Why not elastic winch lines? (2 Viewers)

[Hawkeye5450]

I just bought a 2000 Ford F250 with a 12500 lbs winch. I have experience with pulling ropes for electrical work which all have a good amount of stretch so that the wires can all be eased around corners etc. Is there a reason that winch lines don't have stretch as well?

I currently have a steel cable and was looking at using a 100' pulling rope (18000 lbs) as an extension.

My thought is that an elastic rope stretches more as more pressure is put on it, that makes it easier to see how much pressure is actually being put on the vehicle. It also means that once an obstacle is cleared, there is still pressure pulling it forward. Inelastic winch lines keep more control with the winch since there isn't .

 

[PAToyota]

Inelastic winch lines keep more control with the winch since there isn't .

This right here. Typically you don't want a variable in the equation. Also, the variable while wrapping around the drum is likely to lead to issues. Using an elastic line as an extension would be an option, but I would not use it as the main winch line.

 

[1911]

Is there a reason that winch lines don't have stretch as well?

Yes, for safety. Anything that stretches (including steel wire rope BTW) stores energy. That may seem like a benefit, until the rope parts or any part of the rigging comes undone, at which point the stored energy is released suddenly and the rope and attached components will fly in unpredictable directions at high velocity. That is one of the major advantages of synthetic winch line, it barely stores any energy at all and if it parts it just just drops harmlessly to the ground.

 

[AgentOrange]

Also, winches aren't really designed for shock load that comes with something stretching and rebounding back. Plus a stretched elastic line wrapping on the drum over itself will develop heat. That could deteriorate the line faster.

 

[cruiserpilot]

I just bought a 2000 Ford F250 with a 12500 lbs winch. I have experience with pulling ropes for electrical work which all have a good amount of stretch so that the wires can all be eased around corners etc. Is there a reason that winch lines don't have stretch as well?

I currently have a steel cable and was looking at using a 100' pulling rope (18000 lbs) as an extension.

My thought is that an elastic rope stretches more as more pressure is put on it, that makes it easier to see how much pressure is actually being put on the vehicle. It also means that once an obstacle is cleared, there is still pressure pulling it forward. Inelastic winch lines keep more control with the winch since there isn't .

Winch line is static load line. Snatch straps are for dynamic loading so that the shock load is absorbed and transmitted into
moving the object. Electrical wires aren't attached to a few tons to be flung along.
Winching needs to stop when you 'stop' - last thing you want is to stop winching and then have a dynamic load built into
the line of your truck potentially making for disastrous deadly results.
Don't do this. Don't winch with a snatch strap extension. Buy an extension line equally rated for the line you have on your winch