Tow Strap

[woodhog]

Can someone recommend a good quality tow strap to carry for our TC
setup. The whole outfit weighs about 12,000 pounds.

I see all kinds for sale on Amazon etc, some with hooks, some without.

Do you need heavy duty shackles if you buy one with no hooks .

Are some better quality than others, they all look about the same.

[Trackrig]

Nylon slings and nylon tow or recovery straps are two entirely different things - apples and oranges.

Slings do not have give in them or not enough to make them worth using, maybe just a little more than chains.

On the other hand nylon recovery straps are woven differently to allow lots of stretch.

Buy a 4" by 30' strap.

Bill

[sabconsulting]

I tend to buy lifting slings for 4x4 recovery work. They have been tested and have a certificate of safety so they can be used for lifting, so you know they aren't just any imitation junk from China. They also have a high safety factor - i.e. if they are rated to 10,000 lbs for example, they are designed to fail under several times that load.

Similarly you can buy tested and certified lifting shackles. I've seen cheap Chinese ones just break in half, which can mean the other half and the strap are propelled backwards with huge force.

Of course, there is a difference between being towed on the road and someone towing you out of a ditch or a field where you are axle-deep in mud. The latter will need a lot more force. There is also the risk that whoever is pulling you wants to take a run-up, which puts huge forces on towing equipment and can lead to dangerous sudden failures. I know many 4-wheelers like kinetic energy recovery ropes - they act like elastic so the recovery vehicle can get some speed and snatch the bogged vehicle out, but in doing so they put immense forces on everything concerned and when something breaks can slingshot it with lethal force. So I personally stay clear of them.

Steve.

[covered_wagon]

Crane operators have the best and when they get little bit of wear they are no longer used. Amazing how they are still good really for towing.

[SideHillSoup]

Where I worked before I retired the Iron Workers always used Nylon slings ( tow straps) they hardly ever used steel slings however if a lift required the steel slings they were used.
Always use a shackle on the ends so that the slings doesn't get a crease or gets bent over. In time the end loop will start to fray from places where the sling gets bent or creased often. Also constant rubbing in one area will cause premature failure.
If you see the treads on the sling starting to break, chuck it in the garbage and get a new one. I have nylons slings in my truck and in my Side X Side.
I still have chains but mostly use the nylons slings now.
Soup .

[Kayteg1]

I think nylon strap with loops on the end + couple of shackles is the best.
IMHO nylon is nylon no matter the country it is coming from.
Got my 14,000 lb set pulled from sand 3 days ago and finding good spot to attach the strap is another issue. My F350 has very strong eyes at rear hitch, but that doesn't happen on each truck. Now I think carrying hitch ball under the camper might not be such a bad idea.