Winching Techniques
David Bowyer at his off road centre, in the beautiful countryside of Zeal Monachorum in rural Devon
I could easily write several chapters on this subject covering both the safety aspect as well as reliable winching techniques that you would only get provided you have a large enough electric winch to do the job in hand, fitted with the correct size wire rope, a proper wiring kit between the winch motor, solenoid and battery (including a direct earth bond between winch motor and battery) and the largest battery you can fit.
Running in and Preparing Your Winch.
Say you have just bought a winch for your Land Rover and you are happy with the installation. I will assume it is a new winch with a new wire rope. The first job is not only to run-in the winch but also to pre-stretch and form the wire rope on to the winch drum.
I recommend that you pre-stretch the wire rope by pulling most of it off the drum and anchoring the winch hook to a tree or the back of another vehicle on a slight incline. Using gloves, make sure that the end of the wire rope is properly fastened to the drum, then wind on a further six wraps of rope to ensure a capstan effect between the rope and drum. Always do this before taking up a load as the screw securing the end of the rope will not be sufficiently strong to take the load by itself.
Always ensure you have six wraps of wire rope on the drum before starting to winch |
Keep your hands well clear when paying the pair rope onto the drum |
(c)Goodwinch Limited 2006
