Bow Shackles: What are they? And what are they for?
Bow shackles are great tools to use when you need to tow a piece of heavy machinery. Able to withstand immense amounts of weight, bow shackles can help you pull equipment from difficult spots. Many people use bow shackles when towing another car from a ditch or any other difficult situation, to dock large ships, or they are most commonly used today for towing off-road vehicles such as All-Terrain Vehicles (ATV’s) out of muddy holes and crevices.
Bow shackles are distinguished by their distinctive U shape with a bolt feature on the opposite end used to attach to chain or sling.
Bow shackles are used like a connector between two components for the purpose of towing one vehicle with the help of the other. Keeping a set of bow shackles in the trunk of your car may just come in handy one day if bad weather pushes your vehicle off the road.
The advantage of bow shackles is that because of their unique shape, they are able to take different loads from different directions all for the greater good of towing. However, the bigger the U shape in the bow shackle, the less overall strength the bow shackle will have. So be aware of the approximate weight of what you intend to tow.
All types of shackles have what it called a “working load”, which is the amount of weight that they can safely tow. When purchasing bow shackles, be aware of the weight of the product you are towing. If you intend to use bow shackles to tow ATV’s, the most common size is the ½ inch size. You can find a set of ATV bow shackles in most hardware stores selling for around $20.00. If you are unsure of what is the appropriate working load, contact a professional to be sure that the working load is correct. If you are in doubt, ask.
Investing in a set of bow shackles will be a very good idea if you plan to tow very large pieces of equipment such as vehicles, boats, ATV’s, or other machinery. These small but strong connecting links will make seemingly impossible jobs much easier, allowing you to finish your work more quickly and more efficiently.
