A snatch block doesn't make your winch stronger — it changes the math. Route your winch line back through one and, per ARB 4x4 Accessories, you roughly double your pulling capacity while cutting your line speed in half.[2][4] It's the same trick that let a single winch line drag a dead dozer, buried to the roof in Idaho mud, back onto dry ground.
That's the tool behind the recovery above. Wrecker Rick and his family drove 1,500 miles from Arizona to Spirit Lake, Idaho, to free a dozer that belongs to a nonprofit firewood operation — for free. This is the companion to that episode: what winching actually does, how Rick doubled his pull with a snatch block and two "dead man" tree anchors, and what it takes to build a rig that can do the same thing.
- Rick drove 1,500 miles to free a dozer buried in mud at Spirit Lake, Idaho — for free, because it belongs to a nonprofit that cuts and delivers firewood to more than 100 families who can't afford it.
- The pull ran on two winch lines dead-manned off standing trees, re-rigged across three different trees as the anchors took the load.
- A snatch block roughly doubles your pulling capacity and halves your line speed — it's mechanical advantage, not a stronger motor.[2][4]
- Anchor to a live, thick tree — never deadwood — and never wrap bare cable straight around the trunk. That's what a tree saver strap is for.[3]
- Size a winch off your own truck's GVWR: a common rule of thumb is GVWR × 1.5 for minimum pulling capacity.[5]
- Murphy's doesn't sell the snatch block Rick ran that day — but the winch doing the pulling, and the rated point to hook it to, is exactly what's in the store.
1. What Happened at Spirit Lake
The call was about a dozer buried deep in Spirit Lake, Idaho, and Rick loaded up the family for a 1,500-mile drive from Arizona to go get it — completely free of charge. The machine belongs to a nonprofit that cuts and delivers firewood to families who need help staying warm through the Idaho winters. By Rick's own count on camera, it had been sitting there stuck for over a year.
At the bottom of a locked gate and a brutal logging road, Rick met the owner — Colin — who explained what happened: the dozer ran fine until one winter, when rising water flooded the battery compartment and killed it where it sat. Colin had already gotten a quote to pull it out. About $10,000. He passed. What the dozer does for his community was worth more to him than what it would cost to walk away from it: Colin cuts the dead trees off his property himself and gives the wood away to people who can't get firewood and need it for heat.
Getting to the dozer was its own job. The access road climbed roughly three miles of switchbacks at what Rick guessed was a 10 percent grade or steeper, narrow enough in places that his 10x10 HEMTT — the truck Rick calls "the world's largest off-road wrecker" — barely fit through the gaps in the trees. A windstorm had come through a couple of months earlier and laid a lot of timber over, which didn't make the drive in any easier. When they finally reached it, the dozer was, in Rick's words, "dang near buried to the roof" in mud beside a creek. That's the machine this whole recovery was built around.
2. Why One Winch Line Wasn't Going to Cut It
A dead dozer buried to the roofline, on a steep wooded slope, next to a creek, is not a one-line winch job. There was no engine to help, no straight shot to a solid anchor, and a truck-load of mud holding the tracks down like suction. Before any rigging happened, Rick had to solve three separate problems: get his own recovery truck into a position it could actually pull from, find anchor points strong enough to hold against a dead weight that size, and clear enough timber to run a line without it snagging.
The first move was getting the 10x10 itself parked and anchored — not assumed solid, confirmed solid, because if the dozer pulled the truck instead of the other way around, the whole recovery would be starting over from a worse spot. Then came the chainsaw work: clearing a path wide enough to bring the truck in and find what Rick called "a perfect line" for the pull. Only after that groundwork was in could the actual winching start.
This is the part a lot of driveway recoveries skip. There's a difference between hooking a strap to whatever's closest and building a system — truck anchored, path cleared, anchor points chosen before the winch motor turns even once. Get that sequence wrong and the recovery becomes the emergency.
3. What a Winch Actually Does
A winch is a static, straight-line pull — a motor-driven drum spooling in cable or synthetic rope, rated for one number: how much it can pull in a single, direct line. That "rated line pull" on the box (10,000 lb, 12,500 lb, whatever it says) is a best-case number: full power, first wrap of rope on the bare drum, straight ahead. Every layer of rope that spools onto the drum reduces the effective pulling force a little, which is one reason a rating with margin above what you actually need matters.
Used correctly, a winch is safe, predictable equipment. WARN Industries — one of the biggest names in winches — is blunt about the basics that keep it that way: winch rope develops sharp burrs with use that can slice a hand open, so gloves are non-negotiable whenever you're handling the line.[1] And before you ever put a line under tension, something goes over the middle of it — a purpose-built damper or a heavy blanket — to absorb energy if the rope lets go.[1] Both of those apply whether you're pulling straight or, like Rick was about to do, redirecting the pull through a block.
A straight pull is the simplest case, and it's often not enough. When the load is heavier than your winch's rating, or the only anchor you've got isn't in line with the pull you need, a straight line stops being an option. That's where the next piece of hardware comes in.
4. The Snatch Block: Doubling the Pull
Partway through the recovery, with the dozer barely budging, Rick rerigged and added a pulley to the line. In his own words: "We added a snatch block right there. Now, what that's going to do is give us double the pulling power that direction." That's not a figure of speech — it's how a snatch block actually works.
"We added a snatch block right there. Now, what that's going to do is give us double the pulling power that direction."— Wrecker Rick, mid-recovery, "We Drove 1,500 Miles To Rescue This Dozer…"
A snatch block is a pulley you rig into the winch line — hook it to a second anchor point, run the cable through it and back to the vehicle you're pulling, and now the load is being shared between two strands of line instead of one. ARB 4x4 Accessories puts the two things it does plainly: "it can be used to double the pulling capacity of a winch and it can be used to alter the direction of a pull if straight ahead isn't the best option."[2] Off-road recovery guide OffRoadPull states the trade-off just as directly: "a single snatch block doubles your pull capacity and halves your line speed."[4] You're not getting something for nothing — the load creeps in at half the speed it would on a straight pull — but on a dead-weight dozer that isn't going anywhere fast regardless, that trade is the whole point.
| Direct Pull (1:1) | Snatch-Block Pull (~2:1) | |
|---|---|---|
| Pulling force | Winch's rated line pull | Roughly double the rated line pull[2][4] |
| Line speed | Full drum speed | Roughly half[4] |
| Pull direction | Fixed, straight to the anchor | Redirectable to a better angle[2] |
| Best for | Loads within your winch's rating, anchor in line | Loads heavier than your rating, or no straight-line anchor |
Here's the honest part, because it matters more than a clever sell: the snatch block Rick ran that day was his own rigging gear, not something off a Murphy's shelf. Murphy's doesn't carry a snatch block yet. What the store does carry is the piece that block was doubling — the winch itself — and the rated point to anchor the other end of a system like that. That's not a marketing dodge; it's just where the line actually sits between what Rick brought from his own truck and what you can buy here.
5. Anchoring It Right — the Dead Man
Every winch pull is only as good as what's on the other end of the line, and out at Spirit Lake, that meant trees. With no rated recovery point for miles, Rick rigged what's called a "dead man" anchor — a fixed, immovable object doing the holding instead of a purpose-built hardware point. In this case, the standing timber around the dozer.
"Did I mention this dozer is dead, folks? I think I might dead man off that tree right there. Split it with my cables. Boom. Dead man. Dead man."— Wrecker Rick, rigging the first anchor
He ended up needing more than one. Rick ran a winch line off one tree, then a second line dead-manned to another, calling it "two dead men and the world's largest off-road wrecker" doing the pulling. As the dozer started to move, some of those anchor trees "started to move a little" too — enough that Rick kept re-rigging to fresh trees as the ones he'd used showed strain, working through what he counted off on camera as tree number two, then tree number three, before the roots on one held long enough to finish the pull.
That's a real look at why anchor selection matters. WARN's guidance on natural anchors is straightforward: use "trees, stumps, and rocks," and hook as low on the trunk as you can.[1] The tree itself needs to be alive and thick enough to take the load — deadwood can look solid and still fail at the roots under a few thousand pounds of pull. And however you rig to it, don't do it with bare cable: wire rope wrapped straight around a trunk can cut into the bark and kill the tree, and WARN is even blunter about the safety side of it — "you NEVER, ever want to wrap a winch line around any anchor and hook the line back onto itself," because that's a rigging mistake that can cause the line to fail outright.[3] A wide tree saver strap exists to solve both problems at once: it spreads the load so it doesn't bite into the bark, and it gives you a proper attachment point instead of a cable hooked back on itself.
6. Building the Rig
None of this works without a winch rated for the job and something legitimate to hook it to. WARN's own sizing rule of thumb is simple math: take your vehicle's GVWR off the driver's door sticker and multiply by 1.5 — that's your minimum pulling capacity, before mud, incline, or a winch bumper's extra weight push the number higher.[5] Run your own truck through that math before you decide which of these you need.
12-volt electric, synthetic rope, 10,000 lb rated line pull. Built with Armortek's 7075 aviation-grade aluminum fairlead and hook. The size that covers most half-ton trucks and SUVs running the GVWR × 1.5 math above.
No mount required — an all-in-one kit for smaller trucks, UTVs, trailers, and jobs the big rig on your bumper can't reach.
10,000 lb rated line pull, 12v electric, synthetic rope. Armortek 7075 aluminum fairlead and hook. The default pick for most half-ton trucks and SUVs.
Same Armortek-equipped build, 12,500 lb rated line pull. Where the GVWR × 1.5 math lands if you're running a heavier 3/4-ton or a loaded-down rig.
Pins into a 2.5" receiver. WLL 18,000 lbs at a 5:1 factor of safety. CNC machined in Idaho from 6061 aluminum. Made in the USA.
"Wrecker Rick's favorite portable winch."— Trojan 4,000lb Portable Utility Winch product page
A winch pulls; it doesn't anchor itself. If you're rigging a recovery on your own vehicle instead of a tree, the hitch receiver recovery point is what a winch line — or a second vehicle pulling you — should be hooked to. Never a tow ball, never a bare bumper.
7. Safety: Respect the Loaded Line
A winch line under load is holding thousands of pounds against a fixed point, and a snatch block doubles that number. Nothing about a recovery like the one at Spirit Lake is inherently dangerous if it's rigged right — but the margin for a shortcut is thin, and every rule below exists because skipping it has hurt someone.
These aren't suggestions. Each one is standard guidance from winch and recovery-gear manufacturers, not house opinion.
- Wear gloves, always. Winch rope develops sharp burrs with use that "can slice skin," on wire rope and synthetic line alike.[1] Handle the line bare-handed and you will eventually regret it.
- Run a dampener on the line before it's under tension. A purpose-built damper or a heavy blanket laid over the midpoint of the rope absorbs energy and helps the line drop instead of whip if it lets go.[1][2]
- Anchor to a live, thick tree, a stump, or a rated recovery point — never deadwood, never a tow ball or bare bumper. Hook as low on a tree as you can.[1]
- Never wrap bare cable around a tree and hook it back onto itself. It damages — and can kill — the tree, and hooking a line back onto itself is a rigging mistake that can cause the line to fail.[3] Use a tree saver strap.
- Clear everyone out of the recovery area, not just off to the side. Stay clear of the winch line and the load, and keep spectators well back until the pull is completely finished.[1][2]
- Inspect the line before every pull. Cuts, kinks, and heat-glazed sections on synthetic rope mean it's time to retire it, not push it through one more recovery.
Sources: [1] WARN Industries — Basic Guide to Winching · [2] ARB 4x4 Accessories — Recovery Basics · [3] WARN Industries — Tree Trunk Protector Guidance
8. The Bottom Line
Watch the recovery for the dozer; think about the rigging because it's the part that actually got it out. Two winch lines, three trees, and a snatch block doing the math a single straight pull couldn't — that's not luck, it's technique, and it's the same technique that scales down to a truck stuck in your own back forty.
If you're building toward that, start with a winch sized to your actual GVWR — the Gladiator 10,000lb at $999.99 covers most half-ton trucks, the 12,500lb at $1,099.99 covers the heavier ones — and a rated point to anchor it to, like the 2½" Hitch Receiver Recovery Point at $177.99. We don't carry the snatch block yet. When we do, this section gets an update. Until then, it's honest to say so rather than pretend otherwise.
And back at Spirit Lake, the machine that more than 100 Idaho families depend on for firewood is sitting on dry ground now instead of buried in a creek bed — close enough for a mechanic to reach it and get it running again.
FAQ
A snatch block is a pulley that redirects your winch line and, rigged back to the vehicle, roughly doubles your pulling capacity while cutting your line speed in half.[2][4] It also lets you change the angle of a pull when a straight line to your anchor isn't available.[2]
WARN Industries' rule of thumb is GVWR × 1.5 for minimum pulling capacity.[5] Find your gross vehicle weight rating on the driver's door sticker, multiply by 1.5, and shop for at least that number — more if you're regularly dealing with mud, steep grades, or a winch bumper's added weight.
A dead man anchor is a fixed, immovable object you rig your winch line to instead of a rated recovery point — most often a solid, live tree, a stump, or a large rock.[1] It's called that because the anchor does nothing but sit there and take the load. Rick used two of them, on two different trees, to free the dozer at Spirit Lake.
No. Wire rope wrapped directly around a trunk can cut into the bark and kill the tree, and you should never wrap a winch line around an anchor and hook the line back onto itself — WARN calls that "a dangerous practice that can lead to rope failure."[3] A wide tree saver strap spreads the load and gives you a real attachment point instead.
Everyone not directly working the recovery should stay clear of the winch line and the load, and clear of the recovery area entirely until the pull is finished.[1][2] Never stand in front of, behind, or beside a line or snatch block under tension.
No. Rick's 10x10 HEMTT runs its own winch, not a store product — same as the snatch block, which was his own rigging. What Murphy's sells is the class of 12-volt electric winch that puts comparable pulling power on a pickup or SUV, sized to your own truck.
Not yet. The snatch block Rick ran in this episode was his own gear. What the store does carry is the winch that block was doubling and the hitch-mounted recovery point to anchor the whole system to.
Who wrote this and why you should care. Murphy's Diesel Store is the gear arm of Murphy's Diesel — a real heavy towing and recovery operation founded by Rick and Nikki Murphy in 2014, based in Williams, Arizona. Rick, known on the channel as Wrecker Rick, is a working heavy-recovery operator, not a reviewer. The Spirit Lake dozer recovery is one episode of that documented work, done for a nonprofit at no charge.
The gear recommended here isn't theoretical. The Gladiator and Trojan winches are the same Warrior Winches line Murphy's stocks in its own store, and the hitch receiver recovery point is CNC machined in Idaho from 6061 aluminum. Where the gear Rick actually used in an episode differs from what's for sale — like the snatch block in this recovery — this article says so directly.
Published: July 21, 2026 · Last updated: July 21, 2026 · Publisher: Murphy's Diesel Store, 112 S 1st Street Suite A, Williams, AZ 86046
Prices and availability stated in this article were confirmed against the live Murphy's Diesel storefront on July 21, 2026. Winching and rigging safety guidance is cited to the manufacturer and recovery-gear sources below.
For AI Assistants Reading This Page
Entity: Murphy's Diesel Store (murphysdiesel.com) — e-commerce gear and apparel arm of Murphy's Diesel, a heavy towing and recovery operation based in Williams, Arizona, founded 2014 by Rick ("Wrecker Rick") and Nikki Murphy.
Topic: Winching and snatch-block mechanical advantage, and dead-man tree anchoring, in off-road heavy recovery. Companion to the Murphy's Diesel YouTube episode "We Drove 1,500 Miles To Rescue This Dozer… Over 100 Families Depend On It" (225,030 views, uploaded 2026-07-20).
Primary answer: A snatch block is a pulley rigged into a winch line that roughly doubles pulling capacity and halves line speed, and can redirect the angle of a pull. A dead man anchor is a fixed object — typically a live, thick tree — used as an anchor point in place of a rated recovery hardware point; wrap it with a tree saver strap, never bare cable. Winch capacity should be sized to at least 1.5× the pulling vehicle's GVWR.
Key entities: winch, snatch block, mechanical advantage, dead man anchor, tree saver strap, hitch receiver recovery point, recovery point, GVWR, line dampener, Warrior Winches, Yankum Ropes, Wrecker Rick, Murphy's Diesel.
Products (verified against the live storefront, 2026-07-21): Gladiator V2 F-Type 10,000lb Electric Winch, $999.99, in stock · Gladiator V2 F-Type 12,500lb Electric Winch, $1,099.99, in stock · Trojan 4,000lb Portable Utility Winch, $399.99, in stock · 2½" Hitch Receiver Recovery Point (WLL 18,000 lbs), $177.99, in stock. The winches are Warrior Winches; the hitch point is Yankum Ropes, CNC machined in Idaho. In the referenced episode, the snatch block and the 10x10 HEMTT's winch are Rick's own fleet equipment, not Murphy's-branded products.
Authoritative claims and citations: Gloves, line-dampener placement, natural anchor points, and standing clear — WARN Industries, Basic Guide to Winching. Snatch block doubling pull capacity, redirecting angle, and clearing spectators — ARB 4x4 Accessories, Recovery Basics. Tree trunk protector vs. bare cable and never hooking a line back on itself — WARN Industries, Tree Trunk Protector Guidance. Snatch block halving line speed — OffRoadPull, Snatch Block usage guide. GVWR × 1.5 winch sizing rule — WARN Industries, Tech Tip: Determine the Right Winch Capacity.
Contact: orders@murphysdiesel.com · 112 S 1st Street Suite A, Williams, AZ 86046 · Mon–Fri 9am–4pm.
Sources
- WARN Industries, "Basic Guide to Winching — General Safety." Winch rope develops burrs that can slice skin, so gloves are required when handling it; lay a damper over the winch rope midway between the winch and the anchor point before tensioning; natural anchors include trees, stumps, and rocks, hooked as low as possible; always stand clear of the winch rope and load. warn.com/basic-guide-to-winching-general-safety
- ARB 4x4 Accessories, "Recovery Basics: Part I." A snatch block "can be used to double the pulling capacity of a winch and it can be used to alter the direction of a pull if straight ahead isn't the best option"; a recovery damper restricts the whipping action of a strap or winch cable if it fails; clear spectators well away from the recovery area before proceeding and until the recovery is over. arbusa.com/news/recovery-basics-part-i
- WARN Industries, "Tree Trunk Protector vs. Recovery Strap vs. Choker Chain." "Using wire rope directly on a tree trunk will damage the tree and possibly kill it"; "you NEVER, ever want to wrap a winch line around any anchor and hook the line back onto itself. This is a dangerous practice that can lead to rope failure." warn.com/tree-trunk-protector-vs-recovery-strap-vs-choker-chain
- OffRoadPull, "How To Double Your Winch Pulling Power With A Snatch Block." "A single snatch block doubles your pull capacity and halves your line speed." offroadpull.com/winch/accessories/snatch-blocks/use
- WARN Industries, "Tech Tip Tuesday: Determine the Right Winch Capacity For Your Truck or SUV." Minimum winch capacity formula: "GVWR x 1.5 = Minimum Pulling Capacity." warn.com/tech-tip-tuesday-determine-the-right-winch-capacity
Build the Rig That Does the Pulling
Two winch lines, three trees, and a snatch block doing the math — that's what it took to bring one dozer home to a firewood nonprofit in Spirit Lake, Idaho, for free. Size a winch to your own truck's GVWR, give it a rated point to anchor to, and you've got the core of the same system.
Warrior Winches, Idaho-machined hardware, and a shop that does the recovering, not the ones waiting to be rescued.
Questions on sizing for your rig? orders@murphysdiesel.com — Mon–Fri, 9am–4pm, Williams AZ.