Recovery Q&A and help.

Interesting. I knew I wasn't considering everything. That's why I love posting on this site. I always learn something new. But the standard winch hooks I own and the more expensive options available on the market don't seem that much better. They are only a bit thicker than the eyelet on the winch line.

 

I need to do some looking around. I will report back what I can find.

Very true. I think a lot of people confuse the idea that synthetic lines not storing as much energy as steel lines means synthetic has no snap back. Not as much, but you still must be cautious and careful with synthetic as well.

Good reminder.

 

Minimum bend radius is relevant with wire rope. A 180* bend around a block has a couple requirements. The sheave groove needs to be properly sized to support the wire rope. Too big a groove and the wire flattens, too small a groove and the sheave crushes the wire.

The minimum bend radius allows the sheave to do its job without kinking the wire. MBR is the wire rope diameter in 16ths of an inch times 16. 3/8=6/16 (6/16)•16=6 6” MBR for 3/8 wire rope.

As you can see, most blocks are under sized in regards to diameter. As you lessen the angle from 180* to 90* or 45* for a redirect instead of a double line pull the diameter of the block can be lessened.

In an occasional use scenario like winching, as long as the sheave groove is properly sized, the cumulative damage to the wire rope from a block less than MBR will probably take a long time to become an issue. The price and weight of correctly sized blocks will justify undersizing for occasional use. A US made 6-8” block will start in the $600 range. That buys a few wire ropes.

This is only the case with wire rope. Synthetic doesn’t have a MBR in regards to blocks because it’s structure is completely different from wire rope.

 

I disagree with that statement. Do you have any evidence/proof that this is the case? Everything I have ever learned about non-wire rope talked about a MBR.

 

Maybe it does have a minimum bend radius. I don’t have any evidence or documentation on that.

 

I know these aren't recovery gear but wondering what you guys thing about these?

$66 Ultra-Fab Paktron 10-4216 Skid Wheel Hitch Protector

https://www.amazon.com/Paktron-10-4...ch+skid&qid=1595007857&sr=8-2#customerReviews

I don't really want to get a full rear bumper but I was looking for a hitch skid plate and came across these.

 

Old construction thing. As stated you are supposed to fully tighten. It does make things go faster when rigging multiple times though if you back it off. Pins definitely will get jammed due to deforming. With proper sizing and use deforming shouldn't happen with the forces we deal with. Pins will tighten up enough to make unscrewing difficult if you dont back it off. If you do want them tight for safety reasons then just give them a tap on the edge of the thumb screw and they will open easily. Linesmen pliers work great. I will say however that most guys on a jobsite will back them off.

 

If you are concerned about the hitch hitting the ground, why would you put something even lower and narrower to hit sooner and dig in more?

I say no.

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/warfab-armor-dorks.626573/
@In4aride

 

So after using my winch for the first time, I was informed that you should never winch in park, always in neutral. So aside from the e-brake, the only other option is sitting in the cab with your foot on the brake, but in my experience, it was much easier if you can see what's going on so being outside the cab is more ideal from a wincher's stand point.
My experience was I went to the top of a rocky incline, turned around and winched a pre-runner up. Since I can't see down the slope from the cab I was outside and had it in park (not knowing the hazards of doing so) and watching not only who I was winching, but also my drum to make sure my line wasn't binding up or going all to one side.
Are there some mods out there to lock in the main brakes other than grabbing another person? I'm thinking of tossing a piece of 2x4 in the truck box to wedge between the brake and seat, but that could potentially pop loose so.
I ended up having to do 4 recoveries with my winch that day, 3 of which weren't very hard, (old ford ranger 3x on easy trails). Just looking for insight for the future.

 

This was about three weeks ago.
Too fast in loose gravel.
Looking at the skid marks in the gravel, it looked like the right front brake grabbed first, pulling vehicle to edge, over corrected = results.



Items used:

2 winches
2 soft shackles
2 hard shackles
1 20' 5k lb strap (yellow one in video)
1 20' 30k lb strap (orange one in video)
1 off road jack (this one was by ARB)
2 large diameter blocks of wood (railroad ties or larger blocks)
Lots of communication
Physics

 

Step on the winch line when crossing.

 

There were some safety violations going on that should have been addressed BEFORE the recovery.
Thank you for the healthy reminder!

 

Synthetic. It's an APEX Badlands 12k Winch.

Also the ranger was a complete idiot, and I wanted to winch him and gtfo so I could leave. The Park Admin was ready to ban him from the park.

 

using a board (i use a 4x4x36) lengthwise between the rocker panel and winch line of the upside down vehicle will help pull it over and keep it from getting tangled on the under-carriage. Learned from a wrecker driver, said it makes life easier, never drags, just flips.

I always have one in my truck.

 

We used two winches so that the truck was set down easy and didn't run away once on 4 wheels...

 

Which does nothing to counter what the board is for, as shown by the pulling line getting stuck under something on the truck.

 

No.

 

I have a SR without a trailer hitch. Are there good/safe locations, forward and rear, to attach recovery straps ?

 

Team O'Neil Rally School brief on picking recovery points and estimating pulling forces: