Another R1T Stump Pull. So much carnage!

[SwampNut]

I had to do a similar thing with my Jeep, but that had a winch. I like the tire thing. We used blocks inside the stump hole.

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[Glembi2]

Step 1: monetize YouTube Channel
Step 2: Buy shackle
Step 3: Start business pulling stumps
...profit??!

I was thinking (always a recipe for disaster) about a safer way to pull stumps using our off-road recovery gear.

At a minimum, I think we need to include a redirect/ pulley attached to a tree. Yes this assumes there is a convenient tree in the area.

Running a steel cable through a pulley would be the standard approach. Would anyone know whether a soft shackle could be used in place of the pulley? And whether a tow strap could be used in place of the cable?

I’m guessing the smarter thing to do would be to use a metal shackle on the soft shackle so the soft shackle doesn’t rotate from friction with the tow strap.

I’m still in the market for off-road recovery gear. This is my current list:

1. 30’ recovery strap/rope
2. 2 soft shackles
3. Recovery hitch + pin
4. Tree saver strap 8-10’
5. Weighted cable blanket
6. 2+ hard shackles

Already have the come-along

 

[kkezir]

Thanks for the video. I appreciated it.. even if others didn't.

 

[BourboNole]

Which box is that over your bed?

 

[gotmolo]

Which box is that over your bed?

It's a Pelican BX140R. Had to make a couple custom brackets to mount it off to one side. I'll start another thread for it.

 

[gotmolo]

Going back to the ball tugging argument, I totally get that everyone has their own opinion. And we're all entitled to our opinions. But opinions based on data carry a lot more weight (ha! See what I did there? ).

Here's some food for thought for all those that think pulling on a trailer hitch ball with a chain will result in certain death. The American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) Steel Construction Manual states the available shear strength is the smaller of shear yield and shear rupture, which are defined as

Shear Yield: Rn = 0.60FyAgv
Shear Rupture: Rn = 0.6FuAnv

Let's, for a moment, ignore the 7,000 lbs. stamping on the 2" ball (which I'm sure has a healthy safety factor) and assume Fy (minimum yield stress) = 36 ksi and Fu (minimum tensile stress) = 58 ksi (conservative). Based on the measured 1.125" diameter of the shaft, Agv (gross area subject to shear) = 0.994 in^2 and Anv (net tensile area subject to shear) = 0.763 in^2 (from AISC table 7-17).

Simple multiplication shows us Shear Yield controls with Rn = 21,470 lbs. Keep in mind (assuming the 36 ksi yield strength is accurate) this ~21k force is the amount of force needed for the steel to yield (i.e. permanently change shape/deform). This is not necessarily the force it would take to catastrophically fail. Steel is great in that is typically gives us indicators when it's overstressed. It doesn't look like my ball is bent or cracked (naked eye).

The only argument here should be was the force I applied on the ball anywhere near 21,000 lbs.? That's approximately 3x the weight of the truck. Like I said earlier, without actually measuring force with a dynamometer, we're just guessing. But I suspect it was not.

At the end of the day, I 100% agree that you should definitely avoid using a trailer hitch ball as an attachment point for vehicle recovery. Should you use it for light yard work like I did here? That's for you to decide. Me personally, I'm going to keep yanking and tugging on my balls and shaft.

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