Winch Line

[Tumbleweed13]

I got a, new-to-me, winch. I want to unspool the winch line (synthetic rope) and respool it so I can familurize myself with its operation. My manual says that when respooling I should have 500lbs of resistance. I don't have a 500lbs weight laying around that I can attach the winch line to.

How can I create a enough resistance to properly respool, according to my manual?
:confused:

[aw12345]

Hook it to a pole, set the parkingbrake so it has drag and winch the Jeep towards the pole, guiding the rope so it spools up nicely

[Materdaddy]

Or another vehicle. When I put my new winch cable on, I winched my Jeep to my truck.

Another trick I've heard, but haven't seen is to take 2 2x4s and c-clamp them around the cable and pull against the friction of that. I think that sounds like it'd be easy to pinch a finger and hard to line up your cable very easily, so I opted for winching the Jeep to something fixed w/ the brake on.

[6spdYJ]

Just set it to where it has drag, not fully on.

[2blk2drs]

Or winch uphill

[OU812]

Another trick I've heard, but haven't seen is to take 2 2x4s and c-clamp them around the cable and pull against the friction of that.

I think this would be a bad idea with a synthetic line.

[dirtman13]

Are you sure that recommendation is for a synthetic line? I thought you only need to do that with a steel cable.

[RAT]

After making several hundreds of pulls of at least 1000 and a bunch well over 3000 lbs, it doesn't matter how tight you get the syn line on the hub. It flattens out under tension anyway, and I have only had to clear a jamb three times that I can remember where the line got pinched on the hub. And even then it cleared by hand. If you have the roller fairlead that you used for steel cable on there you will want to make sure it doesn't have any cable wear on it or it will wear the syn line when it drags across the rollers. A new billet fairlead is a better bet. I'm going on three years with the same 3/8 syn line and like I said, hundreds of pulls.

[red baron 13]

Kurt - in your opinion: any pros to steel cable over syn line?

[Tumbleweed13]

The winch came with the synth line. My fairlead is aluminum. It's the T-Max 9k comp winch. The manual is for both steel cable and synth line. When reading I can tell the manual is translated, and some of the phrasing is a bit odd. The tight re-spool may be intended for a steel cable. They mention the issue of the outer wraps slipping in between the under-lying cable, thus causing a bind. Based on Rat Patrol's info this is not an issue with the synth line. Either way, I went to the back of sears parking lot, and did a re-spool using the concrete base of a light pole. Even if its not nessesary its nice to be familure with your winch before you "have to" use it for the 1st time.

[RAT]

Kurt - in your opinion: any pros to steel cable over syn line?

Steel cable is not bad and there are definite uses that it excels at. But for our intended purpose, steel cable is heavy, bulky, and hard to handle. Not to mention the safety issues with it's parting characteristics. Syn lays right down when it parts. It's lighter and easier to handle. Yes, a bit more expensive but well worth the benjamins. Just remember, whatever line you use, regular inspection and maintenance is key. As much as I use mine, I inspect it before every trip. Spool it all the way out and check for wear, abrasion, cuts, check the eyelet (or whatever type working end is installed).

[Materdaddy]

Sorry, missed the part about it being synthetic. Don't use the c-clamp method on that! Just winch yourself to a tree or another vehicle with a little bit of the brake applied, or up-hill.