SETTING UP A BASIC WINCH RECOVERY
WE’RE going to focus here on a straightforward, single-line pull winch recovery; we’ll look at more complex winching techniques in a future issue, including double-line pulls and how to use snatch blocks to winch a vehicle sideways.
Once your vehicle is stuck and you have decided that using the winch will be the best recovery option, you’ll need to survey the situation and locate a suitable anchor point. If you’re in a wooded area, a substantial tree will likely be the ideal anchor point, but if you’re stuck in sand dunes or out in the open, you may have to use a sand anchor or even bury your spare wheel to use as an anchor point.
In the example pictured above, the vehicle is stuck in deep ruts on a muddy track, and it can’t be driven forwards or backwards. You could use a shovel to try and free the vehicle, or use recovery tracks to try to drive out, but with a big tree within reach right in front of the vehicle, using the winch will be the easiest extraction method.
The first thing to do is grab the winch recovery bag and pull out the gear that will be needed in the recovery, which in this case includes gloves, tree-trunk protector, soft shackle and winch-rope damper. The next thing to do is to connect the winch controller to the winch, which in this case is via a lead with a plug on the end.
There’s a clutch lever on the winch that needs to be moved to the free-spool position to pull out the required amount of winch rope. Make sure you’re wearing gloves when you grab hold of the winch hook and pull out the line as you walk towards the tree.
Once you have ascertained that the tree is strong enough to handle the weight of the vehicle recovery, run the tree-trunk protector around it and join the two looped ends using a rated shackle. The tree-trunk protector should be positioned as low as possible around the tree as that is where it will be the strongest, and make sure there are no twists in the tree-trunk protector as it’s the width of this strap that prevents the tree from being ringbarked or otherwise damaged. My preference is for soft shackles over steel D-shackles or bow shackles, as the heavy steel shackles can become lethal missiles in the event of an equipment failure. The winch hook can now be connected to the shackle.
As you walk back towards the vehicle, make sure the winch rope isn’t positioned where it could snag on obstacles, and bear in mind that rocks like sandstone can be abrasive to synthetic rope, so protect it where you can. Place the winch-rope damper over the rope at around the halfway mark
between your vehicle and the anchor point. Once back at the vehicle, shift the winch clutch lever back in to the engaged position. If on your own, you will need to operate the winch from inside the vehicle, so feed the cable for the controller over the bullbar and bonnet and through the driver’s window in such a way that it won’t slide off and fall under the vehicle while winching.
If there are other people around, you could enlist one of them to operate the winch controller from outside the vehicle, but there will always need to be a driver sitting in the driver’s seat during the vehicle recovery.
Make sure everyone is well clear of the recovery operation before starting the vehicle’s engine and then tension the winch rope by winding in via the controller. Electric winches draw a lot of current, so you will need to have the vehicle’s engine running so as to not drain the starting battery while winching. Once everyone is clear and the winch rope has been tensioned, you’re ready to start the recovery process. Note: never let anyone step over a tensioned winch rope; if it fails it could cause serious injury.
Before you start winching, make sure the vehicle is in low-range first gear, ensure the park brake is off and take your foot off the brake pedal; the vehicle will not roll backwards once the winch rope has been tensioned. Apply some throttle while winching in to take as much load off the winch as possible, but don’t drive too fast; you want some tension on the winch rope at all times so that it winds on to the drum evenly, and so you don’t run over it.
While winching in, keep an eye on the position of the winch rope damper. If it starts getting too close to the fairlead, you will need to reposition it closer to the anchor point. When doing this, remember not to step over the tensioned winch rope. If you need to winch over a long distance, make sure you give the winch a rest every couple of minutes so that it doesn’t overheat.
If the winch is straining, you may need to employ a double-line pull, but as mentioned we’ll get to that in another issue. However, if all goes well and you have successfully winched out of your stuck situation, you can stop winching and drive forward slightly to take the tension out of the winch rope.
This will make it safe to step over the rope if you need to, and will also make it easier to detach the winch hook from the shackle so you can retrieve the tree-trunk protector. Before getting out of the vehicle though, ensure the park brake is on and it’s in gear, or if it has an automatic transmission make sure Park is selected.