elkaholic
Left turn ...freakin wipers!
Coming together nicely Ward! Regarding your winch question, the wise Bill Burke recommends the Viking thimble over the Factor because you can put the shackle into the Viking either way. i.e. either the pin or the other end of the shackle can go into the Viking, while only the pin can go into the Factor. My memory is limited as I age, so I forget exactly why this is beneficial, but thought BB was a much wiser and more experienced off roader than myself, so decided on the Viking thimble for my application.
Either way, with a new set of MTs and a pair of Harrop E-lockers use of the winch is likely an academic discussion only!
The reason for wanting to run the shackle with the straps on the pin comes from the fact that the stresses on the nylon straps are "better" (for lack of words) when the strap rides on the pin as opposed to the straps being bent by the radius of a typical bow shackle. This does not come into play unless you are approaching the SWL of the strap, then it becomes a concern. If I recall correctly from being involved in moving 100+ ton rolls in papermills using essentially the same straps we use for recovery offroad, we **should** be OK unless we are going above 80% of the SWL or WLL. This is why folks like Dixon-Bates make special shackles that are flat for utilizing straps .....