winches how often do you use them ?
Submitted: Wednesday, Sep 18, 2002 at 00:00
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johnsy
ok all those that have
winches can you tell me how often you use them what type hand pto electric hub whatever and in what situation .its always intriged me as i've ucked around in the bush in 4wd's for 20+ years and covered a bit of country and never even seen one at work dont get upset im just keen to know thanks johnsy
Reply By: royce - Wednesday, Sep 18, 2002 at 00:00
Wednesday, Sep 18, 2002 at 00:00
Hmmm.. let me see. In January I used my winch and another to get up some pretty steep stuff. I have pulled a couple of trees off the road around here in the high winds, just this week. Last year, I pulled a cop out of a ditch. He then laid in wait with the speed camera, so I called my wife who was due past in a few minutes! I am going to use the winch next weekend to apply tension to a very tall pine tree I'm going to cut down, just to make sure it falls the right way! Probably a lot of the time, I could have used a tow rope and achieved the same, but it's very handy to stand with the remote and have finger-tip control over what's happening. I've got an old Warn winch. I'd have to go out into the cold to look to see what sort. Seeya Royce
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Follow Up By: Johnsy - Thursday, Sep 19, 2002 at 00:00
Thursday, Sep 19, 2002 at 00:00
thanks royce just seems to be a lot of importance put on
winches as equip eg for simpson and i dont see the point sojust getting peoples point of view cya johnsy
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Follow Up By: Member - Willem- Thursday, Sep 19, 2002 at 00:00
Thursday, Sep 19, 2002 at 00:00
Yeah....I started off with a Tirfor. Bogged a F100 on a dune at
Broome and took six hours to winch it over the top..........result...traded Tirfor on a couple a slabs of beer. Then I had a Warn 5000lb low mount on a Suzuki. Pulled the bullbar off once. Worked the winch hard living in
Darwin with all the wet-season antics. But the stupid winch got water in it and rusted. Just when I needed it.....bogged in a creek with the water rising !! Lesson learned. Then once upon a time I had a PTO on a MWB Toyota. Strong as an ox but too difficult to operate on your own. Also when winding the cable in you have to be quick to disengage the gears before the winch crunches up your bullbar. I've had three Warn Highmount 8000lb
winches. By far the best winch for me. A winch is an accessory that will let you be just a little more adventurous and it gives you peace of mind that you have the best recovery gear. I have probably used my
winches 15 times a year over 30 years. Also good for pulling out fenceposts, straightening up a transportable building and pulling up a windmill on to it's legs, trying to move a bogged Denning coach (unsuccessfully) If you do decide to buy a winch make sure you service it regularly. For the normal east/west or vice/versa run of the Simpson a winch may not be necessary. If you decide to deviate off the track in the Simpson to get stuck on a spinifex clump then buy a winch and save yourself a lot of hassle. Cheers, Willie
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Follow Up By: Beachboy - Friday, Sep 20, 2002 at 00:00
Friday, Sep 20, 2002 at 00:00
Johnsy
Perhaps if you had bought a 3.0 litre nissan instead of that old technology 4.2 powerplant maybe you would never need a winch.
In your case I feel you have made a monumental error in judgment, alas poor Johnsy.You will undoubtedly need a winch one day, especially when catching a sea breeze on retirement. You omit to advise wether or not you have not only been off the black top but off tracks, Iknow this sounds silly but could you please advise. I expect to be writing a book on out back legends within the next few years could you please advise me if you have ever met any, there names and addresses would be nice.
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Reply By: ExplorOz Team - David - Thursday, Sep 19, 2002 at 00:00
Thursday, Sep 19, 2002 at 00:00
Johnsy,We have always carried a hand winch (cannot remember the brand). We have used it about three times in all of our travels. As per the Travel Journal (On
Treks Menu). I would always carry it as a minimum (we almost always travel alone). In the times that I have used it (once to right our trailer that we flipped in Outback QLD, once to pull the trailer across a steep
hill and once to pull out of a mud bog) we would have only been able to use a bull bar mounted winch once (the bog). For my money I will stay with the hand winch and be happy with that. If I get stuck a few more times and need frontal recovery I will just get a sweat up and be happy with the money I have saved and the weight I do not have to worry about on the bull bar.If you are indending to compete serious events or intend to spend a lot of time travelling around in wet muddy conditons up north during the wet, then maybe a bull bar winch would be handy. I still like to ability to be able to pull out in any direction. But horses for courses, one solution does not fit all.You mention a requirement for the Simpson etc etc, get a good hand winch and a few snatch blocks and winch strap, pack it away somewhere in the vehicle and relax you hopefully will never need it.David
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Follow Up By: Johnsy - Thursday, Sep 19, 2002 at 00:00
Thursday, Sep 19, 2002 at 00:00
david first thanks for your reply secondly a winch only able to pull forwards as
well as placing a lot of weight on the front
suspension doesnt inspire me to go and get one.
regarding the simpson it was the media who are all in favour of loading their vehicles to the gunalls so they either need after market suspensions or have no
suspension and without fail most say u need a winch i cant see it myself.
cya johnsy
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Reply By: johnsy - Thursday, Sep 19, 2002 at 00:00
Thursday, Sep 19, 2002 at 00:00
willem bog a f'ymust have been a 2wd i had the 78 4x4 351 my 1st brand new one and it was unreal in sand climb up a
rock wall in a gym at 800 rpm and so forgiving on a dirt road if you mucked up a corner apply the right foot and power on out of there great machine. my mates who had them as
well all went to holly carbs but the mechanic (genius) who looked after
mine sent me up to ford to get the secondary jets out of the fairlane and he installed those as my primary jets tuning the balance to run up to about 80 ks thus giving me 16 mpg ifi stayed below 110 ks sorry about the mixed figs but they meant more in those days lastly thanks for your reply .cya johnsy
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Follow Up By: Member - Willem- Tuesday, Sep 24, 2002 at 00:00
Tuesday, Sep 24, 2002 at 00:00
Yeah Johnsy, I had exactly the same F as yours. Long wheel base. Great towing vehicle, great on the black top, excellent on a dirt road but I am sorry to say that it was the worst off road vehicle of my 20 4x4's over the years. Every time it cocked a wheel we became stationary. I could go further in a Toyota Coralla out bush than with that F. The night I bogged it something gave way in the front hub and I was reduced to 2wd....hence all the winching. I traded the F the following day. cheers, Willem
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Reply By: All Terrain 4WD Adventures - Saturday, Sep 21, 2002 at 00:00
Saturday, Sep 21, 2002 at 00:00
Johnsy,
I say if you can afford to have one up front then get an electric one, if you can't afford the electric then get a manual winch. We travel allot in steep rutted tracks, generally ok when dry but when wet some track sections become very slippery. when this occurs you will either need a vehicle with diff locks or a winch and by having one or both you will do less damage to the enviroment/tracks by using them. If you travel with others on a regular basis then one vehicle with a winch can go first up a steep section then snatch the others up if they can't make it up under there own steam, once again saving the tracks from further damage.
I also suggest you
test run a manual winch because they are very slow and require physical input to get your 4wd moving and if you are in the outback on a hot day this physical exertion may not be what the doctor ordered. Anyway if you get stuck, take time to assess your situation and don't rush the extraction. Planning and patience is the key.
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