What have you done to your Tacoma today? 1st Gen Edition

Went and paid a visit to the nice people at MULE Expedition Outfitters today since I had some free time. As usual I did not come home empty handed... I thought I should take some pictures as this thing is art, the laser etching and powder coat are awesome and I thought it would be best to have a couple pics before I ruin it.

 

Installed a pair of flush mount led pods. Christmas present to myself!!

HOUSE TUNING 40W Flush Mount LED Pods Light Kit with Wiring Harness for Off Road Bumper (Pack of 2)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01F7LR5QI/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

- Wired up the PIAA lights and turn signals for my Apex bumper install
- Ordered my Ko2's
- got confirmation on my OME kit.

 

Ask @BDN his opinion on these closed system Winching parts lol...

 

What does Mr.Brett have to say. We usually see eye to eye on truck stuff. The closed system idea is nice for the added bit of safety but I really like the flatlink because it let's me use a plain old 3/4 in shackle and it folds flat for storage against the fairlead. Those cast hooks on the end of lots of winch line is generally okay too but I'd rather not worry about it.

 

Better test it on your shackles first. None of ours fit my dads original binky style one.found out the hard way.. Took it off and stayed off

 

Yeah I kind of like the factor 55 Winching parts but they are so Damn expensive...he likes his regular old hooks for Winching and not the "fancy shiny crap" lol. He's just an old school guy @BDN

 

Nothing wrong with that. I figure if I'm going to the trouble of spooling a nice synthetic line on the winch I should put a decent "hook" (pintle?) on it. If I was going to use the steel line that came with the winch I would have just used the hook on the end too.

EDIT: I found the BS thread and read the rant. The first time I was rescued by someone with a winch they used a thimble type hook to hook up to a strap that was through both my d-rings. That idea seemed nice and avoided dropping the strap every time we went slack. So I guess it's a YMMV type thing.

 

Yeah. I meaamn I like them but can't justify spending that right now on that...Damn college lol

 

Believe me I know what you mean. Feel like I've been living like an Amish person for the past three years, okay maybe not Amish but definitely fiscally responsible. So this is just a little gift to myself. The end of college is in sight finally!

 

ok, here we go...
I don't really have a problem with those, per se, it was the way they were presented to me and how the manufacturer advertises their supposed "safety and superiority".
The manufacturer, in their attempt to advertise something"safe" has overlooked and botched a key description in how safe winching is supposed to be done. This is right on the front description page, go see if you can spot the sentence that pisses me off.

Winching, and vehicle extraction in general, with a strap or cable, is a lethal event.
You can die doing these things. I'm all about safety, but what they say on the website about how a regular tried and true hook is used, is an outright misinformation. It may be a good product but I will not support that type of false advertising against something that has been around for decades.

Furthermore, they are not rated as high as a modern hook. 16,000 lbs is less than what my 9000 lb winch can produce on a snatch block. Use a cheap HF 12,000lb winch and you'll rip one in half and it becomes an airborne missile. Not sure where they got that rating on perforated billet aluminum or how the military got suckered into it. But they are cool looking.

My Warn, and the original hook it came with, are over 25 years old and have never let me down. It's extracted everything from engine blocks in a swamp to Class C Rv's in the ditch.

Furthermore again, rant on....
those ratings are achieved under very controlled lab type conditions with connections that are far superior than what we are using on the truck.
What this means is the actual rating, is much much less.
16,000 max use with a 40,000 break point? wtf?
If it broke in the lab, under controlled conditions, at 40,000lbs, why only the 16,000lb rating? Because of shock loading, thats why. it can't take a yank. Side loading is also an issue with these. Your D-ring better fit in there easy and be allowed to move freely or it will snap the thing.

Sorry to shit all over it, I'm sure they work fine and are very safe. If they would be honest in advertising, I'd be okay with it.

 

Finally, someone who isn't snowed by the winch manufacturers bull shit adds.

 

There's a lot here that is valid, and some that is likely emotion/opinion driven for one reason or another...

RED= emotion (I don't like disputing those it gets nowhere)
GREEN = worth chatting about
BLUE = we are in agreement
PINK = my random questions and interjections

The shorthand and highlighting is in an effort to communicate via my phone cause my computer is being a shithead and doing updates.

Don't be sorry, it's not a big investment and now after all the cautioning and warning about its impending explosion it will make a fun accessory to try out. If it does explode you'll be the first person I PM and I will film myself installing a basic hook and post it up here. Again, no reason to be sorry, this is literally what the forum is for

 

See what you've done, you woke the kraken @BDN

 

That was my plan along. 1 more step closer to world domination!

 

You are correct, there is emotion and a bit of opinion as well. Reading your well thought out response, I'll do my best to address some of the questions, I'm not that good at quoting like that.
Like I said, through my dislike of the advertising methods, I'm sure it's a fine product and prolly quite safe if used properly.

When I first saw one, I was drawn to it, there was an "oh, shiny" moment and I thought this might have some use.
The guy doing the demonstration, had a hook in his hand, with the strap loops around the hook, not using a proper D-ring connection, and proceeded to explain the faults and failures associated with using a hook and strap, and apparently we have been doing it wrong all along... I was immediately turned off by it. I mean come on man,

The website itself, and I'll quote this direct from the site.
http://factor55.com/product/flatlink/
"Conventional winch hooks can cut and fray recovery straps and often allow strap ends to escape during momentary slack cycles of a typical winching recovery."
This single sentence, all by itself, screams marketing hype, and poor winching technique.

But, the thing does force the user to utilize a D-ring connection to the strap, so that does make it safe to use in that respect.

The claim of, in the same quote, "momentary slack cycles typical of a winch recovery"
This should not be happening anyway. That was another thing that bothered me, they allude that it is ok to have a "slack cycle" which in reality is a "shock load".
This can be dangerous if it's enough of a load. I get it, most are simple recoveries out of the snow, not a big deal. But again, it's a lethal event, and needs to be respected even in the simplest of use.

To address strength ratings, I doubt most, if any will ever hit those kind of numbers. so that is possibly a moot point. I don't think it's going to fall apart, I just like the dramatic effect.
Warn does not give much for standard forged hook ratings, just what winch the hook is recommended for.
The new hooks they have are rated about the same as the Flatlink.
Warn itself offers some very questionable products for recovery that i would never use, just for the record, not a fanboy.

This product in particular, is horrendous. Somebody will die from using this like a snatch strap.
https://www.warn.com/truck/accessories/epic_treetrunkprotector.jsp
Never, ever, under any circumstances, use a strap with a hook or any other kind of metal appliance attached like this. I'll explain this later.

So to summarize...Looks cool, lets see it mounted and I will have an open mind when you give a review of the product. I would take your opinion on real world use over anything else I've seen on the web or written myself.
I've really never heard of anybody using one, my local club, all the members use the hook.

 

lol, they even make a product to mildly appease crotchety old fucks like me.
http://factor55.com/product/new-ultrahook/
Kind of spendy. However, good for them for mentioning that the opening faces up when in use. Bummer it does not allow room to use a conventional strap though.

 

What is it

 

Like $150 worth of anodized EAF points sold under the guise of safety.

 

What does it do?