hankthetank

There are requirements for engineered tests for straps or slings used to recover motor vehicles. There are also requirements for documentation of said tests along with tags on the slings that indicate safe working loads and breaking strengths. You guys dont understand the implications of using home made recovery gear. Please do some research.

PDXJ

If you are doing it right noone should be in an area where getting hurt is a Possibility, no matter which strap you choose. I have seen some raggedy straps used before that held up great (I wouldnt use em though) and brand new straps break the first time out. Shouldnt matter if your doing it right noone should ever get hurt.

Crow Horse

The answer to this dilemma, like previously stated, is never help anyone in order to protect yourself......

From another vantage point, always travel with your attorney AND have a liability release at the ready.....

I fully understand that we live in a litigious society and we as a whole are never responsible for our actions or fate's roll of the dice. Seems like if one was to trip and fall in the forest, they'd be suing the trees for being an attractive nuisance. Pitiful....

But these are the conditions which prevail and we have to proceed with intelligence in any endevour. I use mine at my own risk and accept the consequences......

Maybe we should go one step further and look at lift kits or other mechanical modifications. Not so much their design, but who installed them. A backyard DIY'er by the letter of the law wouldn't be qualified to do such an installation and would be liable for any injuries or damages resulting from whatever lawyers determine that fell into the category of negligence......

I also am fully aware that vehicle recovery can be very risky business and should be approached with the utmost care.....You can't ever be too careful......

Peewee

I was expecting 200 strands of masons twine taped together and instead that looks better than half the store baught stuff! I hope everyone who suggested that you not help anyone very soon takes part in the needing help side of the equation and gets left in the cold in the middle of nowhere. Safe practices Will keep everyone safe. I hope whoever raises a stink because your broken strap hurt their junk gets their ***** chopped off by carma.

Crow Horse

Thanks, and good point. I'm a firm believer in Karma. We reap what we sow. If we fall short, it usually comes back to bite us in the *** at some point....

Ineedabeer

Wow! I know you don't SELL those, but would you accept a donation in exchange for labor???

Crow Horse

Thank you, I'm flattered but I really don't have the spare time to go down that road. Thanks again....

bulrid8

One- The other person has no way of knowing that you made the strap!

Two- If you go through life worried about being sued, your life will suck!

I work in the medical field, the most sue happy people there are. I never once worry about it. If it happens, it happens. But guess what, Has not happened in 25 years. I have co-workers that fret everything over being sued. Their nerves are shot and they hate their job for it.

Do things smart, enjoy wheeling and make all you want. Just do things smart!

hankthetank

Do things smart, like, not worry about my own liabilities? Thats why I pay for insurance. But we all know how far insurance goes, right? Insurance doesn't cover good intentions all of a sudden, does it?

Normally I'm all in for guys who take initiative and make their own tools, hell, I'm a Millwright and I do that on a regular basis at work! But, even at work, if I devise a tool for work around other people, it has to have some kind of engineered approval, after all, the oh&s book is written in blood. Blood usually equalling liability (blame) getting laid on someone.

For me, it's not about worrying if I get sued, its about hurting someone else however good my intentions are in the first place. Thats smart.

Ineedabeer

How will so many people be injured from a recovery strap? I don't think anyone plans to use a recovery strap (homemade or not) to pull a dangling vehicle off if a 100ft overpass or pull an off road vehicle up a sheer rock face. Mostly you yank a friend out of some mud or pull a guy who is high centered. And if something were to break, wouldn't you WANT the nylon strap to break rather that a shackle or recovery point? I'd much rather have a strap slap my window than a broken tow hook smashing my skull. As stated, anytime you are wheeling, or even driving for that matter, there is implied risk. If something looks unsafe, don't do it. All I know is that if it's cold, raining and I'm stuck on a trail all alone (which wouldn't happen because I don't wheel alone) and a guy stops to help, I'm not going to give him the third degree about where he got his strap, how much he paid, what country it was made in and if he has used it successfully. I'm going to accept what's offered and be thankful. I'd also get wet and muddy for anyone else I see that needed and wanted help. So you guys that are afraid of a "shoddy" strap, let me know what you drive so that I don't bother getting my shoes dirty.

CherokeeCountry

My Grandmother and Mum knit my recovery straps

PDXJ

I have a friend, whos friends sister second cousin on his fathers side who lost a Right ear and a Left ******** due to a Homemade Recovery Strap Failure! Very Tragic Indeed!

On a serious note I have seen people use some jacked up junk on the trails, this last summer we had to help a guy who rolled his Amigo, they rolled it back over with one of those cheap 1inch wide ratchet straps from HF, they got him on his wheels and shockingly the brakes wouldnt work so he just cruised down the hill in a Panic until he rolled the thing on its side again lol thats when we showed up and got him safely on his wheels and off the trail. Lets just say not the brightest bunch of guys!

Crow Horse

All this chat about strength & liability got me thinking. While I have no doubt that the ones I made work well and safely, I began looking into better webbing and sewing techniques. I came across some NSN 8305-01-206-9219 TYPE XXVI webbing on Ebay for cheap and pulled the trigger. This webbing is the strongest single ply webbing the military specs (15,000 pounds) and will make some dandy straps. It's a bit thicker than my first ones and I believe this will be overkill (a good thing). My machine will handle this nicely and I'm looking into Mil Spec thread to complete the package.
I looked at one's sold in Tractor Supply and they look pitiful in comparison yet they have 10K#' ratings. They look sketchy to me despite their ratings.....
I'm considering adding a reinforcement piece on the inside of the loops and maybe a Cordura protective sleeve.....

bulrid8

Those look more like tie down straps. ****** straps are multi layers that are made to stretch and rebound, to aid in the pulling power. Those would be good for tow straps.

Crow Horse

You are exactly correct. They will work well for towing as well as my intended purpose of hi lift winching. Even though they are made of nylon, the weave doesn't look like it's designed to stretch like recovery straps need to.

As a caveat to all this, my step son just recently mentioned to me that the strap I made for him worked awesome in recoveries as well as other functions. The strap is holding up really well with no signs of damage/wear. I'm pretty pleased...... Footnote* I would use them in light recoveries due to the lack of stretch....