G O P R E P A R E D
™
11
WARN INDUSTRIES • THE BASIC GUIDE TO WINCHING TECHNIQUES
G O P R E P A R E D
™
10
WARN INDUSTRIES • THE BASIC GUIDE TO WINCHING TECHNIQUES
Recovery Strap
Never use a
recovery strap in a winching operation.
Because it is designed to stretch, it
stores energy and could react like a
rubber band should your rigging fail. Use
the recovery strap to “snatch” out a stuck
vehicle.
Shovels & Hand Tools
Quite often
during winching activities, you’ll find
yourself in need of some additional help.
You may want to carry equipment such
as a shovel and an axe.
Tree Trunk Protector
Typically made
of tough, high-quality nylon, it provides
the operator an attachment point for the
winch rope to a wide variety of anchor
points and objects, as well as protect
living trees.
Backup Parts
Important backup
parts to carry for backcountry travel
should include an extra screw-pin
shackle, snatch block, and remote control
unit. For severe and continued winch
use, consider including an extra rope and
winch hook.
Toolbox Items
Items to bring along
include hand wrenches, screwdrivers,
pliers and tools to change rope.
Battery Recommendations
A fully
charged conventional ATV battery is
recommended to obtain peak perform-
ance from your winch. Make sure all
electrical connections are clean and tight.
Never attach a
recovery strap
to the winch
hook to increase
the length of a
pull. Never
attempt to tow a
vehicle or object
with the
recovery strap
attached directly
to the winch
hook. Never use
“bungie” straps
that develop
tremendous and
potentially
dangerous
amounts of
force when
stretched.
!
CAUTION
Never operate
winch with less
than 5 wraps of
rope around the
drum. Rope could
come loose from
the drum, as the
rope attachment
to the drum is not
designed to hold
a load.
!
WARNING
The life of a wire rope is directly
related to the use and care it receives.
Tensioning the wire rope is critical to
ensure a long product life. Tensioning the
wire rope will prevent outer layers of wire
rope from pinching and deforming the
inner layers. During its first use, a new
wire rope must be spooled onto its drum
under a load of at least
500 lbs
. (227
kgs). Use the following instructions to
properly stretch the wire rope onto the
winch drum.
1)
Choose a
FLAT AND LEVEL
location that is large enough to run out
the entire length of wire rope.
2)
Turn the clutch lever on the winch
to the “Free Spool” position. Grab hook
strap and spool out the wire rope to the
last 5 wraps on the drum. Once the wire
rope is spooled out, turn the clutch lever
on the winch to the “Engaged” position.
3)
Attach the hook end of the rope to a
suitable anchor point and back the
vehicle away from the anchor point until
there is very little slack in the wire rope.
Before getting out of the vehicle, set the
parking brake, place the vehicle in gear
or park and turn the vehicle off.
4)
Power in the winch until all of the
wire rope slack is wound onto the winch
drum. Wearing gloves, hold tension on
the wire rope with one hand; carefully
push the wire rope to the side of the
drum the wire rope is attached to so
there are no gaps between each coil on
the drum. Be sure to check that the wire
rope is winding off of the bottom of the
drum, not the top, or the automatic load
holding brake will not function properly. (If
the wire rope is winding off the top you
have powered the winch “out” instead of
“in”).
5)
The following steps should be done
using two people for proper safety. If you
attempt to tension your wire rope alone
be sure to always engage the parking
brake, place the transmission in gear and
turn the vehicle off every time you exit
the vehicle to inspect the winch wire
rope. Never exit the vehicle with a load
on the winch wire rope.
6)
Use care to evenly wrap each layer
to prevent damage to the rope.
7)
Instruct your assistant to stand to
the side of the vehicle and away from the
winch wire rope. Start the vehicle and
place the transmission in neutral.
Release the parking brake while applying
moderate brake pedal pressure. Press
power in on the switch. Your assistant
should signal you if the wire rope is
winding correctly by watching it move
across the fairlead as the wire rope is
powered in. After winching in for
approximately 6 ft, stop winching. Slowly
let up off of the brake pedal and then
apply the parking brake. This will ensure
that there is no load on the winch rope.
Then place the transmission in park or
gear and turn the vehicle off. Exit the
vehicle and inspect the winch to make
sure that the wire rope is being evenly
wound onto the winch drum and not
sinking into the lower layer. If the wire
rope is sinking, power the wire rope out
and repeat this step from the beginning
with more brake pedal pressure.
8)
When you are convinced the wire
rope is winding onto the winch drum
properly, repeat step 6 until the vehicle is
within 3 ft of the winch anchor. Once
within 3 ft, slowly let up off of the brake
pedal and then apply the parking brake.
This will ensure that there is no load on
the winch wire rope. Then place the
transmission in park or in gear and turn
the vehicle off. Exit the vehicle.
Disconnect the hook from the anchor.
While holding onto the supplied hook
strap, hold tension on the winch rope and
slowly power in the winch by “pulsing”
the power in on the remote control until
the hook is at the fairlead.
DO NOT
POWER THE HOOK INTO THE
FAIRLEAD.
This could cause damage to
the fairlead.
STRETCHING WIRE ROPE
