This is an introduction to the use of Kinetic Ropes, the calculation of kinetic energy needed and generated. We will cover safety concerns and help you calculate the necessary speed based on your vehicle’s weight in order to generate the energy to pull another vehicle stuck.
Kinetic Ropes Introduction
In the early 90s, the first kinetic ropes were introduced to the 4×4 market. Over the years, these ropes have significantly improved, and today, we have companies like Yankum Ropes who specialize in these products for a great variety of needs, from light ATVs (300 pounds) to heavy farm tractors (65,000+ pounds).
Why use Kinetic Ropes
There are many reasons to use Kinetic Ropes over a regular strap or a winch. For starters, a kinetic rope offers a soft, continuous pull without the abrupt reaction of a strap, reducing stress in both vehicles, the one pulling and the one pulled. It also increases the speed of a recovery when compared to a winch.
In some cases a winch is not an option, due to vehicle constrains. In those situations a Kinetic Rope is the only solution available.
But remember, most times, a winch recovery will be the safer and more conservative way to extract a vehicle.
How Do Kinetic Recovery Ropes Work?
Have you ever had whiplash when someone jerks on your stuck vehicle? Yankum ropes stretch, which dramatically reduces or even eliminates the sudden shock which is commonly felt during a vehicle recovery; this reduces the amount of stress put on a vehicle’s components and its occupants.
The key feature that make the kinetic recovery rope so effective is it’s ability to stretch. When put under load, it will stretch up to 30%, which introduces many benefits during vehicle recovery.
Static tow straps and chains are not designed for shock loads, so the pulling vehicle must first gain tension on them before it can begin the vehicle recovery. This doesn’t allow the pulling vehicle to gain any momentum before having to bear the forces of the stuck
vehicle. In many cases, the pulling vehicle will not make it anywhere and just bury itself, compounding the issue.
With kinetic recovery ropes, slack is left in the line before the pulling vehicle starts the recovery, allowing it to actually gain momentum and therefore increasing the pulling force. During the stretch, energy ramps up before being fully transferred to the vehicle being recovered.
Also, when the pulling vehicle in very loose terrain, such as deep sand, snow or mud, the ability to gain momentum, greatly increases the chances of a successful recovery since traction is limited also on the pulling vehicle.
To Learn More
Visit Yankum Ropes’s website at: YankumRopes.com
We also developed an online kinetic calculation tool you can use by visiting this link!
With this tool, you can input your vehicle’s weight, the vehicle to be pulled’s weight, and the angle of the terrain, and it will calculate the necessary minimum speed you need to extract the car.
Remember, we do not recommend speeds over 5 MPH due to the quadratic increase of Kinetic energy by the rate of speed.
For example, a 5200-pound vehicle at 5 MPH, generates 5,884 Joules, the equivalent energy to pull a 12,990-pound car 3 feet forward.
Traveling at 10 MPH, the exact same vehicle generates 25,537 Joules, or the equivalent of 51,959 pounds of kinetic energy, way over the maximum breaking point of most kinetic ropes.
Finally, remember
Set up the rope to the maximum distance, attach both vehicles, reverse about 50% of the space between vehicles, and drive slowly, not exceeding the 5 MPH recommended speed.
Your vehicle’s weight is your best ally. Kinetic Energy is very powerful; never have people standing nearby while the rope is under working tension.
We also added another article about an accident that happened while using kinetic ropes. It is important to take a look and recognize the potential dangers while using any recovery gear. Here is the link: https://offroadportal.org/kinetic-rope-going-thru-windshield/