OB Approved Winching: Bridle between 2 recovery points

[Jeff Graham]

Since one of our core values is: It doesn't matter what you drive, has encouraged many to join this community. I thought I would share a strategy, that can help many, potentially reduce damage to their rig..

Traditional expedition vehicles where often Body on frame construction. The ladder frame provided a very strong location to place recovery points. With so few of these vehicles available In the market. Many have chosen to use a unibody vehicle for Overlanding. For many, this is the ideal vehicle for their use case.

Unibody vehicles do not provide the same robust recovery points that the older vehicles had. One strategy to help reduce the stress on a unibody vehicle, is to rig a bridle between your recovery points. Tree savers, that have very hi ratings, can be used for this purpose.

What you need to rig a bridle:

Two Rated shackles:
See: https://www.overlandbound.com/forums/threads/proper-use-of-straps-and-shackles.8405/

One Rated tree savers:

One Recovery trap:

Attach the recovery strap to the bridle,and the bridle to the recovery points on your vehicle

This will give you a distubuted load, and will reduce strain on Unibody vehicles.

This is the Bridle rigged, ready to be attached to a fellow OB member for recovery.

Remember, that both the person being recovered, and the recovery volunteer must be in agreement on the rigging used. Since you are asking a person to risk potential damage, to their rig if something goes wrong, they get the last word.

Practice all recovery methods in a safe static environments, before you must use them on the trail. Work out the bugs, with your gear, where you can easily make changes. This will reduce problems on the trail.

If you would like to see more recovery strategies, respond to thread, and let me know.

 

[Daniel Etter]

We used various bridles to tow boats during rescue ops in the CG. Bridles are an excellent way for distributing load on the recovery points. The way you show is one of the better options because you still have almost equal distribution if pulling at angles other than 90*. However, it does increase the wear on the strap connecting the recovery points. The load is also creating tension on the strap in a manner that it is not rated for, so it could fail prematurely if recovering inappropriately (tugging or yanking). Using a chaffing guards (old fire hoses work great) to slip over the strap will protect it from chaffing.
Another bridle that can be used is with a nylite shackle. The main recovery line is placed around a spool and then two legs connect from the shackle ring to the recovery points.
Nylite shackle
https://www.ashoresupply.com/Pictures/502-9641120_L.jpg

If you don't want to fork out the money for a nylite shackle. You can use the eye of the line and then two legs. Bowline knots are used to connect the two legs to the eye of the main recovery line.
http://denverrope.com/images/TowBridle.gif

For some reason the app isn't letting me upload photos of the setup or shackle so I posted the link to the images.

 

[Jeff Graham]

We used various bridles to tow boats during rescue ops in the CG. Bridles are an excellent way for distributing load on the recovery points. The way you show is one of the better options because you still have almost equal distribution if pulling at angles other than 90*. However, it does increase the wear on the strap connecting the recovery points. The load is also creating tension on the strap in a manner that it is not rated for, so it could fail prematurely if recovering inappropriately (tugging or yanking). Using a chaffing guards (old fire hoses work great) to slip over the strap will protect it from chaffing.
Another bridle that can be used is with a nylite shackle. The main recovery line is placed around a spool and then two legs connect from the shackle ring to the recovery points.
Nylite shackle
https://www.ashoresupply.com/Pictures/502-9641120_L.jpg

If you don't want to fork out the money for a nylite shackle. You can use the eye of the line and then two legs. Bowline knots are used to connect the two legs to the eye of the main recovery line.
http://denverrope.com/images/TowBridle.gif

For some reason the app isn't letting me upload photos of the setup or shackle so I posted the link to the images.

Great comments, thanks for the reply. Just a couple points, that I could have called out, but didn't for brevity.

The Bubba Tree saver I use have the built in black chaffing guards. The Bubba Rope (kinetic energy recovery) has a "high performance elastic polymer coatings giving the rope a durable outer skin".

With your towing experience, you where probably using tow lines, that do not absorb kinetic energy, reducing forces on the bridle. Do to these properties, using the tree saver in this use case, is OK by the manufacturer.

We both have some Maritime experience with this. I have a 200T Masters with Sailing, Oceans, and Commercial Assistance Towing Endorsement.

 

[Daniel Etter]

Great comments, thanks for the reply. Just a couple points, that I could have called out, but didn't for brevity.

The Bubba Tree saver I use have the built in black chaffing guards. The Bubba Rope (kinetic energy recovery) has a "high performance elastic polymer coatings giving the rope a durable outer skin".

With your towing experience, you where probably using tow lines, that do not absorb kinetic energy, reducing forces on the bridle. Do to these properties, using the tree saver in this use case, is OK by the manufacturer.

We both have some Maritime experience with this. I have a 200T Masters with Sailing, Oceans, and Commercial Assistance Towing Endorsement.

The kinetic lines, such as the Bubbas, would eliminate the issues that static lines would have in the setup. Just wanted to forewarn that static lines aren't designed for shock loading for those that do not have kinetic recovery gear. I'll have to look into that treesaver, it's pretty fancy! Lol

 

[Jeff Graham]

The kinetic lines, such as the Bubbas, would eliminate the issues that static lines would have in the setup. Just wanted to forewarn that static lines aren't designed for shock loading for those that do not have kinetic recovery gear. I'll have to look into that treesaver, it's pretty fancy! Lol

You are 100% correct, my dear man...

 

[000]

Be sure not to confuse recovery points which a lot of unibody vehicles do not have with the transport anchors that are meant to restrain the vehicle during transport from the factory or the "tow hooks" that are sometimes found on "off-road" versions of vehicles. Many vehicles specifically recommend only an emergency use of these points which would make me question their reliability for even occasional use. As a professional tow operator I never use factory hooks or loops for winch outs. These are typically designed for a specific amount and direction of force, sometimes these are even just spot welded to the unibody. Without previously inspecting the way these are attached, their condition and confirming what the factory intended the use and rating of these to be I would stay away from them. Unless you're lucky enough to happen to be recovering a vehicle in that direction within the rating of those points, they could be a recipe for disaster. I have seen the aftermath of inexperienced and poorly trained operators using these to winch out vehicles, and some of these where just being winched onto a flatbed car carrier and resulted in breakage and the vehicle rolling away. A bridle would spread this load but still among two possibly weak points of usually an unknown weight rating and without using a speader bar they could be pulling towards each other further weakening the points if they are designed to pull straight on. For unibody vehicle winch outs I typically will use an endless loop soft strap in a basket configuration around one or both lower suspension arms if possible. Obviously this depends on the situation and construction of the particular vehicles suspension, but this is usually the strongest point to winch from for most unibody and even frame vehicles. This technique is used to maximize safety and minimize damage to the vehicle. I would definitely do some research for your specific vehicle and what factory loops or hooks you think that you might need or want to pull from before you end up stuck somewhere and guessing. As for for yanking on it with another vehicle, I don't. In an emergency or possibly on something that's not really stuck but just slipping, I guess... but I personally don't. I know it works for many, but there's so little control that there's too many ways that it can go wrong. If a winch isn't possible carry a hi lift or a quality high capacity come along. It's slow, but way safer and easier to prevent damage to both vehicles.


Sent from my iPhone using OB Talk

 

[Jeff Graham]

Be sure not to confuse recovery points which a lot of unibody vehicles do not have with the transport anchors that are meant to restrain the vehicle during transport from the factory or the "tow hooks" that are sometimes found on "off-road" versions of vehicles. Many vehicles specifically recommend only an emergency use of these points which would make me question their reliability for even occasional use. As a professional tow operator I never use factory hooks or loops for winch outs. These are typically designed for a specific amount and direction of force, sometimes these are even just spot welded to the unibody. Without previously inspecting the way these are attached, their condition and confirming what the factory intended the use and rating of these to be I would stay away from them. Unless you're lucky enough to happen to be recovering a vehicle in that direction within the rating of those points, they could be a recipe for disaster. I have seen the aftermath of inexperienced and poorly trained operators using these to winch out vehicles, and some of these where just being winched onto a flatbed car carrier and resulted in breakage and the vehicle rolling away. A bridle would spread this load but still among two possibly weak points of usually an unknown weight rating and without using a speader bar they could be pulling towards each other further weakening the points if they are designed to pull straight on. For unibody vehicle winch outs I typically will use an endless loop soft strap in a basket configuration around one or both lower suspension arms if possible. Obviously this depends on the situation and construction of the particular vehicles suspension, but this is usually the strongest point to winch from for most unibody and even frame vehicles. This technique is used to maximize safety and minimize damage to the vehicle. I would definitely do some research for your specific vehicle and what factory loops or hooks you think that you might need or want to pull from before you end up stuck somewhere and guessing. As for for yanking on it with another vehicle, I don't. In an emergency or possibly on something that's not really stuck but just slipping, I guess... but I personally don't. I know it works for many, but there's so little control that there's too many ways that it can go wrong. If a winch isn't possible carry a hi lift or a quality high capacity come along. It's slow, but way safer and easier to prevent damage to both vehicles.


Sent from my iPhone using OB Talk

Great point about not using bad recovery point. Mr OB did a great video on front bumpers, he talked to the need to have strong recovery points built in. I may add a link to this video, for reference. I didn't go into details about shackles, because this topic was already so thoroughly discussed in the link I included. Thanks!

 

[Gene Lambert]

Great info & very serious.

 

[Nickzero]

The bridle strap technique is not so common however very effective. Especially out on the beach or just to direct a pull with precision. I really like this method of recovery since it distributes the shock load to the hookup points on the rig. Nice write up!

 

[Passe-Partout]

Be sure not to confuse recovery points which a lot of unibody vehicles do not have with the transport anchors that are meant to restrain the vehicle during transport from the factory or the "tow hooks" that are sometimes found on "off-road" versions of vehicles. Many vehicles specifically recommend only an emergency use of these points which would make me question their reliability for even occasional use. As a professional tow operator I never use factory hooks or loops for winch outs. These are typically designed for a specific amount and direction of force, sometimes these are even just spot welded to the unibody. Without previously inspecting the way these are attached, their condition and confirming what the factory intended the use and rating of these to be I would stay away from them. Unless you're lucky enough to happen to be recovering a vehicle in that direction within the rating of those points, they could be a recipe for disaster. I have seen the aftermath of inexperienced and poorly trained operators using these to winch out vehicles, and some of these where just being winched onto a flatbed car carrier and resulted in breakage and the vehicle rolling away. A bridle would spread this load but still among two possibly weak points of usually an unknown weight rating and without using a speader bar they could be pulling towards each other further weakening the points if they are designed to pull straight on. For unibody vehicle winch outs I typically will use an endless loop soft strap in a basket configuration around one or both lower suspension arms if possible. Obviously this depends on the situation and construction of the particular vehicles suspension, but this is usually the strongest point to winch from for most unibody and even frame vehicles. This technique is used to maximize safety and minimize damage to the vehicle. I would definitely do some research for your specific vehicle and what factory loops or hooks you think that you might need or want to pull from before you end up stuck somewhere and guessing. As for for yanking on it with another vehicle, I don't. In an emergency or possibly on something that's not really stuck but just slipping, I guess... but I personally don't. I know it works for many, but there's so little control that there's too many ways that it can go wrong. If a winch isn't possible carry a hi lift or a quality high capacity come along. It's slow, but way safer and easier to prevent damage to both vehicles.


Sent from my iPhone using OB Talk

Excellent points! That being said, I'm not sure that we can expect to know the strength of the factory tie-down points of all the various vehicles that we may be called upon to help tow.

I do however have an experience where a tow truck driver used the lower control arms to tie down my car onto a flat bed. The lower control arms are aluminum on my vehicle and they were both bent when the tow truck operator tightened them down - requiring the replacement of both lower control arms and an alignment. I would also suspect that pulling on the lower control arms at a forward (and inward when using a bridle) angle especially if not using a kinetic strap could cause very significant damage to the myriad of suspension and connected driveline components which would make this type of recovery potentially very expensive to repair vs bending/breaking a tie-down point. My thought is that one should start with a gentle pull (which is usually enough) using a bridle across the two tie-down points and a snatch strap (to smooth out the pull) and verify if the pull is causing any deformation before attempting any additional force. I personally would only use the lower control arms as a last resort for the above reasons.

 

[alphonse coune]

Excellent points! That being said, I'm not sure that we can expect to know the strength of the factory tie-down points of all the various vehicles that we may be called upon to help tow.

I do however have an experience where a tow truck driver used the lower control arms to tie down my car onto a flat bed. The lower control arms are aluminum on my vehicle and they were both bent when the tow truck operator tightened them down - requiring the replacement of both lower control arms and an alignment. I would also suspect that pulling on the lower control arms at a forward (and inward when using a bridle) angle especially if not using a kinetic strap could cause very significant damage to the myriad of suspension and connected driveline components which would make this type of recovery potentially very expensive to repair vs bending/breaking a tie-down point. My thought is that one should start with a gentle pull (which is usually enough) using a bridle across the two tie-down points and a snatch strap (to smooth out the pull) and verify if the pull is causing any deformation before attempting any additional force. I personally would only use the lower control arms as a last resort for the above reasons.

I was a repo agent for several years... I can verify that pulling on LCAs is an absolute no go. The only safe spots to hard pull on are the frame (not braces), recovery points, and solid axles. Everything else is just asking for trouble. Also, great call on the snatch strap. Anything to reduce the “jerk” on lines/parts is huge. (An old tire between two lines works too! Lol)

 

[Desert Runner]

This is good advise, even with body-on-frame. Most OEM hooks are only rated to 10,000 pounds, and a really bad stuck can tax them to their breaking point. Beach surf sand(wet), deep mud, your 6,000 pound rig might need 12,000 pounds of effort to be pulled to safety. Using a bridle halves the strain on that recovery point, and can mean the difference of getting your vehicle out. Another thought is that by having a winch bull bar, the left and right frame ends are tied together around the winch platform, thus greatly triangulating the strength where the recovery effort is being made.

 

[OuterLimits]

I drive an '05 Ford Escape (Unibody). For the rear I use a receiver hitch shackle as a recovery point.

On the front end there are 2 recovery points that are probably not fully rated. They are however more robust than the tie down points on many new vehicles.

I have successfully used a bridle to split the load and get the Escape back in action when I was high centered on some ice blocks. There was no damage or bending to the recovery points. I plan on beefing up the points with some thicker steel and rated bolts/welding to secure to chassis.

I wouldn't use the stock points for a mud recovery, but I don't play in mud. The bridle seems to work fine to not over stress the recovery points during a simple recovery.

 

[Desert Runner]

I drive an '05 Ford Escape (Unibody). For the rear I use a receiver hitch shackle as a recovery point.

On the front end there are 2 recovery points that are probably not fully rated. They are however more robust than the tie down points on many new vehicles.

I have successfully used a bridle to split the load and get the Escape back in action when I was high centered on some ice. There was no damage or bending to the recovery points. I plan on beefing up the points with some thicker steel and rated bolts/welding to secure to chassis.

I wouldn't use the stock points for a mud recovery, but I don't play in mud. The bridle seems to work fine to not over stress the recovery points during a simple recovery.

ARB has finally offered a dedicated....bolt on recovery point for Toyota's 4 runner and Tacoma. They are not cheap....but address the inadequacies of these vehicles tow and shipment hooks. In Australia you can get left and right side recovery points that are not available here. And these are available from a multitude of companies.

I have watched 4 wheel action (Australian) ...you tube where a front tow hook was almost ripped off, and became worthless.
So be careful. You don't have to be in wet/deep sand or mud to overtax your recovery points. Using a bridle for lessening stress on your recovery points is not just for uni-body vehicles. Anything that increases your safety margin is good.

PS...there are a couple of other companies offering a vehicle recovery point, but they are hard to find. Most of them imported for internationally offered trucks...ford ranger...Chevy Holden...Nissan? But not a dedicated USA domestic. This excludes tow hooks, which is different from these recovery points (see the ARB). Australia just has so many dedicated parts, that hopefully become available here.

The over-landing bug is growing so fast, that the customs and import taxes are finally becoming less of a obstacle then it once was.

 

[Bird dog overland]

Since one of our core values is: It doesn't matter what you drive, has encouraged many to join this community. I thought I would share a strategy, that can help many, potentially reduce damage to their rig..

Traditional expedition vehicles where often Body on frame construction. The ladder frame provided a very strong location to place recovery points. With so few of these vehicles available In the market. Many have chosen to use a unibody vehicle for Overlanding. For many, this is the ideal vehicle for their use case.

Unibody vehicles do not provide the same robust recovery points that the older vehicles had. One strategy to help reduce the stress on a unibody vehicle, is to rig a bridle between your recovery points. Tree savers, that have very hi ratings, can be used for this purpose.

What you need to rig a bridle:

Two Rated shackles:
See: https://www.overlandbound.com/forums/threads/proper-use-of-straps-and-shackles.8405/
View attachment 29849
One Rated tree savers:
View attachment 29850
One Recovery trap:
View attachment 29851
Attach the recovery strap to the bridle,and the bridle to the recovery points on your vehicle
View attachment 29852
This will give you a distubuted load, and will reduce strain on Unibody vehicles.
View attachment 29853
This is the Bridle rigged, ready to be attached to a fellow OB member for recovery.

Remember, that both the person being recovered, and the recovery volunteer must be in agreement on the rigging used. Since you are asking a person to risk potential damage, to their rig if something goes wrong, they get the last word.

Practice all recovery methods in a safe static environments, before you must use them on the trail. Work out the bugs, with your gear, where you can easily make changes. This will reduce problems on the trail.

If you would like to see more recovery strategies, respond to thread, and let me know.

What Bridle is that pictured? I’ve looked on Google and Amazon with limited results.

 

[Jeff Graham]

What Bridle is that pictured? I’ve looked on Google and Amazon with limited results.

It a tree saver from Buba Rope. Just another use for gear we often carry.

 

[Desert Runner]

It a tree saver from Buba Rope. Just another use for gear we often carry.

I have 2 tree savers of 2 different colors. 1 (yellow) is dedicated as a tree saver, the 2nd (blue) is my dedicated bridle. Both are static web straps (not dynamic). Both of these 8 foot straps can be used as extensions if necessary to supplement my 30 foot (orange) TOW strap if that became necessary.. So theoretically, 8+8+30+ 95 foot winch cable gives me a long reach if that were ever needed. All 3 straps are of the 30,000-36,000 lb. variety.

The winch is a 17,500 lb rated unit (big boy-Heavy full size)
I also have a (20 ft.)--20,000 lb. PRO-COMP dynamic snatch strap.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^EDIT. 10/10/20*******************************************************************

So looking at these Rough Country replacement TABS (post #18), in lieu of hooks, it seems my 2003 does not have support. Probably due to age of the vehicle. Ford has the best and strongest OEM design (closed loop), but you have to use a shackle with with it because it is a closed loop, recovery point design. I always found it strange that North America did not provide recovery products on par with the Australians. The Rough Country offering is a step in the right direction.

When I got my ARB winch bumper, my only concern was that by design and 'spec' clearances, The front left and right front tow/recovery hooks had to be reversed. The left hook was mounted on the right side, and the right on the left. As such, using a BRIDLE is now more problematic, The open ends of the hook are generally in the same 'plane' as the looped bridle, and as such much more likely to slip off when used. A hard mount like ARB offers for the Australian market would have been nice.

The GM 2500/3500 hook design is very robust. Whereas I have seen pictures where their 1500 design recovery hook (BROKE/ failed) in certain situations, Not the scenario you want in a recovery. Best case would be a ARB/Rough Country type design where you add a shackle to attach strap and vehicle when needed.

 

[Wildmanreed]

Excellent points by all. Rough country has out now a way of replacing the oem recovery points on the front of several different vehicles, so you will have shackle points that are rated