Winch primer

[Black Jaque Janaviac]

I got a power puller. Now I'm busy getting the various accessories and I am running into questions.

What is Standard Working Load?

What is Working Load LImit?

What is Proof load?

And what is breaking strength?

Also what is a 2:1 safety rating?

I've been told here that for the power pull I should get something that can pull 1.5x the vehicle weight. My Dodge Dakota is 4000 lbs and some change empty. The power puller is 3-ton so I'm good there.

But I'm looking at tree-savers and shackles and I am wondering what I should get. I see some 3 1/4 ton WLL shackles at TSC but they look pretty puny compared to the tow hooks I commonly see protruding from air dams on trucks/SUVs. I tried the 6 1/2 ton shackles but the clevis won't fit through the holes in the frame, and I don't have a 3/4" metal drill bit. I could get those tow hooks that have the two 1/2-inch bolts, but I kind of like the idea of using shackles and the holes that are already existing in the frame.

What do you advise?

 

[Flatbedford]

Working Load Limit is the max safe load.
I have no idea what Standard Working Load or Proof load is.
Breaking strength is the load that will break it.
2:1 safety rating is basically 1/2 of the Breaking strength and means that you should only work with 1/2 the breaking strength. In overhead rigging, we go with either 7:1 or even 10:1.

The best way I have found to connect to a vehicle it to get front and rear 2" receivers and use a pintle hitch like this.
http://imageserv9.team-logic.com/store-logic/products/185/564/tn_639.jpg
or just put a shackle through the bolt hole on a standard ball mount
http://cdn.autoanything.com/images/...ories/valley_power_pull_xtreme_ball_mount.jpg

Much easier than trying to find the right hole on the truck frame. A front receiver is also great fro moving trailer around in tight quarters.

 

[nate379]

You are talking about a come-along? Like this:
http://www.google.com/products/cata...=X&ei=NSV_TfjZE5D0tgPblNX-BQ&ved=0CDAQ8wIwAg#

There is no way in hell that you will be able to pull your truck out of a nasty mud hole with just a 3k one of those.

I don't know where they get the rating, but it's way over-exagerated. I used a 5k one a few weeks ago and it took all I had to pull a rolling Blazer up the ramps on my trailer. Not to mention it took a solid 15 mins of cranking. I keep telling myself I need to put a winch on the trailer... one of these days...

 

[mxjamie540]

Nah, I think the one he was looking at was MUCH heavier duty. It was similiar (if not identical) to the Wyeth puller that has gotten great reviews here.

USA Power Pull products I think?

 

[Black Jaque Janaviac]

American Power Pull.

Yes very similar to the Wyeth-Scott More Power Puller. It's got the cast iron body and 5/16" wire rope. It's rated for 3 TON (4 ton if you look at the website) so that's 6,000 lbs. Curb weight of a 4-door Dakota is 4,000+ lbs.

I just get confused with all the "wieght" ratings, and which ones you're supposed to use in making choices.

Popular advice is to use 1.5x the weight of the vehicle. So I multiply 4000 lbs by 1.5 to get 6,000 lbs. Now do I compare that 6000 lbs to the breaking strength? Or the working load limit?

Also, I've seen some advice that the cable/strap should be 1.5x something; was it the weight of the vehicle or the rating of the puller? And again is that the working load of the strap or the breaking strength?

 

[Flatbedford]

Compare working load, it is based on breaking strength and should be the lower number. Working at the breaking strength would be bad. I know that, as a safety feature, the handle on the Wyeth-Scott puller is designed to deform when the safe working load is exceeded. As long as all the other parts in the system (shackles, chain, straps, etc.) have a rated WORKING LOAD greater than that of the puller you should be OK.

 

[KarlP]

It says it "Meets ASME Spec B30.21-1999". I'm pretty sure that means it is rated to LIFT 3 tons of dead weight with a double line pull.

A 1500lb WLL seems in the plausable range for 5/16 cable. Normal ones are rated between 800 and 2500lbs depending on the steel, core, strand count, twist, etc.

If you find yourself needing to suspend your entire vehicle loaded down with people and gear from a hand winch, you made a BIG mistake. :lol:

 

[KarlP]

I don't know where they get the rating, but it's way over-exagerated.

You need to pay attention to the pulling vs lifting in the spec. The one you linked was for 5 tons of "pulling", but 2 tons of lifting. That means the OP has one rated for 50% more.

 

[nate379]

If a "5 ton" come along has a hard time to pull a 2.5 ton vehicle that is rolling, I really doubt it would be able to lift it. I just used that website to show what I thought he was talking about, I didn't read any of the info.

Whoever posted this thread, there is some good info in AFOSH 91-46. Lots of info about slings, cables, hoists, etc. It is what we use to maintain all our lifting devices at work... stuff that lifts bombs, some of them weighing over 1.5 tons each.

Here is a copy if you want to read: http://www.af.mil/shared/media/epubs/AFOSHSTD91-46.pdf

 

[Black Jaque Janaviac]

Nate,

Thanks for the link. Here's a link to the puller that I purchased:

http://www.americanpowerpull.com/Default.aspx?gid=3&pid=115

The puller manufacturers all advertise their pullers for vehicle recovery duty. Youtube is loaded with videos of rednecks hand-winching vehicles out of the mud.

I'm not very experienced with off-roading, but I do have experience with whitewater canoeing - and one main principal applies in both situations. When something looks bad, get out, walk it through, plan a route OR find another way around. That said there are plenty of times when my tires spin even though I'm not buried to the axles. That's when the winch comes in.