Member - Shane D (QLD) replied:

You will have to put tension on the new cable as it's fed onto the drum.
I live on a slight hill so i hook up my wife's car and dragged it up, just enough weight on the wire, but not enough to "load" the winch and guided the live cable by hand wearing heavy duty gloves.
This was only to feed the cable evenly on the drum, and was a lightly loaded, NEVER do this while doing a recovery, thats asking for decapitation.
I found that the cable MUST go on evenly or it wont fit on the drum without fouling, by evenly I mean that smooth straight layers right across the whole drum
Shane

Sir Kev & Darkie replied:

Steve,

Wait till you get to St George and you can recover Jo when she gets stuck, that will put enough tension on the winch cable when it goes back on the drum LOL

6 sleeps to go ;)

Cheers Kev

Atta Boy Luther replied:

Put the cable on under a slight incline the first time as said . When doing a recovery if its going to overlap then there is not much you can do . After the recovery you need to fix it up though using a slight incline again . Check the cable for broken strands as you respool it on .

Traveller replied:

Now waddya going to need a winch for, young fella?

I have never been able to roll the cable on correctly and have given up trying over the past 20 years or so. It is not that important. A prefectly wound cable is only for aesthetics. As long as the cable doesn't snag, you will be OK. Then again....if you have nothing to do.................

reversemulletman replied:

Hi all

First time poster so excuse any mistakes.

I think what your installer is reffering to is when the cable is wound on willy nilly, making what my mother would refer to as a "birds nest". As others have said you need run out the cable and wind it back on under tension before you use it. This is true. Doesn't have to be much, just be on a slight incline. Its best to secure to a fixed/stationary object and winch your vehicle towards it and I'll explain why.

Start with at least five turns of cable already on the drum, then take up the strain. If the cable is attached to the left side of the drum, you'll want it to spool across to the right, the second layer will spool across to the left, then right/left/right and so on until you run out of cable.

To do this aim your vehicle off to the left (or the right, depending on what side it's fastened to the drum) so the cable feeds in at about 15-20 degrees off centre. This will roll the cable on hard up against the previous roll. You know if your doing it properly as your should hear a slight ping sound as the cable seats firming up against itself. If you steer to hard left the cable will just overlap itself. Once the cable spools to fully across the drum, turn the vehicle to the right and it'll spool back the other way. Do this back and forth until it's all the way in. What you should be left with is several layers of nicely seated cable from one side of the drum to the other. This is best done with someone in the drivers seat, and you outside controlling the winch and pointing directions to the driver.

Of course this is never going to happen when your dragging yourself out of a bog hole, and more often than not the cable will wind on any old how, resulting in the "birds nest". This leaves several layers of cable crossing each other at different angles and under tension this can result in pressure and pinch spots on the cable, reducing it's life span and causing potential weak points.

After a week end of off roading, it only takes 15 minutes when you get home to drag out the cable and spool it back on neatly (and once again under tension) and gives a good opportunity to check for damage.

Hope this helps (and makes sense)

Brett

Atta Boy Luther replied:

Your wire rope should be what they call aircraft grade which means it has a galvanised wire core not a nylon core . I use a mix of one third engine oil and two thirds diesel and spray it on the rope to keep it from rusting up . You want to respool the wire the first time to get any twist out of the wire as well as tightening it up on the drum . I have seen woeful wire rope on old winches , rusty , kinked , broken wires etc . If there is even one broken wire at the thimble end you must replace the rope . If you get a kink in the rope i would suggest replacing it . Dont get a replacement from a 4wd shop but go to a specialist wire rope business and they will make it up for you for at least half the price . Every week i suggest to put the hand controller on and wind the rope in and out a few meters a couple of times . Always wear riggers gloves when handling wire rope . I suggest if you do beach travel than a prt sand anchor is the way to go . I have one and they work great . Some people have said on forums they break but thats because they are not used properly . The cause being too steep angle into the sand with the prt . A shalow line is whats needed . I suggest a snatch block , a tree protector and two shackles and a dampener for the wire rope .

River Swaggie replied:

I tied my wire to a concrete telegraph pole (in a friends court area) and put the handbrake on and wound the Hilux in !

Member -Paul M (WA) replied:

throw wire rope away fit a Synthetic Winch Rope

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