Good thread guy's.
1. Pulling a fully laden 4x4 towing a 1.5t trailer through a deep soft boggy bottom river is not towing.
There is not a passenger 4x4 on the OZ market rated to tow a 4t+ bogged load.
2. The less elasticity you have in your recovery line the more work and load placed on the recovery vehicle.
Feel free to to take several goes to recovery someone and see how happy they are with a drowned 4x4.
3. If you are really bogged in a heavy vehicle or towing a boat or camper and only using one snatch strap to recover with, the faster you have to accelerate to pull the bogged vehicle out.
Been there done that ..... not my idea of a safe recovery.
4. If you are not experienced at being recovered or the situation your in then all the help you can get is to yours and the recovery vehicles advantage.
I am no expert and do what I can with what I have in as safe a manner a possible.
I have had to recover several bogged vehicles on places like Fraser Island ect. I have done what others have recommended and watch others do things differently and have come up with my own ideas that work for me and my vehicle. My rules are simple ..... bogged in a big way 2 straps. Towing and bogged 2 straps. Towing use a tow strap. Towing through boggy conditions .... try a tow strap but I think you will find that a snatch strap will offer you a little more leniency and give you a bit more of a safety margen when the vehicle being towed starts to slow or becomes bogged. If you have simply driven into a soft spot with hard sand / ground around then a single strap will do the job. Most of the time though you usually get bogged in the middle of a long stretch of boggy ground so not only do you need to pull the stuck vehicle out but assist it all the way to firm ground and not get bogged your self. These are only my humble opinions and what has worked for me over several years. I allways tell people do what you please. But if I think its unsafe wether it be me helping or being helped I always say thanks and wait for some one else or work out how to recover my self. At the end of the day it's your responsibility.
yogi
PS(My preferred recovery method is always winch .... its just not always piratical)
Yogi, when you refer to using two straps, do you mean in series or parallel?
Personally, I would only ever use two straps in series if I needed the extra reach (as you described, bogged in the middle of a long stretch) and I would only use this method as a very last resort.
Using straps in parallel also has it's own dangers, there will be a lot more stress placed on both the vehicles recovery points, especially if the vehicle you are trying to recover has a trailer attached.
IMHO;
If it is a quick recovery i.e. hung up in deep ruts, no traction or stuck in sand, then I use a snatch strap.
Anything more than that and I agree, a winch is the safest and my most preferred method of recovery.
Cheers
Craig
