Hand Winches (1 Viewer)

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Grouseman

Grouseman

Joined
Sep 9, 2004
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Location
Hills of Tennessee
I know most of you guys like the looks of the ARB bumper with the winch set up. Yes it really does look good, not doubt. But I personally would like to find a hand winch for emergency situations. The reasons for not wanting a heavy front bumper and winch on that bumper are as follows. First it adds alot of weight up front, so you need to do something like a lift etc, new coil springs, etc. So you spend 3K for a winch and setup. That cool. But then your gas mileage decreases even more. I know if I wanted great gas mileage why buy Cruiser, mentality. I don't want to decrease my gas mileage even further, period. I typically drive 20K+ miles a year, and want to increase that fairly soon for even more trips. I want the gas expense to be within reason for these trips. You see I have alot of hobbies and have better ways to spend 3K is all. Of course I am looking for a quality hand winch, anybody out there use the hand winch?

Thanks
Gman
 
lots of posts on this here. Search? besides the obvious, try black rat / power puller or something like that etc...
 
E,

Did a search before posting thread. Not enough info, wanted to ask the "informed" guys.

Gman
 
GMan,

I'll post a reply though I don't consider myself informed. I bought a hand winch for some of the reasons you mentioned and others. I currently do not have an electric winch on the vehicle but that is not because I don't want one but because I have other priorities for the money.

Do a Google on "tirfor winch" and you'll get some reports from Landy guys. Many of them bring a hand winch along for a lot of reasons and their write-ups will spell out those reasons.

For me, the reasons were:
* Designed to work on human power. Doesn't need batteries, hydraulics, engine running, electric motors, or anything else. All it needs is someone to wiggle the handle back and forth.
* Flexible. Can be used front, rear, sides, or wherever you choose to attach it.
* Reliable. The good ones are bullet-proof. I'm not talking about garage sale come-alongs.
* Relatively inexpensive if you're considering the big Warns with a HD bumper, and a dual battery system.
* Portable. Take it where you need it; 10 miles from the truck if that's what you need.

As of now, I have not used mine (T516 made by Tirfor, sold by Grip-Hoist.) In fact, I haven't even tested it out. It's still wrapped up and I'm seriously thinking about selling it. "Well, if it has all those advantages Beo, why are you thinking of selling it?" (you ask.) Good question. This thing is heavy-duty which translates to This thing is heavy. It's also bigger in size than I had envisioned.

So it you decide you have to have the best get a Tirfor. If you decide you want one but you don't want to pay retail and want a good price then send me a PM. (Shameless plug but I didn't start this thread....:D )

-B-
 
Bwolf

Good reasons for hand winch. So why are you selling it, because of the size and or the weight?

Gman
 
Grouseman said:
So why are you selling it, because of the size and or the weight?
Click to expand...

Mostly the weight (~30# plus ~30# for the cable) but it's also bigger in size than I expected. To be honest, I'm not sure what I expected. This model is capable of lifting 2 tons vertically (4,000 lbs; 1,600 kg) and will pull 6,000 lbs or more.

a1027.jpg


Specs page:

http://tractel.thomasnet.com/viewit...sts/griphoist-tirfor-t-500-series-?&forward=1

-B-
 
Last edited:
aim said:
Did you pick it up from MAF when they had it one sale? Stashing one in the vehicle is interesting...
Click to expand...

I bought a Tirfor from MAF years ago when they were selling them. The reasons were the same as Beowulf stated above, plus the fact that I didn't have my PTO hooked up (infact, I never got around to it at all). I rarely wheel with another vehicle, so to me it's priceless.
I've used it mulitple times in various places, and has never let me down. It's one of those things that may be a PITA when you're hauling it around, but when you're done with it, you're glad it was at your disposal.
 
shinny said:
Anyone here used a MorepowerPuller? A much less expensive alternative, but strictly for emergencies only?

http://cspoutdoors.stores.yahoo.net/morpowpul.html
Click to expand...


I carry one, it's like the HiLift of hand winches, an old proven design. The cable capacity is limited but you can make up for that with straps and/or chains. Plus it comes with its own snatch block.
 
I have a Blach Rat 800KG model. I bought it thinkigng that it might be of use if the LC turned on its side. Like Beowulf's, it has not been used.
 
I like the hand winches, and I carry one on snow and mud runs, and on the more technical trails.

I also have an electric winch in the front, but have had Warn solenoids fail (twice), and like to have a back-up. Plus the hand winch helps in road clearing and self recovery (like if the rear of the vehicle slides off the trail and you want to pull forward AND to the side).

I like the little Black Rat I use, and just carry two pulley blocks to increase capacity.

I prefer the Tirfor style to the come-a-long style because of cable length and the "hand to hand" grip method.

Here is my review of the Black Rat: http://www.expeditionswest.com/equipment/general_equipment/black_rat_winch.htm

hand_winch_cover.jpg
 
i have one of the $20 1.5 ton made in china models that looks like the ccot model above but has much lower strength. the only things it has been useful for so far is pulling the bottoms off rootballs and pullling vehicles sideways that are caught at a bad angle.
 
The Power Puller looks like a good alternative to the electric models. I did notice they had a 3 ton unit but only had 20' of cable. Why not get the 3 ton unit and just get extra cable? Isn't it easy to buy say another 20' cable?
Aren't there ways to tie the cables together via a connector that are trustworthy?

Gman
 
GMan,

One of the advantages of the Tirfor style over the Come-a-along style and the MPP is the length of the cable and the way the cable feeds through the hand winch instead of wrapping up on the spool. You can buy more cable for the come-along style but you can't use it for longer pulls without securing the load and re-attaching.

With the Tirfor style you get full use of the entire cable length; 60' in the case of the T-516 and probably the same for the Black-Rat. With either, you can increase the pulling power by using snatch blocks.

-B-
 
Last edited:
Grouseman said:
The Power Puller looks like a good alternative to the electric models. I did notice they had a 3 ton unit but only had 20' of cable. Why not get the 3 ton unit and just get extra cable? Isn't it easy to buy say another 20' cable?
Aren't there ways to tie the cables together via a connector that are trustworthy?

Gman
Click to expand...

This is what they say the problem is with that.

http://www.wyeth-scott.com/faq.asp

"Can I get more than 20 feet of cable on the 3 ton model?
No. This is hard to explain, but with a heavy 3 ton load if there is more than 20 feet of cable around the reel, the outer strands of cable get pulled beneath some of the upper layers of cable. The strands pulled underneath get wedged in with the under layers and can't be removed. FYI: This is not a problem with the 2 ton units. hey say on their site that with the 3 ton unit the problem with extra cable is that on a pull the cable gets wedged between the wraps"


It would seem to me that the Tirfor and Black rats are unwieldly to use. Don't you have to unspool all your cable to feed one end into the grip? Then what are you doing with all that cable if you only have a 20' pull? Where is all the cable going as you pull it through the grip, does it spool easily on the other side?
 
what I've always wondered is how much the wirerope gets "squished" in the tirfor type of device. Must be squeezed somehow to hold the load if it gets through...
 
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