Winch Line?

I see that a lot of posts talk about using man made instead of metal cable. What size and what type of material is being used now? This old timer only knew about steel cable (nasty stuff) and we used to carry a tow rope made from 1 1/2" nylon to help get unstuck on the beach.

 

Thanks for the information. Amazing what the stuff is and what it will do. And to think that for years all we had was steel cable with its unique ability to splinter and kink.

 

Yeah well.
I think the consensus is that steel holds up a lot better under harsh conditions, abrasion, and repeated use.

 

Always had gloves in the truck. Helped with the metal shards.

And i like the 150ft it provides. I seem to only see synthetic with 100ft, may be 125. And extensions.

Less weight would be nice, that is the trade i think.

Bucket o snatch blocks and anchor chain out in the shed helped turn my old power wagon round more than once.

 

Snatch blocks are your friend-especially if you don't have a winch on your old hunting JEEP. Many years ago Dad made a mistake up in the hills in CA. and ended up with the JEEP way down at the bottom of a canyon. After a long walk back to the parking area and a short trip into town to purchase what seemed like about a mile of rope and 2 double snatch blocks we went back and watched in amazement how Dad built a most wonderful kid powered winch. It all stored in a milk case from Safeway. God we had to run for ever to move that little 2a out of that canyon-but it did work.

 

This is what mine is in, it's orange I think... or gray. Will have to dig it out of the shed and see.

 

I have not tried synthetic, yet ofter wondered about it's benefits. It looks nice when new, pretty fuzzy after repeated use. I know many tout it as superior for various reasons.
I'm curious how people are dealing with it's small diameter. 100, or 125' on the spool is much smaller diameter than steel. Pulling from smaller dia makes less ft per revolution of drum. Do people use backing?

 

Yeah, but the same math means that the pull is stronger close to the drum. Speed or power, pick one.

Winches are rated with only one or two layers on the drum.

 

Yes they are in the hands of a smart Person............I've always said just cause you have a winch , doesn't mean you know how to use it..............most recovery's in a nasty spot take a few initial setup pulls just to get the vehicle in position to make the final pull out, snatch blocks secured off in different directions are essential to make that happen........notwithstanding in a straight pull they can effectively double the weight pulled. Nice to have a few on-board , with some chain and shorter pieces of cables to make the hook up....

 

I went to synthetic and love it for the weight savings alone. Much easier to drag it than steel. I do take care of it. I even cleaned it this fall. Big bucket of soapy water and a brush.

 

Pulling ratio noted, yet I've not noticed much difference winching jeep. It would be an interesting physics calculation to figure the difference.
I'm sticking with steel for now.

 

Yep! I once moved a boulder about the same size as my 3B with the aid of the winch, snatch block, and a chain. It was sitting in the middle of a very narrow trail on an approximately 1:1 slope with no way around it for even a flat fender sized Jeep. A couple of ATV's went by us while we were contemplating if we could actually move it. Looped the the chain under the far bottom edge of the boulder and after several renditions which rolled it maybe a foot at a time with the snatch block determining the direction, we parked it on the outer edge of the trail. We didn't want to see what a couple ton boulder would do going down that slope to places we couldn't see. There were a couple of really surprised ATV riders at the lake when we showed up. That was the same trip my buddy found out XJ plastic clutch lines and headers needed more installation attention than he gave it.

 

Cable guy here. However, I think recovery classes talk about people like me as abusive because its used for everything, whenever I need it. Don't be suprised if you see my cables with multiple cable clamps on it. It breaks, be aware, understand its nuances and keep going. Synthetic has a short life span in comparison and it costs a good bit. The most impressive synthetic I have used and had my hands on was Masterpull Superline XD ... It has a woven outer case and seems to deal with abuse better than the standard open weave types. It is $$$ though and I have no idea if it can be spliced or if you just hack it off and tie a new knot in it. The standard open weave types like the Dynema are nice because you can use a Factor 55 Fast Fid and splice it easy and quick.