Soft shackles for towing

[nick_the_fish]

Quick question all,

I know soft shackles are the thing to use for recovery situations, but can they also be used for towing vehicles? Or should that be steel bow shackles? My thought is that when towing the lines aren’t taught the whole time, and I’m not sure if soft shackles will come undone when not under tension.

any thoughts/ experience on this?

thanks all.

 

[Shayne]

Not familiar with "soft shackles" but a braid splice can work itself free when theres no weight on it so i'd sooner trust a 3 strand splice because it can't .

 

[Jon_Tallis]

Soft shackles rely on load to keep themselves secured so whilst they're fine for constant load applications like winching, they're best avoided for towing. By "recovery" I assume you mean winching?

 

[Juddian]

Towing's a funny old game, used to do lots of it back in the day.
My mate Dougie was the best bloke i've ever towed, i'd give him the hand signals for rates of slowing and a go on signal when to release the brakes, if he was behind i'd almost never have to use my own brakes he would brake us both, never would you find that rope slack.
Unless you can 100% rely on the bod being towed then i would use something that can't unhook itself.

 

[Towpack]

For basic towing, not recovery, just use a tow pole. They're inexpensive and much less hassle.

 

[nick_the_fish]

Thanks for the reply’s chaps. Yep I meant winching.

I can’t take a tow bar as we will be travelling, so it’s all for emergency use, but I think I’ll take a few bow shackles for towing scenarios, and some soft shackles for winching.

thanks again all.

N