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Winch Rope Upgrade

Shawn

Shawn

Nuckin Futz!
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We have a rigging store up here by me. You can go there and order whatever diameter, length synthetic line you want...its sold by the foot.. and they will braid whatever eyelets you want.....Not sure where you live but you might want to check around your area for one.
 
1977k5 said:
Depends on how likely you are to use it, I didn't want to chance the no-name Chinese stuff and bought Amsteel.
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x2 on this . as your link and pics give it away as off shore cheepy stuff when it says " usa stock "

if you dont plan to use it much get a good cable and hook setup from a good tow truck place . like the one i got for my buddys blazer . 3/8" 100ft with newer style beefy hook shipped for about 100 - 120 bucks . tow truck guys love this brand for good quality and service life .i have a few of the hooks from cables my old boss had die early from stupid drivers and i swapped them on my engine hoist's for a better hook and spin of the engine as i was picking or setting in a vehicle.

the full circle hooks with built in spinner to not twist the cable up there yellow painted .
https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=b&a+3/8"+cable&_sacat=0&LH_TitleDesc=0&_sop=15
 
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Appreciate all the input! After doing some research I may keep the steel cable for now. I wouldn't mind a smaller fairlead though.
 
I put synthetic on my winch and used a Smittybilt rope. Haven't had any issues yet, and I've used the hell out of it.
 
If the wire rope If 120. bucks then it would be all import,for a 100 ft wire rope. I would no use a swivel hook on a winch line,,the wr would unspin as you get past the work load limit of the wr.
 
One reason to keep my steel cable is its 125 feet. I dont think you can get that length of rope to fit on most winches because its thicker.

Also looked at the smittybuilt low profile fairlead for a steel cable and lots of problems with those cracking or breaking. Warn makes a thin non roller solid steel fairlead for steel cable but it will rust as the cable drags over it
 
Moody Bricker said:
If the wire rope If 120. bucks then it would be all import,for a 100 ft wire rope. I would no use a swivel hook on a winch line,,the wr would unspin as you get past the work load limit of the wr.
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then how do guys using this on tow truck wreckers get away with it for years now and no real problems ?
 
The old hooks have a swivel but it wasn't a barring swivel, when we would test the loop it would be 2x the work load limit, we put a rod in the loop to keep it from spinning, wire rope is just 6 springs wrap around 1 smaller spring.
 
Most tow trucks are flat beds that they just pull it up a ramp bed with rolling wheels not much pull so they can get away with swivel hooks,the barring hook will spin under a lower load,unspinning the wire rope .
 
Moody Bricker said:
Most tow trucks are flat beds that they just pull it up a ramp bed with rolling wheels not much pull so they can get away with swivel hooks,the barring hook will spin under a lower load,unspinning the wire rope .
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Never had wire rope unspin on me and I stall my 8 ton winch on loads constantly (tree removal). If it was an issue then cranes wouldn’t be using swivel hooks.
 
I think the key is in Moody's first re;y where he states this becomes a problem as you exceed the Working Load Limit of the winch rope. All the examples of Tow trucks, and cranes are not examples of winch rope exceeding the working load limit.
 
that b/a cable i posted on if i recall has almost 4,000 lb working limit . but the min breaking is 3:1 factor . so yes most systems max out the drive before the cable if used correctly .

i would sooner trust a B/A cable setup over the galvanized cheaper stuff that's included on winches today .

also maintenance is key to these also . steel wire rope on winches for tow trucks and flatbed/rollbacks need a dose of oil on them to keep them flexible and loose as being out in the air and on deck they get rusty and pop faster then . in my years of towing i only popped 1 cable and i didn't see it but i think the hook ( before full clam hook style ) got hung up on the end of the bed just before the bridal went tight and i did not see it and was pulling a old rusty junk toyota t100 up on and it was sitting there for years . it also had a fisher plow with it so i figured it was stuck and heavy . next thing i knew pop went the cable . and it popped were it was dry and rusty .
 
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I stell can't find the video of the wire rope braking at 1/2 the breaking strength of the same wire rope with out the swivel .yes you need to keep the wire lube,to much will hold dirt,sand,the crap the would wear it out faster
 
All wire rope slings chain slings,wire mesh slings,I should say steel slings are rated with a 4 to 1 safety fator, same for hooks,,,,,shackles and rings are 6 to 1,nylon,rope are a higher,5 to 1 but they have a lower Wor load limit
 
Not sure on ratings, but on the trail if you pull out wire rope, everybody runs away, including your help...synthetic rope is the way to go these days. Much safer.
 
^^^this^^^

In my years of 4 wheein' I have witnessed two bad incidents with snatch straps....both involved a large clevises or a steel ring dropped onto a trailer ball....

First one, the clevis slipped off of the ball of the truck being pulled out, It flew the entire distance of the 30ft strap,, thru the rear glass of the K5 pulling it,, thru the interior,, hit the back of the driver side seat ( folded it ) and out thru the windshield... the only thing that saved the drivers life is he was turned to his left looking back at the truck.. if he was turned to the right... It would have killed him.

Second one I saw was a truck being strapped out of a hole...the guy had a steel ring he had welded to one end of his strap..under a full pull, the ring slipped the ball, and like a gunshot,, it flew into a few people standing off to the side of the pulling truck..
1 guy almost lost his leg and had to be airlifted out by helicopter..it was friggin' narly. Didn't know the people involved, so I don't know if he lost the leg... luckily there was a person there that was medically trained and put a tourniquet on until rescue arrived... this was way before the days of cell phones and the nearest pay phone was about 4 miles away... luckily, there was a cop at the store and got the people on the way to help the injured guy out.

People underestimate the amount of kinetic energy stored up in a 3" x 30' strap under full stretch.... it is an enormous amount of energy... :yikes:
 
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