Always slightly controversial: *GET YOUR VANAGON UNSTUCK*

[JED THE SPREAD]

OK so this kind of thing always gets people chatting and that is a good thing hey!

One thing I will put out there though is that there is no amount of airing own or full on powering up and pushing through that will get you out of a situation that needs a tow. We have all been there and this is how I personally deal with those situations where airing down or powering through just doesn't work.

I hope this helps to keep things safe and get you or your family out of a pickle..


Link


Feel free to add anything,

Jed
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[Sodo]

Good stuff. I was wondering if the tip to use Chris Scott's book for knot release is a Chris Scott tip.
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'90 Westy EJ25, 2Peloquins, 3knobs, pressure-oiled GT mainshaft, filtered, cooled gearbox
'87 Tintop w 47k 53k, '12 SmallCar EJ25, cooled filtered gearbox
....KTMs, GasGas, SPOT mtb

[TheArmand]

Thanks! Been meaning to set up a kit like this, I'm sure my 1wd will get me stuck on one of those doubletrack's one day.
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1988 2.1 Vanagon GL - North American High Top - Custom P22 Inspired "Nahtfalia" Edition Camper

[IdahoDoug]

Nice, and I appreciate the safety angle. I've had professional offroad recovery training and will add a couple things I hope are worthwhile.

First, mentally absorb that for most people, the force you will generate on that recovery strap is the largest force you will create in your entire life. Helping move a refrigerator for your buddy? 500lbs tops. Pulling the engine out of a car? 900lbs tops. All childs play compared to the easy 5000lbs you will be dealing with in a moderate stuck. For scale, you can go to a website and enter the weight of your vehicle and how fast you think you are willing to hit the end of your recovery strap when you are needing to repeatedly yank and bang to get a bad stuck buddy out. For my LandCruiser, that ended up with a peak force of over 20,000lbs, and your Syncros are easily my weight (5300lbs empty).

I use a kinetic stretching strap, which is designed for the yanking and needs to be much higher rated than a tow strap. These are not for the faint of heart, but I have used mine to pull a 20,000lb CNN satellite truck out of the mud. Jed's kit is a tow strap for steady pulls and so the ratings are completely different. Ask him here if you need to understand the difference for clarity. His tow strap is well matched with a lot of reserve strength as a tow strap for Syncros.

Its worth you knowing that the only people who routinely deal with forces like this on straps and tackle are loggers, specialty construction teams, and fire/rescue personnel. And they get a LOT of training and annual refreshes on that initial training because it is dangerous when done wrong.

By contrast, you are doing this for perhaps the first time in your entire life, and you will have family members, friends and others you care about to think of. Don't let the stress of the situation, the heavy rain that will be falling, the fact that you will have to lay down in the mud or wade out into a puddle and crouch in water cause you to rush. Do this right and stick to your standards. Mr Murphy waits patiently in the mud, the rain, and the snow to kill you. And it will be dark when this happens. Always dark.

Having said that, its important to know when you are being a good Samaritan that in the most common failure, the unknown vehicle you are rescuing will kill you with its attachment point coming off. You guys know your vehicles and you may even have been diligent enough to add a special recovery point or removed yours to check for corrosion and put it back on with new bolts. But the guy in the stuck Honda won't. He'll say anything to get you to hook up. And don't let him put your shackle on his vehicle. Get your ass under there and attach to his vehicle yourself as if your life depends on it. If in doubt, put your strap around his entire subframe and use rags to prevent chafing.

Jed covered all the tricks nicely and his gear looks top quality. That's the stuff you want, because there is nothing worse when the shit has hit the fan than to break a cheap Chinese strap. Because then not only do you have a broken strap, but its still raining. And muddy. Or cold. And dark. Always dark.

Doug
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1987 2WD Wolfsburg Vanagon Weekender "Mango", two fully locked 80 Series LandCruisers. 2017 Subaru Outback boxer. 1990 Audi 90 Quattro 20V with rear locking differential, 1990 burgundy parts Vanagon. 1984 Porsche 944, 1988 Toyota Supra 5 speed targa, 2002 BMW 325iX, 1982 Toyota Sunrader

[syncrodoka]

Easy self recovery tool.

Nicely done video.

[chachi]

great post, doug.
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'74 transporter panel
'91 vanagon carat NAHT

[climberjohn]

[E1]

+3!
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‘84 Westy, 2.1L with Digijet, 5.43 R+P, GT Gears
"Adding power makes you faster on the straights.
Subtracting weight makes you faster everywhere."
— Colin Chapman

[vanagonjr]

[borninabus]

one of the many trades i take pride in is towing and recovery.
i can't even tell you how many people i've unstuck with nothing more than a shovel and driving know-how.
they always seem to feel a little embarrassed when you show up in a flatbed/wrecker/off road recovery vehicle and the only thing you use to get them out is your brains
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88 Van WBX, A/T - 13 JSW TDI 6M/T - 2012 Touareg TDI Sport

[Sodo]

Or just get in their driver seat and drive it out.
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'90 Westy EJ25, 2Peloquins, 3knobs, pressure-oiled GT mainshaft, filtered, cooled gearbox
'87 Tintop w 47k 53k, '12 SmallCar EJ25, cooled filtered gearbox
....KTMs, GasGas, SPOT mtb

[vanagonjr]

Jed,
Just want to say thanks and I learned something. I'm going to pass along the video link to a friend's son with a Jeep.
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[Steve M.]

in regards to Doug's penchant for safety.
Back in the 80's on Pismo Beach in California somebody got stuck in the sand and one of the local tow scalpers wouldn't listen to the advice given him about hooking up to a worn out looking pintle hook on his truck.
He did the snatch and his pintle hook came off and flew back through the windshield of the the stuck truck and out the rear window, Unfortunately the dudes girlfriend was sitting right next to him and it went through her head.
So when he says there's more power there then you know, he's right.
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[vw4wd]

[djkeev]

When you are pulling out a stuck rig or moving heavy items with chains, cables or straps.

You will sound like an old grumpy man but make sure everyone is out of range before you begin extraction for a snapped tow device can be lethal to bystanders.

Dave
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Ghia
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=392473

Vanagon
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=6315537#6315537

Beetle
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=482968&highlight=74+super+vert

[IdahoDoug]

Yes - glad there are other stories about things coming off. Briefly envision when looking at the anchor point "Hmm, could two of my Vangons hang off this?" It's a lot of power but Jed's kit includes TWO safety straps that if something fails will snag and stop the metal bit. Very smart and really the only way to have a clear mind that nobody's going to get hurt.

It's also worth noting that for every story about an injury, there are hundreds of failures that cause embarrassing vehicle damage. I've seen just the end of a broken strap put big dents in tailgates, slap out a $300 rear hatch glass, etc. So I really like Jed's safety focus because you want to be able to do what needs to be done. Many stucks are simply someone you can tension the strap and then both apply gas. But sometimes a high centered vehicle larger than yours is the case. I've hit my strap at 10mph over a dozen times to get the stuck vehicle moving and its is nice to feel confident you are not going to have a gear issue.

Informationally, when a strap ages, I get a new one and carry both. For everyday stucks, or having to tow someone who's broken something to a flat area to work on it, I'll use the old one. Dragging it and such wears on it. So the new one remains in the kit as a backup against the day Mr. Murphy has his field day. Or the day you are yanking a CNN truck out and the cameras are rolling...
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1987 2WD Wolfsburg Vanagon Weekender "Mango", two fully locked 80 Series LandCruisers. 2017 Subaru Outback boxer. 1990 Audi 90 Quattro 20V with rear locking differential, 1990 burgundy parts Vanagon. 1984 Porsche 944, 1988 Toyota Supra 5 speed targa, 2002 BMW 325iX, 1982 Toyota Sunrader

[wx0m]

A very interesting video and discussion thread!

One aspect of the extraction that wasn't discussed is the attachment to the front of the stuck vehicle. It looks like they just attached the tow strap to the front tow hook. My question is, how strong is the front tow hook on the Vanagon? Is it really strong enough to use for a yank-strap recovery? If not, what other front attachments would be appropriate?

[Paulbeard]

[clift_d]

[B.O.B.Wanders]

I added two recovery hooks on the front of my 2WD. I'm not sure what they originally came off of, but they are very stout. They are bolted on to the flange of the frame with M10 class 9.8 bolts (that's what came with the hooks). I figured it the frame flanges were good enough for the engine mustache bar in the rear, they should be strong enough for the hooks.

After the embarrassment having to be pulled out of a tiny mud puddle by a passing good Samaritan in a big old truck, I now carry tow straps, shackles and a come-along. Good idea on the safety straps too. I also have some floor mats that can be used as dampers over the straps.

This is the driver's side. The passenger side hook is right behind the OEM tow loop.

Front:

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83.5 WBX 2WD Assuan Brown Westy, B.O.B.

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