I need to come up with a stop gap way to pull myself out until I get approval from my wife to by winch. After doing a search, I came across a thread in the 101 section talking about using a hi-lift as a manual winch. One of the responses, however, talked about how much work it was and recommended using a come-along, specifically a Wyeth-Scott puller. This got me thinking about winch capacity. From what I’ve seen it looks like most 4-drs are going with 10k or so but the beefiest puller this company sells is 6k. So how much pulling capacity does one really need for a 4dr? On a rock? In the snow? Etc?

 

I have pulled myself (4 Door), and about 6 feet of mud in front of me, for about twenty feet with my cheap-o Smittybilt XRC8. I was planning on using it just until I could affford a Warn, but have since changed my mind. This this has come thru for me everytime. This thing saves a lot of $$$ over the other companies, and if you think you'll need pull, buy a pully block and you'll effectively double the line pull.

I have also used a High-Lift to pull my old CJ5 out. I agree that it takes forever, a lot of effort, and you only get to move about 4 feet at a time. And trust me, you'll want to stop after about two. Another problem is that you'll need something to hold the Jeep while you reposition the high lift after each 4 foot pull. Nothing worse than sinking back into what you just pulled yourself out of.

If you must go with a manual pull, go with the Come-a-Long. 6000 lbs should be enough for a rolling pull. Save the high lift for emergencies and jacking duties.

 

Do you think it needs to be the 6k version that is pretty spendy by comparison or would an 8k $30 come along from Harbor Freight work, say in a snow bank?

 

for minor pulls, a come along will in fact work just fine. the more capacity the better. if your jeep is really stuck and in a bad way, you really should use a winch with a minimum 8,000 capacity. add in a snatch block and you can do some real pullin.

 

A stuck 4Dr weighing in @ 6000 Lbs can use closer to 12,000 Lbs of force to get it out of that spot, and i mean all four wheels in the air and dragging frame stuck.

 

I agree but right now I'm thinking more about sliding off the road in the snow. I would love a winch and even have the bumper for it already, but so far, I have not been persuasive enough.