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Ropes for Towing
In this chapter David Bowyer explains what ropes are available and how to use them.
Every Land Rover, Discovery or Range Rover owner will at some time or other need to either recover someone else, or be recovered themselves. For some it's a necessity to haul and recover stuck loads and vehicles as part of their profession. Then there are some of us who simply enjoy the opportunity of getting one or other stuck firmly in the mire creating recovery situations. Great fun.
All recoveries by rope in any situation could be potentially dangerous, especially if the stuck vehicle is bogged well down. Not only is it essential to use the correct type of rope for the job in hand, but also it is extremely important to attach the said rope to proper strong towing points that should always be fitted to both the front and rear of the vehicles.
Before getting tied up with knotty explanations of what type of rope to hang around with, let's consider where and what we intend to hook onto. This is a serious subject, so don't read between the lines if I spin a yarn or two! I'm sure I can think of several puns.
Every 4 x 4 should have a proper rear towing point. All Land Rover products are very capable towing machines, probably more so than what some of you may think. Before now, I've towed a fully laden 38 tonner off a bend on the A30 where the broken down lorry was a danger to other road users. I'll come back to emergency heavy towing techniques later.
Without doubt the standard Land Rover supplied fixed height rear towing unit with either a towing ball or universal jaw and ball is the best for the majority of on and off road recoveries.
If you have an adjustable towing unit made by either Dixon Bate or Witter, be sure to only recover heavy loads with the adjustable slider unit raised to it's highest point. This is to ensure you pull in line with the chassis and not at some point way below. Never contemplate carrying out a heavy recovery with a tow ball mounted at the bottom of an 'extended' drop plate. Doing so could cause serious damage to the rear cross member.
Whilst on the subject of rear cross members, make sure you know how good yours is, or that of your mate's Land Rover if he's about to zap you out of a mud hole. Rust is the biggest killer of strength in the rear end of a chassis. And the front end come to that!
It is also vitally important that any towing unit and it's tow ball or jaw is installed correctly to the vehicle in accordance with both the vehicle's and the towing unit manufacturer's instructions using only the correct grade of high tensile bolts.
Index
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(c)Goodwinch Limited 2006