Do You Carry Heavy Duty Chain?

[Wallowa]

Did a search and could not find this...do any of you carry a length of heavy duty chain for towing or use with winch? If you do, how do you intend to use it?

Thanks..Phil

 

[camelracer]

I carry a chain and a strap. The chain would be used if I need to winch with the high lift jack.

 

[craig333]

No, too much weight and space. Strap does the job well enough. I do have a couple 20' lengths at home. Used to use them to tie down the Jeep before my trailer was stolen.

 

[klahanie]

Used to but gave it up for lack of use and the weight penalty.

I was given a real nice length of HD chain with grab hooks. It was handy around work for moving equipment. concrete parking blocks etc. I figured off highway I might use it moving downed trees or rocks or maybe a recovery or something. Not for towing tho, use a strap for that. And now would use a strap for slinging and choking tho a chain might be better sometimes.

I put the weight towards tire chains which I most always carry, and have used instead of the winch.

 

[Wallowa]

Thanks everyone....I think the spot on comment was about using the chain with a high lift jack...I had forgot that the chain has a use with it...but since I switched from my high lift to a HD bottle jack the high lift and chain will stay in the shop...yes, I have a HD tow/recovery strap and tree save strap for use with my Warn synthetic rope winch..and yes, I avoid situations that make the winch, either in front or back receivers, necessary.. But just sometimes....

Appreciated your input.

Phil

 

[klahanie]

One thing about chain is it can be pretty tough, and last just about forever. I mentioned for dragging rocks or logs (I don't anymore) and of course grab hooks are very handy but sometimes for towing it might be also be better than a strap...

Once we came across two vehicles, one of which had broken down. The guys asked if we had a chain for towing. I didn't but had 2 straps, both new. I handed over the name brand one before changing my mind and switching it to the cheaper one. They wanted us to tow but I said no you guys hook up and tow with your good vehicle, we'll catch up later in the village (it was a 85 mile one way in, 85 mile one way out settlement). Anyway, we saw them later, not keeping tension on the strap, driving over it, put a few big knots in etc. Instantly I had "spare/junky" strap. No biggie really and all part of the fun but at the time I thought, "I wish I'd brought that a chain"

btw just dug it out, ~22 feet of 3/8 BBB grade with hooks, weight: 40lbs (!)

 

[Wallowa]

One thing about chain is it can be pretty tough, and last just about forever. I mentioned for dragging rocks or logs (I don't anymore) and of course grab hooks are very handy but sometimes for towing it might be also be better than a strap...

Once we came across two vehicles, one of which had broken down. The guys asked if we had a chain for towing. I didn't but had 2 straps, both new. I handed over the name brand one before changing my mind and switching it to the cheaper one. They wanted us to tow but I said no you guys hook up and tow with your good vehicle, we'll catch up later in the village (it was a 85 mile one way in, 85 mile one way out settlement). Anyway, we saw them later, not keeping tension on the strap, driving over it, put a few big knots in etc. Instantly I had "spare/junky" strap. No biggie really and all part of the fun but at the time I thought, "I wish I'd brought that a chain"

btw just dug it out, ~22 feet of 3/8 BBB grade with hooks, weight: 40lbs (!)

Great description... I am of vintage that remembers frequently towing a vehicle with "whatever" and how tough it was to control tension on the rope/strap/chain between the vehicles...many a bumper was ripped off and more than a few towed vehicles slammed into the lead vehicle..

My chain comes out of the Tundra today...for giggles I will weigh it; it is heavy...guess I will not need the shackles either..

Thanks...

Phil

 

[DavidGraves]

When I was eight my older brother bought a beater car sans engine.

I was enlisted to steer it home.

His clever solution was to thread a chain thru a ten foot length of water pipe and then fasten chain tightly to tow car and towed car.

We made it ten or twelve miles to home, in the dark of course.

Frankly, I think two chains and two equal length pipe would just about make a tow bar.

All in the rigging and care of use.....

 

[craig333]

I hate towing people. Very few seem able to grasp the concept of keeping tension on the strap/chain. Not running over the strap etc.

I have mixed feelings about attaching the strap. I'd prefer the towee do the hook up, not my responsibility if something breaks. Otoh, if I do it at least I won't have to worry about your bumper flying down the road.

 

[Smokecreek1]

I do not have a winch and carry a heavy duty tow strap, 10,000 pound rating. Carrying a chain is too much weight for something not used so far. I prefer to hike instead of "working" to get a vehicle through rough country. Avoiding trouble is easier than getting out of trouble. I use "reverse" gear and rear view mirrors a lot. Based on experience, four wheel drive is worth the weight and all my vehicles are 4wd. I have used tire chains to get out of trouble in deep snow, they work really well .

That's me too! I carry both tow and jerk straps, have a handy man, good heavy duty jack and a come-a-long and all the usual things like shovels and the like. I should note that when I was with BLM, I did carry either a heavy duty chain or a very heavy tow rope, various sized boards and all the usual get unstuck stuff. We also carried lot's of survival gear and overnight camping gear and a week or so of food because getting stuck out of radio range was a part of the job !. For years, I drove a 3/4 ton dodge power wagon with a wonderful "granny gear" that was my usual "go to first" action whether pulling someone out of a jam or heading into rough country! All that said, these days, I 'd rather park under a tree, drink a beer and watch someone else go get stuck!

Smoke

 

[ski3pin]

<snip>

..................... these days, I 'd rather park under a tree, drink a beer and watch someone else go get stuck!

Smoke

Oh, the wisdom age and experience brings.

 

[Mighty Dodge Ram]

I have a 20’ length of HD chain but don’t carry it in the truck anymore. I use it mostly for “securing” our motorcycles to the trailer at night when on a riding trip. I used it once to move a large fallen tree but now use straps when that occurs.

 

[Smokecreek1]

Oh, the wisdom age and experience brings.

!

Smoke

 

[Wallowa]

When I was eight my older brother bought a beater car sans engine.

I was enlisted to steer it home.

His clever solution was to thread a chain thru a ten foot length of water pipe and then fasten chain tightly to tow car and towed car.

We made it ten or twelve miles to home, in the dark of course.

Frankly, I think two chains and two equal length pipe would just about make a tow bar.

All in the rigging and care of use.....

Clever!

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

When I was eight my older brother bought a beater car sans engine.

I was enlisted to steer it home.

His clever solution was to thread a chain thru a ten foot length of water pipe and then fasten chain tightly to tow car and towed car.

We made it ten or twelve miles to home, in the dark of course.

Frankly, I think two chains and two equal length pipe would just about make a tow bar.

All in the rigging and care of use.....

My father taught me that trick also, and I used it once to pull a buddy home when his car died one night. That chain-in-pipe trick must have been fairly well known once upon a time.

 

[smlobx]

I have a heavy duty 30 ft. Tow strap and a couple of soft shackles.
I recently bought a kinetic rope after watching “Matt’s Towing” on YouTube. If you are looking for something to do check him out. It’s amazing what he does with his “Yellow Banana” I.e. Jeep Cherokee.

Here’s an example..

 

[ntsqd]

My father taught me that trick also, and I used it once to pull a buddy home when his car died one night. That chain-in-pipe trick must have been fairly well known once upon a time.

I was taught it by my first employer out of HS, an auto repair shop. He was very clear to me that even with the pipe in the rigging that I was the brakes for both vehicles.

I have a 30' 3" dynamic strap in our camper and I carry a 30' piece of 5/8" Amsteel 12 strand with eyelets in both ends.

 

[Advmoto18]

Chain for towing? Did as a teen in late 60s early 70s. Want to detach parts (bumper, etc) from a vehicle, use a chain.

My dad once told me..."there's a reason the Navy doesn't use chains to stop an airplane landing on the aircraft carrier"! But the Navy does use about 10 chains to tie the airplane down to the carrier's deck". He was a carrier pilot.

He told me if he didn't want to break things when towing with chains, they'd use old fire hoses for towing. We then went around to all the fire stations asking for old, unusable fire hoses. They eagerly gave them to us. Worked great!

Using chains and cables today gives me the willies. They can be flat out dangerous under tension and snap unleashing potential energy. Chains and cables stretch and if they snap, Newton's Third Law applies and anything or anybody within the length of uncontrolled ends will feel the effect of the energy release.

When I attended the Navy's Safety School, we watched a video of an arresting wire snapping under the load of a landing aircraft. There were about 7 sailors standing in a "safe zone". The broken cable attached to the arresting gear motor closest to them whipped back around and cut them in half like a stick of butter. A sickening image for sure. When you see things like that, you begin to appreciate the inherent danger in materials and how they are used.

I converted to synthetic rope for winches when it came out. Syn rope still retains potential energy, but, not nearly as much as a wire cable or chain. I also adopted the closed loop winching system. I've tried to adopt and use the safest tools for winching and towing.

 

[Wallowa]

Chain for towing? Did as a teen in late 60s early 70s. Want to detach parts (bumper, etc) from a vehicle, use a chain.

My dad once told me..."there's a reason the Navy doesn't use chains to stop an airplane landing on the aircraft carrier"! But the Navy does use about 10 chains to tie the airplane down to the carrier's deck". He was a carrier pilot.

He told me if he didn't want to break things when towing with chains, they'd use old fire hoses for towing. We then went around to all the fire stations asking for old, unusable fire hoses. They eagerly gave them to us. Worked great!

Using chains and cables today gives me the willies. They can be flat out dangerous under tension and snap unleashing potential energy. Chains and cables stretch and if they snap, Newton's Third Law applies and anything or anybody within the length of uncontrolled ends will feel the effect of the energy release.

When I attended the Navy's Safety School, we watched a video of an arresting wire snapping under the load of a landing aircraft. There were about 7 sailors standing in a "safe zone". The broken cable attached to the arresting gear motor closest to them whipped back around and cut them in half like a stick of butter. A sickening image for sure. When you see things like that, you begin to appreciate the inherent danger in materials and how they are used.

I converted to synthetic rope for winches when it came out. Syn rope still retains potential energy, but, not nearly as much as a wire cable or chain. I also adopted the closed loop winching system. I've tried to adopt and use the safest tools for winching and towing.

Great reminder...my Warn has synthetic line....I never knew that a chain under tension could recoil if broken...thanks.

 

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Cable recoil from F18 landing