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which winch for a guy who doesn't like winches?

frieed

frieed

Jeepless in Draper
Supporting Member
Location
Draper, UT
I can't remember where, but read a post where someone said their most important last ditch "recovery" tool was a mountain bike to get back to civilization/cell coverage to call for help.
 
O'neal

O'neal

?????????
Location
evanston wy
A winch is well worth the extra weight and room they take.I know I've used my current winch and previous winches for everything imaginable.There have been numerous times if I had been without one it would have been a long night or a long walk out.Then again,some dont get out enough to the point where it is a mandantory item.
 
sixstringsteve

sixstringsteve

Well-Known Member
Location
UT
DAA said:
Steve, for your purposes as you describe them, I think I'd go with the smallest, lightest, most easily stored and deployed option that has a reasonable chance of actually being useful. Of the options presented, personally, if I were you, I'd go with that Wyeth-Scott unit. It's not as capable as the ARB, but it looks like a lot less fuss to store and deploy.
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I'm going to try the Wyeth-Scott unit. I'll post up once I get it (which may be a few months). In the mean time, I'll pay $10 to anyone who winches me out when I get stuck (still hasn't happened).

If I ever went alone like you do, then a permanent, bumper-mount winch would be a necessity.

Now that I've started this thread, Karma is going to get me and I"m going to be stranded in a place that only a bumper-mounted winch will help me.
 
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Greg

Greg

I run a tight ship... wreck
Admin
Location
Grand Junction, CO
frieed said:
I can't remember where, but read a post where someone said their most important last ditch "recovery" tool was a mountain bike to get back to civilization/cell coverage to call for help.
Click to expand...

I've actually mountain biked out of AF Canyon from the Forest Lake turnoff back home to Highland, after my trusty old Toyota broke down on me! I was just lucky to have the bike with me at the time, it was such a simple answer when I couldn't get the truck running on my own.

:D
 
JL Rockies

JL Rockies

Binders Fulla Expo
Location
Draper
Sometimes, the winch isn't about you. Most of the time I've used my winch it was to help others. The last time I used my winch for self-rescue was back in 2010, when I was in AF Canyon and the road had washed out while we were out. I had to pull myself through the ditch and then the stock Ford Ranger that was with us.
 
sixstringsteve

sixstringsteve

Well-Known Member
Location
UT
I ordered the 3-ton Wyeth-Scott comealong with 35' amsteel blue rope. It's rated at 12,000 lbs, weighs 25 lbs, and it's portable. I hope I never have to use it, but if I do, I'll have one more tool to aid in recovery. Thanks for the input everyone, and a big thanks to Spork for posting the link to the model I got.
 
sixstringsteve

sixstringsteve

Well-Known Member
Location
UT
So I got the Wyeth-Scott hand winch and I think it's super cool. There are a lot of potential practical uses for it. I haven't used it yet, and I hope I don't have to, but it's there if I need it.
 
sixstringsteve

sixstringsteve

Well-Known Member
Location
UT
And here's a fun winching story from 2 weeks back. This experience convinced me that I might actually want a real front-mounted winch.

Frieed and I planned a trip from the southern swell (Goblin Valley area) to Capitol Reef/Fish Lake. Part of our route required crossing the muddy river. When we got there, the bank was about a 2-3' drop in. The river was about 30 feet across and flowing at a moderate pace. We measured the depth with a stick and found it to only be about 8" deep. No big deal, I thought, I've been through stuff 3x this deep. Frieed has a winch and a pull-pal, otherwise we probably wouldn't have tried the river crossing (actually, I would have tried it, Frieed would have had more sense and turned around). You can see where this story is headed...

Fried dropped in and even with both his axles engaged he wasn't able to get across. He went about 5 feet, then he sunk to his axles. Fortunately the water was about 2" below the door and the interior stayed dry. We got in the water, drug his winch line out about 60 feet, and used the pullpal to winch him out. There's no way he could have got outta there without a winch.

Then it was my turn and I didn't even make it all the way into the bank before I got stuck. My rear hitch got hung up on the bank entering, and I had to get winched across as well. It was a really unique river crossing. It was like pea gravel 10 feet deep. The water was flowing through the gravel, even 5 feet below the surface. once our wheels started turning, it just dug big holes with the tires and we didn't make it across. I had to be winched across as well.

I still have my hand winch, but I wonder if it would have gotten me out of that situation. I'd rather not find out. I'll still be keeping the hand winch for nasty recoveries and general lifting around the house, but I decided then and there that I needed a front winch. I can't afford the winch or the bumper this year, but I hope to be able to in the next year.

The funny part is that we crossed a deeper water crossing later in the day, but it had a solid and firm bottom, so we had zero problems.
 
SpeedyVic

SpeedyVic

Registered User
Location
Logan, Ut
sixstringsteve said:
And here's a fun winching story from 2 weeks back. This experience convinced me that I might actually want a real front-mounted winch.

Frieed and I planned a trip from the southern swell (Goblin Valley area) to Capitol Reef/Fish Lake. Part of our route required crossing the muddy river. When we got there, the bank was about a 2-3' drop in. The river was about 30 feet across and flowing at a moderate pace. We measured the depth with a stick and found it to only be about 8" deep. No big deal, I thought, I've been through stuff 3x this deep. Frieed has a winch and a pull-pal, otherwise we probably wouldn't have tried the river crossing (actually, I would have tried it, Frieed would have had more sense and turned around). You can see where this story is headed...

Fried dropped in and even with both his axles engaged he wasn't able to get across. He went about 5 feet, then he sunk to his axles. Fortunately the water was about 2" below the door and the interior stayed dry. We got in the water, drug his winch line out about 60 feet, and used the pullpal to winch him out. There's no way he could have got outta there without a winch.

Then it was my turn and I didn't even make it all the way into the bank before I got stuck. My rear hitch got hung up on the bank entering, and I had to get winched across as well. It was a really unique river crossing. It was like pea gravel 10 feet deep. The water was flowing through the gravel, even 5 feet below the surface. once our wheels started turning, it just dug big holes with the tires and we didn't make it across. I had to be winched across as well.

I still have my hand winch, but I wonder if it would have gotten me out of that situation. I'd rather not find out. I'll still be keeping the hand winch for nasty recoveries and general lifting around the house, but I decided then and there that I needed a front winch. I can't afford the winch or the bumper this year, but I hope to be able to in the next year.

The funny part is that we crossed a deeper water crossing later in the day, but it had a solid and firm bottom, so we had zero problems.
Click to expand...

Was this part of the river wider than the rest of the river? I see gravel beds like this all the time while fishing the rivers. It is usually where the water flow slows down enough for the sand and small gravel to get deposited in the river bed. If the river flows mostly through sandstone, the bottom will be really loose and will not be very supportive to anything with weight. It would be like trying to drive through a big pile of marbles.
 
SLC97SR5

SLC97SR5

IDIesel
Location
Davis County
Steve, I didn't read the entire thread but I have had Warn winches on all my truck's. I currently have a MileMarker 8k on my '87 Runner and a Warn XP9500 on my '97 4Runner.

IMO, the Warn's are the very best out there.

I use to be a fan of the receiver mounting but have not encountered a situation that required the winch to be swapped to the rear. A strap and snatch block has always sufficed. I prefer the fixed, hardmounted winch because there is no chance of leaving it at home and it is slightly harder to steal, especially with the solenoid pack hidden away.

I got over being a web wheeling mall crawler a long time ago so that really isn't a factor for me anymore.

As far as approach angle, yeah it is impeded but you learn to drive around it.

The winch has definetly become a security blanket, especially when out solo with just the kids. It saved my bacon on Ward Canyon about 6 winters ago...I've been a fanboy ever since.

Superwinch seems to really be stepping up their game. No firsthand experience though.

I don't use my winches enough to justify synthetic rope although the Warn could use some as the cable has been kinked.

I've never stalled out any of my winches even when on one battery and with several wraps of cable on the drum. I am inclined to believe there is a huge safety margin in the marketing of winches...that or I've never been stuck hard enough...

Sorry for the ramblings. :)
 
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