Spinning wheels
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Ooh, Err! I feel a liability case coming . . . . !
Unless the person doing the towing has good experience and the right kit the best situation is to stay very well away. A 4x4 vehicle is not necessary, but weight helps. So the skip lorry would do just as well, if not better.
The "rope" needs to be able to take the applied load, especially if "snatch" recovery is tried (where towing vehicle backs up and takes a run at it). The points of attachment also need to be able to take the same strain.
The spectators need to be kept away. Twice the length of the tow rope is a good rule of thumb. A tow hitch coming off or a shackle snapping under load goes a long way, and very fast!
And when it goes wrong, who is liable? We are considering life changing, or ending, injury here.
A another rule-of-thumb when doing this commercially. A vehicle bogged down to the axles can need a pull equivalent to six times its deadweight. So the 3.5tonne motor caravan needs a pull of 21 tonnes. The less wheel spinning the better as it will come out with a lesser pull.
Waffle boards are a great help, as is a short handled shovel to dig in front of the wheels to ramp them up. Emptying tanks, removing gas and other heavy objects (e.g. passengers) can also make a difference.
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I spoke with the warden at Gwrn-Y-Bwlch site some 6 years ago I think. He said that a warden had been towing a motorhome off when the driver decided to tirn in a different direction in order to reach the solid track sooner. Damage resulted and wardens were no longer permitted to tow motorhomes off.
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The spectators need to be kept away.
You clearly haven't met my OH
So, to my original question - what would the warden do if the mats aren't working?
Maybe there are people all over the CMC sites as I type who are enjoying their 60th consecutive stuck in the mud night
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The spectators need to be kept away.
You clearly haven't met my OH
If I'm not happy with people being too close when I am doing recovery this is what happens : - NOTHING!
In this context "other half" could have a particularly apt meaning as a free flying shackle can go straight through a human body - in the right spot it could create two halves.
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Hmm..that would have been a sight.
If it helps to picture the scene nothing was happening hence the steady stream of "experts" (and boy do i use that word loosely) offering advice.
So, picking up from what EasyT said, the correct info is to contact your recovery company then?
That's interesting and good to know.
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I gave up helping idiots years ago and keep well away,nice to watch though.😄
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Yep, that's the modern answer to challenges. Just stop doing it. In my day, we would have assessed what happened, learned from it and improved the process.
My tuppence worth would be to fit the wardens' tractor with a winch at those sites where a tow might be necessary. And, of course, train them on how to use it.
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Yep, that's the modern answer to challenges. Just stop doing it. In my day, we would have assessed what happened, learned from it and improved the process.
However when it was realised that the procedure was OK but some being rescued were not competent to be towed the decision may well have been the same.
It is for the pitch user to assess the situation when selecting a pitch.
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I have to say that i agree with this. The poor matey I was talking about drove on to his in torrential rain (no hardstandings left) in a big Hymer and the wheels were spinning within seconds. He was by then already stuck. The site was otherwise full so I don't think he had such a choice of pitches
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So here is an interesting scenario to discuss.
A motor caravaner is contacted by a Club site he is about to travel to for the warden to tell him there is no pitch available due to bad weather. Now, he is sitting on another Club site which he was about to leave. As he has nowhere else to go he decides to stay put. Unfortunately the pitch he is on is required to fulfil that sites bookings.
Which pip squeaks first?
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