Great Article on Snatch Straps

Code Red · Post by **Code Red** » Wed Mar 23, 2016 12:12 pm

**** Warning math involved ******

The attached file and link are to a good article on snatch straps.

It discusses how much energy is involved and gives some tips on technique. Interesting reading.

http://www.landroverclub.za.org/snatch_straps.htm

It references another article from an Australian 4WD magazine that tested a bunch of brands of snatch straps. I can't find a copy of that one, but several straps, including the ARB ones, failed well below their rated strength.

Be careful out there.

Thom · Post by **Thom** » Wed Mar 23, 2016 12:45 pm

Excellent article.

I agree with the writer's view where he doesn't necessarily agree with the Australian magazines classification. I don't buy an ARB strap for the breaking force, but rather for the stretch factor and manufacturing quality. It is more important to ensure you apply an appropriate safety factor as far as the weight and speed is concerned.

Very good read indeed!

scotchyl · Post by **scotchyl** » Wed Mar 23, 2016 2:16 pm

Also I believe we should encourage when doing snatch and winch recoveries that a dampener is used on the strap in case of a break. This is something that is often missed and can quickly avoid any potential injury and damage to cars.

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Zeebzog · Post by **Zeebzog** » Wed Mar 23, 2016 3:02 pm

I also think it would make some sense if we started to also advocate the use of rated soft shackles.

The points in the article of disparate vehicle sizes is also interesting. A couple of times I have had to recover F150s in what looked like unexceptional stucks, but the amount of force required to move them was lifting my car of the ground. I am not sure what we can do about this but for me this is where we really start to increase the risks of a serious incident.

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Code Red · Post by **Code Red** » Wed Mar 23, 2016 5:05 pm

I have always felt that the snatch recoveries are easily the most dangerous thing we do.

There is a lot of risk involved when you are pulling that hard using what is basically a big rubber band. I strongly prefer winches for heavy recoveries. The winch lines don't store energy like an elastic strap does, and so the release of that energy when something breaks is a lot less. A winch line may still rebound a little (or not . . . I broke a 12,000lb cable once and it simply fell to the ground), but it's going to be a lot less violent than a snatch strap. Like the difference between throwing a shackle at someone versus shooting it out of a cannon.

That being said, everyone has a snatch strap, and they work beautifully when you do it right. We just need to make sure everyone knows how to do it safely. I think I am going to add a few more practice stucks to my Newbie trips just to make sure people are getting trained.

I was on an intermediate ride recently with a very good driver who had never taken his strap out of the wrapper.

I also like the table with how much force a vehicle is generating at different speeds. I have tried to work that out before and the elasticity of the snatch strap always defeated me.

Kaylie · Post by **Kaylie** » Wed Mar 23, 2016 5:16 pm

Zeebzog wrote:I also think it would make some sense if we started to also advocate the use of rated soft shackles.

The points in the article of disparate vehicle sizes is also interesting. A couple of times I have had to recover F150s in what looked like unexceptional stucks, but the amount of force required to move them was lifting my car of the ground. I am not sure what we can do about this but for me this is where we really start to increase the risks of a serious incident.

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Agree with you here Lee, the risk of injury and damage to other vehicles will be reduced by using these soft shackles. About to get some of them myself. It will not stop recovery points from tearing off but will reduce possible injuries from flying shackles.

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Code Red · Post by **Code Red** » Wed Mar 23, 2016 5:26 pm

I agree. I would much rather have one of those flying at me than a normal shackle.

Thom · Post by **Thom** » Wed Mar 23, 2016 6:21 pm

Probably the biggest advantage for me is that soft shackles could be used to connect two or more snatch straps as well.

Kalahari · Post by **Kalahari** » Wed Mar 23, 2016 7:54 pm

Great article Code Red and thank you for sharing.

I agree on the soft shackles.

Where a metal shackle is used, I believe we should add a safety lanyard to each vehicle. This is attached to the snatch strap and the second recovery point on each vehicle. I purchased two from Icon Auto last week.

Lee, addressing your point on comparable vehicle size, since we started driving with a few F150's, it is best that a similar weighted car using increased capacity equipment is used for the snatch. This was something that shown to me by Urs and Jo when I started with AD4x4.

I also agree with Jon that winches on difficult recoveries is ideal, it is a lot more controlled, there is less stress on both vehicles, the risk to both drivers and spectators is reduced and the tone of the winch tells the operator when too much stress is being applied.

Another example of when a winch is better is when multiple snatches are needed to recover a car. If after two good snatches and the vehicle is still stuck, another plan must be made.

Enjoy the sand and listen to the Marshalls with experience

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Ray1 · Post by **Ray1** » Wed Mar 23, 2016 9:10 pm

Any thoughts or comments on snatching a much heavier (or more solidly stuck) vehicle with 2 lighter ones?

In series? In parallel? 1 recovery point or 2? Vector angle on the 2 straps if snatching in parallel?

Zeebzog · Post by **Zeebzog** » Wed Mar 23, 2016 9:21 pm

Only ever needed to do it twice, both on the same trip, and it was a lighter vehicle than both cars but having to pull back over a crest. My advice is don't do it. It's difficult to coordinate and the pulling cars are prone to come together as the snatch tightens. I would definitely never do it with someone who does not truly understand how their car feels on sand.

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Rahman · Post by **Rahman** » Wed Mar 23, 2016 9:39 pm

As kalahari told, a safety lanyard between the shackle and a point on the trucks involved will be very efficient. Soft rope type shackle will make it safer if we are anticipating only a shackle failure. However, if the recovery point itself breaks apart while pulling then the soft shackle wont make it safe; but the lanyard will definite damp the force.

Code Red · Post by **Code Red** » Thu Mar 24, 2016 10:50 am

I think a smaller vehicle pulling a larger one is OK if approached cautiously. (Shovels first) Bigger is better because you can go slower, but the force (not the speed) required to move that stuck F150 is the same, so the stress on the shackles, strap, and recovery points are the same whether you are pulling with a Suzuki or a dump truck. Dig it out first, and then start with slow pulls and gradually increase. If you start off by flooring it, you will load it all up too fast, exceed the amount of force needed, and break something. If the speed gets even a little bit scary, then you need to stop and make another plan.

Never get stuck on a plan. Watch how a recovery is going and be willing to admit it when your first plan wasn't the best one and change to something better. Never get in a hurry, that's when you start to cut corners and make mistakes.

This shouldn't be a surprise, but heavy recoveries often require more work and planning than light ones. The key is often to start off with a shovel and clear as much sand away as possible. Dig more than you think you need. Then dig a little more.

We make a lot of recoveries harder than they need to be by being too lazy to dig.

This is especially true with Summer coming.

I have seen the "train" method work with multiple vehicles pulling. There are a lot of things to think about and a lot more stress on the gear and rigging. It definitely should be a slow pull and not a snatch. There's a lot that can go wrong, and I'm don't think its worth the risk on a club trip. But if you have that many vehicles, you should also have that many shovels. Use them first.

SCORPIO · Post by **SCORPIO** » Thu Mar 24, 2016 2:01 pm

pretty much interesting

thanks for sharing

Jalal

AbuPhampi · Post by **AbuPhampi** » Fri Apr 08, 2016 8:30 pm

scotchyl wrote:Also I believe we should encourage when doing snatch and winch recoveries that a dampener is used on the strap in case of a break. This is something that is often missed and can quickly avoid any potential injury and damage to cars.

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Excellent article and thread. If somebody is interested, I just saw the dampener (oztrail) in adventure HQ delma mall on sale (30dh only before was around 120). I will definetly get one for that price, even if is feasible with a couple of plastic bags and sand inside

Also the lanyard seems like a good idea, but never seen those.

Any thoughts on how "rated" are our stock recovery points? Is using them a risk or a good practice? (vs more heavy duty aftermarket ones) Particularly for FJ in my case.