Scofco

Went in to find a coil spring compressor, came out with a 2-ton hand puller.

http://www.handtoolsb2b.com/work/ser...12&industry=HT

Just saw on the net there is also a 4-ton. Will the 2-ton cut the mustard for getting my rig out situations? Picked up two 20ft 27,000lbs recovery straps to go along with it.

runnerboy97

i would use chains rather that straps with that winch, they dont stretch. It wouldnt be my fisrt choice on how to get unstuck, but it can definatly save your butt. you could also use your high-lift as a winch too.

Scofco

I don't need a power winch, can't justify the cost on my budget. Straps instead of chains more for weight reasons. 40ft of nylon weighs alot less than 40ft of chain

So I'm guessing that was a yes to my question?

WATRD

Yes, in some situations. In others it will be potentially dangerous. The trick is to know the difference. It's like any tool, it has a purpose and can be misused.

The two ton is rated at pretty close to what your rig weighs. So that means there are going to be stucks that it can't help you with if it's having to move the mass of your rig AND overcome whatever has you stuck. "Come-alongs" as they are commonly called are not designed for lifting as a rule, so that means that any situation where the weight of your rig is "hanging" from the cable is not a good idea. It is more appropiately used in situations where you need to "reposition" the rig, but it's in no danger of going anywhere if the cable snaps or the mechanism fails.

In addition to limitations on it's uses, you need to be careful not to give into the temptation to use a "cheater bar" on the handle. While the components may be rated to a certain load, the practical limit is what you can move by putting your hand on the grip and pulling. If you can't budge it, you are probably not using the right tool for the job. Re-rig your lines or find a more appropriate tool.

Come-alongs are one step above the Hi-Lift Jack for ease of use in winching situations, but that is not saying much. It's hard work and the cable is short, so it's best suited to pulls where a short distance, say three feet or so, is going to make the difference. I don't have to imagine doing a long pull with one, but I can tell you that I have no intentions of ever repeating that feat.

Also, if those are true "recovery" straps, that means they have some stretch to them. That will make them almost useless with the come-along. By the time you have taken up the stretch with the cable, it will be time to re-rig and do it again. Progress will be slow.

Winch and thus come-along recoveries are best done using a line that does not stretch. It will not be shock loaded, so we don't have the same concerns that we do with a "snatch" recovery, where a stretch strap is HIGHLY desireable.

runnerboy97

i think the winch will be fine, but the straps will stretch and use up alot of the throw of the winch.
edit: rob beat me to it.

Scofco

Couldn't have asked for a better answer.
Shame I already bought everything
Would have liked to do it differently now.

Mossback74

I had to pull my other Runner about 100 feet with one of these. Lets just say it took alot of resets and I learned my lesson.

About the strap vs Chain, The strap may stretch some yes, but the chain sags. The chain is nice because it's easly adjustable to length.



*Hand winch story*
94 Runner with AT tires and open diffs, Its raining and I decide to run down to the (my) forest. Well going down the road in its a little slick but hey, why should I stop? I back down a small dead end to check the water level on the near by creek. Well thats all well and good, lets go home... That small little dead end is hard packed clay, when clay gets wet it gets slick. I'm not moving an inch. So I hike back to the house and grab some tire chains. Putting those on in the mud is great fun by the way. Well those dont do much except now I can dig nice little holes. Call my brother with his Tacoma and MT tires. He wont go down the trail cause its too slick. He cant pull me out because the trail has a switch back. So its back to the house to try and start the Caterpillar. Sure enough, when you really need the thing it wont fire. So now its dark and raining, we're in the garage thinking of what to do. There it hangs on the wall "Plan F". So we drag the come-along with cable and chains down to the creek. Then is was set, crank, crank, crank, crank, crank set, crank crank crank crank crank, set... about 6 feet at a time (12 ft cable/2) until I emergad, Muddy shirt and bruised ego. That event alone made me get a locker on my new runner

foxtrapper

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=43331

It's no heavyweight, but for helping out of mildly stuck situations it works quite well. It's a lot easier to use then a hand come-a-long. They've got it on sale right now for $39 with free shipping.

Scofco

Well, it may be slow and a pain in the arse, but it will still be better than having to track someone down on a mountain and getting them to yank me out. I am getting sick of doing that.

Fink

Yeah I was gonna say that its real close to the GVW of your truck...but it'll work in not so bad situations.

Fink

WATRD

Interesting. I have seen those things called "line crawlers" because of the way they move along the cable, It's basically an ascender like you use in rock/glacier climbing, but with a mechanism to pull it forward by cycling the lever.

An inch forward for each pull? Can you imagine even a 20' journey? That's a bit under 240 pulls of the handle.

Yikes! Holy Popeye arms Batman!