Since I have not owned my SP500 HO for very long, I have not had a chance to read everything that came with it. I noticed in the Warn A2000 manual that it says to maximize the life of the wire rope, make sure that it is wound around the drum under a load of at least 500 lbs. Is this really necessary or are we talking about a very small difference in the life of the rope? Do dealers normally know this when they install the winch as they did mine? Guess I'll have to call them and ask.

SP500 HO owner and proud of it.

 

The reason you need to wrap the line at at least 500 lbs is to keep the wraps tight subsequent wraps do not dig in and crimp the line.

Some things you can do to get just about unlimited life out of your line.....

1) never exceed the load limit of the line. Also slowly build up tension of the line. quick jerks may exceed the rating of the line and even that split second may damage the line and/or the winch.

2) never connect the pull hook back onto the line. Use a tree saver. This will keep you from crimping the line. Crimps are the week links in a winch cable.

3) If you do a lot of mudding or wet riding make sure to care for your winch as well as your 4-wheeler. Unspool the line until you get down to the base wrap. clean the winch. Get the mud and goop off of it. Get all the mud out of the wraps and make sure they are crimp free. Spray the cable with some wd-40 to keep it from corroding. Then respool it under load.

 

What they are talking about is if you don't have the rope spooled on tight and fairley even when you pull against a load it will pull the cable down in the lower turns. This will cause it to pull "azz---es" in the cable. When you use it again these little circles will cause the weakest point in your cable. Use a pair of leather gloves, and tie your cable to a stationary object like a telephone pole, pull all the cable of the spool and use the winch to roll it back on. I usually leave my wheeler running and you can guide the wraps on the spool with your gloves.
I have had my winch on my '99 sp500 for a year and used it on my own bike in the ice here three days ago. I was by myself feeding deer with 4 bags of feed (200 lbs) on with me. There is no way i could have gotten out without help or the winch. Sure made the purchase feel good.

gardner10