Hand winch

[andreas83]

Hi, I am looking for a hand winch.
Is there anyone who has got experience with them and can tell me what brand or type I should buy.

Andreas

[rrturboD]

Andreas,
I only have experience of Tirfor, never failed, can be very hard work though, so make sure you get a snatch block, so you can half the effort.

[Blknight.aus]

great bits of kit, with the money you save on them vs a power winch you can buy a small swag of other gear, get them second hand from wusses who cant hack the hard yards and you can get even more.

If life was ment to be easy we wouldnt have sayings like, the hardest things in life are often the most worthwhile.

[rick130]

Another vote for a Tirfor.

Come-along's only have about 6' of wire, too low a load rating and by the time you've run the cable through a snatch block.........waste of time for vehicle recovery. (but very useful elsewhere)

[austastar]

Hi,
another Tirfor owner here. Can't say user yet, well not for recovery of the LR, but it gets used for lots of other stuff like trees etc.
It is nice to know it is on-board when out in the bush, but knowing it will be a bit of work keeps me from deliberately going places where I think it will be needed.
cheers

[THE BOOGER]

If your after some safety then a hand winch is good you can go for the trifor or one from repco or super cheap they are about 1/3 to half the cost of a trifor but work just as well, most times you need a winch a couple of feet is all you need to move.:) The other good thing is you can take them out and lose the wieght when not off road electric weigh 3 to 4 times as much and tend to not be removable:D

[djam1]

Pulled a Toyota out with mine great bit of Kit I think mine is a Big Haul from memory.

[austastar]

Hi,
just a thought, I went to a lifting gear specialist for some spare shear pins for the Tirfor, they did not have them, but I noticed they had lots of Beaver brand winches that they were servicing for what must have been a local contracting firm.
It may pay you to look up your local lifting gear specialist servicing centre, and see what they recommend and service.
I got my Tirfor second hand from a friend who no longer had a 4wd, so for me, the Tirfor price was not a deciding factor.
cheers

[Tank]

Hi, I am looking for a hand winch.
Is there anyone who has got experience with them and can tell me what brand or type I should buy.

Andreas
Tirfor is the brand name of a hand winch, made in France if I remember correctly, Tirfor is the original and IMO the best, as stated above get a snatch block to halve the load, but only if you attach the snatch block to the bogged vehicle and your tirfor to an anchor point. While you're at it get a length of wire cable or Dyneema rope to extend your reach, I would suggest the rope as snatch blocks stuff wire cable up, eventually. Most recoveries, in my experience only involve moving the bogged vehicle a few metres until it can drive out sucessfully, Regards Frank.

[POD]

I bought a Tirfor over 20 years ago when funds were a bit tighter than now, has made the difference between driving home and walking home many times. Would certainly agree that most winching operations are de-bogging with only a metre or so of movement required, but I have had to pull 2 vehicles about 40 metres up a greasy slope with the tirfor and that is not something to be quickly forgotten.
I bought the 800kg model as I couldn't quite manage the price of the 1600kg job at the time; had a SWB series 3 Landy and the T800 managed that okay with a snatch block, but it really is not quite up to the job of vehicle recovery. Picked up a Brano at a clearing sale a few years ago, a Tirfor imitation based on the t1600, seems a good bit of gear but very heavy and bulky to cart around.
A handy accessory to go with a tirfor is a teenage boy.

[Bushie]

Also keep your eye out for any second hand Brano winches, IIRC they are a copy of a series 1 Tirfor. I've had one for nearly 30 years, admittedly haven't had to use it too often.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2011/03/1006.jpg
Guts of a Brano handwinch

Martyn

[Xul]

I've got a TJM hand winch. I think it's called an Ox, or something along those lines. The build quality isn't spectacular but it does the trick. It's gotten me out of trouble a few times, I will more than likely upgrade to a tirfor in the future though.