During my adventure this past weekend the heavy storm slowed down my progress to some degree so I began departing the forest behind schedule. While on my final leg out I came upon a recently fallen tree and had to make a decision - double back in the wrong direction and fall very far behind or take some time and deal with the tree?
In the pictures below you will see that I decided to deal with the tree even though I did not have the ideal equipment with me. I decided to use my winch and tree saver to drag the tree most of the way off the road so at least one lane was open. If I had more time I could have attached my snatch block to a tree off to the side and pulled the tree all the way off but it was becoming late, the optimum tree was around eight meters off the road, and the ground off to the side was wet and soft. Here are some details of my movement of the fallen tree:
Safety first - no excuses, even if you are in a hurry. And just because you are wearing gloves that does not give you permission to slide your hand along a heavy-duty steel wire rope. All of my equipment was brand new although I took a moment to inspect it anyway. It's a good habit to have and it could save a life.
Next is a shot of the tree saver wrapped around the trunk end of the fallen tree. Can you see my mistake? I should not have wrapped the web sling over itself.
What I did do correctly was rig the hook to the screw-pin shackle to the web sling. Two important details here. You can not attach the web sling directly to the hook and the screw-pin shackle is oriented correctly with the hook riding on the pin and the sling in the bowed area. Take note that the screw pin is fully threaded in and the web sling loops do not overlap. If you have questions why, ask a professional rigger.
Here is a shot just prior to the pull. The driver on the other side was heading to his hunting camp and lamented over not having his saw with him. I am glad I decided to take my winch on this short trip.
Here is the tree dragged off enough to open a single lane.
Lessons learned - my choker chain is sitting at home a few hundred miles away and would have been a more ideal option for this exercise. It would have been much easier and safer to choke the tree and hook the chain to a shackle on my rear bumper and tug it out of the way. If you pull a load from your front bumper you are placing the load on the weaker of the two axles and driving backwards with obscured vision. The load your front axle is able to support decreases significantly as you turn your front tires off at an angle.
Also, when winching make sure you are inside your vehicle with your foot on your brake. If you just leave your automatic transmission in park and set your parking brake you place most all of that load on the transmission parking pawl. Maybe not the best idea. And don't be afraid to use all of your cable with the exception of the last five or six wraps on the drum. Your maximum pull is on the first layer of your cable and decreases on successive layers. Be good to your winch and she will be good to you.
