No matter the bolts, my Warn winch can snap that ball off with a single pull, let alone the one block pulley normally used.
Mike
86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00 88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's
Frankly, I wouldn't want his 19000lb winch anywhere near my Land Rover.
OK, that's with a snatch block, but I wonder what he's bolted it to. Even with a snatch block he needs 4 tonnes of vehicle. It sounds like his set-up could overload any attachment point on a Land Rover.
Funnily enough no, I don't. They're 16 mm 8.8 high-tensile steel, which by my reckoning gives each bolt a yield strength of roughly 13 tonnes. Far more than the 3.5 tonnes rating of the tow ball.
Ah, but if it's a Warn, it's probably not giving your 19,000 lbs... :)
This gets a bit more interesting. As far as I can tell the 3.5tonne rating is for normal "gold" towballs. There is an additional requirement for large
4x4 vehicles to use heavy duty "black" towballs which seem to be about twice the rating of the regular ones, so figure on around a 7tonne rating on them.I'm trying to find the actual numbers, but I'm only finding the maximum downforce and static shock ratings which don't tie into the 3.5t rating very well.
P.
Bolted to a chrome plated piece of sheet metal.
Now you're taking the piss.
Mebbe their snatch straps are only good for 3000 kg?
bw
On or around Mon, 2 Feb 2004 18:06:39 -0400, Chris Phillipo enlightened us thusly:
probably, they (should be) 16mm high tensile.
gives you a combined CSA for both of around 400mm²
ISTR that mild steel has a tensile strength of about 16 tons/sq.in, which if my calculations are right means that 2x16mm mild steel bolts would have a tensile strength of getting on for 10 tons. High-tensile ones are apt to be stronger, at least in tension... The NATO hitch on mine is fitted by 4x12mm high-tensile bolts which have a combined strength slightly higher than the
2x16mm ones.meanwhile, the neck of the towball is somewhat larger, without measuring it I don't know what size it is, but I'd hazard a guess that it's at least 20mm which makes it the same area as the 2 bolts, it might be slightly larger.
I'd have to look up shear loads.
However. the tow ball is rated to tow 3500Kg, and even on-road, the dynamic forces exceed the static load (e.g. from over-run braking), I'd be amazed if the tow ball hasn't got at least a factor 2 in its design, probably more.
Obviously, you can break it, you can break anything. But I don't think it's common, and I don't think it's as puny as you all make out.
ISTR a common size for shackles is 3/4" - that pin is probably not as thick as the neck of a tow ball.
On or around Mon, 2 Feb 2004 18:09:59 -0400, Chris Phillipo enlightened us thusly:
teehee...
nah, we just have decent tow hitch manufacturers :)
Richard
If you wanted to wrap a chain around a big tree to remove it from the road, what would you attach the chain to on the truck?
__________________ Note: To reply, replace the word 'spam' embedded in return address with 'mail'. N38.6 W121.4
Well, there you are. Obviously an inadequate installation that doesn't meet current EU standards. No wonder your balls keep falling off.
I'd hook it right onto my 10,000 lbs rated 1 1/4" stem tow ball without thinking twice about it.
Let me know when and where eh so I can be there with my camera.
They get good prices for photos of death and mayhem these days as well the Darwin awards are always looking for new winners! If you live, I guess we could try for the 'funniest videos' like the fools this thread is about.
Here is what can happen when a piece of metal breaks loose in a tow. This was a strap with a metal end. The metal end went ballistic.
Mike
86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00 88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's
The article states the reason it did this was: "The hook to the frame rail did not come loose; it pulled a nice neat piece from the rail" so basically it's nothing to do with 50mm tow balls only rusty/insecure chassis bits (as fitted as standard to LR's) flying when towing out of mud
or have I missed the point
Andy
in article bvom8f$u03na$ snipped-for-privacy@ID-206532.news.uni-berlin.de, Andy.Smalley at snipped-for-privacy@Bigfoot.Com wrote on 3/2/04 17:37:
Hay !!! I take offence at that remark. My rusty/insecure chassis bits didn't come as standard, I had to wait along time and put in a lot of work to get my Landrover to have bits like that,still it's lasted longer than a jeep though.
It shows the kind of stress and potential of loose bits of metal at the end of tow ropes.
That was only a metal D ring! Just imagine a 50 mm 'cannon' ball letting loose!
Like I mentioned in another post, that 'toy' 3500 kg or 50 mm tow ball would snap off in a second if I used the full power of my winch on it.
Only a fool would trust theirs and bystander's lives to a tow ball in an extraction situation.
Mike
Well, so far we haven't broken any Land Rovers getting them out of the mud with our Jeeps....
Surprising though, I live in a serious rust belt and have had to pull a bunch of LR's out over the last few years...
Mike
86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00 88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's
If I had a hitch, which I don't anymore because my bumper is now mounted in those holes, I would be using this or not doing it at all:
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