Yankum Fairlead

As a general clarification, I would like to add that I don't think the product itself is overpriced, stuff is expensive to make, especially in the USA. I'm sure it's a high-quality constructed piece and priced accordingly. I just don't think the "problem" justifies the price is all I'm saying.

 

I think we can all agree... however, we all bought an overpriced Tacoma, when a cheaper Frontier would do. Form follows function, does not mean that form isn't considered at all. We all just have to decide how much we value "form".

 

As an avid sailor...this Tacoma stuff is childs play when it comes to the

 

If we want to keep drooling over overpriced aluminum chunks... may I present...

https://maxtraxus.com/products/maxtrax-hitch-50

Highly considering grabbing one of these.

 

I'd draw the line there. Have a look at a sailboat electric winch
https://www.mauriprosailing.com/us/product/HAR46RWCW12HLM.html

 

Broken link for me...

 

Lets try again. https://www.mauriprosailing.com/us/product/HAR46RWCW12HLM.html

 

Holy crap! I need one!

 

You need 2. 1 Starboard & 1 Port.

 

Ressurecting this thread because I, too, am now considering the Yakum fancy pants fairlead. I'm not a complete noob to recoveries because a few guys in our local group of Toyota addicts really like to push things which creates opportunities to winch, but I'm not going to pretend I'm a seasoned pro. Let's say I have enough knowledge now to be dangerous which is a dangerous thing. Credit card companies love this one neat trick!

Anyways, I have a new bumper coming which means it's time to go winch shopping. I have that part pretty well sorted, but the fairlead came up in discussion and in theory I like the idea of removing as much metal as I can from the system right off the get-go. Winch + synthetic line with only a loop at the end + Yankum groove fairlead + soft shackles seems like a pretty good setup. I'm willing to pay for safety equipment which is what I consider this type of gear, so while prices are eye popping I think my life is worth more and I've made peace with that. To me, it seems like whatever you are running you have to make peace with whatever compromises are made and know how to use the gear to work around those limits.

Three main weak points that I see for my own use case:

1. The synthetic rope loop on the exposed groove fairlead will be more exposed to UV which causes degradation over time.
2. Smashing rocks and things into the fairlead could damage the rope loop requiring a re-splice.
3. The synthetic rope being exposed to road salt here in the Milwaukee-Chicago corridor won't help things either (this isn't unique to this setup though).

My two compromises to work around these drawbacks/limitations:

1. If the rope degrades/breaks at the end, no problem I will re-splice. Going to buy a Factor 55 "fast fid" and keep in the truck.
2. Same as #1 - re-splice on the go and move on with life.
3. Going to buy some type of cover for the winch/spool to protect against salt and wash it out in the spring. Again, this isn't unique but feel it should be mentioned for conveyance of thought process.

I still plan to carry rated/tested D ring shackles for the bumper recovery points, snatch ring for double pulls, tree saver/tow straps, kinetic rope, soft shackles, etc. in the kit but the goal is to use less metal for theoretically more safety whenever possible. Winch I'm buying comes with a hook in the kit, and I'll probably keep that in the truck too for "just in case" situations.

Anyone have feedback on if I'm missing anything in this thought exercise? TIA

 

I’m not seeing anything you’re missing and you seem to have given it a lot of thought. I still stand by my original comments earlier in the thread though.

 

Great thanks, appreciate the feedback!

For the record I do think it is overpriced but heck if they can get it well that's economics. Regarding my own personal desire for one, could I come up with multiple other ways that would do the same thing but for much less money? Yes. That could do it as simple/elegantly? Ehh, maybe. Something as completely foolproof stupid easy to use for anyone who lays eyes on it? Maybe not. I am personally willing to trade money for simplicity in this particular case but I hold no grudge against someone wanting to not follow me in doing so. I've spent money on way dumber things, I don't feel this would be bad money spent (especially if I can convince ye olde winch company to sell me just a bare winch without their in-box crap fairlead to save some coin).

 

I think you have it pretty well sorted. The only other recovery item I recommend is a soft shackle hitch recovery point. I have this one and it's a solid bit of kit. It's also ALOT cheaper than the Maxtrax equivalent.



Aluminum Receiver Mount for Soft Shackle

$100 Overland Vehicle Systems Aluminum Receiver Hitch Mount for use with Soft Shackles - T6 6061 Aircraft Grade Aluminum - Glossy Black Powder Coated Finish

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08KY7YJPD



https://maxtraxus.com/products/maxt...KumqVLNS2LzRclgCLWOErm6R0LVLW6awaApGwEALw_wcB

And if you're encountering more technical pulls, I promote this snatch block, over the traditional ARB mechanical pulley style snatch block.

https://yankum.com/collections/tow-points/products/offset-winch-ring

 

Cool thanks for the input as well! Hitch recovery point will be added later, for now I'm re-using a D ring shackle unit plus a soft shackle until my wallet recovers. Have a full steel rear bumper too with 2 big recovery points that I can use with a soft or hard shackle as needed. I do like that Maxtrax unit and the Factor 55 one too but yeesh might have to call myself Roxanne and put on the red light again to afford it amongst other mods lol. Definitley agree on the Yankum snatch ring, researched those a lot and I do think theirs with the offset on paper is the best one I've seen.

 

https://youtu.be/7TGwkWBYgX8?si=DNFw74DSTaQRTLiI

And for cheap dyneema off Amazon- one example, but relevant to this thread/this subforum.

https://youtu.be/J2vBj5rWdXU?si=NF8XfVh9Faliwf4E

The yankum fairlead is interesting, but what concerns me about removing some sort of fixed endpoint in a dyneema line is that doing so reduces the bending radius that the rope is subject to under load. Dyneema does not perform well with small/tight bends (especially in knots). You're potentially greatly reducing the breaking strength of the rope, which has the potential to lead to a failure even with a moderate winching scenario.

This channel is fantastic for its destructive testing of a ton of (mostly climbing related) line/rope/hardware, if anyone is interested in checking it out.

 

Good videos, I’ve seen that channel before along with HardIsEasy for climbing gear. Interesting stuff and who doesn’t love channels that destroy things? I’m still debating which rope to go with but most likely will just use the stuff that comes with the winch first to keep it simple.

I am definitely concerned about the small radius issue and need to read more, but it seems like using the 3/8” line with larger diameter soft shackles should mitigate most of that concern. Again, still needs lots of thinking and reading though.

 

I've been surprised that people haven't been making soft-shackle-esque wire rope loops. Often soft shackles are used because you can loop them to... whatever fits and is handy. This can lead to wrapping them around sharp/hard corners on frame rails, suspension mounts, control arm mounts etc, which could easily chew up the soft shackle. The elastic potential of a very short steel loop is not even worth worrying about. Other than weight, it seems to me that a wire rope based short-shackle would be superior in hard use cases. Especially if sleeved with something like polyester to buffer the radius a dyneema rope bight would see. Basically no greater risk of causing snap back than a dyneema shackle, but huge durability improvements and all at a fairly small weight penalty.

Foe the business opportunity inclined- consider this my public notice of a patent application, lol

 

I'm not inspector general of the patent office but your invention/opportunity is duly noted haha!

And again although I am closer to being a noob than an expert, while I think your idea is fundamentally sound with regards to strength of wire rope vs dyneema, I think there are some downsides:

• Superior strength versus "good enough": From what I can see, the strength of a soft shackle typically isn't the limiting factor or weak point unless you are doing huge double/triple line pulls that are rated over their strength. Why stop at using wire rope? Why not use a billet piece of the strongest metal found on earth? I'm not trying to be snarky, just saying sometimes good enough and simple are good enough.
• Metal loops introduce metal back into the equation which some kooky people like me are trying to avoid at any chance.
• Reintroducing risk of injury: A small wire rope loop probably has less chance to injure or kill you versus a big honking chunk of billet like a thimble or a hook. But it has more potential for injury than a soft shackle.
• Difficulty working with the materials: You could give your grandma a piece of dyneema and with some practice she could probably make a soft shackle. Do the same with wire rope and grandma might be bleeding out which is no bueno. I may be exaggerating slightly but I think you get the principle.

For all those reasons I think a soft shackle still wins the day in most basic scenarios. But don't let me rain on your parade, do what you like!

OK it's all good stuff but this is getting away from the discussion about the main topic which is the super duper gucci yankum doodle dandy fairlead so let's get back to talking about why I'd be an idiot to run that. Aaaaand GO!

 

For what it's worth, I wound up buying and installing the overpriced Yankum fairlead on my winch the other month.

That's because I nosed the truck into a rock ledge and utterly destroyed the original hook at the end of my line. Then I ran over it a few times for good luck. Lost a couple of feet of line due to damage, but decided it would be easiest to resplice a loop and reuse the line with the fancy overpriced fairlead. I plan to eventually 3d print a cap that'll snap over the fairlead to protect the line from sunlight.

I have since nosed into several more rock steps without damaging the line, so the fancy fairlead works! Of course, I have still never actually used the winch, or any other recovery gear, except as improvised weapons when fighting over front-row parking spots at shopping malls.

Wait, actually I did use my tow strap for the first time last week... 10 years old and was still in its plastic wrap. Found a stranded Tesla and towed him to safety! But now the tow strap doesn't fit in the tool drawer any more


Editing to add some pictures:


I tried to do a braided splice first, but that was a laughable failure. Whatever kind of splice they tell you to use in the instructions... I forget what it's called... but do that one!


Random shot from recent trip, check out that bling!


First-ever use of tow strap! And shackle receiver hitch thing. Oh, and that's a Yankum soft-shackle hooked to the vehicle in tow... couldn't get the fairlead and not get a shackle, right???

I have some cheaper ones too -- them's for throwin' -- but that Yankum shackle is 100% USDA Grade-A Beef.



I'll also mention, I don't think the soft shackle concept is at all feasible with wire rope... two problems:

One is fatigue, you can't bend steel filaments around sharp edges, especially repeatedly. Think of how you can break bailing wire by hand, just by bending it back and forth at one spot. That's why conventional fairleads have such huge rollers, vs, the relatively small radius machined into synthetic fairleads. And why you have to use a thimble at the end of the rope. Looping wire rope to pull against a sharp frame rail edge would ruin it... even if didn't get cut or fray as easily as synthetic rope, it would be permanently kinked and weakened.

The other problem is that wire rope is far too rigid for the knot-and-splice-loop fastening mechanism used in soft shackles. And I can say this confidently having used a soft shackle only once. There's no way you could work the loop open to fit a knot through by hand.

I'm no expert, but I believe if you want something stronger than rope to loop around sharp edges for pulling... the solution is a few feet of tow-rated chain. But you do have to be more careful using it... swing it too hard and you'll be looking at manslaughter instead of battery!



Anyway, basically I'm a huge bad ass now. Just need to upgrade the rear winch as well.

 

Wow thanks for sharing! I think all of this does in fact qualify you as a huge badass and if we should ever meet at the mall I'll try to make sure you get front row parking. Seriously though this is good stuff and helps me believe that even if this setup doesn't work out, it's far from the worst possible configuration to choose given current options out there now.

Silver truck gang! Zoltan!