What about those "Recovery Hitch tongue with shackle" type things that go into where your tow ball tongue goes and uses the pin to hold it in place? are these just as dangerous? Is it the "Pin" that is letting go or or ball snapping off the tongue?
What about those "Recovery Hitch tongue with shackle" type things that go into where your tow ball tongue goes and uses the pin to hold it in place? are these just as dangerous? Is it the "Pin" that is letting go or or ball snapping off the tongue?
Matt, 91 Patrol 4 Door Ute, 8" of lift, 35's, Low ratio diffs, Spartan Front locker.
Come Join my 4x4 club @ www.Trenchmen4x4.com
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Those are generally fine. The pin is extraordinary strong
Tappa tappa
Here’s what I have on DX grunt
Back
Front…..I have one on each side, so when I hook up the bridle, there’s even pressure on both sides.
Take care out there.
Rossco
Winner of 'Best 4 x 4 ' at the 2017 Albany Agricultural Society Inc - Town n Country Ute Muster.
Ex Telstra - 2005, 4.2 TDi ute -with pod and more fruit than a grocery shop.
ARB or Supa Cheap, I think. It's a while ago. Can't remember the brand name. Sorry to be so vague, but it was over 12 months ago.
Edit: The back recovery point is a Bushranger one.
Winner of 'Best 4 x 4 ' at the 2017 Albany Agricultural Society Inc - Town n Country Ute Muster.
Ex Telstra - 2005, 4.2 TDi ute -with pod and more fruit than a grocery shop.
DX grunt (23rd May 2012)
Thanks everyone, I have one just like "DX grunt" and I feel a bit safer knowing now that they are a lot safer than tow balls. The orange and black shackle looks like a Ridge Ryder brand one from Super Cheap Auto, about $20 from memory.
This topic is very real for me, only last year we had a death of a local boy who was sitting in the back seat of a vehicle being recovered when a Tow ball slingshot through the front seat and into his face. There is now a memorial at the scene where it happened on the Sandy Cape Track on the West coast of Tassie. It's a very tragic thing and should never happen again seeing as there is SO many other ways to hitch a snatch these days.
If a tow ball "must" be used, put the snatch strap over and around the tow bar BEFORE looping it up and over the tow ball. This forces the strap to "pull" the tow ball towards the recovery vehicle and not towards the stranded vehicle.
If this is wrong I will delete it, but i think it is the ONLY way a tow ball should ever be used to recover any vehicle.
Matt, 91 Patrol 4 Door Ute, 8" of lift, 35's, Low ratio diffs, Spartan Front locker.
Come Join my 4x4 club @ www.Trenchmen4x4.com
Check out my Facebook page ----> Trenchmen 4x4 https://www.facebook.com/Trenchmen4x4
Now that you mention it, I think it was a Ridge Rider from Supa Cheap.
I personally won't recover or expect anyone else to recover me with a tow ball. I always carry a shovel and Maxtrax. Even a couple of bits of long thick carpet, or something similar would have to be safer than a flying towball. It's not rocket science and knowledge is power!!
Thanks to everybody for reading this thread. If it saves at least one life, I'm happy.
As I always say, with good intentions and from my heart...... Take care out there.
Rossco
Last edited by DX grunt; 23rd May 2012 at 10:54 PM.
Winner of 'Best 4 x 4 ' at the 2017 Albany Agricultural Society Inc - Town n Country Ute Muster.
Ex Telstra - 2005, 4.2 TDi ute -with pod and more fruit than a grocery shop.
Hey mate It's good to have this info here for everyone to read for sure.
I wouldn't be using a tow ball under any circumstances to be honest. At the very least and nothing else I would be taking the tow ball hitch out sliding the snatch into the hitch receiver and lock it in with the bolt but that's not ideal either but is safer then the ball.
Happy for anyone to flame me on that too if they want but defiantly no ball no matter what loops or tricks IMHO.
DX grunt (23rd May 2012), ozzymalone (24th May 2012), Rusty86 (23rd May 2012)