Talk to me about the differences between different styles of Fairleads.

Technically, IIRC, it's a clevis if it has a safety pin or nut on one end and a shackle if the pin bolts directly into the u shaped piece of metal .

Bolt type shackles are not as safe compared to nut and safety pin clevis's because the bolt can loosen if tension is not kept on the shackle. The safety pin prevents a clevis from coming apart.

Either way safe use and monitoring of any D-ring type fastener is more critical to everyone getting home safely from a recovery than what type of shackle or clevis is used.

 

since we're getting "technical"....THIS is a d-ring


The proper name for THIS is actually a bow-shackle.


A clevis refers to something with a pin. So it could be a number of things like these.




But for the sake of offroad discussion, most of us, myself included use all those terms interchangeably and when almost always referring to the same thing......the bow shackle.

 

I usually just call it a cock ring

 

Just don't get that thing stuck on there. I doubt there is a nice way to remove a locked up "shackle" from your nether parts.

OP, did you ever see my question? Any reason other than the last few feet slipping that the source you were talking about wanted the line poked though the drum and duct taped?

 

My Warn aluminum hawse is officially for sale if you're interested.

 

Yeah, I'm talking about using the winch when it's been through a couple of days of snow/slush and had the chance to freeze solid over night. The most common use of the winch for me is a self recovery in deep snow. That just happens to be the most likely condition for your line freezing up. Lots of my friends run synthetic line and don't seem to have much issue. BUT, they don't often wheel solo in deep snow.

Yeah, I really like my thimble... nice and strong. I'd love to see how yours turns out. (a quality bare aluminum finish would look awesome)

 

dis ^^^


that ain't a shackle.......THIS is a shackle!

 

I typically go a little larger than what I need. This allows a little bit of a reserve strength. I'd rather have the winch stall before I get close to the strength of my line. Yeah, I know there's all sorts of safety factor built in, but a little more doesn't hurt. You may be able to get an extra wrap or two on the drum with the narrower stuff which would translate into a couple of extra feet of pulling at the winch's maximum power (remember, each layer of line on the drum reduces the load that the winch stalls at). I use a Viking link connector with the extra tail taped onto the drum so that the line wraps over it. The link connector is mostly to help hold things in place for wrapping the drum. You may or may not want a heat shield cover, it depends a lot on how you use your winch and what kind of brake system you have. The Warn M8000 powers out against the brake which creates a lot of heat. If I were lowering a rig down a hill I would go in short steps with a lot of time between steps to keep things cool. Like, five or ten seconds of winching with a minute or two between winching. Winching in I typically don't go more than thirty seconds with a minute or so between. If possible I slack the line between pulls. I use the cool down time to check that things are spooling correctly and that the recovery is going how I want it. I don't treat recovery as a race. I have a nylon cover for abrasion resistance, but it doesn't get used much. If I'm running over a rock or something where that is an issue then I put a recovery damper or heavy tarp material between the line and whatever it's touching.

A shorter line will allow you to spend more time on the first wrap of your drum (where your winch can pull with the most strength) but a longer line will allow you to reach further. The right length will be dictated by your winching preferences and where you are. In the PNW, I'm rarely more than 50' from a tree. I run an 80' line and carry a 100' extension, along with a snatch block. This gives me a lot of options for getting onto the first layer if need be. The guys I usually wheel with carry extensions as well. I think the longest setup that I've used was my full line with 200' of extensions in order to pull me straight on a straight road with trees lining the sides using a Y arrangement.