Getting back home - winches

No NOT Wenches...

   I decided to stay the course and get the tools I might need when traveling to hunt Elk ...  Last year I bought chains, and a front hitch.  Now I went and bought a Warn 9.5Ti portable winch.

  Might even get some lockers just to try them on the old truck.   I wouldn't want to put them on a new truck and find out they suck.  Once I pay for my Tag and the break away stirrups I'll think about the lockers...

Spot

CB,

   I like to be prepared to do it myself if I have to, this will be the only winch I ever have to buy, and it will last me a good long time going from truck to truck.

    Most likely will be used for pulling other people out but you give what you get. 

Spot

Spot;

OK, get two come-a-longs.  One heavy & one light.  You can throw them in any truck, yours or somebody else's.  You can use either one or both to un-stick yourself or other people.  Why if you combine them with 100 feet of 1" nylon rope, you can even rescue without getting your own rig dirty!

And all of it will cost a helluva a lot less than a PTO winch.

900F

The 4 foot handman type jack, is good.  You can use it as a winch or a jack.  Pound for pound a come-along or a good coffin winch is great.  My brother packs a winch exactly like you describe spot.  Takes up lots of room in his vehicles, and in the last 3 years he hasn't used it.  A credit to his driving skills/decisions.

Everyone must make up his mind about how much of a turtle he is.  You can carry your whole house, if that is what you want.

If a person doesn't know how a cable breaks and where it will fly....he should stay away from any cable/rope pulling device.  Maybe read KP's book or something.  A broken wire rope will cut you in two parts with lightning speed, or send a pulley/hook thru your skull.

BEAR

I was pulling a heavy water tank with a 1/2" nylon line and a hook made out of 1/2 " rebar. The nylon rope stretched 10 feet or so before the tank would slide a few feet. Eventually the rebar hook let go and kwanged into the front end of the truck body as I was watching  it.  It almost punched through the metal sheeting, and this was a 1964 International pick-up. If It had been 18"-20" higher I might not be writing this.

One inch line sounds big, but it isn't. I used 5/8" nylon line to pull my moose out with last September and was impressed by how much it stretched witha 950# drag. Nylon line stretches a lot especially if you have 50' - 75' of scope on it.

A single pulley snatch block is a good idea because it doubles the pulling potential of a winch or come-a-long, but could be deadly if the stretched line gets a chance to act like a slingshot.

I went through this line of thinking getting ready for my 2004 moose hunt and the attitude that developed was, if I am miles from main roads or even a portion of a mile off a logging road, having extra space devoted to insurance gear was worth the seeming bother and pain. A footlocker full of "getting unstuck gear" is not too much. I took a come-a long, several coils of 50' to 100' 5/8" nylon line, 3/8" chain with hooks, several snatch blocks, an ax, and a  short handle spade and a chainsaw. I was in deep woods with trees to attach to but in crossing one beaver blocked bridge on the edge of a flowage there were no trees to attach to if I had broken through the bridge, so something to make a solid deadman with could be invaluable. Sorta like buying easy-outs for the shop. You hardly ever need them, But.....

My big concern when I am hunting alone and away from the maddening crowds is what is the plan if I get hurt to the point of immobility?