Best strap/chain to get pulled out of the mud?

Straps are much safer than chains when it comes to pulling. Your 1/2" G70 chain is rated at 11300 WLL, a 3" two ply strap is rated at over double that at 24K.
Towing & Recovery Straps W/ Cordura Eyes 3x20' 2-ply

Steve

 

I've pulled 5axle loaded end dumps out of bad spots on a demolition landfill with a Dozer with 3/8 G70. That is really uneven ground underneath the mud to boot. I would say it's a minimum, but it's tricky. You need to let them (the puller) do most of the work and not get ahead of them and create slack in the chain. I'm sure a good recovery strap would be more forgiving with less weight.

 

A good recovery strap will have some stretch/rebound to help tug you out. A 3/8" G70 has been sufficient for everything I've ever needed, though. Only time I've seen it break, I let a company driver use it to have a bulldozer pull him out. Once he had traction, he started driving forward...creating slack...then he stopped, and the dozer didn't. When that slack was gone with the dozer still powering forward and the other driver's foot on the brakes in the truck, the chain didn't stand a chance.

 

Exactly. I never did find the hook on the short piece of chain that snapped off...had to buy another. Luckily the long end of the chain recoiled and went under the truck, not into the grille or windshield.

Straps may recoil, but as long as the shackles are still attached to the vehicles, the soft strap really won't damage anything. Where you really have to be careful is if the tow hook (D-ring on my Mack) lets go, and now you've got a heavy duty shackle on the loose end of the strap as it goes flying.

 

There are videos of all kinds of one off accidents, chains have more kinetic energy when they break. It is simple physics.

As to where to pull from? Either of your frame horns is acceptable to pull from, the off centerline pull is minimal. The sliding force to get a truck out of a slippery situation is as we have seen nowhere near the actual weight of the rig. That said, stupid driver tricks can instantly load either a chain or strap to yield or burst.

Don't over complicate the problem, a bit of a tug will get most trucks going IF, you don't have an axle buried.

Steve