Superwinch = junk

I'll have to look at work and see if I still have that vid.

We must wheel in different areas. I have run several trails that require a winch to get through the trail. Yes the big tires and lockers will get you to these points on the trail but in most cases you will need a winch to get up the waterfall that continuing the trail requires. Maybe I missed something in an earlier post. Jim F.

You really are a skeptic, aren't you...

It

You are using the rear wheel sprockets as an example, which is incorrect...by your example, it would be harder to pull the cable OUT the fewer the wraps on the drum, but it's the opposite when you are reeling the cable IN. Think more in terms of the front derailleur, which is the one doing the work...there's less torque needed when the chain is on the SMALLER of the sprockets.

• * * Matt Macchiarolo
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Great advice. All of it. But even with a short pull, I would put something over the cable. You might be out of reach (or are you???), but why risk the damage to your rig that a snapped cable might cause.

I do know of a wrecker driver who was trying to get a wrecked car out of a ditch. His cable broke, and he was cut in two.

Also, make sure you inspect the cable, and replace it if it starts fraying.

Those two steps will do a world of wonder in turning a fun trip into a fun a safe trip.

You must be a "mudder." I can see where this would be the case with mud. But with hill climbing its much less of a factor where the problem is not "sticking" but clearance. For most rock climbing I would rather have a 2wd Cherokee sitting on 44 inch tires than a 4wd TJ with lockers on stock tires. The only time you're going to get stuck is when your fuel tank hangs up on a big rock!

You have lots to learn about 4 wheel drive sir.

I have had my share of 2 wheel drive vehicles with lots of clearance and good big tires and give me a stock 4x4 'any' day for climbing hills.

Nothing like 'not' being able to continue on up a 2 track cut into the side of a mountain with a 1000' drop on the side.

Couldn't even back down because I had no control over the front wheels. They just wanted to lock up and roll along on the gravel. Instant no steering control.

I had to use the emergency brake so I had steering to avoid slipping off the cliff. E-brakes don't grab for s*it in reverse either.

If I had 4x4, then I could have used low range to keep the steering when backing up or even better, 4x4 would have allowed me to get to the top and turn to come back down front ways.

I will tell you, that was one hairy couple hours that ended our 'exploring the BC mountains' days in a 2 wheel drive truck and was one of the main reasons my wife bought us a CJ7.

Mike

hi joshua, i see where youre going with this (stressing the importance of clearance) but youre underestimating the importance of drive wheels. if youre up for it, some of the best 4 wheeling youll find is back behind range 44-47 on bragg. its a hmmwv proving ground and it has a little bit of everything you could want. hell, i lost an atv down in a hole that took me a couple days to get out using the winch on my jeep, the winch on my atv, and about a 1/4 mile of straps and chains. :-) i havent been since prior to 9/11/01. after 9/11 the security policies on bragg changed so drastically that i just didnt want to be caught back there. since then ive talked with a few buddies on post who say that people are wheeling out there again like it used to be so im going to try it soon. if youre up for it you could gain a _lot_ of experience out there! if you decide to go it alone sometime, just make _sure_ you have a gps to find your way back and should you stumble across the delta compound (youll know it when you see it, believe me) turn around.

hey, i know that place! :-)

You can say that if you want, but you havn't been stuck yet.

I don't think you can stuff 44s under a Cherokee, but that is another topic.

Yep, and this brings us back to your last brake adventure: pulling like mad on the e-brake and it suddenly comes all the way up as that oft neglected cable gives up (or broke last week). Sort of like stepping on the brake pedal and feeling like you just stepped on a ripe melon.

The rotten granite gravel of the Rocky mountains has tought me a whole lot of new things about driving I never learned in the mud, snow or sand - like how much fun braking on marbles can be.

You got it, the first time I could have used the e-brake for more than holding it when idling and no cable. At least I knew that, so I didn't get surprised. In gear with the key to off is a last resort.

I am sure glad the e-brake was working on the side of that mountain. That marble stuff is nasty.

I towed a bunk trailer with no brakes on it across Vancouver Island via logging roads and had to use my e-brake on the down hills so I could keep steering control in a 2 wheel drive truck. Not a fun trip, even at the 5 or 10 mph we were going. Ohh to have had a 4x4 that day too...

Mike

That is exactly right Jennifer.

This too is exactly right.

Thiss too is exactly right. We did a recovery that was not entirely correctly approached and executed. The body mount ripped right off.

unpleasant...long walks in

Wow!, would anybody believe it, Jennifer is exactly right, AGAIN!.

We constantly remind people to take a buddy, but you really need two buddies because it can easily take two vehicles to recover one. What happens is that when there are two vehicles that weigh essentially and one of them gets stuck, the other one might not be able to get enough traction to pull the stuck one out. And, if a winch is used, the stuck truck will reel in the recovery vehicle, even if the the winch is actually mounted on the recovery vehicle. Remember, a winch is going to bring two vehicles closer together, and it is going to move the easiest one first. So, even when the stuck truck has the winch on it, it may be necessary to strap two Jeeps together to create a good anchor point.

PS Make sure the anchor is not parked in N. It doesn't make a very good anchor when it can roll.

Thanks Nathan for the suggestion. I'm not sure where Bragg is though. I believe you said before we are near each other... I'm not so sure. Where are you located at exactly?

What are they like in the wet - that's a lot of rubber ?

Dave Milne, Scotland '99 TJ 4.0 Sahara

: > What are those tyres Bill ? I don't recognise the tread pattern. : >

: > -- : > Dave Milne, Scotland : > '99 TJ 4.0 Sahara : >

: > : > Real Jeeps have 8" ground clearance and 4 cylinder engines ... : > : >

: > : > Dave Milne, Scotland : > : > '99 TJ 4.0 Sahara

You can tell you must be a BASIC and not a C, C++, or Java programmer or the syntax would be Superwinch != junk.

You can tell you aren't a C++ or Java programmer or you would have written

Superwinch.isJunk()

:-)

Dave Milne, Scotland '99 TJ 4.0 Sahara