Thread: A winch rope question

cool

Yep done a fair few events using wire

Originally Posted by Psimpson7

Yeah ok, maybe not 5 seconds, but its not that slow to fix.

Use a winch sail problem solved.

ETA 'heaps stronger' When new in a labroratory test condition maybe I am not so convinced when in teh real world. I have seen a lot of broken plasma cables at events. Also seen a lot of broken wire too to be fair.

Another point, if Plasma is so safe when it breaks, why do all events I can remember in the UK require a sail on a plasma rope aswell as wire?

In Comps they have often toyed with the idea of not requiring a sail with rope, but they have stayed on the conservative side and still require one. However, it is not used the same as on cable. With rope the sail is connected to the hook on the end of the cable for comps. For cable it has to be on the centre third. They have actually now banned cable from comps in Oz.

The BIG advantage with rope is that it does not damage when being wound on the drum. When you drive and winch at the same time, the cable goes slack and then tight all the time. This causes the cable to go on unevenly and loop over itself. With cable this causes damage to the cable and can cause it to fail. With rope it does not matter. So rope is a lot safer and will last longer because it will not be damaged as easily on the drum.

All I can say is, once you have used rope you will never go back to cable again. Sure there are some dissadvantages, but just the ease of use makes it worthwhile, especially if you often use the winch.

I just put the rope in the washing machine after a muddy trip!

And Derek, yes the 10mm rope will easily fit. Although if you went 8mm then you would fit 125' on the drum.

Originally Posted by walker

All I can say is, once you have used rope you will never go back to cable again. Sure there are some dissadvantages, but just the ease of use makes it worthwhile, especially if you often use the winch.

I just put the rope in the washing machine after a muddy trip!

And Derek, yes the 10mm rope will easily fit. Although if you went 8mm then you would fit 125' on the drum.

x2. There's no way I'd go back to wire. Don't know anyone who has gone back.

Plasma doesn't kink. My plasma has lasted longer than all the previous wire ropes put together. And still going.

Fraying isn't that much of a issue but it obviously happens. It's not generally a problem in a self recovery, when the cable is stationery. It is a problem when recovering someone else & pulling the cable to you.

To double the cable life, I just took it off & put the worn end on the drum, presenting the unfrayed end to the world a couple of yrs ago.

Regards
Max P

In CCDA comps you don't need a dampner (sail?? - never heard it called that!) on the ROPE as such - it needs to be attached to the winch HOOK.

I've taken walker's advice and ordered 125' of 8mm. Now to get over this flu and hopefully the bullbar will turn up soon.

oh great you know i didn't even think of that when buying ours..

I have 125' of 3/8 to go on the magnum winch we have, i bet it doesn't bloody fit knowing our luck

Originally Posted by dullbird

oh great you know i didn't even think of that when buying ours..

I have 125' of 3/8 to go on the magnum winch we have, i bet it doesn't bloody fit knowing our luck

How big is the winch drum and would you be able to add a few extra layers to the existing cable? If so then you should be OK. If not you can always short it and make it into a 25' synthetic tow rope