Winching techniques

[Ayahuasca]

Electric winch - never had to use one before but am about to buy one, presumably you only use it until traction is regained, so do you winch AND power the wheels at the same time, or winch without powering the wheels? If the former, would not the spool go slack / tangled when traction comes back on?

Ta

[ed1983]

Ayahuasca said:

Electric winch - never had to use one before but am about to buy one, presumably you only use it until traction is regained, so do you winch AND power the wheels at the same time, or winch without powering the wheels? If the former, would not the spool go slack / tangled when traction comes back on?

Ta

if you have traction then u dont need a winch. there are a lot of different techniques for winching, power whilst winching can help but not always possible(youtube will show u a few techniques), but the most important thing is safety. i would make sure you have a synthetic/plasma winch rope as cables that break are bad news and also make sure you are winching off something secure.

[bigblock]

My advice would be NOT to use your winch until you have had some training in basic winch techniques and safety. There are a great many things that can go wrong when using a winch some of which can be fatal. At the very least have a look at some of the manufacturers tutorials for winching available on YouTube.

In answer to your question, standard procedure is not to attempt to drive the vehicle during winching as this can create sudden slack in the line which can damage the winch mechanism when under load.

[pjdow]

+1

bigblock said:

My advice would be NOT to use your winch until you have had some training in basic winch techniques and safety. There are a great many things that can go wrong when using a winch some of which can be fatal. At the very least have a look at some of the manufacturers tutorials for winching available on YouTube.

In answer to your question, standard procedure is not to attempt to drive the vehicle during winching as this can create sudden slack in the line which can damage the winch mechanism when under load.

[richyb]

A long time back I did some training through NPTC for 'winch operations'. One day course and involved quite a bit of math but also the important safety training. As has been mentioned you need to be cautious.

[camel_landy]

ed1983 said:

I would make sure you have a synthetic/plasma winch rope as cables that break are bad news and also make sure you are winching off something secure.

Don't believe the hype, synthetic/plasma are bad news too if something lets go...

There are pros & cons for each. I run wire as it is much better at dealing with abrasion. However, as others have mentioned, get yourself some training, even before you buy a winch as that will give you a much better appreciation of what is involved.

FWIW - In most cases, a hand winch is probably the better option. OK, it takes a bit of effort but a vehicle mounted winch only pulls you in one direction.

M