Winch cable length?

My portable 12,000 lb winch (and feels like it weighs that much too!)


 
C'mon Kevin,

This will not do :)

Pros and cons. What would you have done differently?:poke:

I assume this is not just for a Subie. For a Subie, would you go with a UTVwinch, 4-4,500 used with double line?

Yes, different type motor etc but sounds to me better for an emergency portable setup than a heavy full size winch.

What anchor?:lildevil:
 
You're right MAS - it's mainly for the Triton and even then I usually only carry it when I venture out by myself just for security. I wouldn't have done anything differently with this and really just displaying it so that folks understand what a portable winch setup looks like. The same principle with the hitch receiver winch carrier coupled with a smaller winch would be good for the Subies - and not be so bloody heavy! :lol: BTW I highly recommend the Dyneema rope.
 
Well, being solo almost always, I feel I would like to have something in addition to air jack and TRED1100.

I like this: https://www.superwinch.com/products/superwinch-winch2go

However, this is about as good as small winches get:
https://www.zoro.com/superwinch-atvutv-electric-winch-1-35hp-12vdc-1145230/i/G8103216/ This can be found at 30% off on sale.

The advantage of the winch in a box is obviously portability. If one is to carry a 50ah battery, so not too big, it could be used at the anchor point--like a manual winch, truly portable--for about 12 min at maximum power (and so 27-32 feet pull in double line with some breaks).

The even better small winch that is not so packaged could be built similarly, but the burden of that would be on me.

I am not sure I like the winch on a hitch idea enough except for using the eye bolt for the first line. I love the electrical winch with manual winch versatility idea but an extra battery greatly increases the size and weight of the setup. Come to think of it, if one uses a deep cycle battery as a camping power source, then one could use the same battery to power a winch connected directly to the anchor, not to mention ditch the jump starter. This would make a portable electrical winch not only easy to use but also much cheaper than a quality manual winch setup. However, even a portable jump starter+power station etc pack is not strong enough (22ah).

What do you think?

Have you ever used the winch on a hitch setup in a dire situation? I just cannot imagine that being very practical in deep mud which would be the primary reason for getting a winch.
 
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I wouldn't call them ATV winches because most "ATV" branded/style winches in Aus are sub 1 ton

The notion of a small stand alone battery to power the winch IMO is a laugh, voltage drop whilst under load would be ridiculous
 
MiddleAgeSubie said:
Have you ever used the winch on a hitch setup in a dire situation? I just cannot imagine that being very practical in deep mud which would be the primary reason for getting a winch.
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No, not in a dire situation but then I tend to not get myself into such predicaments. Handy for recovering other vehicles and myself if necessary. If the situation was too deep to attach the winch I could always attach it to an anchor point elsewhere then remove and use one of my 100 amp hr batteries I suppose; which makes it more versatile than most winches which are permanently mounted on the front bar.
 
Powering a winch with a deep cycle bat isn't really a repeatable option, The start up current for the winch wont take many attempts to ruin the battery. No start stop winching.

EDIT: then again I'd gladly give up my aux battery if it meant I could get out and home again.
 
I agree with all three of you.

As @Bakerboy says, a small battery won't work.

Kevin basically has the setup I thought would make this viable: a powerful battery that he carries anyway, anyway being the key word here.

And as @idw points out, we are talking emergency use only indeed.

The bottom line for me is that the best tool for emergency use remains a proper setup (dual line as standard with triple line capability) based on a quality manual winch of a type that works well for vehicle recovery (i.e. ARB Magnum). The problem is that purchased new this good ole Fred Flintstone tech costs a fortune for what it is. A small electrical winch used with double line costs--and even weighs!--less assuming one carries a big spare battery anyway. But this is the catch: it would be ludicrous to buy, maintain, and carry a 70-130 ah battery just because it may happen to be useful once a year, if that (and the overall setup would come closer to the price of one based on a new ARB Magnum).

Kinda paragraph 22.
 
idw said:
Powering a winch with a deep cycle bat isn't really a repeatable option, The start up current for the winch wont take many attempts to ruin the battery. No start stop winching.

EDIT: then again I'd gladly give up my aux battery if it meant I could get out and home again.
Click to expand...

Indeed. My Triton carries 2 x 100 AH aux batteries so I should get by :lol:
 
It's always been the argument of what to carry. Carry everything and maybe only have to ever use it once in years, carry a few things that don't do the job properly and spend a days worth of pain trying to get yourself out of trouble.

I had this kind of stress earlier this year. I carry snatch gear most of the time...but travel primarily with only 1 car, making it useless. After a few days in the glenelg river the temp was going to push into the low 40's later in the week, so we did a run out in to the Otway national park (kind of a sandy hot bush environment, to a more rain forest type area).

We decided to take a few tracks instead of detouring back to the blacktop to save about half a days driving (and to see some American redwoods god dam those things are huge). Middle of summer and I quickly ended up in a lot of torn up muddy tracks, with a full load of camping gear only then remembering I forgot to pack a shovel...While I was incredibly choosy about what part of the tracks I was going to take, I still found the hardest stuff about 15km down into the valley heading back up towards the air river.

A simple shovel and bow saw would of given me a lot more confidence that day, a winch even more so. I got through by being picky, but still had fun with the challenge. At the end of the day we all do this sort of silly stuff because we like the challenge, building our recovery gear base on experience,what we can use,afford, and where we go.

I personally can't really see a situation where I'd need to attempt a long donkey triple line pull vs. a mid range single / double line. A heavy winch and a single line pull from the rear of the car seems a lot more likely, within reason If I get in forwards I should be able to get out backwards.

That said I do have a winch cradle for the front of my car which hasn't gone on yet, for a 4500-5000lb winch I plan to use mainly for a double line pull.
 
Very informative, thanks. Yeah, I knew I would not be the only one thinking along these lines.

I like your idea. A 4,500-5,000 lb winch is light and while not suited to regular winching should be completely capable to save the day in an emergency. I am not interested in a permanent mount but I can surely see the point. I like the Superwinch Terra 45 which has its brake where it would not heat the synthetic rope.

Triple pull on handwinch would be for me :) not for the winch or the car! The overall effort would be much less even after accounting for 3:1 reduction in feet per lever car movement. With a hitch it is actually pretty easy to setup in the rear, somewhat challenging in front. The extra cost is just a pulley that needs not be as strong as the other one (strong pulleys, as opposed to strong snatch blocks, are rather pricey).

The problem is that the value provided by feeling as prepared as one can be seems to me less than the cost of said fully-rigged winch :) especially since I have so far failed to convince myself that I truly need one. I know why I need my shovel, TRED1100, and air jack though :)
 
I just hate using a tirfor style winch, half away through the job you feel like leaving the dam thing in a hole and buying a new car is the more plausible idea...
 
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