Using a wheel as a recovery point? (1 Viewer)

[jonharis]

So I was out on the Kokopelli Trail yesterday in some pretty slimy conditions. The guy I was with slid at an off camber spot and was hanging off a small cliff a bit. There was no chance of driving out on his own. He didn't have recovery gear and my bag of tricks is still in progress. We had one suitable winch point in which to do a angled pull using a snatch block. Unfortunately I didn't have enough winchline to get all the way too him AND he had ZERO recovery points on the Jeep. We were very limited in where we could tie off. I have two questions.

To make up the missing distance we used a 25' 6,600lb WLL rated chain. This is something I never intended to use for winching on a pull like this because there is not positive connection and it could come loose. We taped the chain where it hooked to itself. What are your thoughts on this?

We winched off his wheel as shown. There were no real recovery points that would not result in damage to the vehicle, he stated that the wheel was expendable and didn't care if it was destroyed. The wheel was not destroyed but I wanted to hear if this was viable option. There was no chance of injury due to the angle of the pull, only damage to the wheel. Other options were limited on the frameless XJ. We had the center crossmember (held on by 2 grade 5 bolts) or wraping the axle which was not in at the ideal angle.

Things I have on my wish list are another 50-100' winchline extension. I currently have a 50' extension and 75-100' on the winch and about 4 more D rings. I have 4.

 

[landyNZ]

I like how he spent the money to put big tires on it, but didn't fit a single recovery point.

 

[jonharis]

I like how he spent the money to put big tires on it, but didn't fit a single recovery point.

He has a bumper on order that has good recovery points. The rear also has them but we couldn't winch from the rear. I was amazed that the JK had no factory recovery points.

 

[e9999]

chain was rated at what? 5000lbs maybe? that would ordinarily be the weak point for most winches, except that here the weak point was probably his front axle assembly. Amazing there was no serious damage if the truck was really hanging.

 

[jonharis]

WLL of chain is 6,600lb, breaking strength of 26,400lb.

I too was amazed nothing broke.

The truck slid ~2' laterally to a resting point so it wasn't "Hanging" of as much as I may have made it sound. The ground was soft an the angle such that if he drove he would have continued slipping further towards the edge.

 

[spressomon]

I think you did the best you could with what you had to work with. Hood up on the winch rig, if direct line of pull, and keep everyone far away from the winch/chain line and easy does it as you probably did.

 

[Mark W]

Nothing at all wrong with using section of chsin in the rigging of a winch pull.

Doing something stupid with it or not doing something stupid with it is a totally separate matter... but if you rig safely there is nothing wrong with chain.

Without being there to see how you attached to the wheel or how much stress was put on everything when you were winching I won't comment as to whether not you might have damaged the wheel... but again it comes down to just whether not you did anything stupid with it. What you described is does not sound inherently unsafe. It is very likely there were no extreme stresses is in the operation in any case.

The first couple minutes on the road on the way home should have told him whether not the wheel was bent.

Edit... I took a closer look at that picture of your rigging ( hard to see it on my phone) that does not look unsafe at all and I doubt that you didn't damage to the wheel.

With a light duty vehicle like that it would be possible to actually bend some of the steering components in a heavy pull rigged that way but it does not sound like you're doing a real heavy pull anyway.

Mark ..

 

[jonharis]

Thanks Mark, we drove home on the interstate at 70-75mph and the other drive reported no issues with vibrations or wobble. So it looks like we were good. I posed the question in the thread because I have never seen this "technique" used before and wondered if I was crazy for attempting.

Dan, I did not have my hood open but it was an indirect pull with synthetic line. I felt safe in my truck considering what i've seen in videos of syn lines breaking and how little kinetic energy they contain.

 

[1911]

I think you did the best you could with what you had to work with.

+1

They truck didn't fall off the cliff + no one was hurt = successful recovery, even if there might have been some damage.

 

[Southeast Overland]

Sometimes ya gotta do what ya gotta do... but no matter what you do you have to be safe.

When you don't have any better suited recovery points you have to hook where you can. If you are using a potentially marginal recovery point like a wheel take it eeeeeeasy on the pull.

Also taping the hook on the chain will help ensure the hook doesn't slide off the chain. Some will argue it is not necessary but I don't see it hurting anything.

Nothing wrong with using chain in a recovery as long as it is used correctly. I'm not a huge fan of chain mostly due to the mass of the tool but it can be used safely - but safe use does not = the guy I saw in URE National Forest snatching a broken Jeep up a hill with a section of chain. I offered to give (yes give) him one of my snatch straps but he declined. I cleared out of dodge as he snatched him past me up a hill and shortly snatched him into a friend's vehicle. Doh!

I carry a 50' 3/8" extension and have 85' of 3/8" line on my winch. I've luckily never ran of out of line with the extension tossed in the mix but it certainly can happen like in your case. The extension has allowed me to better the position on my vehicle (winching vehicle) before which was nice even when it wasn't 100% necessary.

 

[Tin basher]

Having worked as a towtruck operator a lot cars don't have recovery points
And there is straps to go through the wheels
And being as how it was a Cherocar seems acceptable recovery
Proper recovery would have been to push it off cliff
Drive toyota to bottom of hill
then Pull jeep back onto trail
Joking kindof

 

[spressomon]

Another method, when the deck is stacked and you are facing no viable alternative, and you're in a climate that freezes at night: Wait until the ground freezes and then drive on/out.

Again...a last resort; but possibly better than leaving a rig on the trail or worse .

 

[jonharis]

Thanks Guys. eventhough, I might be calling you for another winch-line extension. This is the second time in a year that I needed more!

Dan, We actually discussed leaving it till night. good recommendation.

Good to hear from a towing guy that this was more or less OK.

Here is another angle, As always, pics don't do it justice. We looked at all options for driving it out and it wasn't worth trying. The ground was mush.

 

[Southeast Overland]

Thanks Guys. eventhough, I might be calling you for another winch-line extension. This is the second time in a year that I needed more!

Sounds good. We can make you whatever you want. 864-280-4238.

 

[90FJ]

Really funny pic, I'm sure it was precarious but it looks super benign.

Good on ya for hangin with a Heep and helpin him out.

 

[Southeast Overland]

Really funny pic, I'm sure it was precarious but it looks super benign.

Good on ya for hangin with a Heep and helpin him out.

I've been in those situations before. I call out for someone to pull winch line and get heckled. Then that person touches my vehicle and I almost roll over. Yup - that crease in my seat is there for a reason.

 

[98 SNAKE EATER]

Sometimes ya gotta do what ya gotta do... but no matter what you do you have to be safe.

Yep

I remember a couple winters ago, a lady in her Civic got plowed in right in the middle of a grocery store parking lot during a blizzard and the two snow plows that did it just left her there

I could barely see her through the window cause the snow was that high, so I told her to sit tight and I'd pull her out

Thing is, I couldn't find a single recovery point and i wasn't about to dig through a ton of snow to get my J hook around a control arm, so I dug enough to see the top of her wheel and just wrapped a couple of the legs with a tree saver.

Had to make a mild snatch cause I was actually spinning all fours and I thought for sure her wheel was gunna break off, but once she broke loose, I managed to drag her sideways with her wheels locked all the way to the plowed surface near the street

 

[ironhippy]

Yep

I remember a couple winters ago, a lady in her Civic got plowed in right in the middle of a grocery store parking lot during a blizzard and the two snow plows that did it just left her there

I've got 2 shovels in my truck and when I help people in this situation I use them often. I won't winch or snatch a vehicle that doesn't have a recovery point/frame, especially if it's just stuck in snow. Move the snow, problem solved. If I can't get it out by shovelling and pushing, then it's time to call a tow truck.

Actually that is my position with strangers, I would help a friend if they insisted, but I would strongly recommend a tow truck if they don't have a recovery point because there is big chance I would at least damage some plastic.