Vehicle Recovery Techniques Rope

When you're bogged down, snowed in or stuck with wheels spinning, a helpful push or pull is often all that's required to get you on solid ground, which may often only be a meter or two away. In such situations, particularly when there is no other vehicle to pull you out and you have no winch, a rope and the Waggoner's Hitch (a modification of the Sheepshank) is a makeshift purchase which can treble your pulling power.

Once learnt, the process is simple: fasten your rope to a recovery point on your vehicle using a shackle, and a round turn and two half-hitches.

Dog one end of the Waggoner's Hitch using a spanner or similar item; lead the leading end around a convenient tree, before passing it through the bight of the Wagoner's Hitch. No twist is required in the bight, as the loop is dogged. Use rags or sacking to pad the rope and protect the tree. Harsh wear on the bight can ruin that part of the rope, although in a crisis it may be worth it. A nice solution is to substitute a rope of stronger stuff for the bight.

© 1998-2013 Martin Wittenburg and Michael Wittenburg. All rights reserved.