Question about winch

[James Morse]

so it seems like no good solution. but it only freezes if it gets wet, right? That issue not really apply to me anyway.
I don't get about the rubbing, what kind of situation would have it rubbing? I mean, if you wind it on a winch it rubs itself, but otherwise.

yeah Blmpkn that is a very good question. I guess my thinking went like this: I don't have somebody to go 4x4 with, yet anyway, so I'm going alone. the road I'm currently working to do the whole thing, there's not much traffic, like, we stopped the other day and got out the cooler and had lunch and looked for fossils and no one went by. so if I got stuck, I could be there a while. And even if somebody came by, would they have equipment? No way to know. Would they try to help? Probably... just based on a loose guess.

Then I ask myself, when would I get stuck. First of all I would avoid it, so let's say I had equipment, and never got stuck, that would be great. I'd consider it not a waste just like having insurance isn't a waste because if you ever need it, you're happy to have it.

If the chance is small of ever using it, logic would say, sure, if straps and a come-a-long would work, do that, at probably a small fraction of the cost. I still have to attach straps to something - the frame I guess. That should be do-able. That's possibly an elegant solution if it gets me out of putting on front and rear hitches which is expensive and just adds more weight and might decrease approach/departure angles a little.

Whatever you have, there has to be an anchor point. What if there's no solid tree close and no other vehicle? Seems like you're just stuck until somebody comes along.

How would I get stuck? I think the primary issue is truck hangs up trying to go over a rock that is too big. There's mud around, but, I'm not planning on driving into a big pool of it. Mostly it's short stretches and so far not deep.
Obviously I don't want to hang it up. If that happens there's damage somewhere, maybe it's scratches, maybe you dent skid plates, etc. Personally I'd like to have rock bars, have to research it a little more and get advice
93-11 Ford Ranger Weld-In Rock Sliders - Affordable Offroad
that seems like once they are on there you never can take them off but if they really work that would be way better than other kinds that are really just steps not rock bars.
if they save from dented rocker panels which I see could easily happen they would be worth it

Anyway that's my thinking fragmented as it is. There's high centering, there's maybe rock bars hung up (maybe never happens?), there's mud, but probably not, there's maybe stuck in 6" of running water because I didn't see a big hole in the creek bed. That's all I can think of.

But if a come-along strap breaks isn't it a similar problem? Can I get enough leverage to move the truck?

I have only been out like 3 or 4 times mild 4x4 (some sites call the road "moderate") so I'm just going by what I come across in the kind of thing I like to do which is you can get to a place and look at it and go, well, I think it's fine, but, I'm not really sure, and what happens if I hang up the rear differential on it hard enough the fronts can't pull it off. Then I'm screwed. If there's nothing close I can hook to I'm screwed too even if I have equipment. So I tend to err on the side of caution but where is the fun in that, plus, I'm like sure/determined I can go thru this road I just have to be careful about it. It's actually the raison d'etre for the '97 because I started going up it in the B3000 (rwd), got not far, and said to myself, you need 4x4 for this road. I love the '97 so I'm not against spending, hopefully wisely, some money on it.

It seems to me like rock bars, if they are welded to the frame, you could jack on them, you could pull on them, right? If they get banged up badly, you can replace them a lot easier than replacing rocker panels. They look rugged.
I'm just thinking of places where you have a choice, you can plan to get your tires to go over the high point so you don't high center, but you might by doing that be close up to rocks on the side. I could foresee all kinds of situations where they could save you body damage. Unless I'm reading that wrong. They'd add 80 lbs, not horrible.

There is also call a tow truck. I'm just not sure if my insurance would pay for going way up a fire road past 5 creek crossings. At probably $2/mile for a tow, it wouldn't take long before the money would be better spent avoiding that nightmare. And sure, there are lots of other kind of failures that will leave you stranded but in terms of truck is stuck on/in something it'd be nice to have a backup plan in mind.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Correct, winch line only freezes if it gets wet and cold.

There are anchors designed for winching when there’s no tree or truck available to winch to. People have also buried the spare tire with the winch line attached and stuff. Most of the time, unless you’re in a desert with nobody else, there is something within winch distance. But it does happen.

Rubbing could be anything, rock, tree, whatever the winch line comes against. Naturally, if it’s a small tree it’s likely not going to damage the winch line, but rocks are a more common problem. You can get sleeves and stuff to help prevent that. Sometimes you can also change your anchor point to avoid it. Steel cable is more resistant to rubbing than synthetic line, but it’s still a concern.

 

[Shran]

Winch rope also can be damaged with UV light... the top layer on my XRC8 is really weathered and discolored. Has not broken though.

I've got one winch with rope and three with cable. I don't really have a preference. Cable strands that break off and get caught in your hand really suck. Rope that gets caught under a couple wraps and then pulled tight is a mega pain to fix - cable that does that is slightly easier in my experience. Rope is a lot lighter and easier to pull. Cable that gets crushed or bent can cause a weak spot, rope isn't quite as susceptible to that.

I'll probably run cable on my car trailer winch forever. Wheeling rigs I'd prefer rope, winch on a daily driver doesn't really matter, either will work.

 

[sgtsandman]

Regardless of which way you decide to go, make sure you get the blankets designed for recovery. They will help control the line as it snaps and minimize any damage to anything. Most of them have some kind of pocket or pouch to dump dirt or rocks in to add weight to the line and they fold up pretty compact for storage.

You want something to force the line to the ground as quickly as possible and those tend to do it pretty well if setup properly.

 

[ryan]

I run rope and soft shackles and a factory 55 link to avoid using a hook as well. I keep my winch covered to keep the sun and water off of it and have had no issues with line at all

 

[Lefty]

I had a big winch on my old truck, but almost never used it...and when I did, a smaller winch would have worked just fine.

I'm sure that my good friends here will take umbrage at this once again, but I use a one hundred dollar 4,700 lb Vevor winch mounted on a 4" wide 1/4" steel plate bolted to the frame rails. I pulled two cars out this winter. Granted, these were just regular cars. They didn't have trailers on them. They weren't in the swamp or high centered on a giant boulder on a mountain top. They weren't loaded with bricks. We weren't way off in the woods. BUT for around the town, on reasonably level ground, that little winch works just fine.

My point is that winch capacity is directly related to what you are expecting to do. Even 10,000 pounds might not be enough for some applications.

The guys have mentioned the importance winch safety even painted vivid pictures of what could happen if something could go wrong. They're right, of course, but those dangers rise exponentially with pulling power.

BTW, should I ever need more, I've got a snatch block which offers a greater mechanical advantage. Some day maybe I'm going to buy a tree saver too.

For heavy duty needs, I've also got a tow strap and soft shackles (bones). Those tow loops on the front of the Ranger are very strong.

Otherwise, I would just call a tow truck for $75.00.

I like remote control, and synthetic rope/cable. Maybe the rope could freeze, but mine stays dry. I mounted it just behind the front valance. And don't worry, that valance is well supported. The fairlead bolts through the valance and to the mounting plate.

Winch capacity is an important consideration, of course. Keep in mind that most trucks don't have a winch at all. If you are like me and you live in the burbs or the city, a small winch is fine for those rare occasions when a neighbor gets stuck.

 

[RumPunch]

Take a look at this then consider the options.

 

[Lefty]

Take a look at this then consider the options.

View attachment 89468

Wow!

 

[RumPunch]

I figure at minimum gear needs to be 2x vehicle weight if not more. And on that note I never pull without a weight on the strap/chain to drop the kinetic energy.

 

[don4331]

Take a look at this then consider the options.

View attachment 89468

I actually had truck that looked just like that. But I saw situation unfolding and laid down across the passenger's seat, so just got covered in glass pieces. Cost me a good windshield and my wife doesn't like towing with me anymore. But I'm not part of the "selfie" generation, so there's no proof it ever happened.

 

[Lefty]

I figure at minimum gear needs to be 2x vehicle weight if not more. And on that note I never pull without a weight on the strap/chain to drop the kinetic energy.

I actually had truck that looked just like that. But I saw situation unfolding and laid down across the passenger's seat, so just got covered in glass pieces. Cost me a good windshield and my wife doesn't like towing with me anymore. But I'm not part of the "selfie" generation, so there's no proof it ever happened.

There is a point at which most of us need to admit that we are not tow/recovery professionals, that some jobs are better left up to them. One of the members once suggested (on another thread) that we should practice first.

I would never have thought this needs to be said, but avoid using that hitch ball, especially for difficult pulls.

 

[sgtsandman]

There is a point at which most of us need to admit that we are not tow/recovery professionals, that some jobs are better left up to them. One of the members once suggested (on another thread) that we should practice first.

Practice isn’t a bad idea. Get familiar with how the equipment works before you need it instead right when you need it. Getting assistance from someone who has experience to teach you and point out tips and tricks isn’t a bad idea either.

 

[Will]

The best winch is a fast winch. I went through a few winches. I settled on the Superwinch Talon 9.5i. It's the fastest winch there is. You have to run to spool it back in. I cut the steel wire in half and put hooks on the extra half for when I need it. I have the huge crimper for the cable to do this. I carry 2 snatch blocks so I can 3x the power if I need to. I have only ever needed 1 block.


I use this stuff. Get the fastest winch you can afford. Steel cable is durable because I'm often rubbing it on trees and rocks. I use soft shackles a lot, but the steel wire holds up better than the rope when you are running pulls over rocks and logs. I broke a rope this winter trying to pull a 5500 Chevy filled with batteries out of someones yard.

 

[ryan]

The best winch is a fast winch. I went through a few winches. I settled on the Superwinch Talon 9.5i. It's the fastest winch there is. You have to run to spool it back in. I cut the steel wire in half and put hooks on the extra half for when I need it. I have the huge crimper for the cable to do this. I carry 2 snatch blocks so I can 3x the power if I need to. I have only ever needed 1 block.


I use this stuff. Get the fastest winch you can afford. Steel cable is durable because I'm often rubbing it on trees and rocks. I use soft shackles a lot, but the steel wire holds up better than the rope when you are running pulls over rocks and logs. I broke a rope this winter trying to pull a 5500 Chevy filled with batteries out of someones yard.

you'd love some of the comp winches that are out there now - they're even faster than that superwinch, but very expensive. Only 50 ft lines as well

 

[00t444e]

In the 60s and 70s there was a sort of woven Japanese toy that went on your finger, and when another finger was inserted into the other end it would grab them both, and the harder you pulled the tighter it would grip.

We must be stuck in the past here because those were common when I was growing up and I am not nearly that old.