Winch or Strap?

[AwesomeJ10]

Which do you prefer and why?

Say your buddy is stuck and needs assistance. Will you winch him out or strap him out? I guess it depends on the situation, but 99% of the time, I will break out the strap, connect it to the REAR of my FSJ and yank him out. Quick and easy.

Guess I just hate winching. Too slow, loud and can be dangerous.

Discuss.

[carnuck]

Strap unless he's stuck in mud or a precarious position where failure would be disastrous

[pcoplin]

Really depends. Quick stuck, quick yank. Since we all know baby Jeeps don't get stuck, I don;t have to do it very often.

I actually don't have a dynamic tow strap, and have bent my rear Currie bumper yarding on someone in the snow with a normal strap. SO I often have them winch to my bumper.

[carnuck]

I have tow hooks for chain and I attach straps with D rings to the frame and not the bumper

[AwesomeJ10]

Anyone ever use a bubba rope?

It's THE best rope I've ever seen. It's amazing what you can yank a truck out of.

[fulsizjeep]

I use the strap when it is easier than unspooling a winch.

[csuengr]

If it's stuck in mud or water, I prefer the winch. I hate having a muddy or sopping wet tow strap. Another reason for winch is I might need the tow strap to anchor myself to a tree or something. If I need something quick and it isn't muddy, I break out the strap.

[Stuka]

For most things, a strap is plenty.

If by yourself, a Winch is pretty much the only way to go.

And of course, NEVER EVER EVER use a chain to pull somebody out.

[ClovisMan]

I usually use a Wench with a strap-on....oh wait...

[will e]

Yeah, it depends.

Kevin was pretty stuck. His tires were wet, couldn't climb up, back was resting on bumper/body. Winch was the way to go. Much more control. If I was strapping him and lost traction he could slide backwards.



Flat groud I like straps.

[AwesomeJ10]

Good pic!

I think in that exact scenario, there would have been another rig a few feet in front of him. Looks to be the typical wash trail with shelves, meaning there is nothing but flat rock on top of the shelve.

If the rig in front of him was my J10, he would have been strapped right out. I would have doubled up the strap and threw it in low gear and eased him right up.

[pcoplin]

With climbs like that, I'd rather hook up the winch and let the driver control it.

[AwesomeJ10]

True.

But he didn't have a winch.

[pcoplin]

In that case, I might have gave him a $20 to put in his winch savings fund, and drove off. :D:D


I kid, I kid.

[will e]

Ah, but I did have a winch, and he had some good recovery points.

In this situation I parked in a spot where a large boulder in front of my front wheel kept me from moving. Hooked him up with a snatch.

Engine on, foot on brake, CB used for communication and pulled him up like it was nothing.


A strap may have worked but it's a little slippery. Sometimes a good option is to get the one jeep stationary and secured and use a winch.

Now, here is a different situation where Derek got himself stuck in the mud. You can see Kevin is in the background. They used a strap to pull Derek out.

http://www.ifsja.org/forums/vb/showthre ... ght=camera

[Mean_Green_401]

I've used both for off road recoveries. Like others have stated, use what is best for the particular situation. If it requires some finess or maximum continuous pulling power, use the winch. If it's something you can use the weight and momentum of your recovery vehicle and you're not worried with the exact path of the recovered vehicle, use a snatch strap.

It's also noteworthy that there is a difference in straps. Tow straps are not what I would use to yank someone from a mudhole. If I was towing someone because they had some major trail carnage and couldn't make it out on their own, I'd use the tow strap. Snatch straps are made to stretch and use the stored momentum to help accellerate the recovery and pull. Bad things can happen when you yank someone with a tow strap.

I usually prefer to use a snatch strap over the winch. A warn M15,000 has a 315:1 gear ratio, and it's S L O W.

[UKJeeper]

KE Strap unless I feel the energy produced is going to be channeled into the wrong place. Seen too many V shaped bumpers and broken recovery points from bad recoveries in, for instance, deep mud. Winch may be slower, but the energy is much more controllable and (usually) focused in the right direction.

[carnuck]

What's wrong with chains? Unlike cable, they drop straight down if things come undone. They don't store kinetic energy like cables (aka Metal rubber bands)

[AwesomeJ10]

Chains are fine so long as you don't have to get a running start and 'hit' them.

[Stuka]

I have seen chains snap and fly. I actually don't think I have ever seen one just drop. Saw one chain do some pretty major damage to the tailgate of a truck. Cables will stretch more and store more energy, but they have less mass as well.

Just google around for snapped tow chains. Plenty of videos out there.