Brakelate
Senior Member
- Joined
- Aug 13, 2013
- Posts
- 1,236
- Reaction score
- 732
- Location
- South/Central Utah
- Ram Year
- 2018
- Engine
- 6.4 Hemi
I did a dumb thing. While un-spooling my factory stock winch line, I went too far. Rather than pulling it out all by hand, I attached it to an anchor and slowly backed up. My intentions were to get a look at how long the cable was for future mental reference in a time of need, while also intending to re-wind the cable after applying some light lubricant and roll it back up under load, allowing the motor to pull it in, thus giving it a good, solid wrap back on the drum.
Problem was, even just idling backwards, the momentum of the truck was enough to tug the winch cable from the pinch mount on the drum. I went back and with much huffing, puffing, cursing, crawling and twisting, I was able to stick it back in the crimped drum mount and after gaining a couple rolls, I could then power the cable all back on, allowing the friction of just those few wraps to keep it on the drum.
I then went and spray painted a few Red stripes on the cable several feet out in front of the truck, so that I would not make that mistake again, by stopping and allowing a few wraps to remain on the drum. It would cost me a few feet in recovery line length, but that was a small price to pay for the confidence of a tight, functioning winch line.
That lasted a couple of months.
Yesterday while teaching my son how to use all of the truck's fancy features and it's winch to "simulate" a recovery, I again pulled a bone head and despite having a few feet, thus at least five full wraps on the drum, the silly thing popped back off again.
I fought and fought for hours, *(If you haven't ever wrestled with a heavy duty multi-strand steel cable, you are in for a treat!) Let alone, up in the limited space of the hidden winch, under the hot engine bay. I am amazed that they use such a weak crimp style fastener to attach the end of the line to the drum.
So, I come to the conclusion that I should step up and purchase one of those new fancy Nylon Recovery Lines. There are many benefits; Lighter, more flexible, and they claim that it will both float on water and also shed all of it's energy, should something fail and just fall limp to the ground, rather than snapping back as does a Steel Cable. The Nylon also does not fray, or if it does, it does not have the nasy assed barbs sticking out like a Metal Cable, thus requiring you to use heavy duty gloves whenever handling it.
At the same time, I can get one in one of the optional fancy colors, and due to it's smaller diameter, I can get a longer line, than the steel one, all in the same amount of space.
Great! I just need to accept technology and trust that it is rated to hold more than the steel line and is just as strong and durable, despite being so light and flexible.
One problem I can see, is that they warn against drawing a line under load across rocks or other sharp objects, like over a cliff, or tree or boulder that is an obstacle in the way of the pull. Most quality line suppliers provide a length of "wrap" or "blanket" to set down so that the line glides nicely across or over it, eliminating damage to either the strap, the tree or whatever.
The MAIN issue, is that while doing research, despite having a higher load capacity, these Nylon lines are suggested to be used with a "Hawes" type Aluminum Fairlead, as opposed to the standard metal roller wheel type.
Why? I am not so sure. You would think a Nylon line would roll across the rollers just fine. But, better safe than sorry, as these lines, and a potential failure at some point is a much larger cost than just a Hawes type fairlead.
So, that leads me to a couple questions (finally);
Anyone use one of these Nylon lines? What has your experience been like?
Did you use a Hawes slit fairlead, or just go with the stock Roller set?
Finally, if you did use a Hawes Fairlead on a Power Wagon, how did you mount it? There is little room to mount the Aluminum Block in front of the drum, but behind the factory rollers. AND, there is no apparent way to remove the roller assembly, as it looks to be used as also the framework for mounting the winch to the front of the truck's frame, all hidden in behind the front bumper.
I might be able to fit a Hawes fairlead, using the top two bolts securing the standard rollers to the mounting bracket, but it would be tight.
Should I just run both, or just spool up a new Nylon line and forget about it, just being sure to monitor the nylon line and how it is spooling and holding up to running across the rollers?
*Long story short; Anyone use a Nylon Winch line on a Power Wagon yet?
Problem was, even just idling backwards, the momentum of the truck was enough to tug the winch cable from the pinch mount on the drum. I went back and with much huffing, puffing, cursing, crawling and twisting, I was able to stick it back in the crimped drum mount and after gaining a couple rolls, I could then power the cable all back on, allowing the friction of just those few wraps to keep it on the drum.
I then went and spray painted a few Red stripes on the cable several feet out in front of the truck, so that I would not make that mistake again, by stopping and allowing a few wraps to remain on the drum. It would cost me a few feet in recovery line length, but that was a small price to pay for the confidence of a tight, functioning winch line.
That lasted a couple of months.
Yesterday while teaching my son how to use all of the truck's fancy features and it's winch to "simulate" a recovery, I again pulled a bone head and despite having a few feet, thus at least five full wraps on the drum, the silly thing popped back off again.
I fought and fought for hours, *(If you haven't ever wrestled with a heavy duty multi-strand steel cable, you are in for a treat!) Let alone, up in the limited space of the hidden winch, under the hot engine bay. I am amazed that they use such a weak crimp style fastener to attach the end of the line to the drum.
So, I come to the conclusion that I should step up and purchase one of those new fancy Nylon Recovery Lines. There are many benefits; Lighter, more flexible, and they claim that it will both float on water and also shed all of it's energy, should something fail and just fall limp to the ground, rather than snapping back as does a Steel Cable. The Nylon also does not fray, or if it does, it does not have the nasy assed barbs sticking out like a Metal Cable, thus requiring you to use heavy duty gloves whenever handling it.
At the same time, I can get one in one of the optional fancy colors, and due to it's smaller diameter, I can get a longer line, than the steel one, all in the same amount of space.
Great! I just need to accept technology and trust that it is rated to hold more than the steel line and is just as strong and durable, despite being so light and flexible.
One problem I can see, is that they warn against drawing a line under load across rocks or other sharp objects, like over a cliff, or tree or boulder that is an obstacle in the way of the pull. Most quality line suppliers provide a length of "wrap" or "blanket" to set down so that the line glides nicely across or over it, eliminating damage to either the strap, the tree or whatever.
The MAIN issue, is that while doing research, despite having a higher load capacity, these Nylon lines are suggested to be used with a "Hawes" type Aluminum Fairlead, as opposed to the standard metal roller wheel type.
Why? I am not so sure. You would think a Nylon line would roll across the rollers just fine. But, better safe than sorry, as these lines, and a potential failure at some point is a much larger cost than just a Hawes type fairlead.
So, that leads me to a couple questions (finally);
Anyone use one of these Nylon lines? What has your experience been like?
Did you use a Hawes slit fairlead, or just go with the stock Roller set?
Finally, if you did use a Hawes Fairlead on a Power Wagon, how did you mount it? There is little room to mount the Aluminum Block in front of the drum, but behind the factory rollers. AND, there is no apparent way to remove the roller assembly, as it looks to be used as also the framework for mounting the winch to the front of the truck's frame, all hidden in behind the front bumper.
I might be able to fit a Hawes fairlead, using the top two bolts securing the standard rollers to the mounting bracket, but it would be tight.
Should I just run both, or just spool up a new Nylon line and forget about it, just being sure to monitor the nylon line and how it is spooling and holding up to running across the rollers?
*Long story short; Anyone use a Nylon Winch line on a Power Wagon yet?