[Snorky]

Hi,

Looking for help or suggestions on proper winching use and techniques. Best case would be if there was actually somewhere to go to learn proper use and techniques. Any suggestions or comments would be appreciated.

Thanks.

[Stu Olson]

A good 4x4 book (covers a bit of everything and is not vehicle specific) is called "4 Wheel Freedom", by Brad Delong. You can do a search for it on the internet and find it all over the place. He has a good section, IMO, on winching techniques and virtually every other 4x4 topic too. The book is mostly about wheeling not making mods to your vehicle, although he does cover some areas that apply to a broad array of 4x4 vehicles. I bought a copy several years ago and still dig it out about once every 6 months to refresh myself on a topic. A good book and I recommend it to all wheelers, regardless of experience level.

[Mud Crawler]

Wow, nice to have Stu looking over here. :jump: I have refered to your site on many occasions seeking all kinds of information . :sneak:

[JeepinIan]

Try this link. A very good article.winch link

[Jim B]

Snorky, welcome to the forum, looks like we are neighbors.


Stu, welcome to the forum, you bring with you a great deal of knowledge and a great deal of fun. I looked at your location and it said "not given" , never been to that part of the country, where exactly is it?

Ian, excellent link. Good deal of information.

My take on all of this is that you need the basics to get started. Both the book mentioned and this link will get you there for sure. There will different scenarios that you will come up on the trail that will throw a lot of the "right" things to do out the window and you will have to improvise. No one can give you this except yourself with trail experience.

With regards to the subject on synthetic rope instead of a wire cable. In my lifetime of wheeling I've only seen one cable break, no accidents happened as all precautions were taken. Heard of other wire cables being broken and disastrous accidents happen but I personally have never seen it or hardly hear about them.

I was wheeling in Moab and Colorado last year and personally saw 3 of the synthetic ropes break. Luckily we had a double cable attached to the vehicle (a wire cable and the synthetic rope), when the synthetic rope snapped. If it was not for the second wire cable, the vehicle would have fallen backwards on the waterfall and it would have been disastrous not only for the vehicle but most important for the driver.

Three synthetic ropes in one trip are not very good odds. :tdown: You will never get me to switch over or use a synthetic rope. Yes there are pros and cons but the odds were not there. Ask the jeeper with the synthetic rope what he is using now... nothing but wire cable. Btw, I've seen the rope jam on the spool quite a bit.

[Snorky]

Hello again.


The manual for my winch says before the initial use and after each subsequent use I need to unravel my wire rope and and rewind it onto the spool under a load of at least 500 pounds. Not sure exactly what I could hook it up to and then rewind.

Any comments or suggestions are appreciated.

Thanks.

Snorky

[Stu Olson]

Toss a tree saver around any reasonably sized tree, apply a little bit of parking brake, and pull the cable in. Be careful! Watch those fingers and ALWAYS use leather gloves!

[Sky6]

Welcome Stu!!!
I've read a lot of your posts on other forums and enjoyed your web site as well. You bring lots of experience here.

Joe

[Stu Olson]

Thanks....Tracy and Jim dropped me a note and said to stop by and say HI. So, I did!

[Tracy]

Hi ya Stu,
Good to see you!!!

[Snorky]

Let's get this winching topic going again.

I have seen double lines implemented by running the wire rope to the anchor point and then back to a recovery point on the vehicle. These tend to be off to one side or the other of the winch. Here is my questions. Why not use a chain of sufficient capacity to attach to both anchor points (assuming there are two on the front of the vehicle) and then pull the chain to create a "V" shape and then bring the wire rope straight back and attach it to the chain at the base of the "V".

anyone have anythoughts on this? Thanks for your input

Snorky

afterthought : I found this description for a 3/8" chain on the Recovery Gear website. If anyone can explain the "working load limit" vs. "the ultimate strength" that would be great.

"# 6600 lb. Working Load Limit"
"# Design Factor / Ultimate Strength = 4 times Working Load Limit"
"# Ultimate Strength = 26,400 lbs."

Thanks again.

[Hellbender]

Yes, you could do this, BUT the straighter the chain is (the VEE between the 2 points) the easier the chain will break (simplified).

Ultimate strength is theoretical breaking point (simplified, it's actually very complicated and involved)

Working load limit is the max. where the chain is "designed" under normal conditions (no shock loads, etc., etc.) to be used to meet it's expected service life (which is rigidly detailed also).

HTH