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Winching
Tips
A few tips
and pointers for getting the most out of your winch and accessories
Next to the
winch itself, the most important item to have on board is a pulley block.
Pulley blocks can be used for doubling the power of your winch, and can be
used for self recovery, direct pulling, and indirect pulling. All are
shown in the following illustrations.
The anchor
point (when used) must be a secure one such as a tree, another vehicle or
other firm object. For direct vehicle recovery, attach the pulley block to
the anchor point and then feed the wire rope out from the winch, through
the block and back to an appropriate point of attachment on the vehicle
such as a tow hook or the frame of the vehicle. This will effectively
double your pulling capacity and greatly reduce the effort of the winch to
get your vehicle recovered.
Direct load
pulling of load (or other vehicle) using your vehicle as the anchor point
and attaching the pulley block to the load.
Indirect
pulling may be required because of obstacles or impassable surfaces. The
pulley block is attached to the load and the wire rope is attached to an
anchor point offset from the direction in which the load is to be moved.
Note that this procedure is not recommended unless necessary as winch
pulling power and line speed will decrease as angle between the wire ropes
increases.
Using a
single-line winch capacity of 2000lbs., the capacity of the winch is
effectively doubled using the double-line methods shown. Winch
capacity in figure above remains at 2000lbs. as this is still a single
line application.
NEVER
attach the
winch cable back onto itself as shown below. Use of a nylon sling and
shackle is strongly recommended to avoid damaging you wire rope and the
tree
Other
Tips
* Keep the
control handy by running it over the hood and hanging on the door mirror
or customize it with a magnet to stick to the vehicle.
* Set the
brake if your an anchor vehicle and don't winch with your vehicle in park.
You may wedge or break the parking sprag in an automatic
transmission.
* Electric
winches use lot of power. Consider dual batteries and a high output
alternator.
* NEVER rely
on a winch to hold a load from rolling backward.
* Allow the
winch time to cool during long, hard pulls to increase it's life
span.
* Receiver
winch plates tend to bend if pulling at any angle other than
straight.
* Bury your
spare tire in the ground to use as an anchor when all else
fails.
* Never use
the winches hook as an attaching point for a yank trap.
* If
winching frequently during a trail ride, wrap the winch around the bumper
rather than reeling it in.
Chokers
The choker
should be long as possible, especially when anchoring the vehicle. A chain
with a a safe working load of 8,000 pounds has it's strength severely
reduced through improper rigging.
Angle In
Degrees
Safe Working
Load
5 or less
8,000
60
6,800
90
5,600
120
4,000
Anchors
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