Winching, Recovery and Field Expediants

[M543A2]

I mounted a West Coast mirror sidways on brackets on the front of my truck so I can see into it over the front of the hood to the reflected image of the winch below. This helps prevent uneven winding. When winching, I watch the cable as it wraps, keeping the front of the truck angled such that the cable is forced to lay tight wraps across the drum. As it reaches the other end of the drum, I release the brakes slightly so the truck is pulled forward, tunring the steering wheel to angle the front in the other direction slightly to force the cable to wrap tight lays in the opposite direction, then lock the brakes again until the cable reaches the other side. By repeating this procedure, I can keep the cable neatly wrapping on the drum. The mirror is also great for stringing out the cable for cleaning and lubrication. I have a long uphill drive, so I anchor the cable to a tractor at the top of the drive and using the mirror to steer right or left as I watch the cable wrap as it pulls the truck up the hill, I get a nice tight re-wind of the cleaned cable. I have also mounted a light on the front of the truck shining on the winch for after dark operation. The mirror can be removed to make the truck look original if needed. Another thing to note is how the winch is rated. Most are rated on the bottom wrap, so for maximum pull, all of the cable except for three or four turns needs to be pulled off the drum. I have been very happy with the 6061-T6 pins, but I will order some Memphis pins and compare them. I can do hardness and tensile/shear tests. The condition of the winch shaft and universal joint pin holes are critical to the shear point of the pin. If the hole edges on the load side are radiused or scooped out, especially if someone before you has used a hard steel bolt for a pin then the shear point of the correct pin will be much lower than if the hole edges are in good condition. The fit of the universal joint on the shaft should be good as well and not sloppy.
Regards Marti

 

[mangus580]

I have considered the mirror approach as well. I just cant ever trust soldier b! It also helps if there is no soldier b... as thats how I found that the winch hook will indeed clear the radiator without damage... I figured I would use a couple of heavy magnets or something, as a mirror might look funny when driving

Got any pics of your mirror setup?

 

[Wick246]

The mirror idea is a great one. I was thinking of something similar for the back of the truck so you could see to align trailer to hitch. Maybe just another mount or magnets and you could use the same mirror for both.

 

[rmgill]

Bjorn will probably install a camera and backing system with several displays on a heads up panel that folds out of the way for driving.

 

[SixBuy]

Lots of good advice in this thread. We needed this. The first rule is the 10%/90% rule - When you're 10% stuck is when you apply 90% recovery effort! Much safer to winch out of a 6"deep hole than a 2' deep hole!
I was tempted to make some shear pins from 6061-T6 until I read the prior post by M580. Now I wonder if 7075-T6 might be more approriate or if there's a higher heat treat stage of 6061, say T8? Any thoughts?
Curious about the synthetic winch rope. Anybody got a URL to specs?
A piece of rope looped over the winch cable and tied to a log makes a good 'deadman' and will slide along the cable as it goes in. Remember, if the cable is kinked or crushed in several places it is impossible to predict which one will break and consequently, in which direction the cable will recoil!

 

[BFR]

Curious about the synthetic winch rope. Anybody got a URL to specs?

there are several brands of synthetic rope out there. This brand is pretty popular in the jeep crowd.

http://www.samsonrope.com/home/commercial-marine/12s 12strand amsteel blue.cfm.cfm?ProdNum=154

BTW: this stuff floats

 

[BFR]

in order to run synthetic winch line you need a hawse fairled (new and smooth, or you you will go through lines quickly) and you can kiss the mangus recovery technique goodbye.

 

[mangus580]

That all depends on what you have access to BFR....

I am sure I could protect the syntetic line on the underside of the deuce in a pinch

 

[rmgill]

in order to run synthetic winch line you need a hawse fairled (new and smooth, or you you will go through lines quickly) and you can kiss the mangus recovery technique goodbye.

If you have a fairlead. If it's running up on the winch drum directly, it'd be fine. Seems like polishing the fairleads would be a good idea too to prevent rubbing the rope the wrong way.

 

[clinto]

You know guys, I read a lot of internet forum stuff (www.moparts.com) and a few others (work related) and this is one of the best, most informative threads I have ever read.

The mirror idea that M543A2 posted is a great idea, I hope to see some pics.

Thanks fellas.

 

[73m819]

just you all remenber a heavyly loaded winch cable ,no matter whats it is made of ,will hurt and maybe KILL you quicker then quick if it should snap, 50,100,150 foot of thght cable has a large recoil area. i have seen cables on the back of dozers break and come back and take out the whole rops cage (roll over portection system) a 1/2 or a 5/8 cable breaking under load can do a very large amount of damage , so again please think about this when servicing and useing your winch

 

[Recovry4x4]

Just to hit on what Ron has been saying, sometimes your ears can be your best friends when winching. Listen to your equipment when winching, you can hear things going on and if you hear something, stop to investige. I love recovery stuff but not death, please use COMMON SENSE when using this equipment.

 

[Recovry4x4]

Oh yeah, we just happen to have FM 9-43-2 in our Tech manual section. I urge everyone to download the manual and have a looksee at it, lots of valuable info availabe.