RECOVERY POINTSTECH
078
THE
POINT OF
RECOVERY
To handle the enormous load
forces involved in a winch or
snatch-strap recovery, you’ll need
a rated recovery point.
N
O-ONE wants to
get stuck when
exploring a new
track or heading
to a remote
campsite, but
this is inevitable
for four-wheel
drivers. Your best
friends in such a situation –
additional recovery vehicle
aside – are going to be a winch,
the always-packed snatch strap
and shackles, plus your rated
recovery points on which you’ll
attach the strap or winch cable.
These, as Adam Craze from
Ironman 4x4 explained, are
a non-negotiable must-fit
accessory: “If a person is
planning on going off-road
and touring, we believe
rated recovery points play an
important part of a vehicle
build. They provide a safer
connection point for all
forms of winching or snatch
recoveries. If they (the owners)
are planning on using the
vehicle in four-wheel drive,
they should have recovery
points.”Simple, eh? Well, it should
be, but note the mention
of ‘rated recovery points’.
For most 4x4s – as in,
nearly all new models and a
surprising number of ‘older’
or ‘traditional’ vehicles – this
will mean you’ve actually had
an aftermarket rated recovery
point (or points; two is far
better than one) fitted, rather
than trying to use either the
tow/transport hooks or the
towball.LOOKS DECEIVING
SO, WHAT about those tie-
down/transport hooks? Well,
they’re attachment points used
to secure a static vehicle for
transport (to the dealership, for
example). These points aren’t
subject to the incredible forces
and load a recovery point has
to cope with in a recovery
situation, where a vehicle’s
weight is working against
both the snatch strap and the
vehicle attached to that strap.
In short, it is incredibly
unsafe – and stupid – to use
them in recovery situations.Tie-down hooks will bend
or break very quickly under
any heavy load, leading to a
catastrophic failure that could
see your shackle transform
from a vehicle saviour into
an airborne missile that’ll
effectively slingshot from its
attachment. The other corker
is the use of a towball to hitch
a recovery rope/strap to. As
you’d expect, this is also a
short road to disaster, withthe ball incapable of coping
with the force exerted by the
kinetic energy involved in a
recovery situation.
A rated recovery point,
designed specifically
to withstand the forces
generated during this
procedure, is the only way
to ensure optimum safety,
as ARB’s Steve Sampson
explained. “In terms of the
OE tie-down points, they’veWORDS JUSTIN WALKER1522 http://www.4X4australia.com.au