14/11/2025
Today, I am publishing Part 3 of Vehicle Recovery. This covers the safety aspects to be closely observed while doing a vehicle recovery.
Vehicle recovery (Part 3)
Safety measures for vehicle recovery
It is important to apply all safety measures required for using a kinetic rope or any of the above recovery methods in the Recovery Triangle that are not green in colour. Some of these safety measures will be discussed below.
Standing close to the action
Vehicle recovery has plenty of spectator value and everyone wants to see what is happening. It is therefore important to have someone to lead the recovery. As the English adage goes, too many cooks spoil the broth. This person should also be looking after the safety of the recovery.
If something serious goes wrong with metal pieces flying around, you do not want to be in the close vicinity of the action. It is suggested that you need at least 2 times the length of the sn**ch rope as a safe distance from the recovery activities. The person doing the recovery should see to it that the spectators are a safe distance away and should ask them to keep clear, or otherwise stop the recovery. The risk of injury to spectators is not worth it and you do not want another crisis to attend to.
Joining ropes and sn**ch straps together
Do not use shackles to join sn**ch straps together should a single strap be too short. Sn**ch straps can break because of the forces referred to above, and should it break, if it is connected to a steel shackle, can injure, or kill, or cause serious damage as mentioned above. Rather use a soft shackle to join the two straps, or join two sn**ch straps together by feeding one end of sn**ch strap A through the eye of sn**ch strap B. Then, feed the same eye of sn**ch strap A over the other end of sn**ch strap B and pull it tight. This only takes a few seconds and ensures that both sn**ch straps are holding together firmly.
Vehicle recovery points
Some 4x4 vehicles come out with recovery points like hooks, etc. Some vehicles do not. Then there are tie down points, used to tie the vehicle down for transporting the vehicle. This is not a recovery point. Some owners fit their own recovery points. Use the vehicle recovery points to attach all the recovery straps, ropes, sn**ch blocks. etc., if these are available on the vehicle. If specific recovery points are not available, investigate which vehicle attachments to the chassis
are strong and sturdy enough to use as a recovery point. As a guide, look at the diameter of the bolts used for fitting the attachment. As a guide, it should be 12 mm diameter. As a precaution, use two attachment points for the recovery with an equalisation strap. This will split the recovery forces in two and will prevent potential damage to the vehicle but will not necessarily eliminate the risk and danger.
Rated recovery gear
To ensure that safety and integrity are maintained during recoveries, it is important that you use recovery gear that are rated. Especially the tow ropes, equaliser straps, tree trunk protectors, sn**ch ropes, sn**ch blocks, bow shackles, winches, etc. If you must use unrated equipment due to circumstances, be aware that you may have unwanted breakages.
This unrated equipment could be the weakest link in your chain and must be treated as such. Consider options to double up on unrated equipment like straps to provide some sort of buffer or insurance. The use of D shackles should really be avoided as these are usually not rated and if you bend a D shackle, it is highly unlikely that you will be able to loosen or unscrew it. To prevent it from becoming a permanent fixture, you will have to cut, saw, or grind it off.
When a vehicle is stuck in mud
The tendency when a vehicle is stuck or bogged down in mud, is to immediately grab for the sn**ch strap or even tow straps to jerk the vehicle out of the muddy situation. But let us first consider three different scenarios.
• You are alone – only one vehicle, without a winch: where do you start? Evaluate whether you should recover forward or backwards. That is, going forward through the mud or backwards out of the mud. Then, start removing material with the shovel – from the front and back of the tyres is the best option. It may be messy and muddy, but that is the way it is in the mud. Secondly, use the sand/mud boards by placing them tightly in front of the wheels, the rear and front wheels if you have two sets, or in front of the back wheels if you only have one set. Then drive forward onto the boards to gain some momentum and distance. You may have to repeat the process a couple of times until you are out.
• You are alone – only one vehicle, with a winch: where do you start? Again, start with the shovel and remove the material from the front of the wheels and use the sand/mud boards as described above. If there are anchor points, use the winch with the necessary safety precautions. If there is no anchor point, you can create an anchor point by burying the spare wheel in the mud or ground as previously described.
• You have company and assistance from other vehicles: where do you start? Again, start with the shovel and remove the material from the front of the wheels. The less the material in front of the wheels, the easier the recovery. Insert the sand or mud boards. Then you can use the winch to pull you out if required. The reason for using the winch is that when you are stuck in thick mud, the slow moving of the winch gradually applies pressure until the “suction” impact of the mud on the vehicle’s wheels are loosened.
Minimise the use of shackles as connectors
Where possible, do away with shackles and other unnecessary pieces of equipment in the tow “chain”. Rather use the winch hook to attach the cable to a tree protector than a shackle and then the hook. Use the recovery hooks on the vehicle to connect the tow rope or sn**ch strap, rather than a shackle and then the tow rope or sn**ch strap. It reduces the different links in the “chain”. It also reduces the potential breakpoints and the number of potential missiles that could fly around if something breaks.
Creating “unsafe chains”
Do not create “unsafe chains” by joining different things together that should not be joined together. Typically, things of different materials like tow straps with sn**ch straps, and ropes and chains and steel cable. Different materials act differently under tension conditions, and you create an unsafe chain that can cause potential problems you do not need in a stressful situation.
The same holds for the number of vehicles tied together to recover a vehicle. This is often seen. Assume there are three vehicles, all tied together in a train with different rated tow straps, to recover the bogged vehicle. The tow strap between the bogged vehicle and the first towing vehicle is subject to the pulling force of three vehicles and can easily exceed the rated capacity of the tow strap. The next tow rope is subject to
the pulling force of two vehicles and can also exceed the rated capacity of the tow strap. The same holds for the attachments to which the tow straps are attached to the bogged vehicle and the first tow vehicle in the chain. All subject to the pulling force of three vehicles! You most probably will break or damage something.
It is always better to start with the basics of vehicle recovery, starting with the shovel and then moving to the recovery board and so on, rather than a “quick fix” by hooking up three vehicles together in front of the bogged vehicle, and it is much safer.
Using a dampener, towel or even a blanket
It is common practice to use a dampener and place it over the steel winch cable to act as a buffer and protector, should the cable break. I have seen a video where they deliberately broke the steel cable using a bulldozer, and the dampener was not really effective at all. However, using it with ropes and straps is more effective. But then, ropes and straps are not as dangerous as steel cable, unless connected to a piece of metal.
If you do not have a dampener, you can use a towel or blanket as a substitute and tie it around the tow/winch or sn**ch strap. Another option is to open the vehicle’s bonnet to act as a shield should something break.
In all the above, think “safety”.
Martin Jooste
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