I have spent a fair amount of time and money testing various cables, ropes and straps. Following are my results but first you need to understand that my situation is different than yours. I have a device that applies down pressure to the snowplow which increases the pressure on what ever I am using to lift the blade. I also hit the upper limit often when plowing so that puts the full force of the winch pulling against what ever I am using and increases the stress and wear on the cable, rope or strap.

Cable, I had fairly good sucess with the cable once I mounted the winch out in front of the grill and pointing down so the cable had a straight pull from the winch to the blade. By running the cable over a roller fairlead it only lasted about 1 hour but I made a pulley that slipped onto the bottom roller which would double or triple that time. I also used shorter lengths of cable so I didn't have multi layers on the drum and didn't ruin as much cable at a time. The problem with doing this is the cable will rub grooves in the drum. I have two different winches that need new drums due to the chaffing of the cable on the drum.

Next I tried the synethic rope, not Warns but a different brand. I used it on a Warn 2.5 and had a straight pull, no fairlead. It lasted a whole 30 minutes, broke where the loop was woven in. This was a problem with how the loop was woven, not a problem with the rope but I determined the woven area would be the weakest link. I next bought a longer piece of rope with out woven ends on it. I hooked it up so I was in effect doubling the line. By the time I had about 4 or 5 hours of use on this setup it was showing a little fraying. I think on a 1500 lb. winch this would work fine but is marginal for a 2500 lb. winch. Last week I ordered some more rope of a different brand to try on the 2500 lb. winch. I have figured a way to attach it to the drum so I will end up with 4 lines to divide the stress onto.

Straps, the biggest problem with straps is attaching them to the winch drum. The layers of strap by itself will not hold the strap to the drum. I have used two sided tape also but that isn't realible enough so I also added clamps. With the tape and clamps I get a realible hold during cool weather but in the summer heat it isn't enough on a 2500 lb. winch so I am going back to the rope which for my purposes I think will work more reliably. As someone else mentioned you can always drill and tap the drum but I am trying to come up with a way to attach it without modifing the winch. Lets face it, not everyone has the tools and/or experience to be drilling and tapping.

I must caution everyone, my situation is different than what others will experience. Due to my down pressure device I am putting considerably more stress on the line than others will. My goal is to eventually market my device so I am trying to make sure the known problems are solved first. Currently there at 5 different machines setup with my device so it gets a good test as to what people are going to do with it.

 

I was having problems with the cable fraying and breaking using our Swisher plow to backfill behind a trencher while laying water line.

Solution to the problem was to mount a pully, came off an AC belt adjuster on an old Ford engine, on the plow. Mounted this as low as possible and moved the winch up on the quad. Ran the cable down around this pully and back up to the winch base. This cut the plow lift speed by 50% which made it easier to control while doing finish gradeing and also cut the effective load on the cable by 50%. Since this simple modification I have had zero cable problems even after many hours of use.

You will have to make a guide to keep the cable on the pully for the times the cable goes slack from running out too much or the blade being pushed up.

Hope this helps.

 

i use regular old utility rope (whatever fits the hole in the drum) and four pulleys (hardware store pullys are fine. don't need expensive ones) to make a 5:1 reduction system. this makes it easier to lift the plow, spreads the wear over three or four feet of rope, and makes the plow move up and down much slower. (easier to stop at the top of the travel or get just the right amount of lift to skim gravel or grass). i'm on the third year with the same old 1/4" rope that was used before this.

monty

 

The past two years, I've used steel cable with my plow. I have a roller fairlead with the larger bottom roller, but the cable would snap about once a week at the end. I had some U-bolts, so I'd just cut off the frayed part and re-crimp a new loop in and keep using it. I have another steel cable that I swap on in the summer (when I'm not wearing gloves, I don't want a shredded sharp cable in the summer, as I use the winch in the winter to get unstuck constantly and it wears out quick).

I just bought an Amsteel synthetic rope kit on ebay a few weeks ago, 50' of synthetic line and an aluminum hawse fairlead. I've only used it with the plow once or twice, so no durability reports yet. Seems good so far, though, but not cheap.

Does anyone else use this? If they do, did you attach the abrasion guard to the end of the rope instead of letting it slide, because it gets bunched up while plowing, so I have to wind it under a few layers of bare rope, and I don't want to nick my rope.

 

Tyler, Don't have an answer for your question, but have a question for you. How do the u-bolt clamps hold up on your winch cable? I can see that I'll need to do that after awhile. I was going to buy some sleeves and a swaging tool to put the cable together after I make a loop, but the u-bolt clamps are the cheapest way to go. Thanks for the info.

 

Here is the u-bolt I used, I found it in my garage. I used two: linky. Just cut the frayed cable, loop it through the thimble, and tighten them down. Keep a small wrench in your pocket and you can do it right there (but you have to leave the frayed cable on temporarily, it is nearly impossible to cut without the right tools).

After I did that, I found a 5/16" cable repair kit at wally world and picked that up for future use. I can't find it online, but it is on the shelf with S-hooks, chain and whatnot. It is a little package with two of those U-bolts and a thimble (the teardrop metal loop that protects the cable).


They hold up just fine, after it broke twice I installed them, and a couple times my 3000# winch stalled, but they didn't slip at all. And the second one was not even necessary, I think, but I definetly had it there for safety. Only annoying thing is that they don't fit through the fairlead, so you have to clip the hook somewhere.

Tyler

 

Thanks for the info! At least I know what to do when mine breaks. Looks like I'll be out soon. 8 inches of new snow here in PA. Thanks again, and be safe.

 

I use the same thing to repair my cable when it breaks. Seems like at least once a Winter I have to fix it in the middle of a storm. I get 5/16" Cable Clamps from the local hardware store along with a Thimble. First I electrical tape the cable back to where it's still wound tight beyond the frayed end and cut off the frayed part right up flush with the tape with Dikes. Then loop the cable around a 5/16' Thimble and slip on two cable clamps as close as I can get them to the Thimble. The Thimble is like a horseshoe shaped piece of metal groved for the specific cable sixe. I find all this stuff in most all hardware stores and keep a supply on hand for breaks during storms. I also remove the hook for the Winter and use a Shackle since I had the hook come off the plow the first Winter. Next I'm going to try attaching a pulley onthe top rear center of the plow so the cable runs at less of an angle to see if it slows down the lift speed. Between the speed of retrieve and the sharp angle of the Roller Fairlead these seem to be the problem as I see it.

 

damguy: Yep, you are exactly right. I was thinking of that just this week. Putting some kind of a pulley on so the angle isn't as sharp. Like you said, the cable breaking is about the only issue with the plow/winch set up. I just got done with my plowing (9 inches) and everything went well. Let me know if you come up with an idea for using a pulley. I'll do the same. Thanks for all the info guys, hope I can return the favor someday.

 

ALL UTILITIES R BOXES!!!!!