Winching for dummies

[crispins]

Ok, I am just not fucking good at it.

I have had nothing but issues.

I have a Badlands 5k on a 2,200 lbs vehicle

It came with a steel line which like the 2nd - 3rd time I needed it it was tangled and would not spool out.

I swapped to a Amazon synthetic line and used that a few times without issues.

Yesterday I tried to use it and it snapped as soon as I started pulling with it.

I think it aged badly as it was a shitty quality.

What else I need to figure out is how to connect it to a tree, should I use a strap around the tree and connect the winch to that?

Also one of my biggest issues is most of the time the correct tree to use is too far away.

Should I buy a couple 50 foot lines to use to make extensions?

Finally it seems like many times I need to be pulled out backwards, how do you guys handle that?

Mostly I just end up shoveling it out but fuck that is a lot of work, I have a come a long (seems hard as fuck to get the vehicle unstuck out of the mud using one) I also have a hi-lift jack but have never used it to pull before.

So what do I need to do to get my winch game more on point and less of a shitshow.

 

[WaterH]

What else I need to figure out is how to connect it to a tree, should I use a strap around the tree and connect the winch to that?

You should. The tree huggers would say you must. It’s not good for your cable to just hook on it.

Also one of my biggest issues is most of the time the correct tree to use is too far away.

Should I buy a couple 50 foot lines to use to make extensions?

Yes

Finally it seems like many times I need to be pulled out backwards, how do you guys handle that?

Reciever hitch winch or front and back winches.

Mostly I just end up shoveling it out but fuck that is a lot of work, I have a come a long (seems hard as fuck to get the vehicle unstuck out of the mud using one) I also have a hi-lift jack but have never used it to pull before.

They work good, but are a lot of work.

So what do I need to do to get my winch game more on point and less of a shitshow.

Maybe use better judgment when deciding you can make it.

 

[Tinstar]

Rule # 1 don't go alone. We usually take 3 modestly equipped vehicles on any given day. If you choose to go alone accept the risk and wheel accordingly.

That being said if you want to be able to mostly recover yourself then consider properly mounted winch's up front and out back. Since you maybe will be going alone, I would make sure both winches have wireless control. A receiver mounted winch with front/rear receiver hitches generally won't work as well as properly mounted winch(s).

Take a couple of tree saver straps, 4 or 5 soft shackles, a couple of the 20 or 30' tow straps and 2 or 3 soft shackle/aluminum snatch blocks. Kinetic ropes are worthwhile but do require another vehicle. That 5k winch is minimal for your vehicle weight even with a snatch block. Electric winches usually get hot pretty fast and start losing power on any significant pull.

After that, look over the situation before attempting. See that there is a good winch point available or pick a different way.

A little prep and thought will make it workable.

 

[total newb]

I keep 2, 100' cables on my truck

Yes, hilifts work as come alongs, they are work but they WORK. Have a couple of shackle that fit the holes and hooks. The hilift top jaw/hook is a manditory part for me.

When you spool your winch in keep tension on it and lay it in nice and it will prevent it from wadding up and getting snagged.

I have dual winches on my truck for that exact reason.

Being a 5k winch i assume it has smaller 1/4" cable/rope, get bigger.

Rope, particularly cheap rope is very subseptable to mud/sun damage.

No, you shouldnt hook the cable back to itself, particularly on small cable/rope.

Yes you should have a strap around a tree but its more to protect the tree than anything else.

you can also use the hilift to pick up out of the hole before you start winching.

Try to have the cable up higher than the hole. If youre pulling down youre just pulling hard into the wall youre already stuck behind.


I couldnt get my truck close enough to this bald tire jackass out on the muddy lake bottom. Used the hilift and a fuck ton of cable, straps, and chains to pull him out.

 

[arse_sidewards]

x2 on a farm jack working in a pinch. A lever chain hoist works too and can just live in a floorboard or the trunk though.

Rule # 1 don't go alone. We usually take 3 modestly equipped vehicles on any given day. If you choose to go alone accept the risk and wheel accordingly.

Yeah no, that's a non-starter for the 99.99% of people who aren't part of a yuppie club and can tailor their schedule do to club shit.

 

[Clb]

Laying nice tight wire rope from 1 side of drum to the other is key ( 60%ish don't you know who ya are ) for easy use...
Synthetic should be crisscrossed to keep from burying the line in between the wraps.
Now where is the old recovery 101 thread?

 

[2big bronco]

Laying nice tight wire rope from 1 side of drum to the other is key ( 60%ish don't you know who ya are ) for easy use...
Synthetic should be crisscrossed to keep from burying the line in between the wraps.
Now where is the old recovery 101 thread?

Nice tip on cris crossing synthetic. Im always pissed trying to pull it out and every other wrap is pinched.

 

[WaterH]

Laying nice tight wire rope from 1 side of drum to the other is key ( 60%ish don't you know who ya are ) for easy use...
Synthetic should be crisscrossed to keep from burying the line in between the wraps.
Now where is the old recovery 101 thread?

Nice tip on cris crossing synthetic. Im always pissed trying to pull it out and every other wrap is pinched.

I just bought my first synthetic line winch. This is something I didn’t know. This forum still rocks.

 

[Bebop]

Synth rope HATES UVs.

Put a cover on it when you don't use it.

 

[Tech Tim]

Laying nice tight wire rope from 1 side of drum to the other is key ( 60%ish don't you know who ya are ) for easy use...
Synthetic should be crisscrossed to keep from burying the line in between the wraps.
Now where is the old recovery 101 thread?

Spool your rope back in nice and tight and you won't have to worry about criss-crossing it or pinching it.

Synth rope HATES UVs.

Put a cover on it when you don't use it.

^^^^THIS is truth. Even the UV rated ropes should be covered.

 

[Clb]

Good point on u.v.
Fail on trying to spool synthetic like wire, and not getting a stuck that's gunna piss ya off at some point.......

Fwiw
There are tech 101's from warn, and the dyneema industry worth the effort.
Ever wash a wire rope?
Keeping synthetic clean is critical to the life expectancy.
Dont kink wire
Keep it lightly lubed

 

[Tech Tim]

Good point on u.v.
Fail on trying to spool synthetic like wire, and not getting a stuck that's gunna piss ya off at some point.......

Been using rope since Masterpull brought it out in the 90s, I do a lot of winching and have never had a problem. Again, spool it tight and you won't have a problem.

Fwiw
There are tech 101's from warn, and the dyneema industry worth the effort.
Ever wash a wire rope?
Keeping synthetic clean is critical to the life expectancy.
Dont kink wire
Keep it lightly lubed

Great point on keeping the rope clean. Dirt and grit inside will act as an abrasive and will wear your rope out.

 

[Clb]

Fair nuff..

I've been a wire rope guy ,only had 1 synthetic rope ( it was a failgear winch/rope) so perhaps my experience was more uncommon ...

 

[Tech Tim]

The problem is when it gets spooled back in loose, then the next time you winch, you only pull a little out and start winching. The outer layer then slips down in between the loose inner layers and pinches in tight.

 

[Bebop]

When I was co-dog in winch challenges, we used to spend valuable time between stages in order to respool the rope properly.

When you have 150+ft of rope that moves in at 150+ft/mn having it neatly spooled was critical.

I've never criss-crossed it, nor ever seen anyone do that, but I am not above learning. I just don't visualize how'd you do that. Spool it in at a 45 degree angle ?

 

[white-rhino]

The problem is when it gets spooled back in loose, then the next time you winch, you only pull a little out and start winching. The outer layer then slips down in between the loose inner layers and pinches in tight.

I've done my share of winching too and unless you are going to stop after winching, spool back out and then respool, slack wraps will happen. Sometimes it's hard to avoid, especially if someone is driving and winching at the same time. The vehicle grabs traction, lurches a foot or two forward and the line is basically free spooling in and then grabs again. By that time you have some free wraps. Edit; honestly this doesn't apply to crisscrossing, as it's a function of the winching process.

I find there are awkward times where it simply isn't practical to put a good load on the line and do a nice job of spooling it. Slippery spots, standing in mud, on hills, off camber, sometimes the best you can do is have whoever is managing the rope get it back onto the spool.

I have found criss crossing extremely helpful when winter wheeling.

 

[white-rhino]

When I was co-dog in winch challenges, we used to spend valuable time between stages in order to respool the rope properly.

When you have 150+ft of rope that moves in at 150+ft/mn having it neatly spooled was critical.

I've never criss-crossed it, nor ever seen anyone do that, but I am not above learning. I just don't visualize how'd you do that. Spool it in at a 45 degree angle ?

Sorta. You don't need to do 45 degrees but intentionally overlap the wraps instead of trying to get them to lay neatly next to each other. A neatly spooled line is great but it just doesn't always happen in the real world.

 

[Bebop]

Sorta. You don't need to do 45 degrees but intentionally overlap the wraps instead of trying to get them to lay neatly next to each other.

Gotcha, I'll try that. One day...
I don't even have a winch on my car...

A neatly spooled line is great but it just doesn't always happen in the real world.

Never happens you mean ? haha

You have to take the time to re-spool it after a good pull.

 

[Clb]

Not 100%

 

[rdr99]

5K winch. Get a snatch block.

 

[YotaAtieToo]

Ok, I am just not fucking good at it.

I have had nothing but issues.

I have a Badlands 5k on a 2,200 lbs vehicle

It came with a steel line which like the 2nd - 3rd time I needed it it was tangled and would not spool out.

I swapped to a Amazon synthetic line and used that a few times without issues.

Yesterday I tried to use it and it snapped as soon as I started pulling with it.

I think it aged badly as it was a shitty quality.

For some reason utv size winches seem to snap ropes way easier. I've never snapped a rope on a 8k+ (including winching trees at work with a 20k winch) and maybe seen it once? But the utv ones seem to snap all the time. Not sure if it's cheap line or what. I also think they try to crap way too much rope on the spool. I dropped my 6k from 65' to 40' and it still balls up too much.

What else I need to figure out is how to connect it to a tree, should I use a strap around the tree and connect the winch to that?

Yes, you should always use a strap.

Also one of my biggest issues is most of the time the correct tree to use is too far away.

Should I buy a couple 50 foot lines to use to make extensions?

I like to carry a 30' strap, a small 20' strap, a 4' tree saver and a 100' winch rope. Probably overkill, but I do dumb shit.

Finally it seems like many times I need to be pulled out backwards, how do you guys handle that?

Why do you have to go backwards?

Mostly I just end up shoveling it out but fuck that is a lot of work, I have a come a long (seems hard as fuck to get the vehicle unstuck out of the mud using one) I also have a hi-lift jack but have never used it to pull before.

So what do I need to do to get my winch game more on point and less of a shitshow.

I'll add that sometimes you might need to shovel, stack rocks, logs, ect before you winch. Obviously the winch isn't magic and if your tire, frame, whatever is stuck on a vertical ledge or you're totally buried in mud, the winch can't win.

 

[rattlewagon]

I would love it if superwinch (or anyone) made these again

.

 

[Tinstar]

I would love it if superwinch (or anyone) made these again

.

Make it happen, I'd probably take 10 if reasonable priced.

 

[Clb]

So who has the ansi type test data on those?

 

[rattlewagon]

Make it happen, I'd probably take 10 if reasonable priced.

I googled it after I posted, looks like it was not originally superwinch, and they do still make them

Badlands Winching Recovery Bandana

NOTE: Yellow and Red are no longer available from the manufacturer. Operation of a winch and off-road activities are inherently dangerous and unsafe. Besides being risky and dangerous operations, they have the potential to be lethal. Hence a winch deserves a great deal of respect. The Winching...

gopreparedsolutions.com

Looks like they have a safe winching DVD too.

Badlands Winching And Recovery Techniques DVD

Operation of a winch and off-road activities are inherently dangerous and unsafe. Besides being risky and dangerous operations, they have the potential to be lethal. Hence a winch deserves a great deal of respect. This DVD will give you the information you need to safely use your winch.

gopreparedsolutions.com

Heres a handy ready guide from Warn too

https://www.4wd.com/sku/Warn/standard/UserManualSRC.US.readers.pdf

 

[Tinstar]

Thanks, I ordered a couple.