Brut, I hope you framed that pic. That is a great shot, buddy.

 

Hi Jeepers. New to this forum, but not to Jeeping or recovery. Since I just recently found this forum, I was reading through a lot of posts to get to know the forum a bit. Just for some background, like the Marine in another winching post, I was trained in vehicle recovery while on active duty and have done my share of recovering using an M816 and later an M936 wrecker. Sooo...

No flame intended to the posters I quoted so don't take it that way, but PLEASE don't do this! In the rare case of equipment failure, the cab of the vehicle is one of the most dangerous places to be. I understand sometimes chocks or large rocks aren't readily available and the use of the vehicle brakes is warranted. In that case, I carry one of these...

Irwin Quick-Grip Bar Clamp — 18 in. | Bar Clamps| Northern Tool + Equipment

...and use it to hold my brakes applied while winching. Reverse the clamp so it's a spreader instead of a clamp. Push on the brake pedal and put this in between the pedal and steering wheel, and add a couple of clicks. We have power brakes, so it doesn't take bottoming your brake to hold the vehicle, just moderate pressure. And this won't hurt your steering wheel. As a mechanic, I use this to troubleshoot all kinds of brake issues and it works well. Then you can exit the Jeep and winch away.

Also, your line of sight is very limited while inside the vehicle. Get out and watch what is going on. True, nothing wrong with using a spotter, but the spotter is YOUR second set of eyes, not your primary. IMHO you're the one with your finger on the trigger so to speak, so you should have the best vantage point for observing what's going on. One more point and I'll get off my soapbox. Stand as far away laterally as your winch control and the terrain allow.

Again, not flaming anybody, but I've seen equipment failures and I just don't want to hear about what should have been a fun day on the trail turn tragic.

Jeep-on, be safe.

John

 

I winch in neural, parking brake on, foot on brake.

Reverse is a bad idea. To get maximum pulling power you need to idle up. i.e. push on the gas pedal. Several tuners, including hyper tech, have a winch feature and will idle up automatically when there is a high drain on the electrical system. I've tied off to a tree or another vehicle to keep from getting pulled towards the stuck rig.

As for helping stuck folks on the side of a road? I do it within my abilities. Be smart, be safe. Is rather get sued for scratching someone's vehicle than see them on the news later dead because I didn't stop. Pssssssst....that's what liability umbrella policies are for, super cheap. Look at liability riders/endorsements to protect you away from your home/vehicle.

Sent from some string and a few tin cans.

 

Well said. I couldn't agree more.

 

Happened the other day on the highway. Guy asked if I could winch him out and told him I would pull him with a tow strap. If that didn't work, he would have to wait for a tow truck. Got him out with one pull. I only use my winch to get myself unstuck out in the woods, or help a fellow off-road.

Winching on the open road is too dangerous.

 

You shouldn't be using a winch as a towing device in the first place. That's why we have tow straps. And always two in a forward gear.

 

Do you happen to know if the superchip has that feature? i have one where you can set the idle rpms but i dont know if it only does it under high drain or if it always kept that Jeep at the RPM level selected despite the electrical load

 

Yes, mine does.

 

Thanks for the reply! i didnt know it only kicked in the selected RPM under load. Im gunna go program my Jeep tonight since i finally have a winch. What RPM would you suggest for a RR8500 winch?

 

Here in the north it could be a long time between vehicles, so most of us will stop if equipped properly. There are still lots of areas without cell service, so in the winter, stopping and helping makes a big difference. I have helped others, and others have helped me.