Winch Useage

jetrinka · Nov 29, 2022

So I’m embarrassed to say that tonight was the first time I used my winch - had the truck for a year and a half now!!!

Does everyone else get a sense of total satisfaction after using theirs? I loved it!

It’s snowing here in western WA and along with the snow being wet snot most drivers here have bald all seasons and are clueless in how to drive in it. I used it to bring a kid in his 3 series BMW out of the ditch he decided to put it in. Soooo satisfying!!!

Here she is in her natural habitat after being a Good Samaritan. Amazingly capable truck!

Crusty old shellback · Nov 30, 2022

Yep, so satisfiying.

Used my winch to pull a 8K machinery on a pallet from the front of a box truck to the back so that we could get a forklift on it to lift it out.

Used my truck in 4 low, rear locked, with my strap to pull a Ford out of a sand wash and up a hill to solid ground that was stuck.

elephantrider · Nov 30, 2022

love using my winch. tons of fun!

Poolmonkey · Nov 30, 2022

good to see that snow and hope you get more….send us your ducks

Iowagon · Nov 30, 2022

jetrinka said:
So I’m embarrassed to say that tonight was the first time I used my winch - had the truck for a year and a half now!!!

Does everyone else get a sense of total satisfaction after using theirs? I loved it!

It’s snowing here in western WA and along with the snow being wet snot most drivers here have bald all seasons and are clueless in how to drive in it. I used it to bring a kid in his 3 series BMW out of the ditch he decided to put it in. Soooo satisfying!!!

Here she is in her natural habitat after being a Good Samaritan. Amazingly capable truck!

View attachment 47997

How did you attach to the BMW? I'm asking because I've been racking my brain and researching how to attach to my wife's car should the need arise to pull her out of a ditch. Her short commute on back country roads puts her at risk. Right now I'm leaning toward having a receiver hitch installed on her car just to provide an attachment point.

jetrinka · Nov 30, 2022

Iowagon said:
How did you attach to the BMW? I'm asking because I've been racking my brain and researching how to attach to my wife's car should the need arise to pull her out of a ditch. Her short commute on back country roads puts her at risk. Right now I'm leaning toward having a receiver hitch installed on her car just to provide an attachment point.

Luckily I didn't have to pull it from the rear because I couldn't find anything to attach to. In the front passenger side of the bumper there is a square panel that you remove and behind it there is a threaded boss that an eyelet (usually with the jack tools) threads into. Luckily he had that. I put a soft shackle through the eyelet to attach the winch to and it pulled it right out. Tried to get a somewhat straight pull out to the middle of the road cause I didn't trust the little eyelet to not bend if pulled at an angle.... Certainly not a car that was designed to get "unstuck"....

Iowagon · Nov 30, 2022

That's good to know! My wife's car has a similar cut out. Still I think the receiver hitch might be smart. Could even be useful. Thanks!

H3LZSN1P3R · Nov 30, 2022

jetrinka said:
Luckily I didn't have to pull it from the rear because I couldn't find anything to attach to. In the front passenger side of the bumper there is a square panel that you remove and behind it there is a threaded boss that an eyelet (usually with the jack tools) threads into. Luckily he had that. I put a soft shackle through the eyelet to attach the winch to and it pulled it right out. Tried to get a somewhat straight pull out to the middle of the road cause I didn't trust the little eyelet to not bend if pulled at an angle.... Certainly not a car that was designed to get "unstuck"....

They are pretty stout i have recovered quite a few vehicles with them and they hold up to a lot

H3LZSN1P3R · Nov 30, 2022

Iowagon said:
That's good to know! My wife's car has a similar cut out. Still I think the receiver hitch might be smart. Could even be useful. Thanks!

Hitches unless class 4/5 are pretty useless and could be dangerous to recover using them

Iowagon · Nov 30, 2022

H3LZSN1P3R said:
Hitches unless class 4/5 are pretty useless and could be dangerous to recover using them

Oh. I was thinking I could put a receiver shackle in it should the need arise. Good to know. Thanks!

H3LZSN1P3R · Nov 30, 2022

Iowagon said:
Oh. I was thinking I could put a receiver shackle in it should the need arise. Good to know. Thanks!

Really have to watch what the hitch is rated for vs vehicle weight and if it is a straight pull or not. Most car or small suv hitches can be rather poorly designed

Poolmonkey · Nov 30, 2022

Iowagon said:
How did you attach to the BMW? I'm asking because I've been racking my brain and researching how to attach to my wife's car should the need arise to pull her out of a ditch. Her short commute on back country roads puts her at risk. Right now I'm leaning toward having a receiver hitch installed on her car just to provide an attachment point.

If there is no good point, soft shackles around control arms or a rear axle and bridled together will work for all but the very stuck especially with a winch…should be done carefully and barely if using a snatch strap or kinetic rope.
I have pulled snow and mud stuck cars with no good points by soft shackling through a wheel if hardly stuck or two wheels and then bridling if stuck better, put em’ neutral and drag them out tires sliding. It could be done in an area of better traction I guess but I never have.
Be careful to not pull a car backwards if the front bumper can hook, they come right off nowadays. Back bumpers sit higher typically but still.
Sometimes it’s best to run a strap or rope from your receiver to around your rear axle and get a lower point of pull, trying to avoid damage to these low car bumpers. A gentle tug like that instead of winching is often best imo.

jetrinka · Nov 30, 2022

Poolmonkey said:
If there is no good point, soft shackles around control arms or a rear axle and bridled together will work for all but the very stuck especially with a winch…should be done carefully and barely if using a snatch strap or kinetic rope.
I have pulled snow and mud stuck cars with no good points by soft shackling through a wheel if hardly stuck or two wheels and then bridling if stuck better, put em’ neutral and drag them out tires sliding. It could be done in an area of better traction I guess but I never have.
Be careful to not pull a car backwards if the front bumper can hook, they come right off nowadays. Back bumpers sit higher typically but still.
Sometimes it’s best to run a strap or rope from your receiver to around your rear axle and get a lower point of pull, trying to avoid damage to these low car bumpers. A gentle tug like that instead of winching is often best imo.

Yeah that is the problem with most small cars - could hook to a control arm with a soft shackle but you're likely to pull the bumper off pulling cause they're so low.

jetrinka · Nov 30, 2022

H3LZSN1P3R said:
Hitches unless class 4/5 are pretty useless and could be dangerous to recover using them

Totally agree and a very good point.

beachbunny · Dec 19, 2022

I was stuck ass deep in a field,no winch anchor tree
Pulled out my pull pal land anchor. Son ran it out and sunk. Pulled it right out and yes very satisfying

Hibiki54 · Dec 29, 2022

I have never used my winch to pull myself. I have used it to four times off-road and about 6 times on jobsites pulling work trucks and a couple telehandlers out of the mud.

Rockcrawlindude · Jan 22, 2023

Iowagon said:
How did you attach to the BMW? I'm asking because I've been racking my brain and researching how to attach to my wife's car should the need arise to pull her out of a ditch. Her short commute on back country roads puts her at risk. Right now I'm leaning toward having a receiver hitch installed on her car just to provide an attachment point.

It’s a good question. Many vehicles don’t have any recovery points.

My step mom got her 2wd Silverado stuck. she sillily backed over a little guardrail. I had to pull her out from the front and there were no tow hooks and a huge air dam.

I knew it was going to be a very light pull so I put a strap around a front crossmember and when the strap tightened up against the air dam, the whole air dam popped off and broke a bunch of clips. Ridiculous that a truck could have no tow hooks but these are the times we live in.

el_barto · Jan 23, 2023

Cluster hooks are helpful on many cars that don’t have tow hooks. You must be considerate of how much force you put them (consider the thickness of the material you are putting them in), because often it is single wall thin sheet metal and can tear out. If possible, use two with an equalized bridle configuration.

Also be considerate of many “tow hooks” that are really just “tie down hooks” and not meant for the large forces of recovery

H3LZSN1P3R · Jan 23, 2023

Cars are easy as most have a removable tow hook where the Jack is stored trucks can be trouble though. I have a couple of 2ft and 4ft slings that i can usually use pull on frame members or even for the useless tow hooks that you cant hook anything on just wrap the 2 ft sling through the hook and attach it to the recovery strap with some shackles

Rockcrawlindude · Jan 28, 2023

Technically the first time I’ve put my winch to work other than goofing off.

Was nice to have all of the gear organized really well in my decked system. All gear that I had on hand.

Extracted this xj for a buddy. Non running. Had plenty of time to plan out the recovery. The only thing that was not ideal was the hitch lock on the xj. We did not have the key for it and I did not bring cutting tools. So, I opted for the utility rope over a snatch strap since I was pulling from the hitch.

using 4 low it was an Easy pull getting the xj out of the yard after inflating the tires with on board air from the ram.

Then we set up the winch through the trailer and used a soft shackle on the front axle of the jeep with a snatch block back to the trailer and another soft shackle. This kept the trailer from being pushed by the jeep and kept them snug together keeping the ram from damage and doing easy work from afar.

Extremely smooth extraction due to good planning and plenty of gear.