Straight pull with winch.

[rusty_tlc]

Why is it a bad idea to do a straight pull(tow) with the winch cable?

I'm talking about moving the truck to give somebody a tug without using the winch. Say you have winched the recovered vehicle in as far as you can with the winch and just need that extra few feet to get them totally out.


I'm not talking about jerking a truck that is bogged in the mud, just pulling over snow or ice on relatively flat ground with tension already on the cable.



BTW no I didn't search.

 

[Mace]

Any sort of shockload is bad on the winch.

 

[Tapage]

you are pulling all tension / pulling stress on the winch brake ..

It will proably will hold well .. but it's not designed for as you know.

 

[rusty_tlc]

Any sort of shockload is bad on the winch.

Like I said, you already have the recovered vehicle in tension on the cable.

 

[45Kevin]

Will also crush the wire rope.

 

[Mace]

Like I said, you already have the recovered vehicle in tension on the cable.

I don't know about you, but I have never been able to get someone I was pulling to keep tension.

 

[rusty_tlc]

I don't know about you, but I have never been able to get someone I was pulling to keep tension.

Fair enough.
The situation I was thinking of was pulling a car (2WD) out of a ditch with 6" of snow on the ground. Most cars with street tires, even M+S style won't be able to move in those conditions.

 

[rusty_tlc]

Will also crush the wire rope.

? Unless you shock load the force won't be any different than winching would it?

 

[Mark W]

Depends on the situation, the gear and the operator. For example a worm drive winch has no brake to be concerned about... Synthetic line will not "crush"... if you are pulling the "towed" rig through mud, snow or anything that will provide resistance to keep the line from going slack, then shock load is not really an issue.

If you know what you are doing you *can* do something like you describe with no real concerns. But telling any old newbie it is OK, is not a good idea.

When we recovered my '80 recently we had to drag it across a 250 foot wide stretch of river. When the line on the winch had been pulled in, the rig was still under water, 100 feet out, attached to the extension line so we just backed the recovery rig up until the '80 reached the bank. No worries, no problems no damage.


Mark...

 

[Southeast Overland]

<snip>

If you know what you are doing you *can* do something like you describe with no real concerns. But telling any old newbie it is OK, is not a good idea.

<snip>

What he said...

Fair enough.
The situation I was thinking of was pulling a car (2WD) out of a ditch with 6" of snow on the ground. Most cars with street tires, even M+S style won't be able to move in those conditions.

You may be surprised at how easy it is for slack to find it's way into a winch line then disappear suddenly, imparting a dynamic/shock load onto the line. It doesn't have to come from the vehicle you are pulling - it can easily come from the vehicle doing the pulling.

 

[Glenn-BJ74]

Use a tow straps unless its an emergency.

 

[Frankencruiser]

A $30 tow strap or a $300-$1000 winch. Which would be better?

What you described probably wouldn't damage anything, but IMHO why risk it?