Winch How To

[SleepyJeep]

Does anyone know if there is a site or a set of YT videos that talk about how to use a winch in various scenarios and how to use all the different shackles, shackle mounts, straps around trees etc?

Along the same vein, if there is one for towing and using the hitch receiver properly I would appreciate that as well.

Thanks!

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[Tortooga Custom Works]

 

[Tortooga Custom Works]

Just watch all of Ronny Dahl's videos. To start anyway... there are others out there too. Youtube will take you on the journey lol

 

[Slapping_Rabbits]

Good stuff! I need a winch since I plan on going out alone and I also have these massive tree stumps in my back yard that need to be dealt with.

 

[Jowen]

I believe that you will find a massive tree stump will move only when cut out or dig out. A stump 4 inches will not pull out with out digging. I have found that if you do a on line search you can find the military recovery manual for free down load. This publication will help determine the right rigging, safety and recovery procedures to get a good start on your knowledge base.

 

[Jowen]

I forgot that for soft mud anchor on a winch recovery buy a small 10 pound danforth anchor, costs very little compared to a 500$ earth anchor kit. This will work well on tundra, sand and etc.

 

[Tortooga Custom Works]

Another great thread:
https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/forum/threads/winching-recovery-101.24720/

 

[ACAD_Cowboy]

How much fun do you plan to have winching?

Billavista over on pirate has a great primer on winching and recovery.

The cliffs notes version is thus:

If you don’t know the true weight of the vehicle, use the GVWR from the door tag. Your amount of stuck and inclination/attitude will effect your rolling resistance which will have either a positive or negative effect on your winch capacity or needs. Pulling a truck stuck to the frame in sticky mud up a hill may require 600% GVWR of winch capacity. Add more if the vehicle is damaged or otherwise can’t or won’t roll on its tires.

Pulling downhill will relieve some of this load requirement as will the amount of mire and what you’re in or on. A downhill pull in snow may need very little capacity because you can slide and get that gravity assist.

Winch capacity is not the same as winch load rating. If you add a single sheave (pulley) you just doubled your mechanical advantage, add another and its triple. But since there ain’t no such thing as a free lunch, this greatly increased ability comes at the cost of a huge amount of wire rope that needs to be used to thread it all and a painfully slow speed. Also this advantage only comes when the rope is bent more than 90*, it needs to make a direction change and you only get full performance with 180* bends.

A single line winch pull may look manly but it’s wasted unless you either don’t need too much force or you’re only pulling a short distance. Use sheaves and don’t be shy.

The winch’s load rating represents the pull force on the first turn on the drum. That badlands 12k sure looks the business but as you stack layers on the drum you lose pull force quickly as the drums torque is going to get spent taking every bit of slack out of the spooled rope and if you weren’t clean with paying it back, it might submerge into the layers which is bad or it might start crushing lower layers which is very bad. But as you lose pull force you gain line speed as the spool diameter increases.

Your recovery gear and wire rope have thee important numbers associated with them:

Ultimate tensile strength - force beyond this equals catastrophic failure, bad things happen.

Working load limit- based on ultimate tensile modified by the safety factor, this should be below the plastic deformation limit which is where things get tweaked and stay tweaked. It is also used to match gear correctly so it works as a system.

Safety factor - typically expressed as a ratio, this is the amount something is oversized to account for human error, conditions, unforeseen variables etc. If the thing is rated for 1000 units and has a safety factor of 3:1, that means it has been tested at 3000 units without failure. This is not a license to abuse and underside gear, this is a design safety factor to attempt to stop you from killing or maiming. Also important to know what the safety factor is for, you may find that vertical pulling has a much lower rating and if it involves people it’s rated lower still. The logic is if you are going to lift humans in a man basket, everything is going to be an SF of 10 to ensure humans don’t die.

So the UTS is the base line for will this gear work or not for my need, the WLL and SF will tell you at which point end of the spectrum and how much abuse it can withstand.

Shackles, sheaves and hooks should all be sized correctly for your absolute worst case scenario, something like GVWR, on its side, uphill pull with the family hassling you about why isn’t it done yet and mosquitos feasting on you. Build for that and it’ll get done.

Wire rope and Dyneema rope have these same considerations plus some specific ones. IPS ( improved plow steel) wire rope is more durable is fouling conditions that dyneema, pulling over a break, over and through rocks, along downed trees etc. but it needs to be cleaned and oiled regularly with a wire rope lubricant to keep it supple and performing. If it gets kinked and takes a set it should be destroyed as you’ve damaged the physical metal. Rust is likewise just as bad, how many times have we seen a winch with rusted cable? I wouldn’t pull with it and neither should you. Broken strands are same same.

Dyneema also needs to be clean and free from contamination, it’ll pull the moon down but give it a slight snag and you can destroy it in moments. Don’t drag it across a log or rock or bumper etc, it’ll melt. Keep it covered so the UV doesn’t whomp on it. Amsteel is treated but a winch bag is cheap. Every so often take it off and put it in a laundry bag and into the machine with just warm water to give it a cleaning, it’ll thank you.

Electric winches provide engine off pull power and can play some good games. Hydraulic winches require the engine but are quiet and have a 100% duty cycle, electric doesn’t and be sure you know what yours is rated for so you don’t destroy a contactor or relay by pulling too long between cooling rests.

Electric dont like to work under water, hydraulic don’t care. Electric are fast, hydraulic are slow and typically have a two speed gear set, slow for pulling and fast for retrieving. Not recommended to pull in high speed. Not all winches have an effective power out function and if it doesn’t say you can use it for reverse winching down something don’t do it because you can destroy the brake.

For those wondering this might be a situation where you have a down slope that’s very loose or has some kind of obstacle part way down like a huge rut or log or rock that might cause you to tumble. You run the winch down to a sheave then back up to a sheave then back down to the rear of the vehicle, paying out rope as you go but allowing you to catch the truck and even pull back up in the event of OMFG. Very hard on the winch.

 

[bgenlvtex]

I predict long and pensive posts.

Here let me help:

Keep your line as straight as possible, if it is bearing hard on the fairlead, you are fucking up 9or have no other choice)
Use a block any and every time possible
Do not use a winch with the engine off
DO NOT get between the block and winch under load with ANY kind of line
Chinese shit is shit, in case you don't understand , Chinese shit is shit
Shit is not "THE shit", it is just shit, and probably Chinese

 

[scotticus]

Has anyone used the Comeup brand winches? My local off-road shop really likes them.

 

[Talon_Wolfe]

...if you are going to lift humans in a man basket...

I’m still smiling about this.

 

[ACAD_Cowboy]

I’m still smiling about this.

Not that your typical jeeper will be doing that but the big boy winches from Werner etc are usually had in a hauling winch flavor and a hoisting winch flavor and the margins for hoist work are far greater and stricter. The winch then also have things like positive disengagement brakes and auto locks etc etc.

 

[ACAD_Cowboy]

So I had a tree come down, a big twin trunk pine, say 20" by 40'. In order to complete the cutting i had to get it out of my shed. Enter the winch.

This is a warn 8k with 3/8 rope. The pull is two sheaves and the choker looks like hollow poly dock line but is in reality a core of 1/2" amsteel sk75 with a poly jacket. It's nice being able to work your own rope

The rough math on this pull is about 4500 pounds of trunk.

Once I got the tension laid in the pull was smooth and easy.

Learn you use your winch, the sheaves and shackles and play around with it so you're not "that guy" who's learning the hard way he's not prepared in real time.

 

[361Sean]

I am an iron worker by trade. I am also a licensed rigger. I realise that top shackle is much bigger than the load on it but it is " side loaded" and that's a big no no. Also pulling on both ends of the chocker... be safe..

 

[ACAD_Cowboy]

Yeah, I know. I didn't realize it was being pulled sideways until I was done. I'm a horrible person I know.

As for the choker, hard to see but it's doubled back on itself so it "shouldn't" move. I suppose I could have done better, heck I own enough chain but it is so heavy and such a long walk to the garage. Initially I wanted to constrictor knot it and put a shackle on each eye. That'll teach me.

Where on the island are you?

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