Installing new Warn2500
#11
09-12-2001, 02:47 PM
Cowboy, I spooled it all the way out, hooked it up to a towpoint on my Amigo, and then winched the ATV (in neutral) to the truck. With the ATV weighing 651 lbs dry I figured this was enough. But I wonder if that's accurate? Should it be 500 lbs of pure resistance? Should I have put the truck in neutral and winched it to the ATV instead?
Please clarify, if you can.
Please clarify, if you can.
#12
09-12-2001, 03:49 PM
Pechmial-
I would say that yes, the weight of your 'Cat is enough to spool it in correctly if you're on a slight up hill grade-enough to put a steady resistance on the cable-if on level ground, and the 'Cat was able to roll freely, it might not have been enough-the reason I say that is my 'Cat weighs in around 950 lbs with all the stuff I have on it, yet I can easily pull it around on level ground with just my hands. In this case, even though it weighs so much, it wasn't enough to properly spool the winch. What I did instead because 50' seems like a lot when stretched out in front of you down the block, and we are on level ground, I just locked the park break, and winched the suburban to the 'Cat. I spooled it out all the way, hooked it up to the two hook on the sub., then got it tight. After it was tight, I let it sit for 5-10 minutes as it was in the sun, so when it warmed up good, if it was going to "stretch" at all, it did so then, and yes, I did find a SLIGHT bit of slack in the line after letting it stretch for a few minutes. Anyway, after the few minutes of doing this, I then just kept the park break on the 'Cat locked, and winched the suburban towards the 'Cat. The sub weighs in at over 5,000 easily, and while I can get it moving on level ground by pushing it by hand, it takes a hell of a lot of effort on my part, so I just figured this was good enough for re-spooling the cable properly. Your Amigo probably doesn't weigh what the sub does, but it should definately be enough to do this job accurately enough. Again, if you had the 'Cat going up hill a little bit even, just so there was a constant pressure, you will be fine with just what you did. If it was level though, I'd do it the same way, only this time, lock the brake on the 'Cat, pull the Amigo to it instead.
Basically, this not only stretches the cable properly, but also ensures that you have an even pressure build up on the inner most wraps of the drum, as opposed to the outter most wraps as well. In certain situations, you'll only need maybe 20' of the 50' you have on the drum, and when stuck in the mud, this puts and extreme amount of pressure on the inner layers of cable. If it is at all loose, or not as tight as the outter most layers, the cable can "bind", or "pinch" itself, causing frey's to occur and also lead to a weakend cable that can snap on you when you least expect it. It's a good rule of thumb anyway on the safe side to throw something of weight over the cable when you winch anyway, such as an old jacket or something. If the cable should break, the weight of the jacket will be enough to drop the cable to the ground, rather than having it come flying back into your face. I have seen that happen on a jeep of my buddies-he didn't listen too me, a clevis broke through a weak link on the chain we rapped around a stump, the hook from the winch line went sailing back through is windshield and out the rear of the jeep! If it had have been a foot and a half more to the left, it would have killed him. Granted, you don't get that kind of resistance out of an atv winch, but still, it's good a good thing to practice safety wise. I try to do this when ever I can, but I'll be honest, I don't do it all the time.
The other thing I should have mentioned earlier, but forgot too-along with the ****** block, get a good nylon recovery strap about 2" wide minimum, or maybe 3" if you prefer, and at least 6' long to use as a "tree saver" strap. Often times when stuck in the mud, you'll have to tie off to a tree to get yourself out, and winch from the tree. NEVER wrap the cable around the tree-it will not only kill the tree, but will also damage your cable. Using a nylon strap to wrap around the tree, then hook the winch cable hook to the strap will save both your cable and keep the enviro's happy as well. I carry a 6'x2" strap as well as a 2"x20' and a 3"x30' nylon strap as well-along with a couple hundred feet of rope and 100' of extra winch cable along with a 6' chain and 15' choker cable. Seems like a lot, but I have used all of this before in recovery attempts, and would not have been successful in doing so had I not had such extreme lengths. A good 6' strap and or the 20' is plenty in most cases though, and doesn't weigh enough to worry about, while being easy to pack away at the same time. The straps also come in handy for towing other vehicles with your 'Cat when the need arises.
Anyhow, that's probably more info than you wanted, sorry about that, I like winching maybe a little TOO much! [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-blush.gif[/img] Hope there was something you could use in that, and I REALLY hope you enjoy your new 'Cat and winch! That's the really fun stuff anyway! [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]
Best of Luck,
Mike
I would say that yes, the weight of your 'Cat is enough to spool it in correctly if you're on a slight up hill grade-enough to put a steady resistance on the cable-if on level ground, and the 'Cat was able to roll freely, it might not have been enough-the reason I say that is my 'Cat weighs in around 950 lbs with all the stuff I have on it, yet I can easily pull it around on level ground with just my hands. In this case, even though it weighs so much, it wasn't enough to properly spool the winch. What I did instead because 50' seems like a lot when stretched out in front of you down the block, and we are on level ground, I just locked the park break, and winched the suburban to the 'Cat. I spooled it out all the way, hooked it up to the two hook on the sub., then got it tight. After it was tight, I let it sit for 5-10 minutes as it was in the sun, so when it warmed up good, if it was going to "stretch" at all, it did so then, and yes, I did find a SLIGHT bit of slack in the line after letting it stretch for a few minutes. Anyway, after the few minutes of doing this, I then just kept the park break on the 'Cat locked, and winched the suburban towards the 'Cat. The sub weighs in at over 5,000 easily, and while I can get it moving on level ground by pushing it by hand, it takes a hell of a lot of effort on my part, so I just figured this was good enough for re-spooling the cable properly. Your Amigo probably doesn't weigh what the sub does, but it should definately be enough to do this job accurately enough. Again, if you had the 'Cat going up hill a little bit even, just so there was a constant pressure, you will be fine with just what you did. If it was level though, I'd do it the same way, only this time, lock the brake on the 'Cat, pull the Amigo to it instead.
Basically, this not only stretches the cable properly, but also ensures that you have an even pressure build up on the inner most wraps of the drum, as opposed to the outter most wraps as well. In certain situations, you'll only need maybe 20' of the 50' you have on the drum, and when stuck in the mud, this puts and extreme amount of pressure on the inner layers of cable. If it is at all loose, or not as tight as the outter most layers, the cable can "bind", or "pinch" itself, causing frey's to occur and also lead to a weakend cable that can snap on you when you least expect it. It's a good rule of thumb anyway on the safe side to throw something of weight over the cable when you winch anyway, such as an old jacket or something. If the cable should break, the weight of the jacket will be enough to drop the cable to the ground, rather than having it come flying back into your face. I have seen that happen on a jeep of my buddies-he didn't listen too me, a clevis broke through a weak link on the chain we rapped around a stump, the hook from the winch line went sailing back through is windshield and out the rear of the jeep! If it had have been a foot and a half more to the left, it would have killed him. Granted, you don't get that kind of resistance out of an atv winch, but still, it's good a good thing to practice safety wise. I try to do this when ever I can, but I'll be honest, I don't do it all the time.
The other thing I should have mentioned earlier, but forgot too-along with the ****** block, get a good nylon recovery strap about 2" wide minimum, or maybe 3" if you prefer, and at least 6' long to use as a "tree saver" strap. Often times when stuck in the mud, you'll have to tie off to a tree to get yourself out, and winch from the tree. NEVER wrap the cable around the tree-it will not only kill the tree, but will also damage your cable. Using a nylon strap to wrap around the tree, then hook the winch cable hook to the strap will save both your cable and keep the enviro's happy as well. I carry a 6'x2" strap as well as a 2"x20' and a 3"x30' nylon strap as well-along with a couple hundred feet of rope and 100' of extra winch cable along with a 6' chain and 15' choker cable. Seems like a lot, but I have used all of this before in recovery attempts, and would not have been successful in doing so had I not had such extreme lengths. A good 6' strap and or the 20' is plenty in most cases though, and doesn't weigh enough to worry about, while being easy to pack away at the same time. The straps also come in handy for towing other vehicles with your 'Cat when the need arises.
Anyhow, that's probably more info than you wanted, sorry about that, I like winching maybe a little TOO much! [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-blush.gif[/img] Hope there was something you could use in that, and I REALLY hope you enjoy your new 'Cat and winch! That's the really fun stuff anyway! [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]
Best of Luck,
Mike
#14
09-13-2001, 12:00 AM
#15
09-13-2001, 12:08 AM
Not having a pallet, I did what cowboy suggested and winched my Amigo with trailer and son's ATV to my cat. That's 4500 lbs of car plus 230 lbs of kids ATV and whatever the trailer weighs (a couple hundred?) across level ground. My son was betting the ATV would be dragged to the truck, he was surprised to see it didn't move.
BTW, Cowboy, my son, while not an expert photographer, managed to snap a few shots where I am actually in them. They can be seen here.
BTW, Cowboy, my son, while not an expert photographer, managed to snap a few shots where I am actually in them. They can be seen here.
#16
09-13-2001, 01:24 AM
Took a look at your pics from the other post, that mud looks very nice on the new 'Cat! [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img] GrizRick and I are heading out this weekend, with any luck, we'll get some rain up there and have some good mud. I'll do what I can about getting some pics taken and posted soon as we return.
Best of Luck,
Mike
Best of Luck,
Mike
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