I match the hook to my snatch block rating, but that's me.
CK5
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Winch questions
- Thread starter Mastiff
- Start date
If there's a chance you'd ever double line your winch, I'd go with at least the 18k hook.
This may be ignorant, but doesn't a double pull put half the load on the hook and half on the winch? In other words, 18K equivalent pull, but 9K on winch, 9K on the doubled back hook attachment to the bumper?
You are correct. However I would probably still think hard about going with the 18K hook just because.
I KNEW i needed rockwells.
Last edited:
fyi have you ever looked at the safty braking limit for wire rope ?
its a lot .
b/a products wire winch cables are 3.55:1 min braking strength . so if the line is rated for 4000 lbs it will not break till min of 12,000 lbs of load .
and solid wire core is stronger over fiber core . but fiber core is better to work with and handle not as stiff.
its a lot .
b/a products wire winch cables are 3.55:1 min braking strength . so if the line is rated for 4000 lbs it will not break till min of 12,000 lbs of load .
and solid wire core is stronger over fiber core . but fiber core is better to work with and handle not as stiff.
The b/a stuff looks cool, but I don't see where a consumer can easily buy it. It also appears to always come with the cable, and no easy way to install anyway, without taking apart the cable. Unless I'm missing something.
look here for best prices my boss has found and my self also . winch cable
as for the hook separate I don't know ?
as for the hook separate I don't know ?
Moody Bricker
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Moody Bricker
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Masiff, go to a rigging shop.like b c wire rope and rigging 520,750,9296.get a hoist wire rope..6x36)eips-iwrc,it will be stronger then the galvanized but will be more flexible .than they should have the hooks you're looking for and put on the wire rope for you. By American
That is good cable, and much more flexible. But you have to be sure to keep it well oiled.
Most of the regular winch cables are 7x19, which is 7 strands made up of 19 strands. The 36 strands will usually be smaller than the 19, and therefore will rust through faster unless kept well oiled.
Also, make sure that the fairleads are in good shape, since the smaller strands are more susceptible to abrasion.
Some companies make that cable in galvanized.
BTW, eips-iwrc stands for Extra Improved Plow Steel-Independent Wire Rope Center. The extra improved plow steel is stronger than normal, and the wire rope center means steel core cable, which is stronger than rope center.
There must be a good reason why Warn and others don't offer cable like this, right? Or am I just being naive? I don't need to deviate from the tried and true.
Moody Bricker
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Yes it's need oil,but Masiff lives ln Az. Just paint it..the 6x19 class goes up 6x25 now u got only 11 more wire x 6 you can't see the deference ,but there is only one company that makes gavuvnized wire rope in the U.S. now.and gav. Steel rust over time,,, not in Az. But in In. Where I live it will rust over a year.the point was that in Tulsa there are 2 rigging shops that can help him out.I would help but I can't vold my no-complete agreement but don't go to hardware store all u Will
get is shi!..
get is shi!..
Moody Bricker
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In the old it was caled aircraft wire..now nobody can by that.the gav is the cheapest. .that's all..if u take a 3/8wire all the wires are made 10/1000"smaller so they gav. It. I made many,many wire rope winch lines for a wreaker place and they wanted the cheepest,,the import , fiber core wire rope that they can get.cheap cheap. Cheap.
Well, I decided to just go with Warn stuff to keep life simple. I have some newbie winch questions. First, does a cable rope need to be "stretched" before you wind it all the way on and start using it? I see some references to this. Second, what's the deal with winding the cable onto the winch? I see stuff about winding it up under tension, by pulling the rig to a tree with the parking brake on, or pulling on another truck. That's all fine, but people also use their winches, and once you're pulled out of your stuck situation, you can presumably wind up your winch and keep going without an elaborate winding procedure. How does that all work? Sorry for the ignorance, I've never had a winch before.
I always wind it by hand tension, wear leather gloves. I like it spooled nice left to right and back, so as not to cross the cable. Plus it looks better
Well, I might not be the best guy to reply, I'm still a newbie with winches. Only been using them for about 50 years now.........
Still learning.
But, couple of suggestions:
First, no matter what make of winch you have, the cable attachment device is not designed to hold any serious pull. So, you need to attach the cable, then put a few wraps on the drum first before you put any serious load on it.
These wraps will bind to the drum and take the load off the attachment point.
All wraps on the winch should be side by side, moving across the drum. Take your time and get them nice and neat. Once you have a few wraps on, then you need to start putting a load on the system.
Over the years I have used many ways. The E-brake is good, but sometimes I just find something heavy and drag it to the truck. You want to put some substantial load on the cable when first winding it up.
This eliminates any looseness which can cause the cable to shift under strain.
The trick is to stand a short distance away from the winch while it is winding up, and using leather gloves or some other hand protector, pull the cable sideways to keep it rubbing lightly against the previous wrap.
This keeps the wraps tight against each other sideways.
NOTE: This is assuming you have a load on the hook doing the tensioning for you, so all you have to do is guide the cable.
Take your time and do it right. If a wrap gets separated from the next, or climbs over the previous one, stop, pull that part off and redo it.
Having those wraps tight against each other under tension is important.
First, it lets you put the maximum amount of cable per wrap with the minimum diameter, and it presents a solid base for the wraps above to squeeze down on when doing a hard pull.
The standing portion of the cable that is doing the pulling is trying to cut into the wraps under it. If it is able to bear on just one small portion of cable, such as if it crossed it at an angle, then it tends to crush the two cables into each other damaging both.
If the cable under is wrapped solid, then it bears on the full length and spreads the load.
You take your time and do this exactly, for the life of the cable and ease of using the winch. Because hopefully you are doing this in a nice dry place on a nice day.
This makes using the winch on a bad day in knee deep mud much easier. BTDT.
IMPORTANT: A winch will kill you or really screw you up if you do stupid things. For instance, after some use, a cable might develop "hooks" which are pieces of broken strands which can hook into your gloves or hands and drag you into the winch. So, when winding up the cable, make sure you are far enough back from the winch that you have time to pull loose or tell someone to stop the winch if you do not have the remote in your hand.
Also, when guiding it under tension, the farther back you are when pulling the cable sideways, the more leverage you have.
Now, standing between the load and the winch guiding the cable is only done when the load is a known factor. Don't do it when winching for real, in case the load becomes greater than the cable can handle.
Even so, experienced winchers will sometimes step between when winching to guide the cable with the sole of a boot to stop it from overwrapping on one side. They don't hold it, just a quick kick to drop the cable off the high spot.
Its not a smart thing to do, and not the safest thing to do, but I have done it, and so has everybody I know who winches. If you are careful and watch the load, you can get away with it if its done quickly.
Just be ready to get out of the way if the winch starts bogging down.
All the careful cable wrapping I have mentioned is for the nice days in your yard. When you are using the winch, you try to keep the cable as even as possible, but the main thing is to keep it from trying to bunch up on one end, or build up so big that it scrapes the winch housing or mount.
Then, when you get home, you pull the used part back off, inspect for damage, and then wind it back up correctly under a load so it will be ready for the next time.
Think of it as maintenance, like greasing your joints or changing oil.
Back when the area I hunt was a lot worse than it is now, I often used my winch every day for weeks to either pull me through stuff of other folks out. In those days, I had a dedicated load for rewinding the cable. It was several old engine blocks and assorted pieces of heavy scrap tack welded together sitting on a steel plate with a big eye welded to it.
All that sitting on a concrete area. I had a heavy pole set in concrete at the other end of the concrete area, and I would hook my trailer hitch to it so that the truck will stay still.
Since my transmission had to be in gear for the PTO to work, I could not leave it in park, and the emergency brake was seldom enough to hold it. I would pull the used part of the cable off, and hook it to either the drag or a piece of chain on the drag if I did not need that much out.
The system worked great, I just had to sweep off the sand in front of the drag, or it would decrease the pull load.
On my winch, I often pull about 20-50 feet off, and wind it around the fairlead and top of my big bumper during hunting season. That way, I can use it for short pulls with the truck when someone slides off into a ditch or things like that.
In those cases, I seldom turn on the winch, just use the cable like a strap, but without the snatching part. Since my winch is a PTO, it takes a couple of more steps to use it than an electric. So if all they need is a little help, I just use the cable.
Winches are great things if you use them right and take care of them. Have fun with yours, I have always had fun with mine.
Still learning.
But, couple of suggestions:
First, no matter what make of winch you have, the cable attachment device is not designed to hold any serious pull. So, you need to attach the cable, then put a few wraps on the drum first before you put any serious load on it.
These wraps will bind to the drum and take the load off the attachment point.
All wraps on the winch should be side by side, moving across the drum. Take your time and get them nice and neat. Once you have a few wraps on, then you need to start putting a load on the system.
Over the years I have used many ways. The E-brake is good, but sometimes I just find something heavy and drag it to the truck. You want to put some substantial load on the cable when first winding it up.
This eliminates any looseness which can cause the cable to shift under strain.
The trick is to stand a short distance away from the winch while it is winding up, and using leather gloves or some other hand protector, pull the cable sideways to keep it rubbing lightly against the previous wrap.
This keeps the wraps tight against each other sideways.
NOTE: This is assuming you have a load on the hook doing the tensioning for you, so all you have to do is guide the cable.
Take your time and do it right. If a wrap gets separated from the next, or climbs over the previous one, stop, pull that part off and redo it.
Having those wraps tight against each other under tension is important.
First, it lets you put the maximum amount of cable per wrap with the minimum diameter, and it presents a solid base for the wraps above to squeeze down on when doing a hard pull.
The standing portion of the cable that is doing the pulling is trying to cut into the wraps under it. If it is able to bear on just one small portion of cable, such as if it crossed it at an angle, then it tends to crush the two cables into each other damaging both.
If the cable under is wrapped solid, then it bears on the full length and spreads the load.
You take your time and do this exactly, for the life of the cable and ease of using the winch. Because hopefully you are doing this in a nice dry place on a nice day.
This makes using the winch on a bad day in knee deep mud much easier. BTDT.
IMPORTANT: A winch will kill you or really screw you up if you do stupid things. For instance, after some use, a cable might develop "hooks" which are pieces of broken strands which can hook into your gloves or hands and drag you into the winch. So, when winding up the cable, make sure you are far enough back from the winch that you have time to pull loose or tell someone to stop the winch if you do not have the remote in your hand.
Also, when guiding it under tension, the farther back you are when pulling the cable sideways, the more leverage you have.
Now, standing between the load and the winch guiding the cable is only done when the load is a known factor. Don't do it when winching for real, in case the load becomes greater than the cable can handle.
Even so, experienced winchers will sometimes step between when winching to guide the cable with the sole of a boot to stop it from overwrapping on one side. They don't hold it, just a quick kick to drop the cable off the high spot.
Its not a smart thing to do, and not the safest thing to do, but I have done it, and so has everybody I know who winches. If you are careful and watch the load, you can get away with it if its done quickly.
Just be ready to get out of the way if the winch starts bogging down.
All the careful cable wrapping I have mentioned is for the nice days in your yard. When you are using the winch, you try to keep the cable as even as possible, but the main thing is to keep it from trying to bunch up on one end, or build up so big that it scrapes the winch housing or mount.
Then, when you get home, you pull the used part back off, inspect for damage, and then wind it back up correctly under a load so it will be ready for the next time.
Think of it as maintenance, like greasing your joints or changing oil.
Back when the area I hunt was a lot worse than it is now, I often used my winch every day for weeks to either pull me through stuff of other folks out. In those days, I had a dedicated load for rewinding the cable. It was several old engine blocks and assorted pieces of heavy scrap tack welded together sitting on a steel plate with a big eye welded to it.
All that sitting on a concrete area. I had a heavy pole set in concrete at the other end of the concrete area, and I would hook my trailer hitch to it so that the truck will stay still.
Since my transmission had to be in gear for the PTO to work, I could not leave it in park, and the emergency brake was seldom enough to hold it. I would pull the used part of the cable off, and hook it to either the drag or a piece of chain on the drag if I did not need that much out.
The system worked great, I just had to sweep off the sand in front of the drag, or it would decrease the pull load.
On my winch, I often pull about 20-50 feet off, and wind it around the fairlead and top of my big bumper during hunting season. That way, I can use it for short pulls with the truck when someone slides off into a ditch or things like that.
In those cases, I seldom turn on the winch, just use the cable like a strap, but without the snatching part. Since my winch is a PTO, it takes a couple of more steps to use it than an electric. So if all they need is a little help, I just use the cable.
Winches are great things if you use them right and take care of them. Have fun with yours, I have always had fun with mine.
Thanks for the detailed answers. For tonight I put it together just having my son run the controls while I pulled hard on the cable. This weekend I'll try to rig up something to do a better job with more tension.
