synthetic winch extension?

[SameGuy]

I found myself in a tough spot yesterday, stuck in deep spring snow with the consistency of ball bearings. I was traveling down a steep canyon and got stuck going down. I didn't have enough winch line to winch backwards so had no choice but to winch myself down and deeper into the canyon. The hope that it got better lower down was thwarted and we thought we would be stuck leaving the truck for a few weeks until the snow melted. Fortunately we found a spot to turn around and with a heavy foot and a few winchings we emerged little the worse for wear, wet and tired. I learned a lot on that little excursion and came out of it thinking I definitely need a winch extension. 100 feet gets used up pretty quick with trees not quite in the right spot. Luckily I had a 20 and 30 foot snatch strap and tow strap. Without those the truck would still be here.

i looked up premade synthetic winch extension ropes from the usual off-road vendors and found them massively expensive. 3/8 dyneema at 100 ft was around $300-400+. That size is rated at 18,000lb. Plus and that's what is on my 10k lb. winch now. Being cheap, I gave EBay a look and found 165ft of the same dyneema for $190. Now we are getting somewhere. I also found 200ft of 1/4 dyneema for $170. It is rated at 12,350lb. The cheapskate in me thinks the 200ft is a better deal despite its lower strength. My Tundra is no lightweight but I think 12,000 rope would be fine for a long single line pull and if I had to do some fancy reverse winching setup that would give me plenty of length to work with. I have no problem splicing in an eye on each end of the new line, I am just curious what the collective brain trust thinks about the 12350lb rating.

 

[Beowulf]

Just get the bulk line and splice it yourself. It is super easy and good practice if something ever happens in the field.

 

[pugslyyy]

+1 for the bulk line. Learning to splice is a useful skill. Since I use extensions less than I use my main line, I always put new rope on the drum and make an extension out of the line I took off.

 

[Beowulf]

Here is an old write up on making an extension. http://forum.expeditionportal.com/threads/77016-Winch-Extension-Making-your-own-a-tutorial

 

[SameGuy]

Thanks for the info. I feel pretty confident about doing the splicing, guess my main concern is using the lighter rope with a 12,300lb. strength over the more expensive shorter rope with an 18,000lb. strength. Any feedback on that would be greatly appreciated.

 

[NatersXJ6]

Thanks for the info. I feel pretty confident about doing the splicing, guess my main concern is using the lighter rope with a 12,300lb. strength over the more expensive shorter rope with an 18,000lb. strength. Any feedback on that would be greatly appreciated.

If you buy 18k and 12k would have done it, you'll never know. If you buy 12k and need more, you'll know quickly! What sort of discoveries do you like to make?

If you really get yourself into frequent situations where that much winching is needed, you have to figure the price of the extension is a heck of a lot less than getting a tow out there... I would buy the stronger rating.

 

[SameGuy]

[FONT=Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif]Naters, I didn't look at it that way but you are so right. The difference in price and length isn't enough to make up what a tow or cold night in the mountains would cost me. I'll go with the heavier rope.[/FONT]

 

[wrenchMonkey_]

I have enjoyed my Diamond Line from Custom Splice. 100 ft of 3/8 is around $150. No complaints. Good customer service too. Smaller company that cares.