Recovery of 4WD's without recovery points

I have a shortish length of chain which comes in handy in those situations. I'm not about to damage my strap on some goose's vehicle. If they want a hand and accept the consequences I wrap it around anything convenient ... axle, ifs, spring hanger or whatever and attach a strap to that. Only go slowly though, imagine the consequences of a sharp tug !!!

Cheers

The X- Trail has factory fitted tow bar rated 2000kg for rear recovery, the front tie down holes fixed with stainless steel bolts & using an equaliser strap provides appropriate kg for recovery using appropriate rated shackles (3.5 tonnes).

Chump boy

Went thru this exercise with my RAV. No recovery points, and none can be fitted (nothing to bolt them on to). ARB had a look, and short of disassembling half the car to find somethingn to bolt on to, there was no point they were happy to use as a recovery point.

Obvious Q was what to do if needed to be recovered. ARB advised two answers :

1. Don't go were you may need recovery (other than a push from a few mates) - makes sense, but how do you know when you will need recovery ie unexpected soft sand, mud etc.

2. Tie / loop a rope / tow strap whatever (but not a snatch strap) over both front tie down points, with the rope centred under the car, and then attached to the towing vehicle. That is the rope is coming out exactly in the middle of the two tie down points. Then slowly proceed to tow the car out (too quick and it may fail). ARB advised this would be a last resort as the tie down may well fail. Only other option to recovery was attached to axle or something similar and hope all stays straight.

One of the downsides of a softroader

RD

G'day Chump,

"is it just better to offer tham a shovel, and brew a pot of coffee..... "

i tell you mate, that is a pretty good place to start. i would suggest that in many situations, people rush in with the snatch strap, tie it on somewhere and yeehaa! A bit of manual grunt to help the vehicle release and perhaps tyre pressure adjustment etc. may be all that is needed. Vehicle recovery usually involves a significant amount of potential danger. For this reason alone, having a spell and thinking through it properly is not a bad idea.

But yeah, as with any vehicle, "man's got to know his/it's limitations." Prolly end up using a chain around the chassis or axles if a monocoque?

cheers.

You could always use the recovery in stages method.

Attach and pull, if that bit comes off then that's one bit less to recover.
Repeat above until all bits are out of bog.
Owner to reassemble.

Otherwise I think the shovel should always be your first resort in recovery, not last.

Geoff.

Watched a tow truck driver load a mates hilux onto his flat bed truck a while ago- First thing he does is get a steel hook out of the car and hooks it around the front diff, then uses that to winch it up. Apparently they are available from slingrig- To me it just looked like a fishing hook you'd use to catch a small whale, but it did the job real well.

If no recovery points are available or obvious on anything that is stuck I hand the owner the end of a recovery chain and advise him (or her) to attach it to their vehicle.
I then have a look and advise whether or not I feel it is an appropriate spot, if it looks ok and the owner says tow, I tow gently, if something breaks it is their problem not mine.
Above all if I feel the possibility of damage to their vehicle is high or there is a possibility of damage to my gear, vehicle or any personnel I refuse to recover their vehicle.
Better to lose a vehicle than injure someone.

One thing that often worries me about recoveries is that the first rule is often forgotton. One person should be in charge of the recovery. How many recoveries have you seen go wrong or almost go wrong when there are too many people involved?

If I found a soft roader stuck, then I would insist that I was the one calling the shots. If that wasn't acceptable, see ya later. Brewing a coffee is probably a good thing too as you'd need time to assess the situation. Doing nothing to start with is a good option for lots of problems; gives you time to think and consider the consequences of just jumping in and reaching for the snatch strap.

Have a good look at all of the options, especially the low impact ones, including digging, pushing, road building, letting tyres down etc. So often is the snatch strap or winch bought into play when there may be a simpler solution thats not even considered.

If recovery points come into the picture, then assess them and check again. If it's too dangerous, don't do it. There is no way I'd just let someone attach a chain/shackle etc to their vehicle just because something might break and they'd blame me. I'd tell them that damage could be caused to their vehicle, and then it's up to them to accept that responsibility, but really, you've got to look after yourself first.

Personally, I reckon that all factory hooks on 4WD's that aren't designed for recovery should either be removed after transporting, or marked so bleedingly obvious that they are not to be used for recovery, that no-one in their right mind would.

Just one other thing about snatch straps; I don't mind seeing a snatch recovery taking a few goes, that way, it's more likely that just enough energy is being used as after each un-successful attempt, you know the next try you need a bit more momentum. Much safer than a huge run-up and way too much force; that's when things break. That's my experience anyway, and probably more than my 2c worth,

regards

Andrew

I have been snatched numerous times in sand (Robe-Beachport) by mates, in fact I leave the equaliser strap rapped on the nudge bar, because of low clearance and deep ruts left by heavy 4wd. Soft roaders are so light it is more of a quick tow than a real snatch but agree recovery points should be fitted and rated (certificate from ARB is kept in the glove box or my insurance will not cover mine or other vehicle damage). I always go with mates as I don't think it is fair to rely on strangers.