Kinetic recovery rope

There are several factors the will determine this like what are you recovering and the brand of rope, but as a good rule of thumb you should have at least a 7/8" rope for a Bronco.
But before you go yanking on folks please watch some how to videos or take a class on recovering a vehicle. it is life and death stuff.

7/8" specs out to anywhere from 20,000 to 30,000 lbs. Narrow that down?
I've been pulled out with a strap and thought my fillings would pop out. Not doing that again.

LOL, yeah, 7/8s here too - There's an app for that.

https://www.safe-xtract.com/

Here's our K-rope
https://www.bubbarope.com/jeeps-and-trucks/bubba-rope-30-foot#145=

Cheers

Match the rope weight to the vehicle being extracted, not the rescue vehicle.
More is not better it's worse.

Right. So I think my tag says 6200 lbs.
Is it x3 for a kinetic rope?

Knowing vehicle weights only the first consideration in a recovery. Actually, there's some very complex math to quantify the forces involved. That's part of the above app's functionality.

Here are a few very simple guidelines to get ya started on a recovery vehicle that's stuck on flat ground. Say this loaded vehicle weighs your 6,000lbs. Also, this vehicle has 4 fully inflated tires and is on a flat, solid, smooth surface. The force necessary to pull is 6,000 x 0.10 = 600lbs.

Now, assume this same vehicle is stuck in a typical mud up to it's axle. The recovery force is then 6,000 x 1 = 6,000lbs.

Same vehicle is now stuck in the same mud up to the top of it's tires. The recovery resistance is now: 6,000 x 2 = 12,000.

These are very simple cases and yet the necessary recovery forces rapidally increase. Obviously, not every recovery is a simple straight single line pull. Real world cases on significant slopes with horizontal angle considerations create MUCH larger force adjustments that can easily result in 20,000lbs, 30,000lbs, 40,000lbs & more force requirements.

Those recoveries require tons of skill to carefully understand the necessary forces and design a rigging plan to handle the loads - 'cause failure could be a very bad thing!!

Cheers

Look up the post on here, Trail recovery 101. Lots of information and a book with details.

thanks for the info, everybody. Winter is coming and around here it can be easy to slide into soft snow at the side of the road or underestimate the depth off road.

Just remember take it slow take your time if it looks like a bad idea it probably is. A good rule is you should not get over 5mph when you are doing a Kinetic pull. If you have to go more than that it is time to re-asses the situation. You can make several attempts at lower speeds each time getting a little faster. Remember it may seem easer just to yank the snot out of it first try, so you only have to do it once but that is where things can go very wrong. And NEVER use a tow ball as a recovery point, use a receiver hitch shackle mount instead.

Yes. Thanks! Good advice

Jakob1972

Just remember take it slow take your time if it looks like a bad idea it probably is. A good rule is you should not get over 5mph when you are doing a Kinetic pull. If you have to go more than that it is time to re-asses the situation. You can make several attempts at lower speeds each time getting a little faster. Remember it may seem easer just to yank the snot out of it first try, so you only have to do it once but that is where things can go very wrong. And NEVER use a tow ball as a recovery point, use a receiver hitch shackle mount instead.

If you want to see what can go wrong if you don't follow @Jakob1972's advice, check out this video:

Excellent video. What an extraordinary fellow. Thank you for sharing it.
Here in alaska, no one yanks like that with kinetic rope but all the failures are fascinating.

weej

Excellent video. What an extraordinary fellow. Thank you for sharing it.
Here in alaska, no one yanks like that with kinetic rope but all the failures are fascinating.

Yeah, well, as was clear from the video, no one should anywhere. To answer your question, however, I use a 7/8" rope for my Bronco. However, I also keep in mind that that rope is good for recovering a vehicle the weight of my Bronco (between 5,000 and 8,000 lbs). If the vehicle I'm trying to recover is heavier than that, or, if it's buried too deep in mud, I would consider using a different recovery technique. You also want to be sure that you get a high quality rope with a breaking strength of 20,000 to 30,000 lbs and is 20 to 30 feet long. I wouldn't skimp on price for this item. Finally, I also invested in some quality soft shackles as well. Again, good quality ones aren't cheap, but they are worth the money.

Lots of good advice here. I will underscore that the specs on all of the 7/8" kinetic ropes I've seen are sufficient to pull a Bronco. What no one mentioned is that more is not better. This is not a case where "If 7/8s is good, 1 inch must be better and bigger than that must be even better!"

Also, if you find yourself in a recovery situation, remove all non-essential persons well out of the possible path of the rope should it break. Ideally, use soft shackles with your rope and attach them to your recovery hooks, if available. (Different models have differing numbers of hooks--the Badlands has 4.) Finally, it's a decent idea to have a weighted damper of about 5-7 lbs placed 1/3 of the distance from both ends. Some people think simply throwing a jacket or similar item is enough. It's not--that lightweight item will not make a difference should the rope break.

Finally, (and this is most important, so I saved it for last) exhaust all safer means of recovery before using a strap, kinetic rope or winch. It may not seem like fun to have to shovel out a wheel, but it's also far less risky.

Thanks for the good advice. The video at the link discusses clearly that 1" is too big, and shows the result. (Shivers).

Before you buy a kinetic recovery rope, you should have a shovel and recovery boards with you.

Those are low risk options.

Also, before trying a kinetic recovery, it’s better to try a tow recovery. Or winching.

A tow recovery involves slowly making the rope or strap taut, stopping, and then both vehicles applying throttle at the same time. If the vehicle doing the extracting doesn’t come to a stop before attempting to exert pulling force, it is a kinetic recovery and not a tow.

They were called Tug Em straps when we first saw them in the 70s. They were received with mixed feelings. I've never used them and never will.I'll use my winch.or not get stuck in the first place. IE stay out of deep mud.

Also, before trying a kinetic recovery, it’s better to try a tow recovery. Or winching.

Good advice, Tug Em straps should be a last resort.

Bronco V-8

They were called Tug Em straps when we first saw them in the 70s. They were received with mixed feelings. I've never used them and never will.I'll use my winch.or not get stuck in the first place. IE stay out of deep mud.

Also, before trying a kinetic recovery, it’s better to try a tow recovery. Or winching.

Good advice, Tug Em straps should be a last resort.

A strap, winch, or kinetic rope should be treated equally. Those are all second-choice options in my book. There's enough tension load to send a strap or winch line flying, and that's just as dangerous as a kinetic rope. If the anchor point is the point of failure, a deadly missile is at the end of that line.

timhood

A strap, winch, or kinetic rope should be treated equally. Those are all second-choice options in my book. There's enough tension load to send a strap or winch line flying, and that's just as dangerous as a kinetic rope. If the anchor point is the point of failure, a deadly missile is at the end of that line.

Kinetic rope is worse due to the stretch - remember, the stretch increases the potential energy, and that potential energy becomes kinetic energy.

When a chain, winch line, or tow strap breaks, the energy released is less than the kinetic rope - and if a part breaks off as well, it could potentially go farther due to the rope stretching towards the end of its travel.