I'll second Mike's opinion on the use of the spare tire for an improvised anchor ( I never heard the term deadhead used for one; that term refers to a vehicle which has to be towed) and would add that it has saved me on a couple of occasions with a slight twist to it's use. In the winter, while stuck on a country road in the barren wasteland of saskatchewan, I used the spare tire as an anchor by digging a trench into the snowdrift and running the winch cable through the center of the tire. Under load, the cable cuts into the bank, and the weight of the snowdrift actually held while I winched myself out.
Regarding the cast type holdfasts; there is a small mountain of them still in their wooden crates out at the military salvage yard here in Manitoba, if anyone is real desperate for a couple. According to the manual, each one, once firmly pegged down, was calculated to hold 4 tons, and where a greater resistance was required, they could be laid up to 4 inline since the end shackle was rated at 16 tons.
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