PLEASE don't use your trailer ball hitch for recovery! (fatality involved)

[Blythkd1]

All good info. I know a guy that took a hitch ball to his eye socket 30 some odd years ago. My neighbor hauled him and his dad about 15 miles to the hospital with the ball in his head. You'd hardly know it today, other than he only has one good eye. Luckiest guy on earth. I bet he never hitched a tow rope to a hitch ball again.

We've all heard so many of these stories, it amazes me when you still see someone do something incredibly stupid like that.

 

[UglyViking]

All good info. I know a guy that took a hitch ball to his eye socket 30 some odd years ago. My neighbor hauled him and his dad about 15 miles to the hospital with the ball in his head. You'd hardly know it today, other than he only has one good eye. Luckiest guy on earth. I bet he never hitched a tow rope to a hitch ball again.

We've all heard so many of these stories, it amazes me when you still see someone do something incredibly stupid like that.

Jesus. Talk about cheating death!

 

[ppine]

Thank you.

 

[WXman]

Had a close call with a clevis hook about 20 years ago and I ended up buying fabric straps and soft shackles. I never use chain anymore. I also tend to use synthetic winch rope.

 

[silver billet]

Had a close call with a clevis hook about 20 years ago and I ended up buying fabric straps and soft shackles. I never use chain anymore. I also tend to use synthetic winch rope.

I watch matts offroad recovery once in a while, one thing he always stresses is keeping steel out of the recovery. At this point he's all synthetic. Those yankum ropes are the real deal too, incredible.

 

[jhdram4]

I watch matts offroad recovery once in a while, one thing he always stresses is keeping steel out of the recovery. At this point he's all synthetic. Those yankum ropes are the real deal too, incredible.

I love Matts offroad recovery channel. It teaches me alot. For example I have always debated the Harbor Freight Badlands winches over spending twice as much on a warn winch. Then I watch Matts videos and notice that all his vehicles have badlands winches. If good enough for what he does, its good enough for me.

 

[Wobly]

I like watching MORR as much as the next guy, but please don't take his entertaining videos as how to do a recovery. Please take a class from a certified professional. I4WDTA has instructors across the US that can teach you the proper methods.

 

[GBergen]

Years ago (1987), when I was a Structures Technician (Carpenter) in the Air Force civil engineers squadron, I had to incorporate the following information into my training to advance my career.
Some of this is informative and some is entertaining, but this is what the Air Force provided as information about vehicle maintenance and recovery when in the field.

 

[dieselscout80]

I haven’t reread this thread, but one thing I don’t recall being mentioned is the leverage affects the drop hitch had in the incident.

It looked like a 10” or 12” drop hitch and that added a lot of additional stress vs a no drop hitch.

 

[Poolmonkey]

I haven’t reread this thread, but one thing I don’t recall being mentioned is the leverage affects the drop hitch had in the incident.

It looked like a 10” or 12” drop hitch and that added a lot of additional stress vs a no drop hitch.

The drop is the main failure point in these cases, not the ball itself. But, a ball offers a dubious point for retaining attachment vs a hook or ring imo. I have and no doubt will again use a ball and common sense during an extraction.

 

[jenninr]

The drop is the main failure point in these cases, not the ball itself. But, a ball offers a dubious point for retaining attachment vs a hook or ring imo. I have and no doubt will again use a ball and common sense during an extraction.

There are quite a few videos out there of trailer balls shearing off and going flying. Mainly during kinetic recoveries but the point is they aren't made for that kind of load and can and do shear off. Many 2" hitch balls have a load rating of only 5-6k and that is not a shock load rating. Most recoveries are not really that high of a load (like someone in a Camry being stuck in a field) so people get comfortable with using a tow ball because they have done it many times before and then they have a high load recovery and something bad happens. IMO it's best to just use the right tool for the job all the time to prevent complacency unless there is no other option.

 

[Poolmonkey]

There are quite a few videos out there of trailer balls shearing off and going flying. Mainly during kinetic recoveries but the point is they aren't made for that kind of load and can and do shear off. Many 2" hitch balls have a load rating of only 5-6k and that is not a shock load rating. Most recoveries are not really that high of a load (like someone in a Camry being stuck in a field) so people get comfortable with using a tow ball because they have done it many times before and then they have a high load recovery and something bad happens. IMO it's best to just use the right tool for the job all the time to prevent complacency unless there is no other option.

Yep…have to use common sense.

 

[jetrinka]

Why even risk it when they make shackle mounts that slide right into the receiver? They're not expensive either. Seems to me the extra 3 minutes it would take to hook it all up is well worth it.

 

[Poolmonkey]

Why even risk it when they make shackle mounts that slide right into the receiver? They're not expensive either. Seems to me the extra 3 minutes it would take to hook it all up is well worth it.

I carry a pintle hitches for mine + another and a hundred+ lbs of other recovery junk, but am not always in my truck…as long as not exceeding the capacity of what I have to work with, I work with it. A 2” ball will rip some of what has to be hooked to in some cases, to shreds. There is nothing wrong with a measured, controlled and static pull on a bumper mounted ball. If there is a hitch and pin at all, no reason to use a ball.
Nevada is a place of majority true and extremely remote wilderness…sometimes have to do what you have to do.

 

[jetrinka]

I carry a pintle hitches for mine + another and a hundred+ lbs of other recovery junk, but am not always in my truck…as long as not exceeding the capacity of what I have to work with, I work with it. A 2” ball will rip some of what has to be hooked to in some cases, to shreds. There is nothing wrong with a measured, controlled and static pull on a bumper mounted ball. If there is a hitch and pin at all, no reason to use a ball.
Nevada is a place of majority true and extremely remote wilderness…sometimes have to do what you have to do.

I guess my point would be the shackle isn't expensive to buy or hard to stow somewhere in the truck - personally I'd much rather take the couple minutes to install it and have a system that won't allow anything to slip off or break mid-pull. Eliminating potentials for failure is what safety is all about - even more important in remote wilderness where help just isn't there.

 

[Poolmonkey]

I guess my point would be the shackle isn't expensive to buy or hard to stow somewhere in the truck - personally I'd much rather take the couple minutes to install it and have a system that won't allow anything to slip off or break mid-pull. Eliminating potentials for failure is what safety is all about - even more important in remote wilderness where help just isn't there.

Ideal is always best, yep.