I think I bought the wrong size winch rope.

[Fuel Fire Desire]

Guys....I think I screwed up.....

Lol.


I have been running the same 30,000 lb snatch strap since I first got my JK, 13 years ago. I’m honestly surprised it is still in one piece. Though, it is looking pretty rough. Time for a new recovery strap. I had a hard time wading through the multitude of Chinese junk online that claims 30,000 lbs, but obviously won’t last. I decided to spend decent money and get something that isn’t a craps shoot if it’s going to work or not on the trail. Was looking at Bubba Rope, and found that Smittybilt has their own line too. The 30,000 lb rope was about $135.....but for $50 more they had a 60,000 lb kinetic rope. Why not.......

This guy is THICC. It’s advertised at 1.75”, but with the bury on both ends it’s much larger. I’m curious what kind of stretch it will give. The braids are already blossomed out quite a bit from manufacturing. I’m sure the first stretch will be a good one. It is big enough to where it’s awkward to move around, at least for someone who is not in the marine or rigging industry and is not used to line this size. They did include a duffel bag to move the thing around in to make it easier though. First impressions without putting any load on it, I’m happy with it. $185 on Amazon.

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[Compression-Ignition]

The why not is that, depending on what you are pulling or what is pulling you, a rope that is too heavy will not stretch as much. And the whole point of kinetic ropes is that you don't want to feel the hit, nor over stress any recovery points.

What size rope do I need?

First off, every situation is different, and keep in mind every recovery is unique and it is up to you to evaluate the safety of the situation. This is going to get in-depth and lengthy so if you are looking for a quick answer, scroll down the “recommendation table” portion below.



Typically, when we are trying to size the right rope for our customers, we tell them to determine the weight of the vehicle stuck and then we suggest a safety rating anywhere from 1.5 to 4 times that weight for a starting point. For lighter vehicles we suggest a bit higher on that spectrum and for heavy equipment on the lower end. This may seem backwards to most people and they ask “on heavier equipment wouldn’t you want a higher breaking strength?” Yes, extra safety is always welcome but we also need to consider the amount of nylon between the disabled vehicle and recovery vehicle and not just the breaking strength. The more nylon between the two vehicles will help transfer the energy more effectively and require less effort to extract.



Other factors that we look for when suggesting sizes are soil type, intended use such as recreation, agriculture or commercial, and type of extraction vehicle. Soil types can play a big factor since the friction coefficient of beach sand, snow, or watery mud can vary greatly when you start figuring friction and suction.



Couple quick examples for the safety ratings on size of vehicles and pounds of nylon:



Example 1: Jeep intended for recreational use with a GVW of 5,000 lbs x 4 = 20,000 lb rope but we suggest the 7/8 diameter rope that comes in a 20’ length and a Minimum Breaking Strength of 28,600 lbs. Looking further into the situation, you might ask why we suggested a safety rating of 5.72 (28,600lb rope / 5,000 lb gvw = 5.72) for this customer. If we put aside that’s it is for recreational use (typically these users are hardest on recovery gear) and look into the amount of nylon between the vehicles we will realize that a Jeep at 5,000 lb and a rope at 20’ weighing around 5.2 lbs gives us a ratio of 961:1.



Recommendation for Example 1: 7/8”x20’ rope or 1”x30’ is the best fit. If you will only be pulling in that range and 20’ is long enough the 7/8” rope is a great fit. Personally, I would to step up into a 1 rope for the added length to 30’. This will also allow me to help a buddy who has 1-ton pickup and ease my mind knowing the rope will hold up.



Example 2: Agricultural equipment such as a semi-truck and trailer weighing in at 80,000 lbs x 4 would put you at 320,000 lb rope but that is extreme over kill and we suggest our 2-1/4” diameter rope for this situation with a rating of 160,000 lb breaking strength. It is on the low end of our “2-4 times the GVW” scale but here is our logic when you start talking weight of nylon. The 2-1/4” rope is offered in 30’ length (custom lengths upon request) which weighs in right around 82 lbs. The semi-truck at 80,000 lbs and the rope at 82 lbs gives us a ratio of 975:1 as you can see is similar to the Jeep scenario in example 1.



Recommendation for Example 2: 2-1/4” rope is a goof fit if you are going to be in this range all the time. I almost always suggest the 2-1/2”x30’ for all our agricultural customers because it should be able to handle any piece of equipment you have on the farm at 201,000lb breaking strength.







Diameter” x Length’ (MTS) Typical customers requested vehicles and our suggestion on rope size
3/4” x 20’ (19,000 lbs) Smaller ATVs, UTVs, lawn lowers, small garden tractors
7/8’ x 20’ (28,600 lbs) UTVs, side by sides, yard tractors, sand rails, 2 door Jeeps
1” x 30’ (35,000 lbs) Rock crawlers, 4 door Jeeps, SUVs, 1-ton pickup trucks and smaller
1-1/4” x 30’ (52,000 lbs) Service trucks, utility line pickups 1 ton and 2 ton chassis, skidsteers
1-1/2” x 30’ (74,000 lbs) Utility service trucks, bucket trucks, OTR semis (typically don’t get stuck just slip)
2” x 30’ (131,000 lbs) Straight trucks up to 24’ beds, farm trucks, smaller tractors
2-1/4” x 30’ (160,000lbs) Mid-sized farm machinery, tractors, semis, harvesters
2-1/2” x 30’ (201,000 lbs) Combines, tracked tractors, bulldozers, excavators, mining, landfills

 

[Fuel Fire Desire]

The why not is that, depending on what you are pulling or what is pulling you, a rope that is too heavy will not stretch as much. And the whole point of kinetic ropes is that you don't want to feel the hit, nor over stress any recovery points.

What size rope do I need?

Full size diesels. I’m the lightest vehicle in my group of friends. According to that article, I probably could have got away with the 30,000 lb for myself, but if I lend the strap to others in my group and they start going to town in their bro trucks it might be a bit light. 60,000 lbs is overkill though, you’re right, especially if it were just me and other Wranglers. There is also a 4wd Deere tractor on the property, though if we get that thing buried I probably wouldn’t be the one yanking on it.

Now you have me wondering how much stretch it will have. If all else fails and it feels more like a static line, I’m sure one of the other guys will take it off my hands. Good info though. I was honestly thinking more about bumping up my safety factor, and didn’t even think about not being able to put in enough force for it to recoil properly.

 

[Compression-Ignition]

It'll still work I think. I have an 1-1/4" rope from that same company Slingshot Kinetic Energy Ropes. I should probably have a 7/8" and a 1" in my bag of tricks, but like you, if I ever need to tug on a big heavy pickup, I got the right one. Actually I only used it once so far and it worked perfectly for what we needed. I used my 30' x 1-1/4" to daisy chain tug a TJ Wrangler with a completely broken off rear axle. The TJ was plowing the snow and dirt and there was no way the Cummins powered OBS F350 was going to get him out of the local offroad park by himself. So I offered to help them with the kinetic rope. Could not have gone better.

But those damn ropes are expensive and I just haven't gotten around to buying a smaller one. If that's all you have I would not be afraid to use it. I've been yanked out by big ass chains back in the day. If they are strong enough, and you 'do it right', they won't....kill you. I mean they could right?

So, thinking about it from the perspective of I've used way worse many many moons ago, you'll be fine. Just add another one if/when funds allow. Or use it on somebody who is young and strong and invincible

 

[Fuel Fire Desire]

The last big tug I did was on a friends Chevy 3500 diesel with a 5th wheel camper he buried in mud to the axles. I was the lead in a daisy chain. I’m pretty sure I would have failed that old 30,000 lb strap if I were trying it solo. It was bad enough to where I didn’t even try to tie myself off to a tree and winch him. Figured I would have just stalled the 10k winch. Might have been ok with a snatch block.....but we had other trucks there to help.

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