question about these recovery hitches. I was wondering what the ins and out of each design.

Just from looking at the design, I believe the shackle will be better as it seems to be more sturdier. The hook seems to be better when recovering from weird lateral angles but wonder how it'd perform a recovery where the vehicle is angled deeply in mud whereby the recovery would take place at the tip of the hook.

Right now i just have 2 tow straps with hooks and ofcourse a receiver with ball but want to expand the recovery kit a bit more

Shackles with a looped tow strap are better. Strap cannot slip off.

Straps woth hooks are relatively weak. The hook will eventually wear through the strap,

In regards to your straps...if it has hooks it is for towing. If it has sewn in loops it is for recovery.

^^^This^^^

There was a man killed in South Florida last year by a strap with a hook. It came through his back window and hit him in the head. His 4 year old was in the truck with him.

A receiver with a ball is not part of any safe or sane recovery kit, period.  Mounts that mount to the receiver that have hooks or (preferably) shackles, are.

I prefer the captured ends of shackles vs. hooks.  Plus, don't buy the shackles from your local hardware store/Lowe's/HD/Tractor Supply - if they are not made in the USA.  TS had the made-in-India version years ago and they were known bad.  I don't know what they carry now.

I buy all my USA shackles from USA suppliers like McMaster-Carr or Fastenal.  Shackles, like any other recovery piece of gear, are not the area to cheap out on.

Good luck.

I use shackles and rigging straps from construction projects.  They work for me.
 

Oooooh! I like that! I have the one-direction Warn version, but this is the same price. I may have to upgrade.





 

what size shackle would i need for a 4" strap

Whether you go hook or shackle, the first thing to do in either case is to sand or grind off the parting line visible in the above pic, which will cut through your strap very quickly.

You might want to tell all the riggers out on the construction sites to do it because they must be dropping loads all the time.





 

All hooks shall only be loaded in the "bowl" of the hook aside from sorting hooks as per ASME B30.10.  Hooks may only be loaded no further than 90* (45* off each side of vertical of the bowl) again aside from sorting hooks again ASME B30.10.  Shackles shall be loaded no further than 120*  (60* off each side vertical) as per ASME B30.26 via sling on the bow and attachment on the pin, the pin must be "snug" and there is no torque spec.

Load rating or "WLL" (working load limit) will determine the rated capacity of the hardware or hook and is defined by application not capacity.

With that said a shackle will work better and do not grind on the shackle/hook it will not cut the sling!  Construction rigger, NCCCO/NCCA riggerII/flagger/operator and instructor.....

Dude, those parting lines are rough and/or sharp, and I don't think it takes rigging training to know that rough and/or sharp metal objects will cut straps. I mean, even when you're strapping a load down on a trailer you have to put a sleeve where the strap goes over a corner because corners cut or wear through straps.

i don't know anything about this kind of stuff, but anything rated "more sturdier and most sturdiest" has to be among the bestest.

You have been told by two people who work with them every day that you are wrong.  Enjoy.
 

Seriously?

Let's take a co. such as Crosby....  Do you really think they would introduce ANY rigging hardware that needed some window licker to slap his 4.5" grinder on their  hardware to get rid of forging marks?  Think not, sorry not to be an ass but you are giving improper information, stick to what you know.  To give you credit where it is due yes softeners are used on slings where slippage or "cutting" is a factor but not on hardware.....  And yes you may need a bit of instruction.....

I work in an industry that uses these hardware daily.  We even wrote our own manual on it.  

Modifying any rated and certified hardware such as a lifting shackle without recertifying it (which isn't going to happen) is grounds for instant dismissal.  When you're lifting tons of Boring airplane body sections daily, certified lifting hardware is taken seriously.  Any device used for recovery should also be taken just as serious.

Cliff notes:  Don't fawk with proven hardware.

I've been trained on recovery in the military and rigging when working as a skilift mechanic (we did a lot of lifting.) Both times I was told that if you're using nylon straps/slings, the shackle or hook should have no rough or sharp edges to damage the strap/sling. ANY fraying at all, grease or oil stains, fading due to sunlight, etc, made the strap/sling unserviceable. I stand by my comment - clean up any rough or sharp edges with a file or emery cloth to protect your straps. If you won't do that, cut a piece of fire hose to make a sleeve you can slip over the shackle or hook to protect the strap.

Boring planes??

Right. SGT Jones sees his privates have nothing to do, so he tells them to file down the rough edges on their trucks' shackles. I got it now.



I never thought I'd have to explain elasticity to someone, but that's what I get for thinking. See, a nylon recovery strap is elastic. When you pull on it, it lengthens and gets narrower. When you let go, it returns to its shorter and wider original state. Try it with a rubber band, if you don't believe me. A big fat 1/2" wide one like they put on lobster claws narrows to about 1/4" wide when you stretch it as far as possible. The sewn loop at the end of the recovery strap, when placed over a shackle, will also elongate and narrow when pulled. Only this time, there's a much, much greater amount of force being applied to the strap than there was with the rubber band, in the form of the stuck vehicle and the moving one doing the recovery. So, this force, which measures in the thousands of pounds, is causing that sewn loop to rub right over that rough edge both as it narrows under load and relaxes when the load is removed. Over time, this rubbing will cut some of the strands. Cut enough of the strands and you compromise the strap's integrity. In other words, it's weakened and won't be capable of handling its rated capacity. This can cause it to break when a load that an uncompromised strap could easily handle is applied. If that's not simplified enough for you to be able to grasp it, I'm sorry. I just can't break it down any further. Well, I suppose I could do what technological societies have always done when explaining technology and science to pre-technological people, and make up a god or demon of broken straps. Guess I'll just have to wait and see.

ETA even a smooth shackle or hook will wear the strap. The friction is there, which heats the fibers and weakens them. The rough edge just makes it happen much sooner. That's why they ideally get inspected before and after every use.

Sorta like using the words "nugs" in work e-mails, it keeps the IT nazis off your butt.

Where have you been soldier?




Training, sir.








What kind of training?




Army training, sir.






Man, the shit I read on the internet.