Night Train Posted April 8, 2008 Share Posted April 8, 2008 Many years ago I got my ropes via a boat chandlers. A few of us got together to buy a whole reel of 26mm polypropalene rope and then had it cut into lengths with loops platted at each end. It spread the cost out for us all. I was the one who visited the chandlers and, having got chatting to the guys there, they showed me how to platt the eyelets in so I did mine myself to save some money. I got my shackles from a commercial hardware suppliers many years ago. I think Machine Mart do recovery kits with their winches and it has various bits and pieces in but you would be better off getting a canvas kit bag and then finding the bits that you need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmgemini Posted April 8, 2008 Share Posted April 8, 2008 With recovery kit could somebody please explain. With a rope there is no test or a label on it to say what the SWL or the breaking strength is. That information is found on a strap/strop. So why is it that some clubs will only let an untested rope be used for recovery ? Mike. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
honitonhobbit Posted April 8, 2008 Share Posted April 8, 2008 I don't take anything. I just go out with messrs Honiton Hobbit & Matt Neale and that's every eventuality covered, including nuclear war survival, alien invasion, finding of Lord Lucan and the odd recovery and or breakdown. I am a full believer in the three course meal. If you are having a dessert then custard is essential. Oh and PB doesn't ever carry any kit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Train Posted April 8, 2008 Share Posted April 8, 2008 My initial thoughts are that to specify a 25mm rope it is well over-rated for breaking strain and a visual inspection can show up wear and tear and damage whereas a webbing strap specified at 50mm wide could be rated for a maximum lift tonnage or rated for only holding your luggage together at the airport and the easiest way to tell is by having a label on it. Thats what it was a couple of decades ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orange Posted April 8, 2008 Share Posted April 8, 2008 So where would be the best place to get shackles and strops from for a relatively cheap price?Are there any decent packages? Pete Nearly missed this! Some years ago I bought a box of recovery kit from a company called Geared To Go It wasn't a package deal, but I rang them up and told them what I needed. At the time it was 3x 4.75T shackles, 2x tree strops of different sizes, 1x large tow-rope. Didn't cost a great deal, but at the end of the day, when you are dangling off the end of a piece of rope with some tonnes of car wrapped around you, you really don't want the cheap stuff!! Not sure if it's been mentioned in this thread already, but don't even think about buying unstamped shackles or unrated strops!!! HTH Adrian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
draper40 Posted April 9, 2008 Author Share Posted April 9, 2008 What length should '1 large tow rope' be? Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmgemini Posted April 9, 2008 Share Posted April 9, 2008 What length should '1 large tow rope' be?Pete How long is a piece of string ?? I thought I was well prepared with a bridle. A five metre strap and two three metre straps. Now way. When I renew those two damaged straps and bridle. I'm adding a ten metre strap. mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Train Posted April 9, 2008 Share Posted April 9, 2008 What length should '1 large tow rope' be?Pete If you only have one rope and it is for off road use then I would probably take a 9 or 10m rope or strop as it can be doubled over to reduce its length whereas a short one can't be made any longer. Traveling with other vehicles I would make sure everyone had a different length rope if it were still only one each as they can be joined (without shackles) and used as bridles. What I took with me was a bag with the following (cut and pasted from the other thread on tow ropes): The stuff I have is all from playing off road about 20 years back and is a set of polypropelene 25mm ropes. These are dead ropes that don't stretch so only used for pulling not snatching. Mine are: One at 1.5m (to use as a bridle on the vehicle or around a tree, Two at 3m, two at 4m, One at 6m, And one at 10m long. I also had two 50mm rated webbing straps at 4m long but lost one. I also have a set of rated lifting shackles from 4 ton to 25 ton (just cos). I have a selection of huge pulley blocks that would take 25mm rope that I can use to change the direction of pull if needed. These are rated at 15-25 tons and so even given they are old and untested they are not going to give up on me. I used to carry a two leg chain sling that was 1.5m long and rated at 4 ton for... dunno, never used it off road. On top of all that I also had a 500kg hand winch and a steel shafted digging spade that doubled as a ground anchor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Young bobtail Rhys Posted April 9, 2008 Share Posted April 9, 2008 A chainsaw can be very usefull too,.. and maybe a tent and some beer if its getting very serious and you dont make it in one day I know a guy that took him 2 days to complete a greenlane in wales Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThreePointFive Posted April 9, 2008 Share Posted April 9, 2008 So where would be the best place to get shackles and strops from for a relatively cheap price?Are there any decent packages? Pete Devon4x4 do them at something like £3 for a 4.75T shackle, that's where I got my first two. Need to buy more though as they're never enough.... £1.88 for a 3.25T. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
honitonhobbit Posted April 10, 2008 Share Posted April 10, 2008 I know a guy that took him 2 days to complete a greenlane in wales What is wrong with that? Back in the olden days to go greenlaning, you had to clear the blessed things first. The Ox drove on Exmoor took 8 of us two weekends to clear all the way through. 'Laning in West wales was a long weekend thing for maybe five or six lanes. Those were the days... About 6 months ago I aquired a stretchy strop (Aussie Snatch Strop) - very impressive bit of kit at 8 meters long. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dollythelw Posted April 10, 2008 Share Posted April 10, 2008 water, 200 fags, chainsaw, Immarsat, and a Kim cheap high calorie good combat food can be found in Sainsburys, they do a bacon brunch potato thing, its in a flat cardboard box but its tinfoil vacuum packed inside, scrap the box and label it with a perm. marker and leave it in the car, it stays good for years (apparently), rates at over 1000 calories a pop, takes up no space and wraps around anything hot when you want to eat it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blippie Posted April 11, 2008 Share Posted April 11, 2008 How long is a piece of string ?? ... twice the distance from the middle to one end. Here's some recovery gear - the green shackle is rated at 4grams and I don't trust the red KERR. I found www.discoparts.com good value. Cheers Blippie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fatboy Posted April 11, 2008 Share Posted April 11, 2008 Has anyone ever tried the 'can of beans tied to the exhaust manifold' idea for heating food? Yup. On a long trip we were getting a bit peckish and my mate (butcher) had a couple of steaks in the back. We found an old coke can and a tinfoil container, pushed the can in between two of the branches on the V6, popped the steak in, covered it and drove for 20 mins... Superb. I've got a photo somewhere of us cutting it up on the wing with a pair of pliers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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