Ball mount snapped and killed driver (Warning: images - no gore or blood)

If you don't understand what it going on with hitch pins, that can be fairly misleading. It is very similar to the bent pin at the 10" span above. In normal use, a hitch pin is fully supported close to the inside walls of the hitch receiver tube so the bending forces are concentrated at the small gaps to either side of whatever hitch draw bar or tube is being used. The pin is essentially operating in shear. When you stick that through the eye of a strap, that moves it into bending and out of shear due to width of the strap eye.

I've still never seen a bent pin but I don't discount the possibility in a receiver when used with a strap.

I thought it was odd that Apparition had one that said 9 metric tons but then realized the same thing. It would take a lot more when the forces are concentrated to the outside versus the middle of the pin. Of course you worded it better but the same idea.
 
I thought it was odd that Apparition had one that said 9 metric tons but then realized the same thing. It would take a lot more when the forces are concentrated to the outside versus the middle of the pin. Of course you worded it better but the same idea.

In all of this, I have not seen mention of how all of the receiver hitches are attached to the vehicles. Having seen and installed many, that is more of a concern to me than whether or not we can yank on a hitch pin.
 
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I hate it when they start out so good, take a break in the middle to point out that the pin bends at the lowish point of 9 metric tons so you should not use it. Then they point to something with a 4 3/4 ton load limit as being better. Fucking shill.

Factor 55 was prominently displayed the entire time, for a reason.
 
Factor 55 was prominently displayed the entire time, for a reason.

I saw, I just didn't think he would go there that fast. There is a giant glaring problem with all of this recovery stuff and it is that the vast majority of folks just don't use it hard enough to stress it to failure. If they did, that aluminum piece of shit that F55 sells would be the end of the company. There is a reason you don't side load it and that is because it will fail quickly. That is not a product you put out there in good conscience even with a warning to not side load or pull on it in other than a straight line. Fuckwit shill knows that it is safer to use the hitch pin and persists.

9 metric tonnes is 19,800 lbs. to bend the pin. You can't load that much on that aluminum off to one side with any degree of assurance it won't fail.

Look at how many discussions we have where folks simply do not understand that the top layer of line on their 9500 lb rated winch is only capable of delivering about 2000 lbs of pulling force and they will practically never be able to use it at the full rated capacity. How this stuff works just escapes most folks and it really confuses things trying to get solid info out there.
 
I saw, I just didn't think he would go there that fast. There is a giant glaring problem with all of this recovery stuff and it is that the vast majority of folks just don't use it hard enough to stress it to failure. If they did, that aluminum piece of shit that F55 sells would be the end of the company. There is a reason you don't side load it and that is because it will fail quickly. That is not a product you put out there in good conscience even with a warning to not side load or pull on it in other than a straight line. Fuckwit shill knows that it is safer to use the hitch pin and persists.

9 metric tonnes is 19,800 lbs. to bend the pin. You can't load that much on that aluminum off to one side with any degree of assurance it won't fail.

Look at how many discussions we have where folks simply do not understand that the top layer of line on their 9500 lb rated winch is only capable of delivering about 2000 lbs of pulling force and they will practically never be able to use it at the full rated capacity. How this stuff works just escapes most folks and it really confuses things trying to get solid info out there.

What is proper and safe way to side load when you only have a receiver hitch ?
 
What is proper and safe way to side load when you only have a receiver hitch ?

Side loading is always bad. If you are yanking someone out, it's going to pull it straight anyway so line up as best you can. Personally, I'd rather side load a hitch pin and risk cutting the strap on the sides of the receiver opening than break something that can turn into a projectile.
 
Side loading is always bad. If you are yanking someone out, it's going to pull it straight anyway so line up as best you can. Personally, I'd rather side load a hitch pin and risk cutting the strap on the sides of the receiver opening than break something that can turn into a projectile.

Good to know your thoughts. I agree I always try to pull or be pulled straight, but as you know you never know when you or your buddy will slip off a boulder, or the trail. Sometimes you don't have a choice and you have to work with what are presented with so a hitch pin when pulling sideways
 
Side loading is always bad. If you are yanking someone out, it's going to pull it straight anyway so line up as best you can. Personally, I'd rather side load a hitch pin and risk cutting the strap on the sides of the receiver opening than break something that can turn into a projectile.

Seems like ten minutes spent with a die grinder and a burr to round over that inside edge of the receiver would be time well spent. Would that solve the problem?
 
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Seems like ten minutes spent with a die grinder and a burr to round over that inside edge of the receiver would be time well spent. Would that solve the problem?

a die grinder might be the bull in the china shop. some gentle file work would be enough, no?
 
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A group that rolled up behind us yesterday, cutting off one from our group 🙄, ran all the F55 jewelry. Here's their premium rigging, don't do this.

PXL_20220820_175037104.jpg
 
Terrible accident.
Too much stupidity and stubbornness.
Should've taken the hint and quite when they broke the chain.
Never should have pulled on the drop hitch, but you can't blame it for failing under that much abuse. Dynamic jerking causes WAY more stress than a gentle pull. If they had the right dynamic rope the hitch probably would have survived (not that they ever should have used that hitch in the first place).
 
If they had the right dynamic rope the hitch probably would have survived (not that they ever should have used that hitch in the first place).
Maybe not. The effective load imposed by the mired truck would probably be over 12,000 lbs and the recovery vehicle was probably 7,000 lbs. Once the rope was tight that is still over 19,000 lbs of force applied to a lever made of mild tube steel and haphazard welds.