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Northeast Blizzard..


MACKS

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I see the Acting Highway supervisor resigned today because he went away during the storm and nobody was running our show. Paul

...sounds like the President during the attack on our embasy in Benghazi. It'd be nice if HE'D resign, but somehow I just don't see that happening.

One of our DPW guys was pulling out our one and only Freightliner and he was leaning back and looking behind him to see if anyone was coming, chain broke, came through window in the loader and hit his collar bone and chest. If he wasn't looking behind him it would of hit his head and killed him. Only left a large bruise luckily.

...which is why I carry my own chain in my side box. 20' long 3/8" G70 chain. I've done the whole "cross your fingers & pray" while trying to use whatever we could find that MIGHT be strong enough. Even my chain, though, isn't as heavy as it SHOULD be. I've already bent a link or two on it pulling people out...

When approaching a 4-way stop, the vehicle with the biggest tires has the right of way!
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...sounds like the President during the attack on our embasy in Benghazi. It'd be nice if HE'D resign, but somehow I just don't see that happening.

...which is why I carry my own chain in my side box. 20' long 3/8" G70 chain. I've done the whole "cross your fingers & pray" while trying to use whatever we could find that MIGHT be strong enough. Even my chain, though, isn't as heavy as it SHOULD be. I've already bent a link or two on it pulling people out...

It was a rushed thing i guess, they already tried pulling it out of the snow with a R-model but that didn't work and the one an only towing company in town was pulling one of the other Macks out. They were using a 3/8 chain but probably dragged it out of the shed out back considering everything was getting stuck all over town. We try to use a 1/2 chain if something is stuck.

Matt

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I used to have a snatch rope, used it for four wheeling, mud bogging. It was a big blue rope, and you could hook it to a stuck truck with lots of slack in it and take off ''hammer down'' to pull the stuck truck and it wouldn't break. I later made a tire swing for the kids out of it.

Producer of poorly photo-chopped pictures since 1999.

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Steel cable is even worse when it breaks. It will go through steel with enough force.

Not a cable it looks like the flat tie down straps but much wider and thicker with hooks on each end,kinda like a snatch strap,lol you know what I mean..
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I used to have a snatch rope, used it for four wheeling, mud bogging. It was a big blue rope, and you could hook it to a stuck truck with lots of slack in it and take off ''hammer down'' to pull the stuck truck and it wouldn't break. I later made a tire swing for the kids out of it.

Just saw this,thats it but its a flat strap and way much heaver,never saw one to buy in the truck shops,gonna look on line for one..
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Just saw this,thats it but its a flat strap and way much heaver,never saw one to buy in the truck shops,gonna look on line for one..

Probabbly have to go to a rigging store. Get most of what I need there. They got all the oddball stuff for lifting,chain down and everything else

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Best thing that works for me is telling our drivers "don't get stuck!" Don't take chances, but when someone does get stuck we use a chain and a roll off truck to pull from dry pavement or something solid.

Come to think of it we've never really had a truck stuck beside the occasional wet grass and snow. But there was one time...

Tried to pull with a F150 and 1500 Ram but they just sat there and spun too. Didn't help the truck had 1/2 a load still on it and the trusty old powerstroke was getting new ball joints so that was in the shop. Finally had to pull it out a 18 letter S$$T spreader (international)

2001 Mack RD 2004 Ford F-150 2002 Dodge Ram 1500

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Matt

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I wish I had a camera phone back then, it was just ridiculous. Completely unnecessary of coarse, but at least I got a story out of it. Just picture 3 roll off trucks hooked together with chains and cables, rails about 1/3 of the way up and each one progressively deeper in the mud. We must have stretched out about 150 yards, and I just remembered it was the first time I drove a 8ll, I was super excited!

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Probabbly have to go to a rigging store. Get most of what I need there. They got all the oddball stuff for lifting,chain down and everything else

TSC has these: http://www.tractorsupply.com/erickson-recover-strap-with-loops-55-000-lb-maximum-3040114

They've got smaller ones, too, for less money. 27K, 18K, 10K ratings in addition to that 55K strap.

When approaching a 4-way stop, the vehicle with the biggest tires has the right of way!
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TSC has these: http://www.tractorsupply.com/erickson-recover-strap-with-loops-55-000-lb-maximum-3040114

They've got smaller ones, too, for less money. 27K, 18K, 10K ratings in addition to that 55K strap.

The straps are the way to go but from what I read online you need a strap rated for double the weight of the truck you are recovering,they are very pricy for the upper ratings,they come up to 12 inches wide for the extra heavy loads,sure wish I had one for this blizzard,using a chain was not only a pain but not very effective..
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The straps are the way to go but from what I read online you need a strap rated for double the weight of the truck you are recovering,they are very pricy for the upper ratings,they come up to 12 inches wide for the extra heavy loads,sure wish I had one for this blizzard,using a chain was not only a pain but not very effective..

I'd have to question your source for that info. Double what you are pulling out? I doubt you'll have much luck finding a 160,000 pound rated strap. All the strap has to do is overcome the resistance. We used to pull-start 80,000 pound trucks with an F350 wrecker a cheap 10,000 pound strap if the truck had it's own air to release the brakes and was sitting on somewhat level ground. If you're buried up to the hubs, it'll take a little stronger of a strap...but still nowhere near double the weight. Heck, you could pick the damn truck straight up off the ground with a strap rated to it's weight...why would it need more than that to pull it?

When approaching a 4-way stop, the vehicle with the biggest tires has the right of way!
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