View Poll Results: What do you use to get un-stuck?
Voters: 414. You may not vote on this poll
Strap or Chain
#82
07-14-2010, 11:55 AM
strap all the way...i was a logging chain guy but reading all yalls opinions about them im goin to take that heavy chain out of the back and go get a good strap.
#84
08-14-2010, 02:30 PM
starp def. chains are dangerous and chains break sh*t. id you have to use a chain put a tire inbetween two chains so it has some give. the last time i used a chain i ripped my reese hitch in half a twisted my bumper. thts wut i get for trying to pull my drunken friends out of a river. lol.
#86
09-27-2010, 12:01 PM
I'm purchasing a winch for myself to keep in the back. But I use straps....had two idiots back in HS use chains to try and drag each other. Snapped and put a girl in the hospital broke her ribs.
I use straps...don't have a blanket but I have a 50' rope that I roll around the strap in case it breaks it gets caught in the rope....but the rope does not bear any of the load.
Towing....well I cross trailer chains to catch tongue if it pops off the ball...have yet tow anyone with this truck.
This video pops into my head every time I think of this...BUT this guy did not do a single thing right.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUrN4Stnwi4
I use straps...don't have a blanket but I have a 50' rope that I roll around the strap in case it breaks it gets caught in the rope....but the rope does not bear any of the load.
Towing....well I cross trailer chains to catch tongue if it pops off the ball...have yet tow anyone with this truck.
This video pops into my head every time I think of this...BUT this guy did not do a single thing right.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUrN4Stnwi4
Last edited by Silver00LT; 09-27-2010 at 12:08 PM.
#89
11-03-2010, 10:30 AM
if you can afford it as a strap bubba rope is the strap to have. next best thing to a winch imo.
#90
12-20-2010, 10:56 AM
I would just like to share this story with you guys. I personally don't think wiches are all that necessary for most situations and here is why.
We live off of the Trinity river in Ace Tx about an hour outside of Houston.
(Foreshadowing)
My brother and I started drinking about 3 hours before this took place.
Well the river came up high enough that our boat ramp (bottom) went about 18 inches under water. We decided that we need to drive along the edge of the river which appeared to be about 2 feet at the deepest.
Man was that a bad idea.
The plan:
Drive with 1 car in the river slowly, on the first instance of being stuck or slipping retreat. If retreat fails the vehicle with more traction tows out. If everything is great, we all dive in.
The vehicles:
My brother: 1990 Nissan Pathfinder 3.0 V6 4x4 7 horsepower, blown rear lsd, good deep tread but more like a sand tire, mostly an "all conditions" type of tire. I think hes running 31's stock.
Me: 1994 GMC Jimmy 4.3 V6 4x4, G80 intermittent locking rear differential, stock size 235/75/15 BFG AT in excellent shape courtesy of Discount tires awesome warranty.
The pathfinder rolls into the water, everythings looking good, headlights are just above the water line. He gets about 25 feet pareallel with me on bank and him in river and the passenger side starts to sink.
My brother drops it into reverse, hits the gas and the car shuts off. He is yelling "THERES WATER IN THE CAR"
His 20 year old door seals fail, imagine that.
Well, he tried and tried to crank it up to no avail. I pulled the jimmy nose first into the river at damn near a 45* angle popped my hood and SET MY PARKING BRAKE. Left the truck running to keep my 150amp alternator churning away power to keep this starter motor going while we hook up jumper cables. After about 30 minutes of this, nothing was working.
We tie a strap to the pathfinder on the back, and me being on the slope heading to the river about 6 feet above the pathfinder start pullling. Well not really, the tires broke traction as soon as the slack was out and I was just digging in.
We decide that WORST CASE scenario, my wifes 96 4x4 2 door tahoe with bfg at's and my grandmas 98 ecsb 4x4 z71 can link up and pull him out.
We try a few times to pull the nissan out which at this point is simply dead weight vacuum stuck into the sand and is still sinking.
We decide to air down. I dropped my bfg's down to 12-15 lbs of pressure, pulled foreward but the back side of the strap came off. Hooked it all back up, slacked up and dropped the throttle.
I only broke traction enough to give the govbomb time to hook up and away she went. The pathfinder pulled up a 40ish degree bank just under 6 feet high, laid frame across the top and settled on the driveway about 30 yards away all in one motion.
The mistake: Driving downstream heading forward instead of going reverse upstream. (most difficult way to traverse a river vs easiest (irrespectively))
So that is why I think winches aren't nearly as important as good traction devices and AIR DOWN. Man I must have offroaded 20 times before anyone told me to air down. I tell everyone I can now. Ooh and the nissan died because the computer is under the seat and has no provisions for being even weatherproof much less waterproof. The transmission took on water and the clutches are gone. He got about 6 inches of water on the passenger side at its highest.
We live off of the Trinity river in Ace Tx about an hour outside of Houston.
(Foreshadowing)
My brother and I started drinking about 3 hours before this took place.
Well the river came up high enough that our boat ramp (bottom) went about 18 inches under water. We decided that we need to drive along the edge of the river which appeared to be about 2 feet at the deepest.
Man was that a bad idea.
The plan:
Drive with 1 car in the river slowly, on the first instance of being stuck or slipping retreat. If retreat fails the vehicle with more traction tows out. If everything is great, we all dive in.
The vehicles:
My brother: 1990 Nissan Pathfinder 3.0 V6 4x4 7 horsepower, blown rear lsd, good deep tread but more like a sand tire, mostly an "all conditions" type of tire. I think hes running 31's stock.
Me: 1994 GMC Jimmy 4.3 V6 4x4, G80 intermittent locking rear differential, stock size 235/75/15 BFG AT in excellent shape courtesy of Discount tires awesome warranty.
The pathfinder rolls into the water, everythings looking good, headlights are just above the water line. He gets about 25 feet pareallel with me on bank and him in river and the passenger side starts to sink.
My brother drops it into reverse, hits the gas and the car shuts off. He is yelling "THERES WATER IN THE CAR"
His 20 year old door seals fail, imagine that.
Well, he tried and tried to crank it up to no avail. I pulled the jimmy nose first into the river at damn near a 45* angle popped my hood and SET MY PARKING BRAKE. Left the truck running to keep my 150amp alternator churning away power to keep this starter motor going while we hook up jumper cables. After about 30 minutes of this, nothing was working.
We tie a strap to the pathfinder on the back, and me being on the slope heading to the river about 6 feet above the pathfinder start pullling. Well not really, the tires broke traction as soon as the slack was out and I was just digging in.
We decide that WORST CASE scenario, my wifes 96 4x4 2 door tahoe with bfg at's and my grandmas 98 ecsb 4x4 z71 can link up and pull him out.
We try a few times to pull the nissan out which at this point is simply dead weight vacuum stuck into the sand and is still sinking.
We decide to air down. I dropped my bfg's down to 12-15 lbs of pressure, pulled foreward but the back side of the strap came off. Hooked it all back up, slacked up and dropped the throttle.
I only broke traction enough to give the govbomb time to hook up and away she went. The pathfinder pulled up a 40ish degree bank just under 6 feet high, laid frame across the top and settled on the driveway about 30 yards away all in one motion.
The mistake: Driving downstream heading forward instead of going reverse upstream. (most difficult way to traverse a river vs easiest (irrespectively))
So that is why I think winches aren't nearly as important as good traction devices and AIR DOWN. Man I must have offroaded 20 times before anyone told me to air down. I tell everyone I can now. Ooh and the nissan died because the computer is under the seat and has no provisions for being even weatherproof much less waterproof. The transmission took on water and the clutches are gone. He got about 6 inches of water on the passenger side at its highest.
Last edited by uhlhazard; 12-20-2010 at 11:05 AM.