Performing a recovery from a hook (or any recovery point) is a very dangerous operation and has the potential to be fatal regardless of whether the strap falls off the hook. The reason for this is that should the recovery point fail when attached to a strap with a load applied, the recovery point becomes a missile traveling at an alarming speed towards the end of the strap where the failure did not occur.

In the case of those aftermarket hooks bolted to the frame, when you apply force to the hook you are stressing a part of the frame that is not designed to have force applied and results in a weak connection. Even with steel bracing behind the frame, there is great potential to overload the frame and tear the hook from the frame with the bolts and backing plate attached.

Should this happen, the 3lb hook plus the bolts and steel plate will fly thru the air towards the other end of the strap at what seems like the speed of sound until one of two things happen. The best end is that the missile reaches the end of the strap and falls harmlessly to the ground however what happens more often is that the missile contacts the vehicle. If it contacts the vehicle in a good spot, the impact will be absorbed by the vehicle and there will be damage to repair. If the missile contacts the vehicle in a bad spot, it will continue thru the glass or sheetmetal and into the passenger compartment. Once this happens, the probability is great that the missile will contact whatever passenger(s) is in the vehicle striking them in their vital organs causing significant injury or death.

This is something that happens more often than you would think. I recall an evening where we broke 3 straps trying to perform a recovery and luckily there was nothing at the broken end of the strap to turn into a missile. Not everyone gets this lucky so why take the chance??

Can a failure occur with a tow hitch?? Certianly. More often that not, however, failures occur because things aren't used as they are intended which is why the receiver hitch is a much better option. The truck is designed to have the hitch installed and the hitch is designed to have a load placed on it. That's using things the way they are designed and greatly reduces the risk of a failure that has the potential to cause death.

 

Excellent points, and a must read for everyone. I must point out that any broken strap, regardless of if anything is attached to it or not, can easily hurt any person or object it comes in contact with. But thanks to Tom to help educate the masses in how to mitigate the potential for disaster.

 

bd bd bd

 

strap accidents do kill, even experianced off roaders
here is why you loop one strap through the other and never use a clevis to connect them
a hook fastened to the frame would have the same effect if it came loose

God Bless David Wycoff

 

wow..

 

yeah that makes me think how i was sitting in the back of that truck when we were pulling that guys out with a chain.....man thats not good. looks like i'm going to buy a strap

 

accidents can happen with any type of recovery, and the best way to avoid them is to be overly safe. when pulling someone out, there should be NO BYSTANDERS near, pull straps, and ****** straps especially are deadly if they break. never use open hooks as recovery points, a ****** straps works like a rubber band, and loses tension easily as you are pulling someone out, and it can come loose. never use a strap that is damaged in any way. never use a chain or rope. always put light tension on the strap before pulling someone out, the force is much less than a loose strap suddenly "snapping" tight. a hitch is without a question the best method of rear recovery, any hooks should be mounted with at least 3 bolts and a backing plate with the surface area 2.5 times the number of bolts, and thicker than the frame. this takes the load from the 3 holes in the frame and spreads it evenly over a larger area.

safety first!!

 

Bob, u make good points as does tbarcya. my main point before was having a recovery point for an emergency use only. my truck is the wheeler for now and will be set up accodingly with rear reciever and a custom front reciever.

my plan was to have 2 plates of steel on both sides of the frame about 3x bigger then the hook bolted in 6 places and then the hook in the middle. more im thinking about this the less likely its gunna happen anytime soon as my truck needs to be fixed first.

 

i personally think a hook like you described would work, as does john griggs as per your last thread

 

Old trick: One way to counteract the "flying missile" problem if the strap breaks either at the vehicle being towed or the towing vehicle, and whether the missile is a hook on the tow strap, clevis hook, a tow hook that's mounted to the frame and breaks loose, or whatever, is to drape a jacket, large towel, blanket, or something else like that over each end of the strap right next to each of the two vehicles. Just make sure that what you drape over the strap at each end is fairly heavy. If a strap breaks and has a piece of metal attached to it, that piece of metal should hit the cloth and either drop to the ground or have its speed greatly slowed down.

 

That's a pretty good idea JMac, I'll have to remember that one. I always have extra towels in the truck, and that would definately help. Also, remember to keep everyone far away from the towing area. At least as far as the length of the tow strap (even further, if possible).
Just remember that vehicle recovery is never "safe"