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

Truly a devastating accident. Never let frustration, impatience, or outside factors effect your common sense or foresight. I don't know the entirety of the situation, but I did read that a chain was snapped prior to the tow ball accident. It also seems to be very dark outside. Once again I don't know the whole story. But a great piece of advice I've gotten in the past that I've always remembered is that when it's dark outside, and you are doing a tough job / are in a stuck situation, it's sometimes better to leave, and come back with a clear head in the morning. Nobody wants to leave their truck in a mudhole overnight, but sometimes the alternative outcomes are severely worse, such as this situation. I give my deepest condolences to the family. Hopefully their selfless act of allowing the details and images of this incident to be shared will prevent others from putting themselves in such a recovery situation in the future.
 
I just saw this thread.

With over fifty years of off-roading starting way back in 1967 with my dads Landcruiser I learned from him and have always done it the same way.

My Dad was a mining engineer / prospector who traveled all over Arizona, Nevada and California desert back in the early fifties in a two wheel drive Ford pickup. The only thing he did was weld up the spool.

Before Flat Nylon straps we used ropes and wrapped them around the frame on both vehicles at least two loops and a bowline knot.

Never use chain.

Ropes have given way to braided line but still looping around the frame is still the best way to go.

I would never use a kinetic recovery line it is just way to dangerous.

A shovel, farm jack , some length of plywood and ropes are all you need.

Yes it not a fancy as all the new recovery doodads but it works.
 
  • Like
Reactions: SailorEd
The ATV, VR Evo and Zeon use metric. Surprised it took this long for Warn to start.

The first time I lost some of the square nuts Warn slid into the nut pockets, I spent way too long trying to find some that were graded. That's when it dawned on me what was going on and why Grade 5 was more than plenty.

I do like the Metric flange versions though. Nice hardware.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Blackjack
No, 8.8 is the metric equivalent of grade 5

10.8 is the equivalent of grade 8.

I’ve also seen metric 12.9 fasteners.
Don’t know anything about those.

12.9 is stronger than Grade 8 but it is rated as the equivalent to socket head cap screws which are also stronger than Grade 8 when manufactured and graded correctly.
 
  • Like
Reactions: R49
I can't be the only one thinking that barge needed dug out or pulled backwards right?

We can armchair this all day as there was plenty of things that would have been helpful. Even a (gasp) Hilift jack would have made things better in this particular situation.

The biggest thing that needs to be taken away from this is that any recovery is dangerous and you have to keep a cool head. In search and rescue and wilderness survival training they use the acronym STOP:

Stop
Think/take a moment
Observe
Plan

That works for vehicle recovery as well.
 
We can armchair this all day as there was plenty of things that would have been helpful. Even a (gasp) Hilift jack would have made things better in this particular situation.

The biggest thing that needs to be taken away from this is that any recovery is dangerous and you have to keep a cool head. In search and rescue and wilderness survival training they use the acronym STOP:

Stop
Think/take a moment
Observe
Plan

That works for vehicle recovery as well.

This thread IS about armchair quarterbacking the situation. First thing through my mind seeing a fullsize sunk to the frame wouldn't be lets yard on it a bunch of times snapping chains and eventually the hitch. Guaranteed the tow truck had to make some pretty hard pulls to get it out

As you said. Stop and think.people get caught up in the moment and do some really stupid shit during recoveries. There have been times I've told idiots i didn't need help as it was obvious they were just going to fuck up my vehicle or worse if they "helped" any more.

If as i said, they'd looked at the truck and realized they needed to try something different he'd be alive. As it is he's dead and he tried to kill his kid in a carseat too. I'm a first responder,i don't have any sympathy when stupid risks lives.especially children. I see it way too much.
 
  • Like
Reactions: srimes
i saw a brand new not truly needed product that just connects more extra junk to the hitch.

this is a ball on a plate, you lock it up into the trailer receiver and there is another piece that mounts in the trucks receiver that has a mini 5th wheel plate that leans back. you drive it up under the trailer plate, it tilts back up when pushed fully back and you then have to slide 3 locking pins and safety catches into place. why? what is it saving? what is it eliminating?

sorry no link, it was on FB.
 
My son sent me the first picture below at 11 pm in April 2020. He was a 1 1/2 hrs from our shop going to move some of our bee hives to a new location and dropped the left side into a sink hole. I told him to leave it and it’s trailer there and we would get it out in daylight. This is a 5k plus lb 4x4 forklift. I came back the next afternoon by myself with 80’ of 3” strap, 40’ of 1/2” grade 80 chain, shovels, bottle jacks, a shit ton of wood and a lot of patience. After assessing the situation and the fact that the forklift is hydrostatic drive pulling it out was not going to work. I had to lift it fill the hole with locally sourced rocks and wood then drive it out. I wrapped the chain around the ROP and then 80’ of strap to the pintle hitch on my F250 and applied enough side pull to raise the left side out of the mud hole. This is where strap is better than kinetic rope because I had better control of the force due to the risk of going too far the other direction and laying it on it’s side I placed rocks in the water filled hole along with wood to level it out. I then had to used the bottle jacks to lift it more so the counter weight cleared and place more wood under the rear tires. I released the strap and was able to drive it out onto solid ground. It took me approx 3 hours doing it by myself. The key point I want to make is it took Patience, a sound plan, the right equipment and simple physics.
I my opinion his buddy should have taken them all home for the night and come back with clear minds, a proper plan and the correct equipment.

E4AE8097-0323-440F-8D88-755C8B4E70D4.jpeg


2A82E4C2-33B5-4DEA-9500-28403CAD79B2.jpeg


65848F87-E496-40F1-83A6-D1D12F0426B1.jpeg


DC5EA6FC-6B12-4C14-8D06-F6E7E5E50C52.jpeg


C5DE75B0-69B6-4D91-950F-CD548451BC86.jpeg
 
Well done.
Having daylight and better tools make a huge difference, hence I have an over abundance of tools aboard my Jeep.
 
Better to have too many than not enough.
That is at best terrible, at worst, almost criminal. I once had to remove a Pack Rat box from the back of a TJ Unlimited to do some close-outs for the frame reinforcements. The contents filled up the drawers enough that there was no chance of violating the Rule of Boxes. We unbolted it and tried to get it out. Not moving. So, we emptied and then removed the drawers and got it out that way. I looked it up to figure out what the hell was going on. The Pack Rat weighed 300 lbs. by itself. On top of that was the biggest Pelican case I'd ever seen and it was full. There was another smaller case also full, beside those on top of the drawers was a shovel, axe, snuggled up next to a Hi-lift Jack and bolted to the rear roll bar was a 20 lb. Co2 set up. After we got the drawers out, we leaned the passenger seat forward and stored in that footwell was the spare 10 lb. Co2 tank. The reason we didn't see it at first is they had those seat covers with lots of little pockets on the back. They were stuffed so full you couldn't see down past them to the footwell. The cab looked like the inside of an airplane cockpit with all the radios, GPS, and gadgets in holders bolted, stuffed, and velcro'd everywhere. You didn't really sit in it, you sorta snuck in and wore it.

I explained that to take full advantage of his very nice build he really should put it on a diet. Okay great, install this for me please. He went over to the back of his truck and fetched up a 30 gallon safari gas tank complete with steel skid. Empty it was over 100 lbs. I pointed out that was kinda going the wrong direction since the diet I had in mind was less weight, not more. Well, I gotta do something, it only gets 9 miles to the gallon. Yes, I can see why, it weighs over 6500 lbs by my math and you just added another 350 less whatever the stock tank weighs full.

Sadly, he is not the only one I have dealt with like that. I once lifted the hood on a TJ and there was a row of Bosch style relays that went solid in a row stacked side by side touching from strut rod to strut rod at the back of the hood on the firewall pinch weld. They were used to run all his lights. He actually weighed that one and it came in at 5800 lbs.

So yes, you can have too much crap.
 
  • Like
  • Wow
Reactions: jjvw, bucky and JMT
I have always used the pin in the receiver method. The only thing bad I've ever seen is the strap loop getting wearing through the wear material, but was always concerned with the sharp edges of the receiver.

I came across this, and will be trying one out... it is basically a sleeve that extends out of the receiver just enough to keep line from getting near the sharp edges, it also increases the diameter of the pin to eliminate some stresses there... as well as changes the load from the center of the pin, to the edges where it is stronger.

https://brennans-garage.com/products/soft-shackle-receiver-adapter

1663252743001.png
 
I have always used the pin in the receiver method. The only thing bad I've ever seen is the strap loop getting wearing through the wear material, but was always concerned with the sharp edges of the receiver.

I came across this, and will be trying one out... it is basically a sleeve that extends out of the receiver just enough to keep line from getting near the sharp edges, it also increases the diameter of the pin to eliminate some stresses there... as well as changes the load from the center of the pin, to the edges where it is stronger.

https://brennans-garage.com/products/soft-shackle-receiver-adapter

View attachment 359593

Great idea, unfortunately they don't quite understand how the forces work.
 
Got this from the Montana 4x4 page on FB.

FB_IMG_1665503401634.jpg


Yes, we repost this often...but there are still so many people who need to hear it.

Off-Roading 101

That piece of flying metal has the potential to kill and has done so many in the past. Some, quite recently. In just one example, a lady was killed while recovering a stuck 4WD in deep sand. The tow ball broke off the stuck vehicle and flew through the front window, of the recovery rig, and killed the driver. Such a tragedy and she was just trying to help out.for snatching a bogged rig safely. If you snatch (rolling recovery) off a tow ball, it can shear off and go flying through the air like a cannonball.

That piece of flying metal has the potential to kill and has done so many in the past. Some, quite recently. In just one example, a lady was killed while recovering a stuck 4WD in deep sand. The tow-ball broke off the stuck vehicle and flew through the front window, of the recovery rig, and killed the driver. Such a tragedy and she was just trying to help out.

Please don't use tow balls for recoveries. It is NEVER OK.
 
  • Wow
Reactions: Apparition