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Vehicle Recovery - Never Use a Tow Ball

ECHO

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Yeah.. never a good idea.. !
 

Rhinebeck01

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News articles like that, make me think of some posts you read on this JL forum and on the JK forums..

Guys saying they routinely pull people out of ditches and how fun..... well, it can be more then just fun and games so to speak. Recovery work can go sour really quickly...

Also ... You hear guys saying they installed a tow hitch on their Wrangler and say cheaped out on the install ... installed but only used 2 bolts versus three/four, didn't fit right, etc... BUT they spew, all they were going to do is have a bike rack hooked to the hitch so no big deal that the install was iffy..

Terrific .......... you use the piss ass, poor install for your bike and yes, it works for you..... THEN ...you sell that Wrangler in a couple of years or so, and the new owner is unaware that you did a piss ass install. He hooks up a trailer to the hitch and goes to tow, and has the hitch pull loose like in this case.... and he loses his trailer, does property damage or hurts/kills people.

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ECHO

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News articles like that, make me think of some posts you read on this JL forum and on the JK forums..

Guys saying they routinely pull people out of ditches and how fun..... well, it can be more then just fun and games so to speak. Recovery work can go sour really quickly...

Also ... You hear guys saying they installed a tow hitch on their Wrangler and say cheaped out on the install ... installed but only used 2 bolts versus three/four, didn't fit right, etc... BUT they spew, all they were going to do is have a bike rack hooked to the hitch so no big deal that the install was iffy..

Terrific .......... you use the piss ass, poor install for you bike and yes, it works for you..... THEN ...you sell that Wrangler in a couple of years or so, and the new owner is unaware that you did a piss ass install. He hooks up a trailer to the hitch and goes to tow, and has the hitch pull loose like in this case.... and he loses his trailer, does property damage or hurts/kills people.

.
Very well said!!! :clap: Can't agree strongly enough
 

LeoTheDragon

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I get that using a tow ball is a bad idea, but I feel this was less of a tow ball issue than it was a janky hitch receiver that broke. I have a shackle hitch receiver for the sole purpose of recovery situations, but if the hitch itself is crap, it doesn't matter what you use..
 

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WranglerMan

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This is one of big things @TTEChris pointed out during discussing recoveries after putting on my winch and bumper, the big thing here is closed loop recovery which is what I will practice
 

wibornz

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I had one of my best employees killed by a tow ball. He was on a tractor that was stuck. His nephew using his truck hooked up to him to try and pull him out. The ball broke and the chain threw the ball into the back of my guy's head killing him instantly. He was survived by his wife and three younger kids. He was an awesome guy that did a lot of things for his family, his profession and his community. He is missed by many.

The thing is you can get away with doing stupid stuff a thousand times and then it is that one time........... If you have time to do it wrong, you have time to do it right.
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