Tow the Line!

Probably depend on the initial orientation of the vehicles.

If the stuck vehicle was trying to go around because it was going 'against' traffic, then probably the RSO would pull from the rear (e.g. going ahead).

If the stuck vehicle were i nthe same traffic flow, then, probably, the RSO pulls from the front (e.g. going in reverse).

That's because it's generally easier to get vehicles out of mud in their own tracks.   The towing vehicle also knows what sort of ground there is, since it's been driven over/into.  (Not a good ide ato pull a stuck vehicle into deeper mud.)

That's my 2¢ worth of having been off road at least.

If  the RSO is just pulling the vehicle from the mud until it is free then you can position it either way . The crew attempting to recover the stranded vehicle would have done their best to orientate  the RSO  in the most advantageous position  with  regard to the stuck vehicle and the lay of the land. Just don't have the RSO pulling out a Tiger tank its just not going to happen.

Hope this helped.

The vehicles are both RSO s with the stuck vehicle driven off the right side of the road.  It will be stuck to a depth of the lower track and half of the drive wheels.

Leddy

RX7850

Just don't have the RSO pulling out a Tiger tank its just not going to happen.

Right,

       and don't use a chain either.

I have pulled a track or two out of the mud or a hole once upon a time. When possible, we usually would tow using our own vehicles rear going forward, and hook up to whichever end of the immobilized vehicle offered the best route for recovery. Ground guides were a must. But in the long run the situation will dictate how to do it. I am willing to bet that most tracked vehicles get better results in low gear moving forward, than they do in reverse when performing recoveries.

Here's something else for consideration: Drive train components, specifically final drive units, are almost always stronger and able to take more load in their normal direction of operation, meaning forward. So if you're wanting to display a vehicle trying to pull a vehicle backwards, the tow would be set up back-to-back. This also takes advantage of better gear ratios in the forward direction. Tow points are generally stronger at the normal tow location too, also meaning back-to-back.  If the shortest direction to firm ground is forward, and the pulling vehicle is on firm ground, then back-to-front.

Re chains: Easy to break, with lots of stored energy released almost instantly when they do break, same with cables, but easier to see bad spots in a woven steel cable than a chain.

Hope this helps without drilling a hole in your head.....

If you are doing a diorama position the guys on the ground outside the radius in which a snapped cable or chain can snap back. I had a good friend killed trying to pull a cement mixer out of the mud when the cable snapped and came back and hit him.

In my experience we almost always pulled the stuck vehicle out from behind, or pulling opposite the direction the stuck vehicle had been going. We also almost always had the pulling tank back up while pulling or hooked front to rear. As had been mentioned, position your ground guides at least twice the length of your cables to avoid injuries if something breaks.

Our wonderful highway department just finished a 6 billion $ bridge. The self anchoring tower was 18" out of plumb. They attached a long cable to the top and ran it over to a nearby island and put a strain on it.

Oh, but they didn't tell anyone using the bridge underneath it.

That way for 18 months.

Remind me not to go there......  wherever it may be.

Oakland to San Francisco Bay Bridge, the new Eastern span.

GMorrison

Our wonderful highway department just finished a 6 billion $ bridge. The self anchoring tower was 18" out of plumb. They attached a long cable to the top and ran it over to a nearby island and put a strain on it.

Oh, but they didn't tell anyone using the bridge underneath it.

That way for 18 months.

Would that be a Caltrans project?

stikpusher

I have pulled a track or two out of the mud or a hole once upon a time. When possible, we usually would tow using our own vehicles rear going forward, and hook up to whichever end of the immobilized vehicle offered the best route for recovery. Ground guides were a must. But in the long run the situation will dictate how to do it. I am willing to bet that most tracked vehicles get better results in low gear moving forward, than they do in reverse when performing recoveries.

I have stuck an M-60 or two in my time too. IIRC we usually attached the tow cables to the rear of the stuck tank and the front of the tank or 88 and backed the pulling vehicle up. when i was a MILES trainer at Ft Hood i stuck my Nissan Pickup and borrowed an M-1 to pull it out.Everybody was nice to the MILES guy.

:They sure make an annoying racket when they go off, don't they, Sir?"

CapnMac82

:They sure make an annoying racket when they go off, don't they, Sir?"

not so much when you throw them to the inside in 4 feet of mud. the only racket is the M-88 crew bitching about it. Cost me a few cases of beer at Viilseck.

Enquiring minds want to know why you were driving a Pathfinder in four feet of mud, but some secrets are best left untold...

i was the MILES trainer at Ft Hood after 3 NETTs, was out in the field supporting one of my battalions and decided to try going though a patch. poor decision and it wasn't 4 feet of mud, just enough to ooze under the doors. why have 4x4 if you don't test it. i self recovered myself a couple of times by disassembling ammo boxes i carried in the back to line a trench i had to to dig so i could self extricate.

OTOH in my active duty days i threw a couple of tracks and spent 3 days on Reforger recovering the remnants of a tank company that wanderied into a tree stump feild at night

I pulled the CG's CUCV out of the mud with my M1A1 at Bergen-Hohnne back in 87 or 88. He had one of those ballistic nylon cables, stretched quite a ways before he came out.