High Lift Jack Winching

[Geoff]

Hi Guys,


as I cant afford an eclectic winch yet I was thinking of getting a high tensile chain so I can winch with my High Lift jack as a last resort. I also want the chain to double as a drag chain. my question is this, based on the jack having a lifting capacity of 1050kg, supercheap sell a 7mm drag chain that is rated to 5,800kg Breaking capacity and 2,900kg Lashing capacity, will this suffice or should I go with an 8mm or 10mm chain.


looking forward to your feedback


Cheers, Geoff

[Reads90]

I have "winched" with a hi lift and it is painful and takes ages to do. Also hi-lifts are very dangerous things

Had to do it for a recovery in the middle of no where. Did work but long drawn out process where had to reset serval times to get the car out. Would not do it again , would find another way first


Have you looked at a Tirfor winch lot better comes with cable and one advantage over an electric winch is that can be used on the front and rear of the car or even the sides.

Cheers

[weeds]

hi-lift jack are no more dangerous than other types of jacks......use them as they are designed and all good......

sure you can winch using a h-lift but its a whole of effort to go such a small distance.....take into account that you will have slack in your setup prior to winching, this has to be taken up before you start moving.........than when you let off the tension to take your next bite there is a good chance you will loose some of the effort you just put in, unless you chock the wheels really good but the tyre will still mould around your chock.......

agree a tirfor would be a better option but you will need to outlay $$$, maybe compare against what you need to convert your hi-lift into a winch (chain, shackles, tree protector, winch extension)

I would look at winch extensions strap or dynema rope rather than chain, if your closest tree is say 20m away that a held of a lot of weighty chain to carry around

[Geoff]

thanks for your suggestions. I was thinking I would use a winch extension or a tow rope on one end and a chain on the other end. I know that winching with a High Lift is very slow but its faster than not having anything at all.

[101RRS]

I have tried using a high lift jack to winch using chains and wire strops. In all occasions it was a dismal failure as the jack just took up the tension in the cable before it ran out of travel. I would use something like a puller to take up the tension out of the cable/chain first then connect it to the jack while under tension.

The use of a hi lift jack as a winch while doable - maybe - is more fanciable than real and I would certainly no be using as my main means of winching.

Garry

[alien]

I have also used a high lift for winching.
Very hard work and that's with 2 of us on the handle.
I use a 10mm chain I got at a truck parts outlet, I also used a dog to do the adjustments but only carry the chain now.
All the straps I used are part of my kit anyway and I'd have them for a electic/turfer/highift anyway.

My toy came with a power winch but I'd be buying a turfer style winch if I was going new.
More flexible as said and it can be used on any car not just the one it's bolted to.
It also makes you think twice before doing an obstacle, "do I really want to hand winch out?"
Also what terrain are you doing?
Electric winches only pull you forward, often dragging you over/through the obstacle.

[Geoff]

I live on the Murray so mostly flat terrain but a bit boggy in the wet. i really only need to pull myself out of small bog holes at this stage.


I was wanting a Drag chain anyway as we do get a lot of branches on tracks. the idea of using a dog is a good one, as long as the dog does not spring open.


a bit left field but can you recover a bogged car using a block and tackle or come along?

[clubagreenie]

One great way I've seen it done was to use a longer than usual chain. Attached to the anchor and the vehicle with a length of slack in it at least 1.5 times the length of the hi lift (which if you want to winch get a 60" unit) but as long as possible reduces the need to reset. In addition have a short length attached to the jack with a chain hook and another length with the chain hooks at both ends, when the full length of the jack is used, hook the chain (with the hooks) at each end of the jack taking up as much as possible. Then let off the jack, you should loose very little length. You can leave one end of the jack attached and just re-hook the hook end past the joining piece and start again. You don't need to chock as the jack or the chain is always holding.

[alien]

I live on the Murray so mostly flat terrain but a bit boggy in the wet. i really only need to pull myself out of small bog holes at this stage.


I was wanting a Drag chain anyway as we do get a lot of branches on tracks. the idea of using a dog is a good one, as long as the dog does not spring open.


a bit left field but can you recover a bogged car using a block and tackle or come along?

I had a large D shackle over the dog handle and around the chain, worked a treat.

I've heard of block and tackles or come along being used but the load within needs to be considered.

A mate had a 1.5 ton rated come along he intended to use with a snatch block to get to 3 ton.
Problem was the 4mm cable with in the come along possibly wouldn't take the weight.

For small bog holes you can't beat a mate in another rig with a snatch strap

[austastar]

Hi,
have a look at the Wyeth Scott Power Puller

Stronger and lighter than a Tirfur.



cheers