Oregon and Washington BS thread

I miss my truck..... But only a couple months till I'm back in the US!

 

Fuck gas prices. They were finally going down, then shit has to hit the fan with the drought and the refinery fires and so on. It's always something.

 

right? i dont even pay attention half the time any more, all i know is im going to get bent over if my tank is low.

 

I'm making a conscious effort to not let my gas tank get too far below half a tank. That way I won't feel as bad when I pay $40 for a half tank instead of $70 for a whole tank...even though I'm still getting fucked.

 

i let mine go to about 1/4 tank or so,
figure the weight loss helps make up some MPG.

 

May as well pack some lube in the center console

 

The further east you go, the cheaper gas is. We paid $3.50/gal. in Montana last week when it was $4 in Seattle. Idaho was $3.70.

Now you'll have something to look forward to when you go wheel with them Montanans.

 

Thank goodness!

 

Gf was driving home from work, and the water pump/power steering belt on the jetta broke, she ended up on Sauvies Island.

I was very glad I had just recently purchased a tow strap and had it. I don't like leaving a car somewhere without it being operational.

I defiantly plan to have more gear. My tow strap had no hooks, and I had no hooks in the rear of my truck for it or a hook on the front of the jetta. So I will hopefully be adding some sort of recovery hook in the back that I can use. I guess I did have a d-ring hook, but I don't think it would have been the safest to tow from Sauvies to home.

 

Best thing to do is make it "Optional." for instance my tow strap like most has loops ad each end. Well i decided one end needs to be able to clip. I got a think chain and ran it through one end then pinned it through a heavy duty shackle clamp thinga majigger!

 

You guys scare me.
D-ring shackles (which the correct term is bow shackle) are always the best option. The only thing that comes close is a self-locking winch hook.
on vehicles, a fully enclosed loop, meant for towing or recovery purposes, is the only recommended option for towing and recovery. The loops you see on most cars are not rated for towing; they were meant as a tie down location during shipping.
The hook that you find on the front of the truck, such as the one on 2nd gen TRD models, are about as good as you can hope for in a hook, but still not the greatest solution. I absolutely hate the hooks on the front bumpers of Jeeps. They are typically barely curved, or weak - I have seen them bent flat over continued use.

Chains have a specific purpose. Tow straps have a different purpose. Snatch/recovery straps have a different purpose. They should not be mixed.
If your tow strap needs to be able to 'clip', then you need to use a bow shackle, rated for the load you will be towing.

I'm not being a hardass just to be that way. You need to consider that this is a safety situation where many people can get hurt without proper tools and respect.

 

All true! But.... run it!

 

my bow shackle, has a open ended hook on the end.
i didn't think a open ended hook was a good idea.

 

Lol i've been using my shit for 4 years from tacomas to full size fords and never had a worry.

 

I think this is what Mike was referring to. This a D-Shackle. It is not an open ended tow point. This one is designed for a 2" receiver, and is the cheapest/best solution for a Tacoma with a stock bumper.

 

Indeed.

 

Where can this be bought?

 

quite a few places sell stuff like this. Probably places you've already purchased from, like toytec, wheelers, etc.

Do a google search for: receiver hitch d-shackle

 

Amazon, Tim makes them, WARN.... any offroad retailer.

You will also want a few of the bow shackles themselves, like this below. It is important that the WLL (working load limit) is printed on them (I forget what the value is supposed to say, I think it's 4 3/4 or higher).
The very best ones are made by Van Beest or Crosby (they actually strength test every shackle instead of test every Xth product), but you can find ones that are probably OK from whereever you bought the hitch receiver shackle setup.

 

Perfect thanks mike & mike. That will defiantly be a purchase soon.
Exactly what I needed yesterday.