Come-along / Griphoist (1 Viewer)

[alaskacruiser]

Has anyone here used a come-along (AKA Griphoist), which is a type of "manual winch"? I have a friend who offroads with one and swears by it as a cheap alternative to a winch when you can't afford one- he says it has saved his a** more than a few times out on the trail with his F150 FX4 Offroad. Apparently, some are rated up to 8,000lbs! Any recommendations on brands?

 

[yooper]

I have a Power Puller. I have the 3 ton model - it is a beast. I used it to pull down a pine tree a couple of weeks ago. It is probably the nicest come a long you can get. Very Cruiser-appropriate.

http://www.morepowerpuller.com/

 

[tabraha]

I've never been fortunate enough to have a winch on a vehicle but I've had a come-along a few times when I needed one and it saved my butt! That was with an '87 4Runner, haven't tried it with one of these obese vehicles.

Tad

 

[Junk]

Uh, dude, your arm is gonna tire out pretty quick using one of those, even with the Integra girl there for inspiration. Those things are ok for homeowners moving plants out of the way etc, but no way to move a 7k lb rig far.

 

[alia176]

Good for side or rear pulls in emergencies but not for a long pull. Like Junk said, your arm will be tired but compared to a night stuck in the bunnies, it's better than nothing! Used one yesterday for lifting the Winch/ARB bumper combo and stick them on the truck.

 

[yooper]

[quote author=Junk link=board=2;threadid=6204;start=msg49969#msg49969 date=1065932974]
Those things are ok for homeowners moving [glow=red,2,300]plants[/glow] out of the way etc...
[/quote]

It was a two foot diameter, 80 foot tall red pine. It was two years dead, but I pulled it up by the roots. We were planning on cutting it down, using the Power Puller to put some force on it to direct it's fall away from the cabin. I was pretty impressed.

It might not pull a fully loaded 80-series out of a deep mud hole or hoist Junk's momma but it could definitely save your butt from lesser stucks. It cost's less than $150, doesn't require any battery or engine power, and it will likely outlast your Cruiser; it will certainly outlast any winch.

Only Junk's weanie arms would get tired.

This is not a Harbor Freight stamped pot-metal come along but a pretty serious tool. It's kind of cool just having one, like a Cruiser.

 

[MTNRAT]

When I was in high school a come along was the first tool thrown in the truck when going into the boonies. That and a long chain and a long cable, as well as a pile of 1"+ rope. Sometimes it took hours, but with that and a jackall, (canadian for hi-lift), we were always able to extracate ourselves from any stuck.
Sean

 

[yooper]

How many of us here are named Sean? I've never seen so many of us in one place before. Me, MTNRAT, MD11FR8DOG, and I think at least one more. Kinda cool.

alaskacruiser: I forgot to mention that you can also use a Hi-Lift jack and some chain or cable as a winch, it just takes a LOOOONG time 'cause you have to start over every couple of feet.

 

[IdahoDoug]

I've used an aluminum military model of unknown pedigree to get unstuck a couple times. If you look at 'stucks' as a series of statistically unrelated events, you might categorize them as 1 through 10 with 10 requiring several vehicles with winches and good skills to get out. A 1 might be a simple high center on an unseen rock on a two track.

A come-along type tool like this will get you out of perhaps 1-7s and that's probably 95% of all stucks. Yes, it takes some elbow grease and yes it takes time. But I wouldn't travel alone without one and given enough time a competent driver could really be effective with one. Earlier this summer, I used mine to move a fallen tree on a fire road enough to get past it in less time than it would have taken to unroll a winch cable, plus the logical way to pull it was AWAY from the truck - not possible with a winch without using pulleys, etc. An essential backcountry tool IMHO, but nowhere near the trouser factor of a winch.

IdahoDoug

 

[yooper]

[quote author=IdahoDoug link=board=2;threadid=6204;start=msg50083#msg50083 date=1065997063] the trouser factor
[/quote]

! What a great term! I will start using it immediatey.

 

[the shed guy]

Another point is that with an electric winch, the cable at the front, if you end up nose into someting, or slide off a track into a bank etc, you need a shovel to get to the cable.

At least with a tirfor[ hand winch in aus] or a highlift you can winch the car far enough to get to the cable.

I put my cable over the top bar of the bullbar above the driving lighhts when on my own, to save having to do this if stuck.