Winch cable shortening & steel VS synthetic

[Yotota]

I'm thinking about shortening my 125' 5/16 Warn cable to maybe 75', then adding eyelets to the remaining 50' to keep for an extension. Maybe even grab another 25' chunk for a second extension. As mentioned in the Gen4x4 winch thread it would be nice to use the lower wraps on the winch drum to get a stronger pull. It's not like we're lacking in anchor points in the PNW either.

If I stay with the steel cable I have...

What have you guys had success with for DIY swaging/crimping on the sleeves/ferrules? Should I just invest in a big honking 36" swaging tool?

Or...

Should I just use the opportunity to invest in stronger synthetic line and extensions? The rig gets garaged, and once it's finally done will see typical PNW wet wheeling conditional. Cutting weight would be nice, as well as easier handling.

I've always just ran whatever winches came on rigs or were bought used so I've never been picky until lately.

 

[TreeClimber]

I wouldn't.
If you're "not lacking in anchor points", then just grab a tree that's 25 foot farther away.
If you run Rimrock, (or really any hill area like Naches, Rimrock, Liberty) then it's likely you'll need the 125 foot of cable to pull you up that hill during the snot-mud seasons. Yeah, pulling out of a 'hole' in Elbe is easy and only needs to pull maybe 15 foot (plus the distance to the nearest tree) so you don't need a lot. Respooling that excess cable is far easier than trying to hook up three lengths of cable with shackles and whatnot.

 

[Yotota]

I wouldn't.
If you're "not lacking in anchor points", then just grab a tree that's 25 foot farther away.
If you run Rimrock, (or really any hill area like Naches, Rimrock, Liberty) then it's likely you'll need the 125 foot of cable to pull you up that hill during the snot-mud seasons. Yeah, pulling out of a 'hole' in Elbe is easy and only needs to pull maybe 15 foot (plus the distance to the nearest tree) so you don't need a lot. Respooling that excess cable is far easier than trying to hook up three lengths of cable with shackles and whatnot.

Thanks, I'm probably overthinking this in my usual fashion.

​​​​My setup works, and it probably won't hurt to leave it as-is since my truck is half the weight of my winch's rating anyway.

Or as Chad says... "Fuck it, run it."

 

[Wulf]

if it stays nicely spooled on the winch I wouldn't want to turn it into another thing taking up cargo/tool space... plus I would probably lose or forget to pack it

 

[ArTi54N]

I don't understand why you would want to shorten your line by almost half..

 

[Yotota]

I don't understand why you would want to shorten your line by almost half..

There's the idea to run less cable on the drum, so you get down to the lower layers and actually get the full rating of the winch. For my XD9000i, if I still have 4 layers on the drum it'll only pull 7000lb. And many of the pulls we have in the PNW are short, usually to get over some slick ledge or rock. I could run a snatch block and double line a shorter pull, but that's just as much or more work than carrying a cable extension and using it for a long pull.

It's just tradeoffs between short and long pulls.

 

[Mr Stubs]

I would get synthetic line and cut to length. It’s super easy to work with, safer, lighter, and easier to carry extra extension pieces.

Plenty of DYI vids on how to make eyes in rope ends, soft shackles, endless loops, ect...

I did this for my crawler since I have a cut down M8000 and it won’t fit a full 125’. I carry a 75’ extension piece that I made a eye on each end for. It’s nice to have because others have used it as much as me. I have also made four endless loops that I use to tie the crawler down with, they work well to attach my ratchet straps to the axles.

 

[Yotota]

I would get synthetic line and cut to length. It’s super easy to work with, safer, lighter, and easier to carry extra extension pieces.

Plenty of DYI vids on how to make eyes in rope ends, soft shackles, endless loops, ect...

I did this for my crawler since I have a cut down M8000 and it won’t fit a full 125’. I carry a 75’ extension piece that I made a eye on each end for. It’s nice to have because others have used it as much as me. I have also made four endless loops that I use to tie the crawler down with, they work well to attach my ratchet straps to the axles.

Thanks, yeah I'm really leaning towards picking up a bulk spool of something straight from the distributor along with bulk sleeve material and going the DIY route. It's lower priority as the truck itself needs quite a bit of love. But it will be a fun project for next winter.

 

[YotaAtieToo]

There's the idea to run less cable on the drum, so you get down to the lower layers and actually get the full rating of the winch. For my XD9000i, if I still have 4 layers on the drum it'll only pull 7000lb. And many of the pulls we have in the PNW are short, usually to get over some slick ledge or rock. I could run a snatch block and double line a shorter pull, but that's just as much or more work than carrying a cable extension and using it for a long pull.

It's just tradeoffs between short and long pulls.

When is the last time you've stalled out your 9k lb winch?

I just cut down the line on my 6k lb winch on my samurai, but that's because the manufacturer crams too much on there imo and it was easy for it to ball up and break the supports if you're winching to the side for more than 10 feet.

Other than that, I always liked the extra line my 8274 carried.

 

[Yotota]

When is the last time you've stalled out your 9k lb winch?

I just cut down the line on my 6k lb winch on my samurai, but that's because the manufacturer crams too much on there imo and it was easy for it to ball up and break the supports if you're winching to the side for more than 10 feet.

Other than that, I always liked the extra line my 8274 carried.

I've honestly never had to use this winch yet, so I can't say for sure. I'm playing around with the truck to try wrapping up the project in the next few months so I'm not against making changes if it's worth the effort.

 

[RunningProblem]

There's the idea to run less cable on the drum, so you get down to the lower layers and actually get the full rating of the winch. For my XD9000i, if I still have 4 layers on the drum it'll only pull 7000lb. And many of the pulls we have in the PNW are short, usually to get over some slick ledge or rock. I could run a snatch block and double line a shorter pull, but that's just as much or more work than carrying a cable extension and using it for a long pull.

It's just tradeoffs between short and long pulls.

Doubling the lines has the advantage of taking up less storage space, and making the pull twice as strong. I was going to suggest running more line and doubling if you want more power. It takes more time and so does hooking up extensions. You could also buy a shorter synthetic line and ditch the one you have.