Tow Strap and D Ring

Has anyone here tested the BPF skackle mount in a recovery situation? Im very curious to know how it holds up. Its only rated at 8200lbs...

 

thats really not that much when you consider thats only about twice the weight of our trucks, and during a hard recovery the forces can be way more than that.

 

My guess is that's just a random, conservative number that they threw out. There's no way that they actually went through testing like ARB did with theirs (I'm assuming they did). I just did some quick research to try and calculate the tensile strength but that shit's above my paygrade. Anyways, maybe people don't realize just how damn thick 1/2" steel is. It's BEEFY. There's no way that it's going to shear in half. The shackle or strap would be the point to fail. On my previous truck I had a 1/2" thick point that a member here used to make and it was solid to be recovered from.

 

Using a regular tow strap im sure would hold up fine.. on flat ground. But im very skeptical about a snatch strap situation. Guess ill pack some kevlar and hope for the best

 

It's not so much the steel I would be concerned with but the bolts and the portion where those bolts go. It's not what I would call a beefy spot to tie into vs the way the ARB ties into the frame and was tested.

 

Was that using the two bolt attachment point on the passenger side? Did they use an M12 bolt graded at 10.9?

 

@Joe23 i totally agree about the attachment points. I have this BPF shackle mount and x3 10.9 graded bolts. Its beefy, but seeing how extensive the ARB attachments are, Im far more convinced it would hold up better. Either way I think id be alright in a total pinch

 

I'd be more concerned with repeated use as where that ties in could weaken and then bend leading to the bolts letting go or something along those lines.

Guess I'm just biased though as I've seen failed rigging and hope I never need to see it again. Thankfully no one was injured when I saw it but lots of expensive equipment was damaged in the process.

And when it failed it was simply supplier error sending us the wrong material and us not thinking to check it.
Company we were contacted from had to do a whole investigation but then again it was about $600k worth of equipment the was damaged in the process.

 

Ya im not into losin limbs or needlessly trashing my rig or others. I hope i never run into that situation

 

Maybe, but that's irrelevant when talking about the supposed rating on the BPF shackle. With upgraded bolts I highly doubt any harm would come to that area. If you're getting yanked hard enough to fuck it up, you're probably in deep shit and that's the least of your concerns.

That was with the two factory supplied bolts.

That's a good point to think about. But if you're getting stuck so often in deep shit that that becomes a concern, chances are you have a plate bumper with proper points. The BPF one is more for people who want a relatively stock truck that may do moderate trails and it won't see repeated use.

 

Think it all depends what you plan on doing. Being bogged to the axle in mud vs just one wheel being dug in where you can't get out . It's two very different levels of pulling.

I'm sure it's better than the factory point but still not the best for hard use. That being the case regardless should always just throw a dampener on the line to be safe. It takes 45 seconds to do and can make a big difference.

 

Also most tow straps I've seen are the kind with hooks on them...which are very, very unsafe to recover vehicles with. That tow hook can easily snap off especially if you're trying to pull someone that's stuck, and it becomes a huge bullet that will destroy or kill anything in it's path. There's a morbid video I saw online of a Jeep that was being pulled out of a mud pit with a tow strap/hook and it flew off the truck pulling him and straight through his windshield. Supposedly he was killed by it but I have no idea if it's true...it sure looked like it would have killed him though.

Anyway yeah...definitely want a recovery strap and not a tow strap.

 

Ya pretty much what I was saying above. It's definitely better than factory and good for rare and light use. But if it will get lots of use look elsewhere.

I got mine since I'll be getting an ARB bar which means no recovery points .

 

I think that's the video I posted above.

 

Which definitely makes sense. I guess it just comes down to being honest with how you'll use the truck, and building it up appropriately. Don't want to skimp, but you also don't need to go overkill just because of the cool trucks on the 'gram.

 

ah yeah probably...I wrote that out not realizing this was at 3 pages lol. I made the mistake early on of buying a tow strap at Wal-Mart before I had really done any research on TW or elsewhere, and I quickly stashed it away in the garage for a proper recovery strap after learning about the dangers of them. I don't even know if I would feel safe "towing" anything with one of those, either.

 

I agree. I went with the ARB point because I don't plan on getting a plate bumper, but wanted something I can get yanked out by. 2/3 bolts are probably good, 5 makes me feel much better. Especially with shock loads in shear.

 

Any experience with the bubba rope shackle?
I have this huge kinetic recovery strap but there’s is no way to hook it to the front of the truck

 

One of my friends does and it's nice! Also I really hope you're not using that rope on the ball of the hitch. That's a no no

 

Yep I have two of them I rarely use d ring shackles anymore.