Winching technique

Oreo_penguin536

New member
Their is a vehicle that had slipped and is stuck at the bottom of a hill. It’s too slick to winch them out with the Jeep as an anchor because it’s one of those hills that gets steeper as you decline. So, you...

1: anchor your rear bumper to a near by tree via 30ft strap, slowly drive down the hill till you’re supported solely by the strap, hook up to the stuck vehicle and winch them up to you

Or

2: you hook your winch to a tree (with tree saver obviously), lower yourself down, hook a tow strap from your rear bumper to their front bumper, winch you and said stuck vehicle up back to where the trail, road, or common area is

Or

3: their is a second rig with a winch, you hook your rear bumper to their winch, they lower you down then you hook your winch to stuck vehicles front bumper and winch the whole operation back up

Are these safe winching practices? Or is this whole situation even feasible?


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Sharkey

Word Ninja
I've personally witnessed a severely stretched pickup frame occurring as a result of connecting to two different objects (i.e. an anchor in the rear and then winching from the front.)

I'm sure someone with more experience than me will chime in but, if I was going to do this type of recovery, I would make sure my anchor strap went all the way to the font bumper. Basically, you want pretty close to a direct anchor to winch set up if that makes sense.

Ideally, I might park behind/against the tree and just use an extension on the winch line to reach the stuck vehicle.
 

fiend

Caught the Bug
You call a tow truck with a long ass cable.

Scenarios 2 and 3 are going to overload the winch because you’d be winching two vehicles not one. Scenario 1 is going to result in two stuck vehicles, not one.
 

Brute

Hooked
You shouldn't use a winch as a lowering device...use winch line extensions and if possible snatch block to increase pulling advantage
 

Brute

Hooked
You can get synthetic winch line extensions (50 ft) that match your synthetic winch line...snatch & tow straps are usually only 20-30 feet...
 

Oreo_penguin536

New member
Make sure you keep at least five wraps of cable on the drum.

I’ve heard this, and also 10 wraps or a full roll, which is correct and why wouldn’t 2 or 3 wraps be okay?

While I’m at it, when first setting up a winch you have that little screw to hold the line in place. Why not make a clove hutch or half hitch on the drum before screwing that set pin it, that way when you’re winching the pressure or tension is on that knot that way you can spoil out down to 1 wrap instead of 5-10? I hope that all made sense


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fiend

Caught the Bug
I’ve heard this, and also 10 wraps or a full roll, which is correct and why wouldn’t 2 or 3 wraps be okay?

While I’m at it, when first setting up a winch you have that little screw to hold the line in place. Why not make a clove hutch or half hitch on the drum before screwing that set pin it, that way when you’re winching the pressure or tension is on that knot that way you can spoil out down to 1 wrap instead of 5-10? I hope that all made sense


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The manual for my winch (mile marker hydraulic with steel cable) says five wraps minimum. Other brands may specify differently. I doubt anyone goes below 5. The more the better. The wraps provide the necessary friction to pull the load. The little screw doesn’t hold any load. It just keeps the cable from bird nesting.

A clove hitch is ill advised because first, it can slip or come loose unless the line is under constant tension, which is not always the case. Second, a clove hitch entails the line crossing over itself diagonally. If you spool out all your line but for a little bit for the clove hitch, and then put a lot of weight on that remaining bit of line, you might have the line slice or damage itself at the diagonal.
 
If you’re out on the trail and you need to get out you do what you need to do. Personally I’d park steel front bumper or front tire against tree pull the line down. If necessary use the strap as an extension. You use what you’ve got to get home. The real answer is turn around or carry more gear.


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RSQCON

Member
If you’re out on the trail and you need to get out you do what you need to do. Personally I’d park steel front bumper or front tire against tree pull the line down. If necessary use the strap as an extension. You use what you’ve got to get home. The real answer is turn around or carry more gear.
Finally someone with some not so common sense. Never say never but anchoring the rear of your frame is never a good idea.

There big things to consider here are:
Weight of the vehicle you are trying to recover
Incline of the hill
Type of recovery gear and what each item is rated at

First option would be as mentioned above. Pull your front bumper up against a tree or chalk your tires with some rocks free spool and walk your line down the hill.

From there if the vehicle is too heavy or the grade is too steep I would recommend using a snatch block. This will double the amount of line you have out. At this point if you still cannot reach the vehicle you would need a tow strap or line extension. When using a snatch block my suggestion would be to take the end of your line and secure it to a tree that way your Jeep is only taking half the load ‘in theory’.

As for how many wraps. As soon as I get to only having 1 layer left on the drum I am concerned. 5 wraps is my absolute minimum.
 
Last edited:

QuicksilverJK

Caught the Bug
I’ve heard this, and also 10 wraps or a full roll, which is correct and why wouldn’t 2 or 3 wraps be okay?

While I’m at it, when first setting up a winch you have that little screw to hold the line in place. Why not make a clove hutch or half hitch on the drum before screwing that set pin it, that way when you’re winching the pressure or tension is on that knot that way you can spoil out down to 1 wrap instead of 5-10? I hope that all made sense


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The rule of thumb for cranes (I do not have the actual regulation handy) is 5 wraps. The reason being that your cable anchor point to the drum only holds the cable in place to begins wrapping. Your actual pulling power comes from friction of the cable wraps around the drum. You will not have enough friction for full load till you have 5 wraps.

I agree with everything else recommended so far sounds like you need extensions and to get your jeep to a spot with better traction. ARB does make a winch extension sling that I think is 60 or 80 feet. I don't have one but have seen one used once.

You can also use 2 winches side by side if you have another vehicle with a winch so that the pulling vehicles only have to have good enough traction to support 1/2 of the weight.


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Oreo_penguin536

New member
The rule of thumb for cranes (I do not have the actual regulation handy) is 5 wraps. The reason being that your cable anchor point to the drum only holds the cable in place to begins wrapping. Your actual pulling power comes from friction of the cable wraps around the drum. You will not have enough friction for full load till you have 5 wraps.

I agree with everything else recommended so far sounds like you need extensions and to get your jeep to a spot with better traction. ARB does make a winch extension sling that I think is 60 or 80 feet. I don't have one but have seen one used once.

You can also use 2 winches side by side if you have another vehicle with a winch so that the pulling vehicles only have to have good enough traction to support 1/2 of the weight.


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So the more you spool out the less power you get.
Is it possible to winch at the same time as backing up or will that overload things?


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fiend

Caught the Bug
So the more you spool out the less power you get.
Is it possible to winch at the same time as backing up or will that overload things?


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Actually, pulling power increases with more cable spooled out. It decreases as you bring cable in.

It is possible to winch and reverse at the same time, but not recommended. It’s a good way to blow up your ring and pinion or your transmission. They are not designed for significant loads in reverse. Also, winching is already dangerous. Why make it more so by adding in another distraction and potential cause of failure?
 
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