Have you ever had to pull a buddy out of a sticky spot?

Written By Uncle Jon

If you are lucky, It will be a straight pull. Hook up the recovery strap/rope and pull your buddy straight forward. But in real life, that is not what we usually find our selves doing. Your buddy’s truck is stuck and you can’t get in front of it because of boulders, trees, or other natural obstacles. If you hook up from the available position, you may be pulling the other rig or both rigs sideways. Pulling at an angle is never the preferred way to recover a stuck vehicle. It’s hard on the winch, hard on the tow hooks or bumper of the vehicle being recovered. Straight Vectors are the preferred way to pull. So look for options to get a straight pull. You may have to mount a snatch block to a tree, boulder or deadman anchor.

Run your recovery line from your vehicle, through the snatch block, and connect it to the vehicle being recovered. Straight vectors mean the line enters and exits the pull cleanly rather than forcing your fairlead, winch drum or bumper tabs sideways. Make sure the anchor can support the loads you are hooking up. An angle close to 180° multiplies the force exerted on the anchor point. The anchor must hold up to twice the total pulling force.

If using a tree, wrap the tree saver strap low around the trunk to protect the bark and minimize leverage that might tip the tree over. If using a second vehicle, make sure it’s on firm ground, wheels blocked and brakes set. When using large boulders, choose large, deeply embedded rocks and make sure your rigging will not slip off the odd shape of the rock. Make sure the Shackle pin and pulley align naturally with the pull vector. You want to avoid any twisting of the hardware.

Avoid attaching the line to weak parts. Bumpers, steering linkage or suspension parts that can break, tear off or bend. To broaden the subject. Let's assume you're not stuck, but a major storm has toppled a large tree across the road. You can apply the same rules to moving a downed tree as to recovering your buddy. Put the recovery line around the tree and route the line in the direction you want to move the tree. Attach a snatch block and change the direction to where your rig is positioned. By using a winch or backing your truck up, you can pull a tree off the road.

You spend the money to add a winch to your rig, or to buy a recovery rope. But have you also bought a snatch block, or soft shackels?

Your winch could be of no use, if you don’t have the rest of the equipment you need.

- Uncle Jon

Disclaimer: Uncle Jon is a seasoned trail hound and grease-monkey, not a doctor, certified paramedic, or licensed engineer. The advice shared here comes from decades of getting stuck, breaking stuff, and making mistakes so you don't have to. Take everything you read with a grain of salt, a heavy dose of common sense, and a solid backup plan—because if you take medical or rigging advice strictly from an internet blog without doing your own homework, that’s on you!