Rope vs chain

I do a bunch of pretty intense off roading with the jeep club and in my opinion there is no place for chain in recovery.

We use tow straps, soft shackles & kinetic ropes. Of course lots of winches with synthetic or steel cable. Chains are not only dangerous they are VERY hard on the vehicles.
 
Chains work! People used them for centuries.

But all that kinetic energy can be deadly if something comes loose anywhere in the setup, end to end. This is exponentially less possible with synthetics, even if using steel shackles on the ends.
 
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SWOHTR said:
"Synthetic line snapback" video courtesty of USN. Forward to 3:00 mark


No method is perfect...
Click to expand...
That's not a low stretch line. No comparison to reality
SWOHTR said:
"Synthetic line snapback" video courtesty of USN. Forward to 3:00 mark


No method is perfect...
Click to expand...
How many hundreds of times more massive than a snatch line. Not a one to one comparison, or even close.
 
I'm old school, and I have had many occasion to tow friends out of mud, trenches and snow,. . chains only. Rope sucks. New straps I'm certain are way better then tho older ones and wench and or cable are also great.
 
I watched that video where the guy got killed. That would be horrible. My dad got his collar bone broke by a chain after it came thru the front window of a a cement truck in the oil field when he was 18yrs old. He didn't know a thing about what to hook up to what and what not to. He got stuck and they hooked a chain up to a rope and the chain broke which used the rope as a sling shot and sent the rope with a piece of broke chain on the end of it back at him.

What do you guys hook to when getting pulled out from behind? I always hook to the ball. I am not trying to sound like a know it all. But I would guess that it broke where it did because it's such a big drop that it needed that gusset welded on the back side which would make it a little weaker where that weld stopped at the end of that gusset. And being such a big drop it was a pretty hard leveraged pull. I would think that a regular non-drop hitch would be fine to hook to since its more of a straight back pull. But maybe not.
 
I watched the video, what happened was an avoidable tragedy. The main mistake that was made was the hitch was the drop down style. The further away (lower) from the vehicle tow receiver is, it applies immense leverage on the receiver. You can use which ever tow chain, rope strap, or cable use chose to use but if used wrong tragedy may strike at any moment. Inspect your equipment often. Make sure it is not rusted cracked, frayed showing signs of deterioration. Make sure it is rated for intended use. My chain is rated for 9800 lbs and has binder hooks, 3/8" links. Never loop chains around tow point and secure links with bolt and nuts. Once again, use the tow connection of your choice, but use it properly.
 
KsRancher said:
I watched that video where the guy got killed. That would be horrible. My dad got his collar bone broke by a chain after it came thru the front window of a a cement truck in the oil field when he was 18yrs old. He didn't know a thing about what to hook up to what and what not to. He got stuck and they hooked a chain up to a rope and the chain broke which used the rope as a sling shot and sent the rope with a piece of broke chain on the end of it back at him.

What do you guys hook to when getting pulled out from behind? I always hook to the ball. I am not trying to sound like a know it all. But I would guess that it broke where it did because it's such a big drop that it needed that gusset welded on the back side which would make it a little weaker where that weld stopped at the end of that gusset. And being such a big drop it was a pretty hard leveraged pull. I would think that a regular non-drop hitch would be fine to hook to since its more of a straight back pull. But maybe not.
Click to expand...

Just get a rated fitting that fits into the receiver. Note the receiver rating. Ball is dangerous. You can get smooth holed fittings for soft shackles, hybrids for soft shackles and/or steel shackles, and straight-drilled versions for steel shackles only.

The key to safety is having the rope or strap fail first, if anything fails. It doesn't have enough mass to kill you. Steel shackles and rated tow points are far stronger than the rope or strap. The heavy mass fittings are the least likely to fail. That's why you don't use steel shackles anywhere on lines or straps except at the ends. If you join straps with a steel shackle, the rope or strap will break first, creating a catapulting steel death ray. Join ropes/straps with soft shackles or cow hitch them together if really necessary.
 
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GSPHUNTER said:
I'm old school, and I have had many occasion to tow friends out of mud, trenches and snow,. . chains only. Rope sucks. New straps I'm certain are way better then tho older ones and wench and or cable are also great.
Click to expand...
Why do you say rope sucks?

It's stronger, lighter, easier to work with, and safer than chain.

I've got a number of chains, and use them for various things. But never recovery.
 
displacedtexan said:
Why do you say rope sucks?

It's stronger, lighter, easier to work with, and safer than chain.

I've got a number of chains, and use them for various things. But never recovery.
Click to expand...
Okay, I'll give you that the newer rope which is intended for towing is much stronger than the old rope I used many years ago. Like I mention in prior post, the chain you use has to have the proper tow rating , not the crap you get at Harbor freight. Like anything you are going to use for towing, it must be kept in good condition, and used properly. I have never had a chain bind up on me.
 
GSPHUNTER said:
Okay, I'll give you that the newer rope which is intended for towing is much stronger than the old rope I used many years ago. Like I mention in prior post, the chain you use has to have the proper tow rating , not the crap you get at Harbor freight. Like anything you are going to use for towing, it must be kept in good condition, and used properly. I have never had a chain bind up on me.
Click to expand...
Fair enough.

The old straps didn't sway me from using chain, but the newer stuff definitely has.

And yeah, there's stuff I'll buy at HF, but my chains aren't one!
 
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