Element

I've always read never to stand in between the two vehicles while winching. Also, to never handle the winch cable while winching. In the owners manual, it says repeatedly to "make sure the winch cable is wrapping evenly on the drum while winching".... how do you accomplish that without handling the cable?

Second question is that the owners manual repeats to "give the winch a rest during extended pulls to avoid overheating"...... what qualifies as an "extended pull?"

Offroadme

if im winching my jeep out of a rut i stop every 10 -15 ft or so. i want to extend the lift of my winch as looooong as possible. you don't want it to over heat. esp if you are using a synthetic winch line. you can melt the rope. as far as coiling it up i have not checked in the manual but after i pull myself out or someone else i will recoil it when im done. not while there is a load on it. though with a synthetic line it's a little more safe in that aspect then a cable as a cable snap can take off a limb or cause some serious damage to you or some one else around you.

jkkat

Yah, between the vehicles is bad, You try to look from the side to see if the cable is spooling evenly. If it piles up on one side it causes more stress on the line and less pulling power.

Cooling is always a good idea, this is also winch dependant, the type of winch i run you can usually go 2 to 3 full pulls before needing some cooling time. I run a Warn 8274.

NE Wrangling

Winching:

1) When winching you should always drape heavy carpet over the winch cable between the vehicle and the item being winched. If there is a snap the kenetic energy is lost when the item is pulled to the ground during the whip back. In a bind I've taken the floor mat out the rear of the JK (heavy rubber mat) and draped over the line. when setting this you need to go to the 1/2 way point between vehicle and item being pulled. then go closer to the item being pulled to make sure if the line whips back it cannot reach your vehicle with ease. I usually go 60% away from the winch.

2) Yes all winches need to rest during pulls. It will kill most batteries and will cause failure on the winch. Plan 1 minutes on and 4 minutes cooling.

3) Heat up will only affect the synthetic line if the brake is in the drum. Superwinch has the brake in the motor outside the drum for this very reason.

4) keep the vehicle running during a pull as winching sucks the life of all batteries.

5) before doing any winching you should set the line on the winch. This mean to fully extend the line and then on a small grade slowly coil the line tight. Lines are not tight from the factory and under load will cause issue having part of the line tight and the other part loose underneath.

6) Safety: don't take any chances when winching. Open a door and stand behind it while winching. Tie the jeep from behind to a tree using a tow strap to make sure it's secure. Make sure you don't winch if someone else is not in a safe place. Tell them flat out, "I can start as soon as you are standing over here..."

tkob1060

IF THERE IS NO TREE, IN A LOT OF CASES, you can hook tie strap to another jeep as an anchor. I also read somewhere I think something from warn that jeep should be in neutral with brakes on.

you can get an ARB winch dampner for 34bucks from quadratec to put on middle of winch line

IMFletch

Putting the transmission I neutral keeps the load from coming onto your transmission. It's a good idea if it's practical for the winching situation.

jasona33

When we have had to do long pulls, the cable will often bunch on one side (or the middle). To solve this, after the pull, depending on how bad it is, we have pulled out the cable and re-wound it back on the drum.

I did the Panamint Valley several years ago (all winch run up several waterfalls) and not till we got the end did any of the guys rewind their cable "correctly." Of course every water fall required a winch pull.

Element

Thanks guys. Does anyone else use the 'one minute on, four minute off' practice? I read somewhere else that 7-8 minutes between rests is sufficient. I have a Warn xd900i and the manual is not specific about time frame between rests.

NE Wrangling

here is a article on winches that was published a while back.

http://www.moabjeeper.com/articles/g...?articleID=353

texasman1383

You can also use a snatch block to reduce the load on your winch, its the same principal as a pulley and in most conditions will double your pulling capacity of your winch if used properly. Another rule of thumb is that your winchs pulling capacity on the last layer of the spool should be 1.5 x the weight of your vehicle.