Purpose of Chain in Winch Accessory Kit?

[Patman]

is that guy looking down at the chain or bowing his head in shame.

Both! It was a tough morning, many moons ago.

 

[Ray Hyland]

I carry about 6 feet of fairly heavy chain in my kit. It has come in handy a few times, often when there is a need to jury-rig a solution, but also useful when skidding trees for bridge building, etc.

Cheers

 

[JJackson]

A short length with a grabber hook also works great for "locking" a flexy suspension to jack it up and actually have the tire come off the ground before you reach the top of the hi-lift.

 

[I Leak Oil]

A long time ago, I flat towed a VW Rabbit behind a Buick Electra Wagon. Yikes. :Wow1: One time when there was too much slack, I was sure I was going to have the front bumper yanked off.

That's not an uncommon situation, especially if you need to be towed out of the woods. It's important that the drivers of both vehicles know what they're doing though.

 

[DamMan]

Thanx for all the great answers. I ordered a 3/8" x 14' Grade 70 Transport Chain for a reasonable price and now I will have it just in case.

 

[Mobryan]

If you've got just one chain, use clevis style hooks, so you can swap between grabber and sling hooks, both useful, but for different things.


Matt

 

[teotwaki]

using a chain with a Hi-Lift to winch a vehicle
[youtube]

 

[I Leak Oil]

These are my heros...
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfvGn3CEW-s&feature=player_embedded"]YouTube - Jeep Winches up Cliff[/ame]

 

[robert]

That's not an uncommon situation, especially if you need to be towed out of the woods. It's important that the drivers of both vehicles know what they're doing though.

You still see this a bunch in rural/agricultural areas too but it works best with a section of pipe slid over it so that it doesn't get as much slack and it helps keep the towed vehicle from running into the tow vehicle.

There have been several comments about hooking to bumper and axles too- I was always taught not to do either (excluding bumpers designed for it obviously). The guys I learned from all stated it was safer to do a recovery using the spring shackles; less movement, you won't pop a driveshaft out, it's closer to the frame, etc. That does present an issue when you're talking about a vehicle with no leaf springs though.

 

[Stumpalump]

It's also good to have some chain for extreme trail side repairs. Broken mainsprings or major suspension components can be cobbled up enough with chain to get a vehicle out of the"woods".

 

[Vinman]

I carry a 4' length of 9/32 grade 80 chain with a hook on both ends. I have used it in the past to pull vehicles with no proper recovery points. It can also be used to right rolled over vehicles, pull trees off the trai,l etc.

We once had to drag a jeep 5 miles through the trails with a snapped rear axle shaft that left him with three wheels and nobody in the group had a chain to secure a log skid. We repeatedly had to adjust the log with small straps. I carried the chain ever since that run.

Vince

 

[JIMBO]

:sombrero: Short chains/w hooks sometimes comein handy to truss up an axle, when using a HiLift and not (safely) being able to get the vehicle high enough-

Could be to fix a flat/high center/ clear shock mount/diff-etc

Especially use/w ragged tree draging-

:costumed-smiley-007:wings: JIMBO

 

[JIMBO]

:sombrero: Everso true--

I carry a heavy graded 25' "tow" chain in my truck and have for years. Don't remember the specs off hand but it's huge, heavy, and more than strong enough for what it's used for. It gets used more than one would think. Like said above it's hard to adjust the length of a strap but easy to adjust the length of a chain. Sometimes you just need a few more feet! It also gets used a lot with a heavy long shackle padlock to lock up my trailer to a tree in basecamp. An unlocked M416 is pretty attractive these days to many folks. Very useful if you have the room. My trucks get used for work as well. Great for pulling logs.

However, years ago I gotta 3"x20ft/30,000lb "Cinch" TOW strap--"NOTTA SNATCH STRAP" and adjusting the length is quick and easy and secure !

No it's not dangerous if you follow recovery rules

:costumed-smiley-007:wings: JIMBO

 

[Eventhough]

...adjusting the length is quick and easy and secure ! ...
No it's not dangerous if you follow recovery rules

JIMBO

What JIMBO said. Shortening the length of a strap is easy, quick, and relatively secure. You can use a hitch pin, a stick, even a bunch of dry grass. I've done it many times, teach it, and it works great.

You can also attach two straps together using a similar approach.

 

[trasko]

using a chain with a Hi-Lift to winch a vehicle
[ame="[MEDIA=youtube]bOcQHqLx90g[/MEDIA]"]YouTube - Hi-Lift as a Winch[/ame]

This is why it comes with the HiLift Recovery Kit. It's for "progress capture" as you tediously hand-winch using the hi-lift.

I carry a chain with me in my "off-road" box and a second-guess that decision every time I lug that box around.