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Wildthings
Samba Member
Joined: March 13, 2005
Posts: 50350
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 Posted: Thu Oct 24, 2019 9:21 am Post subject: Re: about winches... |
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| Sodo wrote: |
| Wildthings wrote: |
| I had a little trailer ball mounted winch.....I had a trailer ball mounted on each end of the front bumper and one centered in the rear. This let me do a straight pull at what would have been some rather extreme angles for a typical winch. |
That's a very cool, simple solution.
Wonder why it's not "more popular"?
Maybe because trailer balls are rated for "x,xxx lbs trailer weight" not rated for "x,xxx lbs tension"?
And the similarity of the numbers might confuse people? |
Good question. It was sold as an upgrade for those tiny 1500# winches that people would install on their mini pickups back in the seventies. IIRC the trailer ball mount was an option which was added to the basic winch. I used it for years with my only upgrade being much larger cables to get the voltage at the winch motor up. From memory I think it was only rated at 3000# at 7-8v using the original cables, but it came with a chart showing the voltage and resulting line pull if you went to larger cables, which I did. |
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Sodo
Samba Member
Joined: July 06, 2007
Posts: 9610
Location: Western WA
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| Posted: Thu Oct 24, 2019 10:13 am Post subject: Re: about winches... |
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One guy told me he heard of trailer balls braking off. Some just have a bolt thru the middle, and if you pull hard on it, the leverage can increase the tension in that bolt. Some trailer balls are solid steel.
Straight pull seems better.
Simple is usually better.
But this is one more "thing" to carry.
D-Ring Receiver Hitch $10
_________________
'90 Westy EJ25, 2Peloquins, 3knobs, pressure-oiled GT mainshaft, filtered, cooled gearbox
'87 Tintop w 47k 53k, '12 SmallCar EJ25, cooled filtered gearbox
....KTMs, GasGas, SPOT mtb |
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erste
Samba Member
Joined: March 29, 2013
Posts: 1110
Location: San Francisco
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| Posted: Thu Oct 24, 2019 10:16 am Post subject: Re: about winches... |
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I'd get a set of traction boards before messing around with a winch.
This video is nuts! Look for the link to Part 2 for the longer version. |
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Syncro Jael
Samba Member
Joined: December 19, 2013
Posts: 2204
Location: Utah
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| Posted: Thu Oct 24, 2019 10:29 am Post subject: Re: about winches... |
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Synthetic Winch Line or (Rope).
One of the most important features of synthetic winch lines is the safety benefits they provide. Synthetic lines do not store energy while under load and are very lightweight. This means that if something should go wrong and the rope breaks, it will harmlessly fall to the ground. Steel wire rope on the other hand, stores a tremendous amount of energy under load, and in the case of breakage, will violently snap back and whiplash. This can cause serious injury to people involved in the winching procedure.
Synthetic winch line is a great product for many vehicle recovery situations. If you winch a lot and are concerned about weight, synthetic can be a great option since it is lightweight and easy to handle. It doesn't develop sharp burrs like steel rope, and doesn't store as much potential energy when under load. Synthetic winch lines have breaking strengths 30-90% higher than steel wire rope. This is a tremendous increase and allows for smaller diameter winch lines to be used when switching to synthetic, therefore increasing the amount of line that can be installed on the winch.
I am not talking synthetic recovery rope or straps.
There is no official working load limit on using Power Stretch Recovery Ropes. However, from thousands of successful recoveries we recommend that the best method in selecting the right rope is by multiplying the weight of the stuck vehicle by 3.5 or 4 times and then selecting the rope that has a breaking strength that is equal to or higher than that number. For example: if you are going to be recovering vehicles similar in size to a Jeep which weighs approximately 4,000 to 5,000 lbs.
Kinetic Recovery Tow Ropes are THE tool to use when towing stuck vehicles. Utilize the kinetic energy of the tow vehicle to apply more extraction power to the stuck vehicle without cringe inducing jolts. Other towing equipment like chains or standard tow straps can transmit unnecessary, damaging impact forces to both vehicles if used with any sort of a running start. Our Double Braid Nylon material provides up to 30% elongation during use, which translates into lower impact but higher energy transfer to the stuck vehicle. It just works better in most situations than any other option out there.
My winch has paid for itself numerous times.
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Subaru EJ25 Forged Frankenmotor, Triple Knob.
Jael = (Mountain Goat) |
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SCM
Samba Member
Joined: January 26, 2011
Posts: 3118
Location: Bozeman MT
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| Posted: Thu Oct 24, 2019 10:52 am Post subject: Re: about winches... |
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Slightly OT but I had a really surprising winch episode this summer.
I got my work truck stuck in a snow drift (Montana at 9,500 feet) and was lucky enough to have the local vehicle recovery guy drive by just as I was getting ready to hike the 7 miles back to town.
He had a super modified Jeep Wrangler with a winch and pulled me out. BUT, during all of the previous shoveling and tire spinning a bunch of snow and ice must have become caked into my brakes. Once I was free of the drift I had no brakes and basically had a head-on collision with him at about 2 MPH.
His Jeep didn't get a scratch but the ol' F150 can't say the same.
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'91 Westfalia GL Automatic (GTA "Turbo" Rebuild w/Peloquin) and 2.3L GoWesty Engine |
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4Gears4Tires
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Joined: October 08, 2018
Posts: 3048
Location: MD
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| Posted: Thu Oct 24, 2019 2:50 pm Post subject: Re: about winches... |
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Kinetic Recovery Tow Rope must be the official name, I've only ever called them snatch straps. Lol. I agree, they are great first shot at recovery over a winch. Easy to set up. Very smooth recovery with their elasticity. Quick pulls from mud. I think everyone that goes off roading should carry this at bare minimum.
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'87 Syncro
Ferric Oxyhydroxide Superleggera Edition |
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