Any recommendations for a good come-along hand winch?

 

get a long one, mine has never been long enough to pull me outta what I get into. I just run a harbor freight one, as does my roommate. My roommate's on the other hand, is long enough to get me out, I think he paid 25 for it.

 

Variable cable length. Doesn't have to be bumper mounted. No electrical upgrades needed. Rent it to your friends. Much better than a come-along.

Tirfor Hand Winch
Brano Hand Winch

 

1. don't go out on the trails alone. this way your buddy can yank you out if you get stuck (tow straps)
2. hand winch is sooo slow that it'll take forever for you to get yourself unstuck.
3. don't go beyond your skill limits if you're out and about alone.

 

Years ago I used one like this,

http://www.cspoutdoors.com/morpowpul.html

very strong for a hand operated, and lots of cable too.

also you can use your hi-lift as a winch. I pulled my 85 J10 pickup 20 feet out of a mud hole with a broken driveshaft. yes it took forever. but I got it home. the 4cyl wrangler with me at the time couldn't move my truck.

 

Black Rat makes some bad ass hand winches, of course, for the price of one you could probably buy a winch...

http://www.extremeoutback.com/index....id=9245910.884

 

How much for the ARB unit and is it even worth fooling with???

 

Thanks for the help.

I'm only looking at retreiving my 4runner from mud using the hand winch, and am not planning on any steep rock climbs. So what load capacity do you suggest for the winch?

 

If you're stuck to the edge of the rim, you'll have to pull with a force equal to the weight of your vehicle.
If you're stuck up to the axles - figure 2x the vehicle weight.
Up to the frame? Figure 3x.
These figures are approximate and will vary from vehicle to vehicle as well as in different mud-holes.

 

Will the factory tow hooks (loops) in the front hold up to that 3x weight pull?

 

yes they will in my experience, I have done some hard pulling, and never had a problem.

mtnfreak: EXCELLENT info... I was lookin for info on what to figure for caps on pulling, great posting!

 

Most of the info above courtesy of BillaVista.

 

Thanks, this is very useful !

Appreciate the feedback from everyone.

 

i like the more power puller as far as come-alongs/hand winches go.

 

If you use a snatch block back to the truck you can spread the load out between two of the tow hooks with each taking 1/2 the load.

 

I inherited one of these from my older brother, it rocks. Come-along on roids.

 

hehe...i've used that exact analogy myself.

 

Just a note on the tow hook/loops comment- make sure you distinguish between the tow hooks and the tie down loop- the loop (just that L-shaped bracket) was meant to tie things down to, ie. a canoe on your roof, and not meant to withstand the types of forces exerted during a recovery. Make sure you're using the hook.....