tirfor winches

Learn about recovery forces -

Only really relevant if you are going to lift it straight up in the air. Rolling resistance across the ground is much lower.

Tirfors (or rope hoists in general, e.g. Brano) are very useful. I tried pulling a small stump out of the ground with one, using a 2.5 tonne truck as an anchor. Stump didn't move, truck got hauled up a small incline, wheels skidding on the ground, and I wasn't straining that hard.

It's always worth having one to hand. A tip that I've seen in a few places, get a wheelbarrow tyre (just the tyre, no wheel) and use that to store the cable, makes it easier to cart around.

Tom Woods came up with the following;:

Yes. Brilliant bits of kit, especially when used with pulleys, snatch blocks etc to 'magnify' the pull. Rolling resistance is a lot less than you'd think, unless it's stuck to the axles ... ;)

There are bigger Tirfors than that - mine is the next one up, 5 tonne line pull. The down side is the rope is not very easy to handle, at 19mm thickness. But it'll get you out of most situations, and I've used it (with an old crane hook for a block) to literally rip trees out of the ground, they come up roots & all, as long as I can get the rope high enough. The pull on them with a snatch block is startling, you need to make sure all your equipment is rated for the achieved 10 tonne pull.

Karen

What is the current value of a Tirfor winch? There is one going at the local second hand place for ?330 (£475) but I don't know if it's overpriced. It seems to have a coil of good condition rope, but I didn't notice any handles. If they are missing, what can be used instead? Presumably the old Land-Rover stand-by of "a piece of scoffolding"!

Stuart

Thanks everyone, i shall give it a go!

Ive always fancied one since dragging my car with a siezed gearbox into the drive using a hi-lift as a winch and it was very hard work and took ages!

Dougal - theres a lot of reading in that there PDF. I was slightly concerned that i saw some equations in it too. ;)

I see the point that the truck weight is less relevant when you are rolling it rather than lifting it up!

Use of a Tirfor will also soon teach you how to avoid getting stuck! They can be hard work unless you're young and fit.

Gordo(no longer young, never was fit)

Using a rope hoist will be very hard work and will take ages! All you'll gain is not having to keep resetting the chains/ropes to get around the short winching distance of a high-lift. Just think of a rope hoist as a high-lift jack winch with a really really long backbone beam. You can also put wire rope around pulleys, which makes for less hard work for longer time.

The second hand one i've found is a 10th of that price!, so either that one is very overpriced or the one i'm getting is underpriced?

i'm not intending on getting stuck, but it would be nice to have around just incase I do!

I like the think i'm fairly good for both of the above (but then so do a lot people!)

Ah, but if you are old (I am 58) they are easier than the capstan on the front of my Series. And time isn't a factor for me any more :)

I'm confident the Tirfor will get me out of anything I'm careless enough to get myself into.

Karen

gordon wrote, On 04/07/2006 09:51:

Yep, they certainly are hard work. I've got an old T35, capable of lifting 3.5 tons off the ground or dragging 5 tons along it. The winch is massive and sits behind the rear bulkhead of our SIII. The cable is also massive and lives inside a motorbike tyre. Just unpacking the winch before a recovery attempt is exhausting.

I would recommend the 1.5 ton version as mentioned before, the cable is much smaller (weight and wound diameter), and it can be used with a sensible size snatch block.

In my experience there is never a tree in the right place to winch from when you get stuck. Also the reason you got stuck in a muddy rut is also the reason you wont get the ground anchor to stay in. Best to turn round and try another day or make sure you have a friend to pull you out again.

DavidM came up with the following;:

LOL, green-laning in North Yorks recently ... ;)

The camp, the Disco before, the vehicles... and after ... and how ...

|| Tom Woods wrote: ||| I quite fancy a hand winch to carry in the 101 in case of emergency ||| - especially if i am going to do a few miles - I dont want to risk ||| getting stuck somewhere! ||| ||| However, the maximum rating that the tirfors seem to come in is 1.5 ||| tons. ||| ||| My 101 is going to weigh between 2.25 and 3.5 tons (depnding on ||| load). ||| ||| Is it worth getting a tirfor to use on it, or is it just too far ||| above the rating? ||| ||| ||| || What is the current value of a Tirfor winch? There is one going at || the local second hand place for ?330 (£475) but I don't know if it's || overpriced. It seems to have a coil of good condition rope, but I || didn't notice any handles. If they are missing, what can be used || instead? Presumably the old Land-Rover stand-by of "a piece of || scoffolding"! || || Stuart

Are you sure these are the right way round? My calculation would make ?330 about 230GBP.

Buggrit! Yes, you're right

Stuart

That's what I wanted you to see. Glad you got the message.

If you can get the 1.5 ton for the price you mention, go for it.

If you go for the Tirfor's the size of the cable is odd to them and no other will work safely, can be expensive if you get a Tirfor without a cable, the Brano's I think use standard sized cable, all these type of rope hoists are designed to lift so the rating of them is to lift straight up, if pulling along the ground you can increase the load you are pulling, either way they have shear pins in the handle so you can not over load them.

Richard

picking it up on thursday. Comes with a cable too apparently.

On or around Tue, 4 Jul 2006 19:55:05 +0100, "Richard Brookman" enlightened us thusly:

according to