Winching safety

Moose, I seem to be one of those 4wd'ers always getting stuck in something.
An area I live in has seemingly bottomless decomposed granite, which even when dry on top can be treacherous. Break through the crust and the situation is hopeless in less than a metre.
So out with the winch rope, strap around a friendly tree and snig her out. Leave the engine on fast idle (hand throttle) to keep the amps up and dont even think about trying to drive, it only digs in deeper.
Of course, this is in a flat ground bog. Perhaps loosing traction on a really steep climb requires a different technique. We also have some of that country, but leave it for the tyre burners.
furph

high mount winches take up the rope slack very quick...

This has been done to death and there are heaps of info if you do a search.

The short is.....if the winch can cope with the 'pull' then you should only use the winch but if the suction is excessive then you may have to drive to assist.

Personally if you know how to use your recovery equipment then you will never need to drive to assist. Thats what snatch blocks and twin line pulls etc are for...so your winch can cope with any recovery.

Tuff Comps are not a good representation of 4wdriving...they are timed competition events and as such...dont exactly follow the safest (safety margins) methods. Its like comparing V8 supercars to driving in the suburbs!

Matt.

Moose the winches used in competition are not your ordinary off the shelf product. They often run line speeds two to four times faster so there is little or no over run on the drum minimising shock loads. Most are using Plasma (synthetic) rope so the recoil if it does break is not as severe. Rules also require them to use a dampner in most cases to bring the broken rope to ground. Obviously this is competition so using the wheels to assist the winch will be quickest. To avoid the winch boy being in the line of fire should it break many comp trucks have in cab opperated clutches & switching.
Although it may be safer to winch as per your driver training, in the real world when secure anchor points aren't directly in front or the vehicle is buried in mud over the wheels, some slow assistance in low 1st may be required. Also when winching over a rock ledge it is better to drive a little to get the tyre to ride up & over the step rather than stall the winch trying to drag through it. The key is minimising any slack on the drum & one reason many choose winches with a fast no load rewind rating like the Warn High mount.
Cheers Craig.............