My soft shackle failure experience 🤕 -- The Off-Road Recovery That Almost Killed Me

[Sunday Money]

What damper would you recommend? Recently got a Rhino strap kit that also had soft shackles. Realizing after swapping to the modular bumper I’ll probably need proper metal shackles for the front now.

I'm guilty of not always using a damper, but when I do its usually adhoc like floormats (although I doubt it would have helped too much from what we saw in that particular video).

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[Bmadda]

What damper would you recommend? Recently got a Rhino strap kit that also had soft shackles. Realizing after swapping to the modular bumper I’ll probably need proper metal shackles for the front now.

A mud soaked hoodie works well we found! Tie the arms around the strap/rope etc. the wetter it is the better!

 

[JTBros]

A mud soaked hoodie works well we found! Tie the arms around the strap/rope etc. the wetter it is the better!

My primary use would be the beach so maybe ocean / sand soaked

 

[RobWTX]

My primary use would be the beach so maybe ocean / sand soaked

It only will work if you fill the pockets with sand, need that extra weight.

 

[FordFamily4Fun]

Thankfully everything turned out OK for OP - all things considered. Made me re-evaluate things, which can be valuable learning for all. I've recovered a lot of people from beach sand over the decades (and got recovered twice myself - and managed to get myself out of hairy situations on my own many times). I knew the straps I used were not the highest rated and should have been replaced more often even if they looked fine. I was well trained otherwise. Make sure the vehicle being recovered is aired down to 10 psi. Shovel out as much sand as possible on long ascending tracks for each dug in tire and use recovery boards if available (I started carrying them a ways back). Have the stuck driver slowly hit the gas in 4L first while you then go taught slowly and once taught try and recover with as little gas as possible slowly building up while a spotter/driver tells you if the vehicle being recovered is at all budging/starting to pull out. If not, stop recovery and more shoveling and better board placement. I have seen my share of straps snap by others, but thankfully nothing catastrophic. Summer beach crowds with the family 4x4 often don't know what they are doing - which is why they not only get stuck but bottom out hitting the gas when they need to stop - but even more so they don't know how to safely/properly recover. And, I could probably use better technique. Trained by old-timers and so far good enough. Some brand new gear on order.

 

[TRACKTOY]

You were really lucky in your misfortune. A friend of mine died using a kinetic rope. don't blame the soft chackel THIS WAS YOUR CHANCE TO STAY ALIVE. My friend it was the hook on the truck that tore off and smashed his skull. You noticed the damage on your BRONCO BUMPER FRAME ETC... And a STRANGER'S JEEP! The kinetic rope was rated at 33,000 lbs. The guy who towed it drove it crazy too fast, in too much of a hurry, with no experience, not your best friend with experience in these situations. YEAH IT'S TERRIFYING TO SEE YOUR BOYFRIEND DIE.
YEAH I HAVE A LITTLE EXPERIENCE.
TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF, YOU SEEM TO BE A GOOD GUY.
I have watched your video several times.
Tracktoy

 

[Felix808]

@popo_patty,
Well I'm late to this one but reached out on your channel & PM'd thinking the whole time, Great, guy gets himself killed now I'm never getting my parts

Figured it was your story to tell so didn't pass it along. Glad it's getting out there. If there is one thing I've learned over the years is that being in a hurry usually gets me in trouble in a hurry .

Thankful you are safe and hope you have a quick recovery.
Take care my friend

 

[PrepVet]

I saw this vid yesterday. I am going to go through my entire recovery kit box in the PW before I go out again. I am sure I will need to replace/upgrade some things.

Very freaky stuff.

 

[popo_patty]

Don't beat me up but just curious. Random slide off the road, crew is gone and random passerby helps. Why was there a drone being operated over the recovery and who did that? Seems like there's more to this story than said so far.

It was all faked for views and clout!
Looool. No, I asked to have the group go ahead and asked my buddy to throw up the drone and film the group. I was making a video (currently on my channel) of our trip for the group to enjoy as I typically do. I film a lot for my channel and IG so it’s normal for me to have cameras rolling. No tricks, no fakes, no crazy rumors or intentions.

also, crew isn’t gone, they are up the road and in sight when I got stuck.The drone footage was facing me though and not toward them so they wernt captured.They were turning around and I radioed that a Jeep group that had been following us were passing me and could help instead. I know, not very much drama there but it’s what happened.

 

[popo_patty]

@popo_patty,
Well I'm late to this one but reached out on your channel & PM'd thinking the whole time, Great, guy gets himself killed now I'm never getting my parts

Figured it was your story to tell so didn't pass it along. Glad it's getting out there. If there is one thing I've learned over the years is that being in a hurry usually gets me in trouble in a hurry .

Thankful you are safe and hope you have a quick recovery.
Take care my friend

I got your parts still! Don’t worry @Snacktime hasnt taken them yet. I stayed alive just for you.

 

[swooshdave]

1. Glad you are okay. As a combat veteran with 84 months deployed to active combat, I can attest to how hard it is to find the source of "the leak" sometimes. You pay attention to the wrong hole and the one you don't find is what is doing the most damage.

I am shocked that a broken soft shackle caused all that damage. Not saying you said anything wrong, just blown away that there was that kind of weight and velocity to go through your windshield like that. Again, thanks for the good AAR and hope your rig gets back up soon.

The soft shackle isn't what caused the damage to the windshield, it was the kinetic rope. The rope has a lot of energy and weight, the shackle was just along for the ride.

 

[swooshdave]

What damper would you recommend? Recently got a Rhino strap kit that also had soft shackles. Realizing after swapping to the modular bumper I’ll probably need proper metal shackles for the front now.

No damper on a kinetic rope. Too much energy involved. The damper just becomes another projectile.

Metal shackles on the module bumper is the correct answer.

 

[swooshdave]

A mud soaked hoodie works well we found! Tie the arms around the strap/rope etc. the wetter it is the better!

For a winch line, yes. For a kinetic rope, no.

 

[popo_patty]

No damper on a kinetic rope. Too much energy involved. The damper just becomes another projectile.

Metal shackles on the module bumper is the correct answer.

Yup, lot of learning points. A lot of people are talking about a dampner on the rope. I talked to Factor 55, Madmatt4WD and several other sources, they all agree a blanket on the rope would not have helped at all in this particular scenario. Doesn't mean its not a bad option though as it can help.

 

[Ducati1098]

Finally had time to watch the video. Scary situation for sure, glad you’re alright!

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