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Chain Snaps and Smashes through Windshield......

shintoooo

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..... Killing the driver!

[video=youtube;48GoDuFze8g]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48GoDuFze8g[/video]
 

78Southwind

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I have seen similar at the AVI. The guy let his 12 year old launch him and the borrowed truck went in to the river. A guy in a Suburban tried to pull him out of the river with a chain. He got him out of the water but the chain broke and smashed the Suburbans window. No one got killed but I never understand the use of a chain to tow vehicles. I took it as an example of dumb meets dumber. Sad deal about this video.
 

Flying_Lavey

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This is the precise reason why you should NEVER use a chair to recover a vehicle. A strap or a rope that is designed for vehicle recovery ONLY. It really seems like mudding brings out the dumbest of society. Real shame what happened to the driver though.
 

RiverDave

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The bow eyes and stern cleats on boats always make me nervous if you are pulling one up from the bottom of the river.. Ropes stretch a lot more than chains
 

Ziggy

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The bow eyes and stern cleats on boats always make me nervous if you are pulling one up from the bottom of the river.. Ropes stretch a lot more than chains

But they do not carry the same mass when they break and fly back.
.
.
.
I could not even imagine how the guy in the front truck will feel for the rest of his life.....:(:(:(
 

McRib

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I'd like to know how many times they shock loaded that chain before it broke. I'd bet it was grade 7 or less meaning they had at best a WLL of about 4 to 6k. The only thing that could have stopped this from happening would've been wrapping something around the chain in 2 or 3 locations. A jacket, burlap, pieces of rubber like a mud flap duct tapped to the chain would have deflected the load into the ground and under the vehicles. There is a reason pro comp straps are rated at 30 and 40k. I'd bet in that muck that jeep weighed 10 to 15k with the frame high mire and up Hill grade. 1/2 in grade 100 chain would have been the min for this and the D rings on the vehicles would have been the weakest link.

With that said.... even an 40k strap could kill. Always lay something heavy over anything being used to pull stuck vehicles like this. Your chances of death go down 75%
 

HST4ME

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But they do not carry the same mass when they break and fly back.
(

Wanna bet? I was a witness to a transom eye to the face of a guy waterskiing. He was dead before he hit the water. Shitty deal. I was always told to rope off the end of the chain or strap to each vehicle when you had to yank on something.
 

Ziggy

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Wanna bet? I was a witness to a transom eye to the face of a guy waterskiing.

Agreed but that's not what I said....The mass of a chain is far greater than a transom eye.
Ribby had the best advise, wrap or lay something heavy over the chain/strap.
I witnessed a tow truck operator loose teeth when his winch cable snapped, and he wasn't even in direct line with it:eek:(
 

dread Pirate

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Like McRib said, you always lay a heavy jacket or something over the chain, cable or strap. Pretty much off roading 101,,,
 

RiverDave

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I'd like to know how many times they shock loaded that chain before it broke. I'd bet it was grade 7 or less meaning they had at best a WLL of about 4 to 6k. The only thing that could have stopped this from happening would've been wrapping something around the chain in 2 or 3 locations. A jacket, burlap, pieces of rubber like a mud flap duct tapped to the chain would have deflected the load into the ground and under the vehicles. There is a reason pro comp straps are rated at 30 and 40k. I'd bet in that muck that jeep weighed 10 to 15k with the frame high mire and up Hill grade. 1/2 in grade 100 chain would have been the min for this and the D rings on the vehicles would have been the weakest link.

With that said.... even an 40k strap could kill. Always lay something heavy over anything being used to pull stuck vehicles like this. Your chances of death go down 75%

Like McRib said, you always lay a heavy jacket or something over the chain, cable or strap. Pretty much off roading 101,,,

I have never heard of that before.. Glad I know now though!

RD
 

dread Pirate

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I have never heard of that before.. Glad I know now though!

RD

It will save someones life. A wet towel works too.

The amount of stupid shit I have gotten into living up here has lead to several snapped winch cables, tow chains, etc. It's a simple trick that will take out 90% of the risk.
 

t&y

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I have never heard of that before.. Glad I know now though!

RD

A lot of times if you buy a winch kit there will be something in there. The best I've seen, bar actually tieing a loose rope from each end of the tow strap to the vehicles, was a set up that came with a couple sand bags that hang over the winch line. Bust out the winch kit, hook everything up, and lay the sand bags over the line. Not perfect, but far better than nothing.
 

Waffles

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That vid is the reason I open my hood all the way back when winching. Winches scare he hell out of me but have gotten me out of bad situations a number of times.
 

rvrrun

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That vid is the reason I open my hood all the way back when winching. Winches scare he hell out of me but have gotten me out of bad situations a number of times.

That's a good idea. I remember the jacket/rope/blanket etc. from the Peterson publishing off road hand book (or something like that) from the early 80's with a pic of a K5 hanging from a tree by its winch.
 

McRib

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The worst thing you can do to chain and wire rope is shock load it. We throw away tons of chain a year because of shock load situations. Straps are designed for this stuff. Stretch it out then back over it 75% and punch it. Let the shock load pull out the victim vehicle.
 

t&y

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The worst thing you can do to chain and wire rope is shock load it. We throw away tons of chain a year because of shock load situations. Straps are designed for this stuff. Stretch it out then back over it 75% and punch it. Let the shock load pull out the victim vehicle.

Have you had one snap on your tow rig yet? I stay way the hell back everytime the tow truck is putting anything on the bed. Some people are clueless.
 

Singleton

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I'd like to know how many times they shock loaded that chain before it broke. I'd bet it was grade 7 or less meaning they had at best a WLL of about 4 to 6k. The only thing that could have stopped this from happening would've been wrapping something around the chain in 2 or 3 locations. A jacket, burlap, pieces of rubber like a mud flap duct tapped to the chain would have deflected the load into the ground and under the vehicles. There is a reason pro comp straps are rated at 30 and 40k. I'd bet in that muck that jeep weighed 10 to 15k with the frame high mire and up Hill grade. 1/2 in grade 100 chain would have been the min for this and the D rings on the vehicles would have been the weakest link.

With that said.... even an 40k strap could kill. Always lay something heavy over anything being used to pull stuck vehicles like this. Your chances of death go down 75%

First thing the Warn winch operator manual states when using your winch for recovery or anything else.
 

McRib

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Have you had one snap on your tow rig yet? I stay way the hell back everytime the tow truck is putting anything on the bed. Some people are clueless.

I dont operate a small flat bed but ive seen plenty of equipment failures in my years. Ive had a 3/4 wire rope snap on my big wrecker before. We rigged and things shifted well after we commited. When the wire rope shifted it caught a bur and bad things happened real fast. Ive had a hook failure that sent the cable straight in the air and did a rainbow swing up over my truck then under the front bumper and under the rig. Ive had customers lie about weights and snapped endless loop straps. The noise that all this stuff makes when it fails is nuts. Snap krackle pop and all you can do is shrug and hope its not coming your way. In the end proper maintenence and replacement of bad parts when they get shock loaded is key. Its expensive but if your operator knows what to do and when to do it it will save lives.
 

jetboatperformance

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A few years back A guy in a open Jeep was towing another vehicle with a web strap at Pismo , the strap broke and the "streatched" strap sling shotted back to the Jeep clubbing the Jeep driver in the back of the skull ... didnt end well
 

HOSS

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Damn dude. That chit really does happen.
 

McKay

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Buy a properly sized "Kinetic" rope of "Super Yanker" once you have used one or seen one used you will never use god forbid a chain or a plane old lifting strap again. They are amazing how well they work. For saftley I still throw a jacket or moving blanket on both ends. YouTube to see how well they work. Simply amazing.
 

rcmike

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I had to watch this video in boot camp, and again when I learned the throttles..

 
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Old Texan

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We sell lots of rigging products and the safety standards in industry are strict for a reason. Sadly the general public often has no clue about breaking strengths and proper rigging for applications.

Industrial applications outnumber public use by extreme percentages, yet public application incidents injuries and deaths are far higher. And people complain when the gov steps in with regulations, they don't understand why.:rolleyes

Sad that someone had to die oversometh9ng hat could have been prevented with a little knowledge applied.:(

People around here complain about it being illegal for anyone other than a licensed tow vehicle to pull out stuck vehicles on public beaches. But the video shows why those laws are in place. Leave it to the pros.
 

Flying_Lavey

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We sell lots of rigging products and the safety standards in industry are strict for a reason. Sadly the general public often has no clue about breaking strengths and proper rigging for applications.

Industrial applications outnumber public use by extreme percentages, yet public application incidents injuries and deaths are far higher. And people complain when the gov steps in with regulations, they don't understand why.:rolleyes

Sad that someone had to die oversometh9ng hat could have been prevented with a little knowledge applied.:(

People around here complain about it being illegal for anyone other than a licensed tow vehicle to pull out stuck vehicles on public beaches. But the video shows why those laws are in place. Leave it to the pros.
It's actually only illegal if money changes hands.
 

poncho

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Years ago an ex-girlfriend of mine tried to take herself out with a strap, I took down a huge maple in her yard. By the end of the weekend I was down to cutting the roots and digging around the stump. I threw my strap on and gave a few tugs just to see where I was still holding, getting dark at this point.

Told her i'll finish it when I get off work tomorrow, G/F was a (I can do anything a man can do type).

Got to her house and see glass in the road, everything seemed off.

She tried to jerk it out with her Bronco 2 and the hook went through the back window and destroyed the dash, she was pretty shook up.

We got 20" of snow Saturday night and I pulled 2 people yesterday, very carefully.
 

Flying_Lavey

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I had one of those. It was awesome! Didn't last very long though. It appeared to rot away inside it's bag in my tool box. But when it snapped trying to yank a F-250 out of the sand, it just fell down. No snap back at all really.
 

Old Texan

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It's actually only illegal if money changes hands.

Not per the signs posted on many beaches. They don't want anyone other than a licensed towing company from what the signs say. May just be county or municipal, but I've seen these signs on most public beaches And heard of folks getting fined.

Honestly not positive, but those have been my experiences.;)
 

C-2

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I never knew any of this.

For the layperson (or lameperson, like me :p), what is the proper way to use the strap?

Pull until tension is tight and then stop?
 

Flying_Lavey

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Not per the signs posted on many beaches. They don't want anyone other than a licensed towing company from what the signs say. May just be county or municipal, but I've seen these signs on most public beaches And heard of folks getting fined.

Honestly not positive, but those have been my experiences.;)
That is what was explained to me on Pismo beach. And there are people pulling out other all the time there. It's actually some of the best entertainment there is. Specially with this new fad of the giant wheels and low sidewall tires. They think their trucks are badass and then get stuck easier than a 2wd and wonder WTF happened. Lol!
 

cole_skier

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Back when I was a kid pulled a friend of mine out of the mud with a chain and strap hooked together (I know I was a dumb ass). Chain broke and 3 links and the hook came flying back at my Blazer. Opened the tailgate like a can opener and then ripped the back seat then the headliner and rear view mirror and windshield. Also knocked my cowboy hat off. Was very lucky it didn't take my head off.
 

Flying_Lavey

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I never knew any of this.

For the layperson (or lameperson, like me :p), what is the proper way to use the strap?

Pull until tension is tight and then stop?
Depends on how they are stuck. If they arent dug into the sand or mud too deep a straight pull will usually work. If they are dug in pretty well a snatch may be required where you would utilize the elasticity factor of your strap by essentially getting a bit of a running start.

This is a GREAT video for proper instruction of a "snatch" technique.

[video=youtube_https;-Ire31FrEAI]https://youtu.be/-Ire31FrEAI[/video]
 

buck35

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Depends on how they are stuck. If they arent dug into the sand or mud too deep a straight pull will usually work. If they are dug in pretty well a snatch may be required where you would utilize the elasticity factor of your strap by essentially getting a bit of a running start.

This is a GREAT video for proper instruction of a "snatch" technique.

[video=youtube_https;-Ire31FrEAI]https://youtu.be/-Ire31FrEAI[/video]

Any sledders on here ever use a sno bungee. Same principle but more stretch. You come out like rocket assist!
 

C-2

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Depends on how they are stuck. If they arent dug into the sand or mud too deep a straight pull will usually work. If they are dug in pretty well a snatch may be required where you would utilize the elasticity factor of your strap by essentially getting a bit of a running start.

This is a GREAT video for proper instruction of a "snatch" technique.

[video=youtube_https;-Ire31FrEAI]https://youtu.be/-Ire31FrEAI[/video]

Thanks FL :)
 
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