X-BULL Recovery Kit Kinetic Recovery Rope With Hitch Receiver 5T Recovery Receiver

The weak link in most recoveries is not the rope. It is whatever the rope is tied to. This kit pairs the pulling gear with a hitch receiver that turns an ordinary tow bar into something worth rigging from, which is the fix for the very common vehicle that has a tow bar and no rated rear recovery point.

A rated point where the tow ball used to be

Pull the tow ball tongue out of the hitch, slide the receiver in, drop the hitch pin through, and the back of the vehicle finally has an anchor built for a shock load. A tow ball is not that anchor, whatever gets repeated around a campfire; it is designed for a steady towing load, not the spike a kinetic rope delivers. Capacity for the receiver is quoted as 5 tonnes in the product title, while the supplier's description carries no specification for it at all, so treat that figure as the supplier's own and unverified.

Why the rope is built to stretch

Double-braided nylon, coated against ultraviolet, water and abrasion, with the eyes dipped in a thick rubber sleeve where they see the hardest wear. X-BULL puts the stretch at around 35 percent of the rope's length. The recovering vehicle rolls forward, the rope soaks up the energy of that run-up, and it comes back out as a long pull rather than a hammer blow. It is what allows a lighter vehicle to shift a heavier one without either chassis wearing the shock.

Ratings, in plain terms

Rope: 7/8 inch by 30 feet, 34,000 lb. Soft shackles: a pair, 3/8 inch by 22 inch, 34,000 lb each. Strap: 3 inch by 8 foot, 30,000 lb. Every figure X-BULL publishes for this kit is a minimum breaking strength, the point at which the gear is expected to fail, not a safe working load. No standard is named against any of them. Plan recoveries well under those numbers, and retire any component showing a cut, a burn or a permanent stretch.

Key features

• Hitch receiver included: converts a standard tow bar hitch into a rear attachment point that suits a recovery load.
• Kinetic rope, 22 mm x 9.1 m: nylon that stretches around 35 percent, so the pull builds instead of snapping on.
• Pair of Spectra fibre soft shackles: textile rather than steel, so there is less mass in the line if something parts.
• Winch dampener and gloves: supplied with the kit rather than bought later, after the first close call.
• 10 kg packed: the whole set travels in one carry, 55 x 24 x 23 cm.

Specifications

• Kinetic rope: 7/8 inch x 30 ft, 34,000 lb minimum breaking strength
• Rope construction: double-braided nylon, polymer wear coating, dipped eyes
• Stated stretch: approx. 35 percent of length, as quoted by the supplier
• Soft shackles: 2 x Spectra fibre, 3/8 inch x 22 inch, 34,000 lb minimum breaking strength
• Strap: 3 inch x 8 ft, 30,000 lb minimum breaking strength
• Hitch receiver: 5 T as stated in the product title; no specification given in the supplier's description
• Packed size: 55 x 24 x 23 cm
• Weight: 10 kg

What's in the box

• 1 x kinetic recovery rope
• 1 x snatch strap
• 2 x soft shackle
• 1 x winch dampener
• 1 x pair heavy duty gloves
• 1 x hitch receiver
• 5 x stickers

Rigging under load

• Inspect every item before it goes into a recovery, and take out of service anything cut, melted, frayed or permanently deformed.
• The dampener sits over the loaded line each and every time, near the centre of the span.
• Clear spectators well back. If the line fails it travels, and it does not travel in a straight line.
• Both ends attach to rated recovery points only. A tow ball, a tow bar tongue, a bumper bar or a bolted bracket is not acceptable, and the receiver in this kit exists specifically so you do not have to use one.
• Do not shackle two straps together. If you need extra length, use a longer strap.
• Check the receiver is fully seated and the hitch pin is properly secured before any load goes on it.

Sort the anchor point out before the trip and the rest of the recovery gets a great deal simpler. Everything here goes in one bag and lives behind the seat.