rewinding my winch after using it

[4wheelinmike]

What's the vest way to rewind my winch so it looks good after I use it? I bought it used and the guy before didn't know how to rewind it and it looked horrible. Is there a trick?

[Jerry Bransford]

Unspool it all the way & connect it to either another vehicle to pull towards you or winch yourself to a fixed object like a tree (use a tree saver strap if you do). Get several wraps of the rope around the drum first before applying the load, friction from those several wraps around the drum are all that holds the rope when it's under load.

Then pull the parking brake on several clicks so the winch is working against it as you make the pull. You can pull another vehicle towards you with its parking brake set which to me is a little easier than pulling your Jeep towards something else. Approx. 250 lbs. of drag is what is recommended. Then while standing next to the winch, carefully guide the cable in with your gloved had so it lays against the previous wrap & is smooth. Make darned sure to keep your hand positioned properly & pay attention so your hand doesn't get pulled into the winch.

It's important for the winch to pull against that 250 lb. (or so) load so the rope is tight enough that it can't pull down between layers when you're using it under load the next time which can damage the rope.

[4wheelinmike]

thanks jerry i'll giv it a try =)

[avjeepfreek]

X2 on that! I guess I should have rewound mine better the last time I used it too. A few weeks ago I went to use again it and it tightend the cable and pulled it down between the layer below and got stuck. It pinched the cable and flattened it in a few places so it's toast! It's time for a new cable but, I think I might hold out though for the synthetic line.

[RAT]

If your using steel cable you'll find that the more you use it the more kinks it will acquire and the harder it will be to get it to spool back on the drum nicely. Pull too hard on it and it slips wraps,(pulls the line through several underlying wraps on the spool) not sure but there is a technical term for that, and when that happens it's a bitch to get it undone. Just pointing out all the little vagaries of steel cable. Oh, and don't forget the splinters! Enjoy!

[Jerry Bransford]

If your using steel cable you'll find that the more you use it the more kinks it will acquire and the harder it will be to get it to spool back on the drum nicely. Pull too hard on it and it slips wraps,(pulls the line through several underlying wraps on the spool) not sure but there is a technical term for that, and when that happens it's a bitch to get it undone. Just pointing out all the little vagaries of steel cable. Oh, and don't forget the splinters! Enjoy!

True on those issues. The only way to minimize the potential for wire rope damage from it being pulled down through the wraps is to always rewind the wire rope tightly again after use. Rewinding wire rope with at least a 250 lb. load against the winch like from pulling the parking brake on several clicks will wind it tight enough to help minimize that issue.

That said, making the switch from kink-prone wire rope to synthetic is always worth it.

[2blk2drs]

A trick I learned when assembling a down-hole rig: Get two 2x4's and c-clamp them together, pinching the cable in between the wood. Then slowly feed the cable in, and use a crowbar to keep each wrap tight against the next.

Flamesuit on!

[platnumb4x]

Thanks guys, Good info didnt know that.
I wish that synthetic line wasnt so expensive.