Hey guys...

We don't plow our driveway (1/4 mile long, runs north to south), and through repeated warnings, the UPS guy tried to make a delivery guy, and got his delivery truck stuck. My wife was gone with our 2000, and because the driveway is too narrow to get around him, I thought I would try to pull him through, down to our house, then pull him back out.

Well, I pulled him about 20 feet until he got sideways and off into the DEEP stuff.

Luckily, my wife got home right then, and we used the 2000 to pull him back out and down the driveway. The Discos did AMAZINGLY well for pulling such a big freaking truck- a truck that got stuck despite having some big chain thing attached to his back wheels.

HERE is the problem- I had to jerk him HARD a couple times to get him out of his holes, both with the '04 and the '00.

I had the tow-strap looped around the trailer hitch... I got under there and I don't see any cracks... Should I be worried? Was it a mistake to jerk on him?

I mean, I didn't FLOOR it or anything, but I was going at least 5mph a couple times when it jerked, and I can't imagine it did either vehicle any good.

Let me know your thoughts, please!

Pat

 

tow straps are designed to stretch and jerk a stuck vehicle out. It is not the most ideal way to get somebody out but sometimes it is the only way. If you are hooked to good frame tow points on each vehicle the strap will break way before something on the vehicles break.

 

Ahhh, sweeeet, man, you have reassured me.

THANK YOU.

 

just be sure NOT to use a tow strap with metal hooks on the ends..part of the hook can break and rest can fly back and kill you

 

Yeah, or even worse- hurt your Disco.

 

Instead of "looping" the tow strap around the trailer hitch, the best place to connect a tow strap (if it is 2" or less) on the back of your Disco is to slip the loop at the end of the strap into the receiver and use the hitch pin to hold it (just like slipping in and pinning the ball mount). At this location you are maximizing the strength of the entire hitch and keeping your strap straight - not creating a knot or fray point - and using a pin that is typically rated 10,000lbs plus...

 

Yeah that's completely fine. This time I got stuck in the Pine Barrens I was buried up to my diffs in the thick stuff. They had to jerk me pretty hard in their jeeps to pull me out. I'd say going about 10-15 to pull me out. First XJ bent his bumper because he pulled from that and not from a solid point for whatever reason, second XJ got me out with no damage to either truck.



^Bent bumper



Yayy story time

 

If you're "tugging" someone out it's better to use a kinetic yanker rope. It has a lot more stretch factor to it compared to a tow rope. The hitch ball can also become a cannon ball if you're not careful. Using the hitch pin would have been safer.

 

Pat-if it were me you would not have gotten your package today, unplowed drive way means no delivery.
Those trucks are actually pretty light, just a chassis and a shell, the sides are paper thin, the roof is clear fiberglass to let in the light.
If you put a towel/jacket/vest on the middle of your recovery strap and it breaks it will not fly into your skull, it will fall to the ground.
http://www.roverparts.com/Parts/ARB219.cfm, like this, only with a cheap towel, not the "special" towels that you wife puts out for guest's.
He had tire chains on the outside tire on his duels, tire chains increase traction in the snow.
Buy a plow Pat, or a snowblower for your riding mower. Dont be a lazy @ss, just because you can get down your driveway with yoru 4x4 does not mean that the EMT's can with the ambulance when you need it. I can tell you that they wont drive down a 1/4 mile long unplowed driveway.
Snowblowers will go on sale in Feb, buy one.

 

build a snow plow for the front of your 2000 just because it would look bada$$... with spikes on it... and huge lights... and port holes that shoot fire...