School me on hand winches...

[STAGE 2]

...specifically the tirfors. I'm looking for a winch for my rig, and I don't want to go electrical for a variety of reasons (don't want a winch bumper, heavy, pricy, only 1, or at the most two locations). What I have decided on is a tirfors style winch. There are several models out there (black rat, ARB, grip hoist etc) and I'm trying to figure out which would be the best for a 4000 lb vehicle. Most have a 30 lb winch with a 3500 lb lift rating. The griphoist has a 4000lb lift rating. However there are 60 lb ones that have a 7700 lb lift rating.

I realize that normally, the pulling ratio isn't 1:1 i.e. you don't need 1000lbs of force to pull a 1000lb object. That said, friction, mud, and nother nature can be a bear so I'd like something that I could use without having to go the snatch block route, or worrying about exceeding the load on the winch or the cable.

With all that said, will the 3500/4000 winch be fine for my rig, or should I just go for the 7700 super heavy duty one and deal with the extra 30 lbs of weight?

 

[michaelgroves]

... I'd like something that I could use without having to go the snatch block route...

Why would this be better?

 

[STAGE 2]

Why would this be better?

I don't know that its better, just simpler. One attachment point on the truck and one tree stump. Dont get me wrong, I do carry them. Its just easier to not rig it up, I will have more useable cable distance and the winching time will be shorter as well.

 

[michaelgroves]

There have been quite a few thread on this topic, some recently.

But my view is that there's not much benefit to having a big, heavy tirfor. At the end of the day, all the pulling is done by your arms!The additional mechanical advantage that gives the bigger hand-winch its higher pull rating is easily replicated by using some additional snatch blocks if necessary, and to suit the specific scenario.

Advantages to having a small, light, good quality hand winch (vs bigger):

• Cheaper to buy
• Easier to stow
• Easier to handle and often quicker to rig
• More rigging options offered by snatch blocks and rope
• You probably need the extra rigging anyway

Disadvantages

• Must buy and stow additional rigging
• Might sometimes take longer to rig

 

[STAGE 2]

At the end of the day, all the pulling is done by your arms!

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the weight of the tirfor doens't have any effect on the force required to pull the object. I.E. its going to take X amount of grunt whether you have a 30 lb tirfor or a 50 lb one (assuming straight rigging).

Advantages to having a small, light, good quality hand winch (vs bigger):

• Cheaper to buy
• Easier to stow
• Easier to handle and often quicker to rig
• More rigging options offered by snatch blocks and rope
• You probably need the extra rigging anyway

Price is definately a factor. The heavier duty ones are almost twice the price. For me at least, easier to stow isn't really a factor with a 7' bed. I'm curious about the 4th factor however. How does a lighter duty winch have more rigging options? Regardless of the one I get I'm going to have a recovery kit with the same gear.

 

[michaelgroves]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the weight of the tirfor doens't have any effect on the force required to pull the object. I.E. its going to take X amount of grunt whether you have a 30 lb tirfor or a 50 lb one (assuming straight rigging).

Quite right. But of course, handling a 50lb lump of metal is a lot more effort than handling a 30lb one! You'll find that when using a hand winch, there is a lot of carrying and manoeuvring the winch and cable.



Price is definately a factor. The heavier duty ones are almost twice the price. For me at least, easier to stow isn't really a factor with a 7' bed. I'm curious about the 4th factor however. How does a lighter duty winch have more rigging options? Regardless of the one I get I'm going to have a recovery kit with the same gear.

I was comparing, say, a 7000lb winch, versus a 2000lb winch with lots of snatch-blocks. You can rig the latter in many more useful ways than the former. Of course, you can use the former with snatch-blocks too, but then that does beg the question, why carry such a heavy duty lump?

 

[DaktariEd]

Perhaps this link/thread may be helpful...

 

[michaelgroves]

Perhaps this link/thread may be helpful...

The 800kg version as tested, is an ideal size, IMO. I have the 3500kg version, and it's just too big and cumbersome. I like the Tirfor-type mechanism, but it's a pity it doesn't work with synthetic line. Wire rope is really unpleasant, and hard work!

 

[STAGE 2]

Perhaps this link/thread may be helpful...

Yes, I've read that review a couple of times already. It only gave me more questions, such as why black rat tirfors are rated less than the one's made by grip hoist.