Two of us were wandering our trucks down the Ashley trying to find something to do (so dry - water level low and tracks dry). Had some good fun and got stuck a bit in the tracks and had to recover each vehicle in turn.
Later I dropped in a loose patch with sand/mud/water mix, much softer than expected and without trying the front wheel was buried (could just see the tread sticking out) We managed to snatch it out (took about 3-4 snatches with about a foot progress each time). On the last one I heard a sharp crack expected the the tow hook must have given out some how but he continued to pull me up the bank and the strap was still connected to both vehicles but was very damaged near my end. I figured that maybe the strap had broken some strands but some held on but it sounded more 'metalic' than that.
Stood there looking and said, "Hey, I used to have a tow bar on there." And sure enough it was gone. Obviously the person pulling the strap out of the road between snatches accidentally pulled it too close to my truck and it ended up hooked over the towball. So from tow hook to towbar to pulling truck. And when the towbar got the strain it snapped the two tongue mount bolts straight off and then the tow hook took the strain and pop, up came the truck.
Two interesting points here:
1. The obvious: be careful the snatch strap doesn't snag on anything!
2. Case proof that a tow bar (while it was being pulled on a different angle) is not up to the strains of snatching. While the tow hooks didn't suffer at all on any pulls.
Fortunately it was an uphill pull so the tow bar (which would have been as if in a shanghai) just hit the shingle bank and I drove over it. Its an easy repair too - two bolts... and a new snatch strap
(There ya are Jerry - another case to back you up and lengthen your lectures!
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