I used my Defender to help someone in need last night. Was driving home on a remote country road with 5” of fresh snow. Came up on a Toyota Camry that slid off the road and was significantly stuck. Backed up my Defender, hooked up a tow strap and put her in low traction mode. I was amazed how effortlessly the Defender pulled it out on a slick, snow-covered road. The Camry driver asked “What kind of vehicle is that? I need one!” Well done, ND 👍

 

Of course we have tow hooks, but where is the best point to hook onto the vehicle you are pulling out without tow hooks? I know some vehicles have those tow hooks that screw into the threaded spot in a front or rear bumper. But I'm always concerned when the owner of the stuck vehicle puts my soft shackle around some random suspension arm on the vehicle I am pulling out. That much force applied to a suspension arm can't be good. And yes, I am using a kinetic recovery rope, not a mere strap.

 

Nice!

What kind of strap do you have? I'm looking for a good one that is a little longer so I can be on the road and be able to pull from a place of more traction. I have a 25' now.
Where were you able to hook up to the Camry. That's always a concern with a lot of cars today, tough to find a good spot sometimes.
We get a lot of snow here. Giving a little tug is almost monthly some winters!

 

I have a standard soft shackle 25-foot strap. I asked the Camry driver where he wanted to attach the strap and let him physically do it. Really the only place on the car was the suspension arm. But it worked fine. (The nice thing about rural Idaho is a strong sense of neighborly camaraderie. If any damage were to occur, it would be very rare for someone to come after you for trying to help them.)
I used a tow hitch recovery shackle on my defender.

 

I switched from a strap to a kinetic recovery rope. I have this one in 30' and have only used it once to help a stuck Q7 on a beach. Worked great and thankfully the Q7 owner had one of those screw-in tow hooks.

https://yankum.com/collections/kinet...41155710124238

 

Thanks PaulLR. After posting yesterday I dug in a little just to see what's out there compared to the old yellow strap I have. I bought this last night along with some shackles.


Probably not the highest of quality, but the reviews seemed ok. I've got a canvas sand bag that I put on my current strap to slow down the energy if it ever snaps. I figured I could use that on this one as well.

 

Many years ago I lived in Richmond, Virginia and we had this EPIC snow storm. All the roads were deep with snow. The local hospital asked the local 4-wheeling group if they would help take nurses & doctors to work. Woo hoo, I'm your huckleberry! So, I was driving everywhere taking people to work, towing them out of ditches, etc. I think it was like 12 pickups, a half dozen cars and even a postage van. Most folks who were stuck had 4-wheel drive but not 4-brain cells how to use them. Anyway, I go into this neighborhood to drop someone off. On the way out this '90's model station wagon was centered on a snowberm caused by the plows on the main road. They were trying to get out and didn't make it over. So I go to pull them out and as I usually did, I hook my side up and hand them the other. The owner proceeded to walk over and just casually hook it on their plastic bumper fascade. That's a nope! Talking to them, I could tell they were a few shy of the needed 4-brain cells and in a moment of compassion, I said I would hook it up properly. So, fully committed I start crawling under looking for a place to securely attach. I keep having to dig in and dig back trying to find something behind all the plastic undershielding. About the time I look like the wicked witch of the East under the house with just my feet sticking out, the owner decides to get back into their station wagon. Next thing I know I'm sandwiched between the snow and the plastic undershield. I'm screaming get the F out of the car and realizing I will NEVER tow another person who doesn't know how to attach the tow themselves...

 

Here in Massachusetts everyone now buys a 4WD or AWD vehicle to help deal with the few times it may snow. The "4-brain cell" issue around here is that they also drive on nearly bald tires. So many cars end up in ditches with just a couple of inches of snow or slush. My neighbor got his Infiniti QX80 stuck in place going up the Stowe access road with all 4 of his bald 22" tires spinning and had to turn back. Worse yet he asked me why I thought that happened with AWD. After growing up near Buffalo, I know a lot about winter driving and run winter tires on all 4 of our vehicles.

 

Of course we have more than our shares of Mo's and Ron's around Western North Carolina and east Tennessee.

I have both a Rhino strap and 1" x 30` kinetic yank style and used them twice in the past two days when we got 4" snow, once to pop a Chevy truck back to the road and towed a Camry out of a drift with lots of ice. They can hook up their side or sign a waiver. People are idiots...