I've never seen a come-a-long before so I need some information on them.

What are they made of? How much is one?
Can I make one myself?? Do they really work??
Can I get one anywhere like a farm store(TSC)??
And how do they work??...what do they attach to when pulling or whatever they do.
Should I get a come-a-long or winch??

 

The come- along is basically a hand operated winch with a hook on one end. Generally a cable is attached to a tree or other immovable object and the other end, which has a relatively short, (usually about ten ft) drum-mounted cable with another hook attached is hooked to the object to be moved. A lever is used to ratchet the cable back onto the drum, thus moving the object the length of the cable. They are used for fence stretching & other jobs around the farm not requiring long distance towing. Most big hardware or farm supplies would have them, also Home Depot. They're generally around $35 to $50, depending on brand & length of cable. They're made of steel & can move surprisingly heavy loads of a ton or more due to their mechanical advantage.

 

Hey Hot, great description!
Ok ATV Man, the question you need to ask yourself is, $45 for the come-a-long or almost $300 for the winch? If money is not a concern, then buy a winch.
Like Hot said, most come-a-longs only have about 10 to 15 feet of cable, therefore, you're gonna need some long nylon straps to go with it.
Also keep in mind, that you could have both but if there ain't nothing around to hook them to, neither of them will do you any good.
Granted, they do sell anchor kits that you hammer into the ground with a sledge but honestly, how much Sh*t do you really wanna carry around on your quad? If you're gonna be getting a new quad like you said, then you might as well have the dealer install a winch to go with it.
Have fun.......

 

So a come-a-long is like a winch, it mounts to your ATV, you hook it up to a tree and wind it up by hand???...am I right?

I think I'll get one...I rarely get stuck bad so a come-along would be good. I have some rope that is about 1/2 an inch thick, I think it's the stuff they tie boats up with...it can hold alot of weight.
Thanks for the replys guys.

 

OK I saw a come-a-long.
They sell them at a store near me called TSC.
You can get like a 1500lbs, 2000lbs, or 6000lbs.
How big is one??(average size)

 

Just wanted to second the "good descripiton" by hotshoe. Not easy to describe, but you did it very well.

 

Damn nice job of a description Hot_Shoe! Out in my area, a Come-a-long can be found in 1-ton, 2 and 4-ton sizes at nearly every hardware store. The 4-ton ones are naturally the largest, and consequently the most expensive (i.e. ~$70.00). The medium two-ton size is roughly 20"-24" in length I would guess from handle tip to hook tip at the opposite end. The largest part of the come-a-long is the gear drum, which is framed in approximately a 3"-4" wide x 3"-4" deep housing area, which also includes the cable. Aside from that, you're pretty much left with the hooks at each end.

Come-a-longs are handy in that they can be used in a variety of ways, and are rather cheap compared to a winch. The biggest drawback is that the cable length is rather short, usually between 10'-15' at most. They can be kind of a pain in the butt to operate on a cold day in the snow, as the unspooling method is a little cumbersome and tough on the fingers, but other than that, they're alright. Oh, you'll also want to make damn sure you wind the cable up in a nice neat spool as you are using it, otherwise you're in for a heap of trouble trying to untangle it!

Somebody else mentioned you're in the market for a new quad? If this is the case, my suggestion would be to first find a few different quads that appeal to you, then see what kind of winch offers may be obtained with the purchase of the quad. I got my Warn A2000 for $69 as an Arctic Cat promotional deal when I bought mine. And, if I remember right, I think Polaris gave a free winch if you bought a Sportsman a few months back. Might be something to look into.

Hope that helps, and good luck!

Mike

 

Checkout www.northerntools.com or www.harborfreight.com. The local Harbor Freight retail store has a 4000lb. cable winch puller ( Come-A-long ) on sale right now for $9.97. It has only 10 feet of 3/16 aircraft cable but extra cable is cheap.

 

Yes we are getting a new ATV but I'm not sure when...it depends if my dad is in a bad mood or not, we could get a new ATV by October, or we could get one next summer I don't know.

I'd like to go look at those come-a-longs in different stores to see the different prices, they should be all around the same price.
I shouldn't need more than a 2ton right?

 

Greetings,

The Sportsman's Guide had a 2-ton model for $12.00 -- check out the website to see if its still on sale. Also, I'd get a web tow strap to add length and help in other situations. Ironically, it cost more than the come-along.