Come-along

[Northern Explorer]

Before buying the Maasdam 8000SBC, I considered the Wyeth-Scott and traded several e-mails with them about using synthetic rope on their come-along. They just sent me some documentation about their new Power Puller models with synthetic line:

http://public.mvlan.net/content/Jeep/Reference/Come-Alongs/Wyeth-Scott and Amsteel Blue.doc

I wish they'd offered this months ago, before I bought the Maasdam.

js.

Interesting

I ended up buying a 50 foot master pull winch extension line to use with my Maasdam for a little extra reach.

 

[007]

. I've never been able to figure out why a come a long isn't a critical part of every wheeler's recovery gear. I wouldn't leave home without one.

I totally agree, Come a longs (and tire chains) are not getting enough notice in the overland culture:ylsmoke:

Catch that OJ

 

[Antichrist]

https://www.wyeth-scott.com/index.asp

Hasn't failed me yet with 6 years of heavy use.

That's what I pictured on the first page of this thread. They are very rugged. I've put enough load on them to bend the handle, but they never failed.

 

[jsmoriss]

I totally agree, Come a longs (and tire chains) are not getting enough notice in the overland culture.

Absolutely, but I think it depends also on where you're traveling. In the north-east, mud and tight trails are not un-common, so I think come-alongs and tire chains are an excellent addition.

The problem with chains are weight, which tends to go along with strength -- the better the chains, the heavier they are. I have some good 4-season chains, but for every trip I have to think about the trade-off between their possible use and their added weight to the vehicle. Now with the trailer, it may be more practical to carry them... I have to buy another pair for the trailer, come to think of it.

A downside to tire chains is the limit on tire size. Once you buy one size, you're locked in. My chains will fit a 285/75R16 (my regular summer and winter tire size) or 255/85R16, but not 35" tires (my set of serious trail tires).

js.

 

[CruiserMog]

That's what I pictured on the first page of this thread. They are very rugged. I've put enough load on them to bend the handle, but they never failed.

Yes, both the Power Puller and the Lug Alls are just about bombproof. And synthetic line should be easily retrofitted to any existing come a long, you just may need to mod the drum slightly to facilitate attaching the dead end.

 

[CruiserMog]

I totally agree, Come a longs (and tire chains) are not getting enough notice in the overland culture:ylsmoke:

Catch that OJ

Yes, tire chains deserve an honorable mention as well.

 

[Metcalf]

I'm going to go against the grain....

I don't like tire-chains or come-a-longs.

I would rather see people come out with a hi-lift jack and appropriate rigging. The hi-lift will solve more problems for the weight. You don't need both.

Chains are for ice, not snow. You will go farther in snow with low air pressure than you will with chains. If you are really worried about pure ice reconsider the chains for a set of studded winter tires. You can get studded winter tires up into the 37" plus range now. Aired down studded snow tires will amaze you. Chains are heavy and hard to store. To me, I don't know if they are worth the weight. I live in Colorado, so yes, we get lots of snow and ice.

Off road performance is about balance. You can carry enough gear to fix any problem the space shuttle might have, but you will end up overweight and break more parts. People need to look carefully at what they carry. I suggest going through your gear at least once a year to inspect whatever you are carrying AND to reevaluate if you really need it. The biggest problem I see with this expedition/overland concept is that people carry WAY too much stuff. Find the appropriate balance of gear vs weight vs space.

One of my favorite sayings.....'knowledge doesn't weigh anything'

 

[michaelgroves]

Chains make a huge difference in mud as well as ice or snow(?), but I still don't think they are worth their weight (and other unpleasantness) unless you are expecting a LOT of use out of them.

A good quality, medium sized come-long, with lots of rigging is a great tool to have with you on an expedition. Also carry an air/exhaust jack and a good bottle jack, and IMO, the high-lift can be ditched, and good riddance. (I've always carried a high lift, and it's been useful many times, but I can't think of any occasion when I wouldn't have been better off with one of the three tools above.)

 

[Antichrist]

Depending on the type and depth of the snow, chains make a huge difference there as well. I've driven through 3 feet (and more) of snow with chains where I'm confident in saying airing down would not have helped very much.
Also, if you expect to be driving in a variety of conditions, a set of chains is going to weigh less and take less room than an extra set of studded tires.

 

[Metcalf]

Uh.....just put the studded snow tires on in the winter? No need to have both sets of tires.

 

[007]

Uh.....just put the studded snow tires on in the winter? No need to have both sets of tires.

You bring up a valid point that most snow and ice situations can be handled with a set of aired down studded tires.

I've seen many people wrestling chains on when it wasn't needed, they could have gotten by with studded winter tires or packed a compressor to air down.

The problem we have up here however is that the snow persists year round in the mountains, so you can't possibly rely on studded tires in July. Also there is always an icy base underneath the loose snow because the snow doesn't melt away between storms. So studs are virtually worthless except on plowed roads.

I do most of my off-roading in the winter because of my work season and I can tell you that nothing beats 4 aired down tires (5-10 psi) with heavy V-bar chains. It is night and day with good chains on all 4 corners. Saying otherwise is like saying the paddles on a snowmobile track are worthless.

The come a long is also extremely handy when you have to reverse on a side hill without the back end sliding down.

I agree that for most the chains are not worth the weight because the snow pack is not persistent, but for me I'll gladly utilize the extra weight - They give you traction when stowed in the tool box also

 

[Metcalf]

Since this thread was about come-a-longs I started a new thread about Tire chains, snow, mud, and airing down.....

http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=36394

 

[dieselcruiserhead]

I will add that I have owned several come-a-longs that I've purchased for the purpose of 4WD and I also used to use a Tirfor daily in an old job and I would and have never used either in a 4WD situation. Borderline complete utter waste of money. The only time I've ever been in a situation that warranted it a friend and a snatch block were 20 times the better helper. You have to be in a really sticky situation to warrant it. Even back east with lots of mud and off camber stuff it simply wasn't ever worth it.

Same with tire chains as well so I agree metcalf. There are only a couple times like an all day off road deep snow situation would tire chains maybe be fun. Otherwise they are a total PITA.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

Chains and come-alongs are a tool, just like any other tool ie Hi-Lift, air jack. They can be as useless or practical as the applications require and the situations they fall in.

I can think of several stark incidences where each device was the 'savior' of the day. While without them we likely could have gotten out, the 'tools' made far quicker work of what looked like a grim situation.

Would I carry a set of chains and a come-along on every single trip? No. But if I anticipated situations where they could be those 'saviors' I wouldn't hesitate to pack them. I rank them par with devices such as a hi-lift in face I no longer carry a hi-lift in my Tacoma.

I think its naive to think you can simply decide what equipment has a purpose to even a minority of users. Terrain, weather, vehicles, etc. I know some will bock at the fact I don't carry a hi-lift in my Tacoma, afterall its the first accessory most purchase right? Well my needs & uses are different and truthfully I'll pack hand winch before I pack a hi-lift as my experiences have found the hand winch more useful.

 

[michaelgroves]

I will concede that a come-along is time-consuming to use, so for day-trips, or if you have two vehicle with winches, a come-along is less attractive. But for use on a single-truck expedition, it is a very versatile tool. With sufficient rigging, it will do everything a vehicle-mounted winch will do (albeit with more effort!), but can be used without power, from any direction, etc.