Ropes for Towing
Part one
by David Bowyer
In this chapter David Bowyer explains what ropes are available and how to use them.
Every Land Rover, Discovery or Range Rover owner will at some time or other need
to either recover someone else, or be recovered themselves. For some it's a
necessity to haul and recover stuck loads and vehicles as part of their profession.
Then there are some of us who simply enjoy the opportunity of getting one or other
stuck firmly in the mire creating recovery situations. Great fun.
All recoveries by rope in any situation could be potentially dangerous, especially if the
stuck vehicle is bogged well down. Not only is it essential to use the correct type of
rope for the job in hand, but also it is extremely important to attach the said rope to
proper strong towing points that should always be fitted to both the front and rear of
the vehicles.
Before getting tied up with knotty explanations of what type of rope to hang around
with, let's consider where and what we intend to hook onto. This is a serious subject,
so don't read between the lines if I spin a yarn or two! I'm sure I can think of several
puns.
Every 4 x 4 should have a proper rear towing point. All Land Rover products are very
capable towing machines, probably more so than what some of you may think.
Before now, I've towed a fully laden 38 tonner off a bend on the A30 where the
broken down lorry was a danger to other road users. I'll come back to emergency
heavy towing techniques later.
Without doubt the standard Land Rover supplied fixed height rear towing unit with
either a towing ball or universal jaw and ball is the best for the majority of on and off
road recoveries.
If you have an adjustable towing unit made by either Dixon Bate or Witter, be sure to
only recover heavy loads with the adjustable slider unit raised to it's highest point.
This is to ensure you pull in line with the chassis and not at some point way below.
Never contemplate carrying out a heavy recovery with a tow ball mounted at the
bottom of an 'extended' drop plate. Doing so could cause serious damage to the rear
cross member.
Whilst on the subject of rear cross members, make sure you know how good yours
is, or that of your mate's Land Rover if he's about to zap you out of a mud hole. Rust
is the biggest killer of strength in the rear end of a chassis. And the front end come to
that!
It is also vitally important that any towing unit and it's tow ball or jaw is installed
correctly to the vehicle in accordance with both the vehicle's and the towing unit
manufacturer's instructions using only the correct grade of high tensile bolts
It would not be a good idea to carry out a
heavy recovery with a rope placed over this
very low tow ball
The towing eye on this Discovery is
designed to take a steady pull and not for
heavy recoveries
An alternative for the serious 'off roader' is having a heavy duty Nato towing hook
fitted to the standard drop plate on either a Discovery or Range Rover or direct to the
rear cross member on a Land Rover.
One securing point that should NOT be used for recovery purposes is the lashing
eyes that are fitted to both front and rear of coil sprung Land Rovers and Range
Rovers. These lashing eyes are only designed for chaining the vehicle down on a
transporter. They are only secured to the chassis with a single bolt and therefore
cannot take the stress of a heavy recovery.
However in an emergency, providing they are installed as original on the outside of
the chassis with the bolt head against the side of the lashing eye, one could use a
bridle across the pair, either on the front or rear. Your mediocre recovery point would
be the centre of this bridle thereby halving the load on each side. These lashing eyes
should not be relied upon as they could bend easily if you carried out a heavy
recovery using only one of them.
Worse still, if they have been re-fitted incorrectly with the bolts the wrong way round
so that the nuts are up against the lashing eyes, then woe betide. Under high
tension, the nut can spring off the bolt never to be seen again, leaving the lashing
eye to catapult along the axis of the rope with alarming results. I'm not making this
up, in years gone past I've proved it!
One of the best and strongest is a 'Nato' tow
hook as fitted to the front of this 101
This lashing eye is fine for towing, but not
heavy recoveries if used singularly
A far superior recovery point to use in place of the lashing eyes is a pair of 'Chassis
Shackles', also known as Jate Rings. These towing rings are specially forged and
installed using new longer high tensile bolts and appropriate shims so they fit snugly
around the chassis. They are ideal for use as major recovery points with a bridle in
between. These 'Chassis Shackles' will fit either the front or rear of all coil sprung
Land Rovers, Discoverys and Range Rovers. They are stocked in our Off Road Shop
coming complete with high tensile bolts, nuts and washers to suit.
These 'Chassis Shackles' are ideal for
attaching ropes to a coil sprung vehicle
When attaching ropes to towing eyes,
always use decent 3/4 inch shackle
My personal favourite securing points for all Land Rover series 1,11,111, Ninety and
One Tens is the 'Bumper D Ring'. This galvanised towing ring is attached to a heavy
base plate with four holes in it. The rearmost holes accept the original (or new
replacement) high tensile bumper bolts. After fitting the 'Bumper D Ring' to these
bolts, insert a drill bit down through the front two holes and drill into the bumper to
take two shorter bolts. When fitting these D Rings to a Ninety or One Ten it is easier
to remove the louvred grille first so as to remove the bumper bolts. When refitting the
grille, cut or file away a small part of the bottom louvre to miss the back of the 'D'.
Lightweight Land Rovers are often fitted with lifting eyes both front and rear. As these
forged eyes only have two securing points at a right angle to a strain exerted when
carrying out a heavy recovery, I would prefer them not to be used. They are only
intended for steady helicopter or dockside lifting operations and furthermore will not
accept a 3/4" shackle pin (unless reamed out). Best to use 'Bumper D Rings' instead.
A pair of 'Bumper D Rings' is a must on all
models of Land Rover should you have a
standard bumper ...
... and very useful too on other models
All BRB Roo Bars have two recovery points installed, one on each side in line with the chassis
I do not like the American style chassis/bumper forged hook as ropes can fall off very
easily with embarrassing results.
Large dynamo lifting eyes, providing they are well plated behind the bumper do have
a place, but should never be used for a 'Kinetic Recovery'.
Finally on the subject of recovery points, our BRB Roo Bars and Winch Bumpers
have recovery points fitted as standard, one each side in line with the chassis.
The lifting ring fitted on a lightweight should
not be used for heavy recoveries
... the same here applies to the lifting ring
on this 101
Fibres used in rope making
When I first started driving Land Rovers in 1960, all that was available to me were
natural fibre ropes for recovery. For steady pulls and on-road towing they were fine,
but there were disadvantages.
The most common natural fibres that were available in years gone past were manila
and sisal.
Manila consists of the sheath fibres from the leaves of a type of banana tree, Musa
textilis, indigenous to the Philippines. The leaves are picked when the plant is three
years old and the stems are cut into narrow strips 20 - 30 mm wide and about 5mm
thick. These are scraped against blunt knives. In this way the soft juicy parts are
removed, leaving the fibres clean. They are then dried and made ready for packing
and export. This treatment was first done in Manila, which gave this type of hemp it's
world famous name. Manila is also grown in the Sunda Islands (Sumatra manila),
India and the West Indies.
The fibres are very hydroscopic and swell considerably in water, where the rope will
shrink, stretching again when it dries. A manila rope is identifiable by it's slightly
speckled appearance, due to the fact that both darker and lighter coloured fibres are
used in its manufacture. A new manila rope is smooth in appearance and slightly
shiny, unlike sisal.
Sisal hemp consists of the fibres in the fleshy leaves of the various aloe and agave
plants, in particular Agava rigida var. Sisalana, indigenous to the the dry, high, stony
plateaus of Central America and first shipped from the small port of Sisal on the north
coast of the Yucatan peninsula.
The sisal plant has a long stem and the large, sword like leaves grow in a big rosette
near the ground. The leaves are first picked when the plant is three to four years old
and are put through a machine which washes and separates the fibres from the
fleshy parts. The clean fibres are then dried on racks before being baled for export.
Sisal hemp has long even fibres. New sisal is distinguishable from manila by it's
uniform pale yellow colour being duller in appearance to manila. Around the turn of
the century sisal growing was introduced into East Africa and later into Sumatra and
Java. Nowadays it is grown in many tropical areas, particularly Tanzania and Kenya.
There are other natural fibres as well used in rope making, but none of them are as
strong as manila and sisal.
Stronger man-made synthetic fibres
Nylon rope was first used only about fifty - sixty years ago and it didn't take long to
cotton onto (excuse the pun). The fishing industry took to it very quickly as nylon fibre
rope is unaffected by water, and size for size against manila and sisal it is at least
50% stronger allowing smaller diameter ropes to be used for rigging, fishing and
towing.
Synthetic fibres are man-made fibres which are produced entirely by chemical
synthesis from simple basic substances. As compared with natural fibres they are of
better uniformity and continuity. Fibres made of Polyvinyl alcohol and of Polyvinyl
chloride are now almost exclusively made only in Japan.
Nylon fibred rope is very elastic. It can stretch up to about 30% returning to it's
original length when the tension is released. This elasticity is particularly useful in
certain applications, but also carries with it a certain amount of risk: if a nylon rope
breaks under stress it may act like a rubber band in contracting and catapult say, a
heavy shackle or part of a towing point back towards the other point of attachment
which could be highly dangerous. However, in our off-road field we use this 'Kinetic
Energy' to our advantage - with an awful lot of care.
In more recent years there has been growth in other man-made synthetic fibres such
as polypropylene, polyethylene and polyester. All these fibres have far less stretch
than that of nylon though are slightly less strong.
Nylon, polypropylene, polyethylene and polyester fibres are manufactured in long
threads - the length of the rope. This produces ropes that generally have a smooth,
slippery surface.
Weaker ropes are made from carded waste. This spun fibre has a vaguely fluffy
surface, not unlike cotton. This type of rope is called staple spun and is not used for
our type of work.
A 4.5 meter 'Dead' staple polyprop tow rope
which carries an 8 tonne breaking strain
All nylon tow ropes have a shiny surface. It is
amply strong enough for all towing
applications, as it is rated at 12 tonne
Manufacture
From our point of view, nearly all the rope that we are likely to use with the exception
of braided capstan rope and 8 strand Kinetic Energy Recovery Rope (KERR), will be
3 strand rope.
If you look at a piece of lets say 3 strand tow rope it will most probably have a right
hand lay - that is, the three strands go up and around the rope clockwise just like a
screw thread. This is 'hawser laid' rope that has been twisted three times in the
course of the manufacture: the fibres are initially twisted to make the rope yarn, the
yarn is then twisted into strands, and the strands twisted into the final rope.
Three strand ropes can either be tightly or loosely laid (twisted). The specification I
ask for when having our ropes made up is between the two, giving good strength and
wear characteristics.
Eight strand nylon rope is made by using four strands of left hand lay and four
strands of right hand lay, which in turn is plaited in pairs to form the rope. It is this
rope that we use for our 'Kinetic Energy Recovery Rope' (KERR).
In years gone by, one only referred to the ropes' size by it's circumference in inches.
Nowadays, certainly in the case of synthetic rope, we quote their size in mm for their
diameter.
As regards to the strength of the rope, we quote Minimum Breaking Load. We are not
talking of lifting, but if we were, we would divide the above figure by six to give Safe
Working Load (SWL).
Choice of Rope
In my earlier days of Land Rover recovery there was not much choice, you used what
you had! My rope was sisal, purchased from a nearby ex WD dealer by the coil. I
found a piece of it the other day when clearing out the garage. Having measured it's
size, I've just worked out that it's Minimum Breaking Load is only 4 tonne. No wonder
ropes never lasted long in those days!
When choosing a rope you must decide what you are going to use it for, i.e. there's a
big difference between swinging the children, tying loads on the roof rack and pulling
a stuck One Ten out of a bog.
Manila and sisal ropes are fairly cheap and for the first two uses above it will be fine,
but for towing or recovering vehicles between two and three tonnes, think again.
Another sound reason for discounting manila or sisal is that they don't like being
stored wet as this leads to deterioration of the natural fibres of the rope. It will also
smell horrible.
The second best rope is a polypropylene rope made from fibrillated film tape. This
man-made raffia type fibre is in fact a twisted 'tape' as you get in baler twine.
Normally light blue in colour, has a slippery surface and is quite cheap. I don't like it
for on-road towing as it has no 'give' in it. In other words, it is a 'Dead' rope.
Polypropylene ropes also come in 'Monofilament', which is made up of single
filaments enlikened to fishing line. This is more expensive, very slippery and difficult
to handle.
Splicing at its best, five 'tucks' with loose ends 'dogged'
If requiring a cheaper rope for whatever reason, I suggest a Staple polypropylene tow
rope. It has a 'hairy' surface similar to sisal, easy to grip, not too expensive, but still
has no 'give' in it. The colour is always white. If you prefer a 'Dead' rope, then this is
the one to have.
Polyethylene rope is similar to monofilement polypropylene and is normally orange in
colour. It is no good whatsoever in large diameters for towing as it is very slippery
and awkward to handle. However, in much smaller sizes, in an 8 strand versions, we
supplied thousands of tow ropes for the 'car field'. This was in fact our 'Easytie' tow
rope - the simple to splice rope that we had on Tomorrows' World.
That was in the late seventies. As you can tell, I've been tied up for years in the rope
field!
The third best tow rope is without doubt a three strand nylon one. It's the strongest of
all the normal man-made fibre ropes, but what's more important it's got some give in
it. So when you are towing someone on-road you won't get all that nasty jolting that
you get with a polypropylene 'dead' rope. Nylon rope is always white in colour and
has a smooth surface.
Towing
Perhaps this is a good time to explain how to tow another vehicle on-road, or off-road
come to that.
Firstly, the maximum distance between vehicles when being towed on road is 4.5
Metres, so it's appropriate to have a 4.5 M tow rope. Ideally, all tow rope should have
a soft eye spliced loop in each end with no less than five 'tucks' to create the best
possible splice. As a matter of interest all the ropes that our shop supplies has their
loose ends 'dogged'. This prevents the splicing coming apart however badly the rope
is misused.
Obviously adequate towing points are essential - tow hook on the recovery vehicle,
shackleable point on the vehicle being towed.
Talking of shackles, if towing or recovering another heavy 4x4, always use no smaller
than a 3/4" shackle, with a 3/4" pin. This size shackle has an approx Safe Working
Load (SWL) of approx 3 tonnes, which equates to a Minimum Breaking Load of about
18 tonnes. Put it this way, I've never bent a 3/4" pin yet!
Always carry with your tow rope a 3/4" D shackle, a 3/4" large Bow shackle and for
hooking up smaller ordinary cars, a 1/2" D shackle. With this combination you can
tow anything.
Good communication between the two vehicles is extremely important whether by
sight, hand signals and the driver behind anticipating ahead, as well as closely
following his mates brake and indicator lamps in front. If you have CB communication
in both vehicles - use it!
Towing vehicle should have headlights on. Towed vehicle, side lights. By rights the
towing vehicle should have a reflective sign up front say 'TOWING' and the towed
vehicle having a reflective sign on the rear saying 'ON TOW'. Make the 'dead vehicle'
safe, gearbox in neutral, steering lock free and driver aware that the brake servo will
not be working.
Towing vehicle takes up the slack and proceeds when clear to go and aims to to
maintain a steady speed of probably no more than 25-30 miles per hour.
It is very important for the person being towed to keep the rope in front taught at all
times. If the rope starts to go slack, then gently apply the foot brake to hold back. The
aim is never to let the rope fall to the ground until the journey is concluded. If you can
do this you will avoid any vicious snatching and reduce the risk of breaking a weaker
rope. This usually happens when the towing vehicle reaches slower moving traffic,
comes up to a road junction or proceeds down a hill. As the recovery vehicle starts to
pull away from you, come off the footbrake. This way you will have a reasonably
pleasant journey without too many frighteners.
A nice large white nylon rope is obviously a good choice, a bonus being, it shows up
well between the vehicles. Be very careful when you pull out of a junction turning
right across the traffic. Try and plan your journey ahead so you don't have nasty blind
junctions, as you could risk some idiot driving too fast around a corner to your right
and possibly driving between you. Oh, it can happen!
Land Rover to the rescue, using a blue Polyprop 'Dead' rope
Pulling someone out of a ditch is another use for a tow rope. When you, as a 'knight
in shining armour' offer to help some poor unfortunate person, be certain what you
are hooking your nice strong tow rope onto. I will never forget the day, many years
ago one Winter, when I came around this bend in thickish snow and found a sports
car gone off the road and into a small ditch. Naturally I pulled up, got my tow rope out
to offer my help.
I asked the owner, 'what should I attach to', he replied 'that tube under the front'. So I
did. As I pulled forward with the Range Rover, I pulled the tube clean off the car. It
wasn't after all a solid part. Much embarrassment, a lesson learnt, look twice at what
you are hooking on to.
Want a 'bump start', no problem, my 4 x 4 can pull anything! Well of course it can.
But do check all the obvious first, ignition, fuel etc.
Again good communication is required. Make sure that the person you are towing
knows what to do. Get a thumb up from the driver behind when he or she has the
ignition on, in gear usually third, foot on the clutch and handbrake off. Make sure that
the person knows when to let the clutch out (about 5-10 MPH) and that they must
blow their horn as soon as their engine is running or want you to stop.
Here's another tip to remember. Your friend's Land Rover has just stalled when off
road and it won't re- start. You back up, hook on, without thinking he selects first
gear. Normally not a big problem, but he is still in low ratio! Ping-pong and the rope
breaks as he lets the clutch out. Remember to go back into high ratio if you want a
non-dramatic bump start.
Perhaps you are called upon to move a very heavy lorry a short distance. You will by
now have got the message that a good strong nylon tow rope is essential for all
towing with a 4 x 4 such as yours.
I recommend a 3 strand nylon tow rope, 4.5 Metres long, soft eye spliced loops each
end and 24 mm in diameter. This size of nylon rope has a Minimum Breaking Load of
12 tonnes and therefore sufficiently strong enough to get even the largest load
moving providing you have a rolling load.
Attach your rope to a strong point on the front of the lorry (most lorries have a centre
pintle for emergency bar towing) and the strongest point on the back of your 4 x 4. If
you have a universal combination jaw and tow ball, use only the pin through the jaw
to attach to. These units are stronger here than the neck of the tow ball above.
Engage low ratio, as well as the centre diff lock if fitted, select first gear, take up the
slack as the lorry driver releases his brakes. By very carefully slipping the clutch (no
problem with an automatic) the tremendous power that you have available will firstly
be absorbed by the nylon rope and slowly your juggernaut will follow you. As your
load comes with you, remove your left foot well clear of the clutch. If possible don't
slip the clutch at all, but that's easier said than done! Remember, slipping the clutch
for too long or too often will soon burn it out.
You really only ought to be doing this in a straight line. If you steer out too much to
either side you risk damage to your transmission through 'axle wind up'. A Range
Rover with a centre viscous coupling unit (VCU) does not have this problem. With an
exceptionally heavy load you have to use the centre diff lock if fitted, because as the
high load pulls the back of the vehicle downwards the front can lift allowing the front
wheels to spin.
Come to a halt very slowly to ensure the lorry stops behind you. Remember his
brakes will be very inefficient as he has a dead engine.
When towing is completed, disengage your centre diff lock immediately. If it won't
clear, drive forward in a straight line a few metres, then reverse back also in a
straight line. If is still won't clear, try 'flopping' the vehicle on the throttle and as a last
resort drive ahead again putting the nearside front wheel just onto the grassy verge
and 'flop' the transmission again to spin that wheel out.
So there you are. 'Have a 4x4 and recover more!'
Do bear in mind though, if you go to recover somebody, there may not be insurance
cover should you pull something off their vehicle. I am not a 'legal beagle', but I would
suggest when offering your services you should say in front of a witness:- "I accept
no responsibility for this recovery and any damage that may be caused". After all, in
recovering someone's vehicle from a ditch, their vehicle could slide sideways getting
trapped on a hidden rock causing damage. However, as in any recovery situation,
stop, observe, and discuss the plan with the other driver before doing it.
Remember, except in an emergency and I mean an emergency situation, you are
NOT allowed to tow anyone on a motorway. Recoveries on this class of road may
only be carried out by an official recovery contractor.
Care of Ropes
I've already mentioned that it's important not to store wet and muddy natural fibre
ropes as they can rot and go smelly quite quickly. If your new, or Ex WD manila or
sisal rope gets wet and muddy, hose it down when you get back to base and hang it
out to dry thoroughly before putting it away.
Ensure too that mud and grit isn't caught up within the 'lay' or it will weaken the rope
the next time you use it in anger. Inspect as well for cuts in the surface and watch out
for loose ends pulling back out through the splices.
Sunlight does not affect natural fibre ropes too much, but I still do not recommend
that you leave it wrapped around the front bumper or draped over the spare wheel or
the bonnet. Best to store it inside the vehicle.
Man-made synthetic ropes on the other hand are impervious to water and does not
get mouldy. These ropes can be scrubbed if they get muddied and don't necessarily
have to be dried before being stowed away.
They can however be damaged by high temperatures and melting can occur about
200 degrees centigrade.
Therefore ensure they never come close to a hot exhaust system. Talking of heat
and light, never leave a man-made synthetic rope hanging outside, wrapped or
draped over the vehicle or stored inside directly inside the windows. These ropes
deteriorate with the effect of ultra-violet (UV) light on them. Best to stow them inside a
sack or plastic chest as I do in my vehicle. Some made made ropes can be affected
by acids, oils and in particular solvents. Best to ensure your ropes are kept away
from such fluids.
Again, after nylon and polyproplene ropes have been used in muddy conditions,
inspect for wear and tear and give them a good wash. One of my off-road friends
places his ropes in their washing machine when his wife is out. He assures me that
he uses a warm wash only and rinse cycle. I don't think many mums and wives would
appreciate it though!
So there you have it, always look after you ropes...and they will look after you...for
many years to come.
Comparison in order of strength
These are the normal types of 3 strand ropes used for towing Land Rover sized
vehicles both on & off road. Based on the recommended diameter of 24mm (3"
circumference) and 4.5 Metres (15') between soft eye spliced looped ends.
Type
Colour
Finish
Minimum
breaking
load
Sisal
Pale Yellow
Hairy
4000kg (4
tonne)
Manilla
Yellow/Brown Smooth
4500kg (4.5
tonne)
Fibrillated Polypropylene ('Polyprop'
for short) 'Dead Rope'
Yellow/Brown Slippery
8000kg (8
tonne)
Staple Polyprop 'Dead Rope'
White
Hairy
8000kg (8
tonne)
Nylon 'Stretchy'- The best for towing
White
Smooth
12000kg (12
tonne)
Ropes for Towing
Part two - Heavy Pulling
by David Bowyer
Having bought or owned for some time,one of the world's best 4x4's why not start
using it occasionally for some mild off-roading! Maybe you have already got the bug
and sampled the vehicle's true off-road prowess.
Either way, my series is to show you what other ropes, jacks, and winches later on,
are available and how to use them, both effectively and safely.
A KERR rope kit - including a bridle
Professional splicing is essential
For most, a gentle green laning day is a perfect start in becoming acquainted with
what could be, or what maybe already, a life long wonderful hobby and pastime driving your Land Rover product 'off-road'.
For others, joining one of our school sessions, will be your first introduction.
Either way, always go prepared. I consider that the first piece of off-road kit to
purchase is a good long and strong nylon tow rope and a bridle to attach it to your
vehicle. The second item would be a high lift jack, but more about that in another
chapter.
The Recoverline KERR rope
'KERR' stands for 'Kinetic Energy Recovery Rope'. This is the rope to carry in your
kit. Sooner or later either you or someone else will need a recovery ranging from a
mild pull out to a more serious yank out of deep mud! I designed and developed the
Recoverline KERR rope in the mid eighties in conjunction with Marlow Ropes when
they were looking for a recovery rope system for 'light skin' military Land Rovers. The
British Army had been using KERR ropes for de-bogging 60 tonne Challenger tanks
made from multiplait 90mm dia (3.5 inch) nylon rope. That's some rope
A bridle halves the load across the chassis of
the vehicle being recovered
Over the course of time we evaluated many different lengths and diameters of
multiplait 8 strand nylon rope and eventually settled on the 'ideal' specification. This
was 8 metres between bearing points and 24mm diameter, giving a minimum
breaking capacity of 12 tonnes with an elongation of approximately 30% at full load.
The soft eye splices are protected with polyester lay flat tubing with the splices being
made with 5 tucks with the 'ends' split, dogged (bound with twine) and heat sealed.
The non-rotating 8 plait construction is used to avoid the inherent problems such as
kinking and hocking associated with conventional 3 strand ropes. The use of
multiplait construction is also ideal as the rope is more supple and is therefore easier
to handle.
This is quite a high specification, but remember, in a serious recovery situation the
load is phenomenal. Before I explain how the Recoverline KERR rope works, lets
consider general 'getting stuck' and getting the vehicle out.
Recovery situations can be potentially dangerous, especially when attempting to
'pluck' a well stuck vehicle out of the mire, or if wedged in deep ruts.
Personally, I prefer to use either an electric winch to recover either myself or another
4x4, as the recovery is fully under control at the 'touch of a button'. Or equally safe is
using a Brano or Tirfor hand winch. But by employing a rope recovery it is generally
much quicker to de - bog a stuck vehicle.
When carrying out a recovery, by whatever method, do check first that the stuck
vehicle isn't stuck fast on an enormous rock or log hidden under the vehicle. The last
thing you want is to damage the steering gear, axles, exhaust system or what-haveyou.
Maybe just three or four people could push the vehicle out of it's predicament, but be
careful not to get trapped between the side of the vehicle and a tree or a bank as the
vehicle gains traction, and definitely watch out for flying mud from those spinning
road wheels!
Mild Recovery
The Recoverline KERR rope can of course be used for a gentle pull out. It's long
length of 8 metres (27 feet) will enable the recovery vehicle to find good ground to
pull from.
When using ropes just as in any recovery situation make sure that there is good
communication between the parties concerned, that the stuck vehicle's driver knows
when he or she is about to be recovered, and that his or her handbrake is off - you
may laugh! Also remember to have the engine running to both run the power
steering, and assist with the road wheels if necessary. This also ensures the steering
lock unit isn't locked - you may laugh again! The driver of the stuck vehicle must
communicate with the recovery driver in front, either directly with hand signals,
headlight flashing, CB radio or via an assistant standing to one side between the
vehicles to say that he or she is ready.
By all means assist the rope recovery with road wheels turning slowly in first or
second gear in low ratio to try and gain traction. But be careful not to overrun the
rope and definitely don't get a front wheel over the rope as it could get taken around
the tyre with disastrous results, if the recovery vehicle goes off again at warp 9 and
he or she thinks you are catching them up. At best, the rope will tighten around the
front swivel housing and squash the flexible brake pipe. At worst, you could get your
axle ripped off as the recovery vehicle goes charging off.
Heavy KERR Recoveries
When a Recoverline KERR rope is used to recover a fairly stuck load, this is where
the 'kinetic energy' that is stored up in the nylon rope does it's job.
The energy is created by the speed times the weight of the recovery vehicle. As the
rope is literally stretched to its maximum being pulled towards the recovery vehicle,
much like a powerful elastic band!
Imagine a well stuck vehicle. Always use a bridle made from 3 strand 24mm diameter
nylon rope about 2 metres long with soft eye splices at each end. Attach this bridle to
the stuck vehicle after rigging it through the protected eye splice of the KERR rope.
NEVER EVER rig a shackle directly on to the end of a KERR rope.
If that shackle should break through blowing apart you would have a flying
missile which would travel back along the length of rope towards the recovery
vehicle and embed itself through its tailgate or rear window which would be
exceedingly dangerous.
The same goes if a towing or recovery point fails, please refer to my last chapter on
safety issues. I digress, back to attaching the bridle to the front of the stuck vehicle to
those strong Jate Rings, 'Bumper D Rings' or Jackmates. Here you can use
shackles, as by using one at each end of the bridle you are halving the load and
protecting the chassis rather than yanking the stuck vehicle from one side only.
The shackles need to be not less than 20mm (3/4 inch). Some will say that you must
only use 'tested' shackles, but in general terms a 20 x 20 mm (pin & body) is good for
about 3.25 tonnes SWL (Safe Working Load) times the recognised safety factor of 6
gives you a capacity of nearly 20 tonnes. I've never broken a shackle yet and I have
got to admit I've done one or two pretty daft things!
Snake the KERR rope on the ground as shown in the pictures and attach the other
end to a good central recovery point. Yes, you could use a bridle that end too, or use
a safety rope as shown as well. But in my experience, a good well fitted towing unit
on a sound chassis is fine.
My advice is to only have one helper as an assistant plus the two drivers in rigging
the KERR rope and bridle. All the bystanders to stand clear during the operation and
all the passengers must vacate the two vehicles.
Once the two drivers and the assistant have discussed the recovery techniques the
assistant stands well clear on the driver's side to confirm they are both ready and
signals to the recovery driver to GO. The towing vehicle accelerates to its maximum
permitted speed (see table) and snatches the rope at that speed. If the stuck vehicle
is only mildly stuck there is no need to assist recovery by having its wheels turning.
If however the stuck vehicle is really well and truly stuck then that driver should be in
gear with the clutch depressed just prior to the recovery commencing. Just as the
rope becomes taut, let the clutch out with just a little acceleration. Make sure that you
don't stall the engine and definitely don't overrun the rope.
The towing vehicle may be slowed or even halted as the Recoverline approaches
maximum elongation. It's at this point that the kinetic energy is converted into the
potential energy of the stretched rope. This build up of energy is transferred by the
rope to the stuck vehicle.
After a very slight pause the stuck vehicle should be free. If the vehicle is not
recovered by the first attempt, simply repeat the process by reversing back and relaying the Recoverline. But make sure first that there isn't a large rock or stump
wedging the vehicle solid.
In fact, gain lots of experience is safely learning the correct 'take up' speed by
slowly building up to it. It is better and far safer to shift the stuck vehicle just a
metre at a time than catapult it into the back of your recovery vehicle!
As you can see from the table, the heavier the load, the less you should charge away
from it. The reasons are of course is you will exert far greater strains on the towing
attachment points.
Hazards
All recovery procedures are potentially dangerous. Two possible reasons for
the failure are either:
1. A rope failure. Unlikely to happen unless you totally go over the top by flying
off at too great a speed with the stuck vehicle planted over a tree stump. Unlike
a steel wire rope, if the rope breaks it will travel back along its axis. The stored
energy is potentially lethal if something breaks for any reason. For instance a
worn or damaged rope.
2. A towing or recovery point failure. This is far more dangerous and more
likely to occur than a rope failure. The possibility is that part of the towing unit
might be catapulted by the recoiling rope at an enormous speed. This can be
very serious.
Safety Precautions
1. Use only good, sound and strong
recovery points and use a bridle on the
front of the stuck vehicle. Maybe also
use a safety rope on the back of the
recovery vehicle (see right).
2. Passengers should not be carried
during recovery operations.
3. Do not exceed the maximum speeds
as set out in the table.
4. Spectators should stand well clear of
the recovery for obvious reasons.
Maintenance and Inspection
All nylon ropes must be kept clear of heat and acid. Consequently, Recoverline
should be kept clear of exhaust systems and battery acids. It is also important to
avoid chafing. A simple method of checking the condition of the rope, and one which
ensures that it has not been severely overloaded, can be carried out by lifting one
pair of the strands clear of another pair passing underneath.
Should these two pairs of strands be fused together, this would indicate that the rope
has been severely overloaded and should be rejected. This check, combined with
visual inspection along the rope's length to ensure that there are no cuts to any of the
rope strands, acts as a satisfactory assessment.
Warning
The greatest care has been taken to ensure that Recoverline when new has more
than adequate safety factor for the envisaged vehicle recovery. It should be
understood, however, that the attachment points are also adequate for the recovery.
Loads of up to 7.5 tonnes could be induced on each vehicle in the most extreme
circumstances as discussed.
David Bowyer's Off Road Centre, Goodwinch, or any of our agents disclaims all
responsibility for any injury or damage however caused, during recovery operations.