Been having a debate with a couple guys in the office... let's say you're going to pull a vehicle out of a ditch on the side of the road, is it better/safer/easier to winch them out, or strap a cable/rope/chain to each vehicle and literally pull them out driving your Jeep?

 

Well, if you are going to drive them out, make sure you back in there and pull from the rear so you are going forward. Your ring and pinions are weaker going in reverse and you can easily damage them depending how stuck they are. If you have a winch might as well use it my

 

I always winch! less wear and tear on your vehicle!!! if you dont care bout wear on your rig its always fun to pull them out

 

Both situations are dangerous if the person in controls doesn't know what they are doing. Both are safe if the person in control does know what they are doing.


Tom

 

That's a given. But still curious which method would be more preferred.

 

I would winch out. Less chance of damaging something on your Jeep and if you have a winch you might as well use it.

 

Winch. It's a more controlled - already dangerous task. The static load is much safer and a more effective method.

Most importantly it's hard on your Jeep to snatch people out.

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Makes sense. Thanks guys!

 

First - NEVER recover with a chain or cable when yanking someone out. Winching is ok, but not for yanking.

Yanking with a recover strap enables the line to recoil and absorb the energy doing two things, increase the force of the pull beyond the level of energy exerted and also absorbing the shock minimizing any damage to both vehicles.

The question you pose depends on how stuck the other rig is. Lightly stuck, there's no reason to waste time with a winch recover. Seriously stuck and a winch is much safer.

 

Like Echo stated, it all depends on the situation. Sometime guys are barely stuck and just a little tug is all they need. And sometimes they are buried. If you have a good snatch rope with good stretch then it's not hard on the vehicles if they have good places to attach them to. I usually won't use a winch unless it's needed. There's a right time and place for both....