Why not more rope on the winches?

[e9999]

that's odd. Just got my new winch in. First thing I noticed is that there is a whole lot of room left on the spool. This one is already 125' but the last layer (5th I guess) is only half full across and there is easily room for another layer on top.

what's with that?

why not add another layer and another 25' or so? that would be good.


are they that afraid that people will mess up the respooling and they'll clog things up?

 

[Mace]

during a heavy winch you do not always have the ability to make the winch spool where you want to. If you put too much line on the drum it will bind when you need it most..

 

[Cruiserdrew]

are they that afraid that people will mess up the respooling and they'll clog things up?

Likely that's the reason. It is almost universal, that it doesn't spool neatly when under recovery forces. If you got an M12000 it holds 125 feet of wire rope-that's pretty far, and should be more than sufficient for your needs. BTW-I haven't winched that much and I'm on my second wire rope. Just a cost of doing business.

 

[e9999]

it's true that the spooling in can get ugly, esp. if you pull sideways some, but if it's really piled up you only gain a little bit of extra room with leaving a layer off. That'd be just 3 or 4 few feet of extra spooling maybe? You should just stop and rearrange the rope if it gets too bad anyway I would think. So trade only a bit of trouble every so often for an extra 25'? Maybe worth thinking about when going to synth later on...

 

[Mace]

it's true that the spooling in can get ugly, esp. if you pull sideways some, but if it's really piled up you only gain a little bit of extra room with leaving a layer off. That'd be just 3 or 4 few feet of extra spooling maybe? You should just stop and rearrange the rope if it gets too bad anyway I would think. So trade only a bit of trouble every so often for an extra 25'? Maybe worth thinking about when going to synth later on...

Then try it and tell us how well it works..


I have needed the extra room before. I am not going to push it..

 

[pismojim]

hmmm, I only put on 100 ft instead of 125 ft ???

less rope = less wraps

less wraps = more power
less wraps = less amps
less wraps gives your winch an advantage

Get a snatch block and double line pull for even less wraps.
Get an extension for the reach.

 

[Mark W]

It's easy to say "just stop and respool". But it can be a real PITA, it can be difficult to actually do, and it may just spool right back like it was in an off center pull.

That said, I load my winches up full. I started with a 1500 foot roll of 5/16 cable. Still working my way through it. I can fit about 225 feet on a Toyota PTO. But I have to trim the rear mounting crossmember some to make sure that the cable does not bind if it gets spooled up on one side.

I've got a slightly larger PTO that I used to have on my Pig. It'll be going on my "big" '40 whenever it actually rolls out of the shop. The factory rating is 475 feet of 3/8s or 675 feet of 5/16.

And it's really not all that much bigger than the OEM winch! It's big, too big for a stock(ish) '40, but it will be just to scale on my project rig.


Mark...

 

[Arya Ebrahimi]

As pismojim stated above, the more wraps you have the less weight the winch can pull. Look at the specs on Warn's site and you'll see that the winch has different ratings depending on which "wrap" you're on.

 

[e9999]

well, I think the notion that one may be better off with a shorter rope is hard to justify in general. Yes, if you have fewer layers on, the ratio is better but reach is also very important. Especially for us playing in the deserts or places without many trees. Otherwise, just put on 25', only 1 layer, and always max pull...? But the extension is a good way to solve that issue.

I need to play some more with the 3/8" rope, it's pretty stiff. I may be convinced very soon that the extra room is a big plus....

 

[spressomon]

FWIW: I have 100' of syn line on my 9.5. I also carry 75' of syn line (light and takes up virtually no space) with eyelets on each end. If I REALLY need the extra length I can add the 75' piece easily...and I can coil it up WAY faster than the winch could spool it. So far the 75' piece remains unused.

 

[spressomon]

well, I think the notion that one may be better off with a shorter rope is hard to justify in general. Yes, if you have fewer layers on, the ratio is better but reach is also very important. Especially for us playing in the deserts or places without many trees. Otherwise, just put on 25', only 1 layer, and always max pull...? But the extension is a good way to solve that issue.

I need to play some more with the 3/8" rope, it's pretty stiff. I may be convinced very soon that the extra room is a big plus....

Get a PullPal if you consisently run in places without good anchor points.

 

[cody c]

the more wraps the faster and less powerful the winch is. i agree with a medium amount of cable or synthetic on spool. it's way easier in the long run to only use as much cable on the winch as you have to and use straps or extra cable for the rest of the length.

on my cheap winch it rated first wrap at 8000lbs, second at 6500lbs, third at 5000lbs and fourth at 4000lbs.

 

[e9999]

Get a PullPal if you consisently run in places without good anchor points.

I looked at one. These things are huge! A pain to carry around I'm sure.

 

[spressomon]

I looked at one. These things are huge! A pain to carry around I'm sure.

A much bigger pain to need it and not have it . Strap it to your roof rack. The other thing you can do, if all else fails and you don't have one is make your dead-man from rocks, wood, whatever.

A buddy of mine carries 5-2'+ long steel stakes (similar to what cement finishers use to hold the forms in place)...he pounds them into the ground, angled toward the rig, like the 5-side of a dye and using HD nylon strap/chain to connect them together...to form another version of a dead man. Then connect the winch line to the center stake...not as quick or versatile (don't think they would hold in sand...) as a PullPal but another option for ya.

 

[pismojim]

... but reach is also very important. Especially for us playing in the deserts or places without many trees.

Eric, remember you have to be stuck to need the winch.

How are you getting stuck in the desert?

You should be in high range doing about 65 mph!



Seriously, I seldom see winches being used with long reaches or pulls. It's usually just a short distance with a nearby anchor point. The exceptions have been vehicle recoveries after rolling off the the trail and a few of Mark W's mud bogs.

 

["N8"]

anyone else like/dislike their synthetic rope? should I spring for it or keep it on a list of things to buy later when the rest of my truck is done?

 

[Arya Ebrahimi]

anyone else like/dislike their synthetic rope? should I spring for it or keep it on a list of things to buy later when the rest of my truck is done?

Disclaimer: All my experience w/ syn rope has been on other people's winches(I don't have a winch)

With that said, it seems you have to be very cautious of the rope rubbing on anything. The guys I know w/ steel cable don't care if the winch grazes the ground or over a rock during a pull.

The flip side is it is remarkably easy to throw w/ a heavy hook on the end, so if you're in an odd situation and need to toss someone the end of the line, it's very convenient.

I think whether you will like syn rope or not has a lot to do with the environment you will be using it in and how often you use it. Contamination from mud will quickly deteriorate the line, so it must be kept clean. In drier environments, as long as you can protect the rope(really not that bit of a PITA) from the appropriate dangers(namely rocks) then I think its advantages outweigh its disadvantages.

For my rig, I will be running cable on the bed winch(just a small ATV winch for hauling crap up into the bed) and syn rope on the vehicle winch for safety reasons.

Ary

 

[e9999]

I plan on using the wire rope until it's done and then *maybe* go to synth...

 

[Cruiserdrew]

Eric, remember you have to be stuck to need the winch.

How are you getting stuck in the desert?

You should be in high range doing about 65 mph!



Seriously, I seldom see winches being used with long reaches or pulls. It's usually just a short distance with a nearby anchor point. The exceptions have been vehicle recoveries after rolling off the the trail and a few of Mark W's mud bogs.

I agree with Sir James, sort of. Last season, though, there were two occasions when we spooled out all the line on a winch. The first was at the top of Walker hill to do a triangulated pull to get Alvaro's sheet metal off the wall at the bottom of the gully.

The second was a triangulated pull to recover the FJ40 that rolled off Cadillac hill. That took the whole 150 feet from an 8274.

In visits to Death Valley, Mojave, and Anza Borrego, I have not yet seen a winch used in anger....Eric gets stuck in his yard, though, so I would measure from the back of your property to the closest anchor point, and plan accordingly with wire rope lengths.

 

[spressomon]

anyone else like/dislike their synthetic rope? should I spring for it or keep it on a list of things to buy later when the rest of my truck is done?

I have X-Line and like it. It is easy to handle and less chance of spring/snap back if it or something in the 'chain' fails, easy to coil back on the spool, easier on hands although you should still wear good gloves.

Highly personal choice however...steel cable is more prevalent, been around forever, less overall care required, cheaper (generally). Like anything else regardless of steel or syn you need to apply the appropriate care and precautionery measures with each.

Each type does however need to be inspected periodically for wear and abrasion (even steel cable!).

My $.02