You'r stuck, buddy's not around ,you got your winch, lucky you, its working but....
what else do you need

****** block size and how many# capacity?
Tree saver how long and how many #

some other useful items which come handy?

And last not least ::????? may be one ore more experienced: How to get unstuck will walk us through how we proceed savely and successful getting us and our toy(Polaris so we don't get bumped) out of whatever we got stuck in.

Thanks guys!!! Lotsasteam

 

A tree strap that is about 10' long should get around most trees. A ****** block rated at 2x your winch's pulling capacity should be plenty for pulling you out. I was able to pull my very heavy Polaris Sportsman X2 out of 3' deep snow when I slid off the trail in the wintertime. I also have a folding shovel to dig out. Was having trouble getting my buddy's quad out of a similar snow situation so we took a couple minutes and dug ramps into the snow in front of the tires. It helped quite a bit and we were able to get on our way in just a few minutes. Probably wouldn't work so well in really wet mud. I also throw a jacket over the line when pulling to keep it from snapping back should it break.

 

this is the first time i've seen this kind of post. the answers should be interesting reading. there is nothing wrong w/ asking for getting unstuck advice from some of us who made thier challange to get buried beyond buried. personally i've been so stuck a few times that i actually made the winch stop workinf and another time i broke my bike. anyways 1 snack block would be enough w/ any 2500 lb or bigger winch and 1 strap(tree hugger)maybe 8 to 10' will do as well. biggest thing is to make sure the bike is running(as your winch is running strickly off your battery and will drain it with bike off) and you go only say 30 seconds to maybe a minute of the winch pull to not to overheat the winch. angle the wheels in which way you want to be pointing out of the hole and also the less restricktive path for less damage to the bike and hook your cable to a higher ancor point then the level of the bike so it will help pull you up and out and not just straight into the muck. just a few ideas.

 

if your winch stops working for whatever reason- you can "winch" yourself out of the nastiest mud holes simply by using a sturdy rope or cable, around a tree, and tying it to your axl- put it in low gear and gently give'er gas until the cable / rope starts wrapping around your axle acting as a winch- you might only get a few feet at a time, but sometimes that's all you need. Can also use the front axle if you have 4x4.
I carry a 50' 4000lb strap with me all the time- harbor freight for $10. Heavy duty boat dock lines also make great winching ropes to add some needed length to your winch line.
I also keep a couple of shackles.

There are some winching techniques that you should have when hitting the trails alone- cause sometimes just hooking to a tree won't do it- especially if you're up to the racks in thick mud.

I've had to winch an atv by hooking to the aarm, up over the seat (using wood between the seat & cable) and pulling the atv up one side at a time while another atv was winching from the front- it was a 550 xp and it was good and stuck- the 550 guy actually snapped his cable trying to get out alone.

and it took two atv's to winch my stuck azz renegade 800 out after I broke through the ice- thank god I wasn't alone, because there wasn't a tree close by for me to hook to.

 

Once I went through a 8-10 mile long mud bog and got stuck a few times. Once there wasn't a tree in front of me so I winched backward over the front cargo box without any ****** blocks. It gouged out the plastic but I was able to move the front end over to solid ground. I hope I never have to do that again.

 

In addition to a winch I keep a portable come-a-long in case it has issues. Also have a 25' strap and I always immediately replace my steel winch cable with synthetic and use the steel for an extension(clamp loops at both ends). Over the years I have collected "a few" so I have a few hundred feet of extra cable if needed. If you stick with steel cable then have extra clamps and a pair of cutters big enough to do the job.