the ones with raised lettering). most straps i've seen are made of a nylon, polypropoleen material. After about 4 months in sunlight they will loose 40% of their strength. if u need to find out what the break'n strenght of anything is use google and type breaking strength of ( 3 strand nylon, plaited nylon, or double braided nylon.) if u dont want any strech use aramid line(kevlar) or amsteel blue, there pretty spendy thoe. srry bout the ramblin but this is what i do for a living.

 

Chains or straps, they both break. The thing to remember when pulling anything is to take the slack out first. Once the line is taut then give it heck. If you just hook up and drive off like a bat out of hades your gonna break the chain/strap or the attachment point on each vehicle. The whole dynamic impact doubles or triples the tension on the chain causing it to break. You also have to know what your chain or strap is rated for.

Growing up on a farm I pulled out tractors, combines, trucks and pickups all stuck in the mud. All we ever had around were chains and one never broke. Most of those things weighed much more than pickups not to mention the resistance of the mud.

 

I always use bungies

 

Cables are deadly IMO. Unless it is huge.( I've seen them break. They explode)

****** straps are the most dangerous tools made IMO. It gives you an excuse to yank. SOMETHING YOU SHOULD NEVER EVER DO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If your truck won't pull something by easing on the gas, you need to go get something bigger. END OF STORY. You should NEVER ****** on ANYTHING! I know too many people that have been killed by doing it. ****** straps don't usually break but the hooks/reciever/clevis/etc WILL! And when it does, that ****** strap will throw it 300 mph in your direction.

You people need to quit using swing-set chains to pull people out of bog. Cause your truck is not NEARLY strong enough to break even the smallest hardened chain. Chains are the SAFEST way to pull a vehicle out of bog. Just go buy a 20ft hardened chain. ($40 or so) It'll weigh about 40lbs, and your truck will NOT break it. It will also keep down any temptations about yanking, cause it would rip your reciever hitch off, when the slack gets out!

When pulling trucks and 2wd tractors I use a small hardened chain. When pulling with 4X4 tractors I use a 15ft hardened logging chain. (100+lbs) That's what's in the back of my truck right now, and that's what I would use if one of you were stuck. It is the safest thing to use. It will NEVER break with pickups, cause it is strong enough to pull your truck in half.

Go buy a hardened chain, with hardened hooks. You'll have the SAFEST pulling device made. And hardened chains don't rust easily. (I leave mine in the back of my truck)

Sorry guys, I have seen bad things come from cables and ****** straps. Chains too I guess, but a big chain is the MAN. You can't hurt it with a pickup. Unless you drag it down the road....

 

it is strong enough to pull your truck in half--- couldnt agree more, remeber when you guys wad up your trucks and they come to us guys in the body shop we tie them down to a frame rack with chains and pull them with chains and steaddy pressure, trust me i CAN pull your truck in two

 

I have a chain in the back of my truck that is 25 ft long and weighs 60lbs. It was in dad's 4wd tractor till he sold it and i stole it. The other day I was 4 wheeling and tried to make it up a muddy incline which was actually a foot and a half deep needless to say I didn't make it and that chain had to jerk me out with 2 other trucks hooked up tugging, not hard but it wouldn't move even after shoveling. I wouldn't use a strap, get a decent chain and call it good

 

You must be down near Big Shell Sean, I've been stuck there and IF you can get a wrecker before the tide comes in youre so happy you want to offer them your girlfriend, put them on your christmas card list and let them take the contents of your ice chest along with the payment !!

 

The shock load put on the vehicle by a chain is WAY more than the shock load put on the vehicle by a strap. Recover straps are designed to stretch, and that stretch increases the time it takes to convert that kinetic energy into a linear force. That increased force is what pulls a stuck vehicle out of a bog, but it's also that same force that breaks parts.

Equipment that'll break at XXXXX force will break regardless of whether you're using chains or straps. Exceed the force, and the part breaks. However, most parts do not have a sharp breaking point force level. Apply steady tension on a chain, and that chain may go 50,000 lbs before it breaks. Shock-load that same chain, and it may only hold 10,000 lbs. I've seen 50,000lb cable sets break picking up 5000lb die sections. Kinetic energy does some amazing things.

As I've said before and will say again, cables, chains, and straps all have their applications in vehicle recovery. It's their proper use that gets the vehicle out safely. I wouldn't say 'never use any particular medium', I always say use whatever you need to, but use it properly. Use recovery straps with a dead-weight to tug on a stuck vehicle when you need the kinetic energy to extract the vehicle. Use chains to PULL a vehicle (i.e. no slack) or restrain an object to an anchor point. Use cables when you must winch, but never winch them around anything sharp without a sheave. Cables only pull in straight lines. (if you want them to last, anyways)

-Joe

 

There is NO shock load applied by chain. It's applied by a dumb@$$ who doesn't know how to recover a truck properly.That's not how it works, and you're not even being consistent within your own explanation. "Increased time" does not equal "increased force". An elastic member (stretch strap) REDUCES the force compared to an INelastic one (chain), but it maintains that lower force for a longer time & distance. The force is never INcreased - it's mainly the increased DISTANCE that makes a stretch strap effective. But that's just one style of recovery. Using a chain is a different style, and can be equally or more effective, if done properly.

That paragraph contradicts itself. Impact is the killer, and that's what breaks things when they're tensioned too fast. A stretch strap eliminates impact, but it still has a breaking point.