how to pull a van out of the mud?

[perelaar]

Got called by a friend yesterday, he got stuck with his (fully loaded) van in a boggy field. Long story on why and how he came to be there is not to the point; in any case he asked me to pull him out.

So off I went with the Terrano and my 2 (!)weeks old towing strap. I did get him out without a problem, but I'd like to know if I did it correctly and safely...

What I did:
- positioned the terrano with the back end towards the back end of the van (did not dare to drive around, for fear of getting bogged down myself and because I did not want to damage the field even more)
- hooked up the strap to the towing loop under his back bumper
- hooked up the other loop on the strap to my tow hook

In the end it worked, but I don't think a tow hook is designed for this kind of towing. Or am I wrong?

[Fez_uk]

If it's light recovery (say a gentle constant pull) the towing hook is ok

But it's best practice to use maybe the tow bar actual bar.

[johnb5177]

In the absence of a Timberjack (winch tractor), my T2 does an amazing job of pulling over major trees, that require a bit of `leverage` to help gravity work....

Using of course the Witter towbar and Dixon Bate ball/pin hitch......

[perelaar]

Well, it did work, as I said. In low range, and very very slowly, but in the end without problem at all. Will use the tow bar instead of the tow hook though in the future.
I actually bought the towing strap in case I got bogged down

[AlexD333]

Just make sure your not snatching at the rope, ive seen a few videos of hooks come flying backwards at you, and often,k through windows

there is a horrible winch video of a steel cable killing two bystanders too

safety is important

everyone crapped themselves when I got my Tirfor

[R1cho]

Originally Posted by AlexD333

everyone crapped themselves when I got my Tirfor

everyone craps themselves when you make a post about doing a mod

[Fez_uk]

Originally Posted by AlexD333

Just make sure your not snatching at the rope, ive seen a few videos of hooks come flying backwards at you, and often,k through windows

That's why hooks should not be used, Shackles rated higher than the strap or recovery rope should be used.