Put the chains on the ZJ today

Being a Southern boy in Yankeeland the first accessory I get for any new
vehicle is a set of chains. Well, they've sat in the back of the ZJ for
more than 12 years unopened. Today I found occasion to put them on.

Went in to work, the lot wasn't plowed, at least not recently, and it's
a dirt lot so there's not a lot of traction to begin with. I saw the
boss and his wife were there, somebody had shoveled to the office door
but not to the shop door, so I shovelled to the shop door and just
before I got there the boss came out and asked me if I could get his
wife's car unstuck, knowing that I had the ZJ which can move just about
anything. Well, she had it hung up pretty good on an ice hummock. I
tried busting the hummock up with a pinch point bar and putting boards
under the tires and pushing and whatnot and it wouldn't move, so I dug
out the tow strap and hooked her up at the best angle I could get
(wasn't a very good one), put the ZJ in low range low and started to
pull. Nothing happened except that I spun three tires. Didn't want to
yank as as while I'm sure my strap and hook would take it, I wasn't so
sure about the frame member on the car that I was hooked up to,
especially with the bad angle. So I backed the ZJ up, put the chains on
the back, and eased away in low-low and it came right out.

By this time I was pretty well covered with snow and mud (didn't help
that I'd slipped and landed in a snowdrift once) so I told the boss I
needed to go home and change. He said "take the day off, you've earned
it".

J. Clarke wrote:

> Didn't want to
> yank as as while I'm sure my strap and hook would take it, I wasn't so
> sure about the frame member on the car that I was hooked up to,
> especially with the bad angle.

Good decision! I've seen cheaper tow straps with the hook sewn into a loop
on the end snap and they almost always fail at the hook eye. I've never
seen one sling the hook like some online videos show (hook becomes a lethal
missile aimed at the vehicle on the other end), but I always put something
(at least a heavy blanket or a spare tire) as a damper in the middle of the
strap just to restrain it if it breaks.

If you weren't aware, there are two types of pull straps: the hard ones with
limited stretch and the "snatch" straps which have a lot more stretch but
allow for a running start to yank out the really stuck ones - like frame
deep in packed snow or mud. The stiffer ones are really the true tow straps.

I've also seen a few bumpers on the ground where someone attached to one
bumper or the other and yanked a bit too hard. Around here, anyone with any
experience is really hesitant to try a serious pull unless both ends have
frame mounted tow hooks on the vehicles - and even those are dubious on the
newer unibody designs. If possible, I usually drop an old tire over the
bumper and push rather than try to yank.

--
Will Honea

Will Honea wrote:
> J. Clarke wrote:
>
>> Didn't want to
>> yank as as while I'm sure my strap and hook would take it, I wasn't
>> so sure about the frame member on the car that I was hooked up to,
>> especially with the bad angle.
>
> Good decision! I've seen cheaper tow straps with the hook sewn into a
> loop on the end snap and they almost always fail at the hook eye.

Deathstraps.
Anytime I see someone with one of those out I hide behind a LARGE rock or tree.

If for some reason you use one of those straps, throw a blanket over the top
so when it does snap the hook doesn't go sailing through the air.

Today I pulled a few folks out just with ye-olde 3" strap. No hooks.

--
DougW

DougW wrote:

> Will Honea wrote:
>> J. Clarke wrote:
>>
>>> Didn't want to
>>> yank as as while I'm sure my strap and hook would take it, I wasn't
>>> so sure about the frame member on the car that I was hooked up to,
>>> especially with the bad angle.
>>
>> Good decision! I've seen cheaper tow straps with the hook sewn into a
>> loop on the end snap and they almost always fail at the hook eye.
>
> Deathstraps.
> Anytime I see someone with one of those out I hide behind a LARGE rock or
> tree.
>
> If for some reason you use one of those straps, throw a blanket over the
> top so when it does snap the hook doesn't go sailing through the air.
>
> Today I pulled a few folks out just with ye-olde 3" strap. No hooks.

My preference as well, Doug. Almost no give, wrap it around a hook or a
real frame member and you can darned near lift it vertically.

I'm actually more nervous around a lot of these inch-and-a-half to 2" straps
than I ever was around a winch cable, especially when I see some kid whip
one out, hook it around the bumpers and have at it. I will say that the one
my son picked up at WalMart has been a good performer since we ground the
hooks off it, tho.

--
Will Honea

Will Honea wrote:

> I'm actually more nervous around a lot of these inch-and-a-half to 2"
> straps than I ever was around a winch cable, especially when I see
> some kid whip one out, hook it around the bumpers and have at it. I
> will say that the one my son picked up at WalMart has been a good
> performer since we ground the hooks off it, tho.

Got a couple of those smaller 2" straps rated at 20,000 lbs. That's
"good enough" for getting a small car unstuck or giving a bit of a
pull for ice/snow/mud when the other vehicle can get some traction.

The 3" is rated at 35,000 lbs which is way over what the ZJ can do
without spinning wheels.

--
DougW

DougW wrote:

> Will Honea wrote:
>
>> I'm actually more nervous around a lot of these inch-and-a-half to 2"
>> straps than I ever was around a winch cable, especially when I see
>> some kid whip one out, hook it around the bumpers and have at it. I
>> will say that the one my son picked up at WalMart has been a good
>> performer since we ground the hooks off it, tho.
>
> Got a couple of those smaller 2" straps rated at 20,000 lbs. That's
> "good enough" for getting a small car unstuck or giving a bit of a
> pull for ice/snow/mud when the other vehicle can get some traction.
>
> The 3" is rated at 35,000 lbs which is way over what the ZJ can do
> without spinning wheels.

I'm all for the motive force being the weakest link! I learned a lot in 20
years with an old Scout toting an 8 ton hydraulic Ramsey winch on the front
end - half inch cable and all. I can recall times when I had to get behind
a big log to keep the old IH sitting still on a hard pull. Spoiled me, it
did, especially once I figured out that I could scrounge new cable from what
the oil rigs called "scrap".

--
Will Honea