Safety is the most important consideration here. If you have doubts you can do this procedure safely, call a tow truck and wait for them to arrive, otherwise, this video contains information on how you can safely help someone who is stuck on the side of the road.
Thank you for watching!
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A note on those screw in tow hooks: They are surprisingly weak, ONLY use them to pull STRAIGHT forward or back and if the vehicle is badly stuck (like in mud or something) don't use them!
If you pull at an angle they can bend their mounting point, and they aren't made for heavy recoveries. They are mostly made to pull the car onto a tow truck. If the vehicle is badly stuck or you must pull at an angle, don't use them!
Also when using cables or static straps or the screw in tow hook, don't do a kinetic pull (that is where you start driving with slack in the line and use momentum to 'yank' the car out) for that you need a kinetic rope with no metal shackles and its a little more technical. Doing it with a static strap or cable is dangerous. Only do a careful straight pull with cables or straps.
My moms ex tried to pull the van out of a ditch once, he ripped the radiator line out 😭
all great advice Eric for someone who has never pulled another vehicle. the comment below is also important. or just use a cardboard box. Its a real pain driving home soaking wet.
G'day Mr Eric,
Some great advice.
Thanks for sharing the knowledge, man.
✌️ Peace from Melbourne Australia.
Great info, and brilliant safety advice! Another thing I have learned – if you are pulled up to assist the stranded driver, it's wise to initially point your tyres to the near side curb. Should a car impact the rear of a Samaritans vehicle, it would lower the chance of being run over by the impacted car(s). Great vid, Eric!
I've read on most off-road sites/forums that the hooks/loops under cars are for securing them when shipping from factory. They aren't that strong since they are for making the vehicle not moving on deck and takes the force downwards, or am wrong about the loop shown on the video? I know this isn't a full off-road adventure thingy, but a car in a slightly deeper ditch can require a real chunk of force to move since you pull it against the "knuckle" instead of lifting it up
The fact that you tried with that tiny ratchet strap makes me question your overall decision making lol
Edit: yup I was right. The eyelet that you screw into the bumper is NOT FOR RECOVERY. It’s for moving the vehicle on an off a trailer or some other easy to roll situation. If you use that for recovery you are very likely to damage the car. Don’t do it.
Fabulous information. I truly enjoy trying to help someone else if i'm able to. The more knowledge i/we have, the better.
7:30.. uh, that just keeps it in 1st gear…
Good video!
You might want to tone down that ding though. My ears are ringing 😅
❤❤❤❤❤
Great video, thank you!
Красавчик, как и всегда, мало того, что помог человеку, так ещё и сделал неплохую видео инструкцию по эвакуации. Если бы не ваш акцент, можно было бы подумать что видео из России 😂
1:00 that is cause they drive faster than they should
EORR.
You’re my favourite mechanic. With that said, I will not be taking recovery advice from someone who used a ratchet strap to try to recover a stuck vehicle. All due respect.
Super great informative.
I call that LED road safety device an "ohfk puck" lol
Tow truck guy here had a hard pull when his winch cable broke. Decapitated.
6:35 no hook point in the bumper zone in the back of the Civic? Really?
I bought a couple soft shackles to help with connecting to a cars frame.
Great tips! Thx
You were my first "car guy" I subbed to and havee seen you go from 1M to 1.81 – congrats
I prefer to use elastic recovery strap. Static straps are ok but they can be a little abrupt
Excellent video thanks 😊
Additionally: agree beyond any doubt about liability in case something goes wrong
You can damage your civic if it's an automatic. I've pulled a buddy out a time or 2 with a hatch civic. Mind you it was a ranger and a crv but still both larger
HAPPY NEW YEAR
ErictheCarGuy
👍
You forgot the most important initial step, which is to pull up alongside the stricken vehicle, and shout "You can't park there mate!"
While at Harbor Freight, pick up a small padded moving blanket for $5 to kneel or lay down on while looking for a tow hook. Better than laying in the snow or freezing puddle.
I saw a news article where a Subaru yanked a 40+ ton semi truck up a hill 😂
Ive seen a few newer subaru's that have no place to hook up.
@3:40 yep harbor freight tow strap, cheap but effective (i had to replace mine after towing a tree out of the road with my honda accord and it was too tight around the tree to get free so i just left it there, and since it was cheap i just went to HF and got another one)
Don't use steel cable or chain to pull out stuck car. Very dangerous thing. If You have no other option to pull a car, put jacket or blanket on each end of chain. cable.
HELP ME PLS! My 03 pilot started to miss 3rd gear. No cel. Only the D light flashes. It's my only car for work and daycare. Any thoughts?
Every release is a little masterpiece. Thank you for your hard work and love!😝👠🍁
Having been a Minnesnowta boy, the Boy Scout and Coast Guard motto applies here … Be Prepared. For towing or for being stuck.
Anything metal in the tow connection is a big no.
If anything breaks, you potentially have flying metal, flying at speed.
Use a dynamic rope with dyneema shackles.
They're cheap as and 100x safer.
They're also more effective, especially when rescuing a heavier vehicle than the recovery vehicle.
They work with kinetic energy and spring the vehicle out smoothly, rather than jolting it with a chain, wire rope or even a strap.
Even recovery straps that are supposed to stretch will only stretch for a few hits, not rescues, hits.
There's heaps of videos on the kinetic rope recovery process.
Well worth going that direction.
The soft shackles will go around many more places and you can get them in different lengths and strengths.
The kinetic ropes come in all different thicknesses and you match the rope to the weight of the vehicle you're driving.
Sounds complicated and expensive but really isn't.
The tow ball is a terrible option to hook up to, watch a few videos of "tow ball accident" etc.
They're genuinely deadly.
The way Eric did this recovery was pretty safe but it's better to hook to the suspension arm near the mount to the vehicle than the tow chain loops, on some tow hitches they're MASSIVELY undersized.
Watch matts off road recovery for evidence on the suspension arm hook up method.
He uses it professionally daily.
Love your videos dude, not heaping shit on you, just know there's much better ways to do a rescue.
Big luv n happy new year to you and yours dude!
Well done ! Thank you !
Excellent as always! Thank you.
That's the American method. The Chinese method does not require a second vehicle. The Chinese method only requires a long rope — second vehicle not required. The rope converts the 2×4 vehicle into a 3×4.