Crotch winch mount...

Will Carter

Will Carter

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 23, 2005
Location
Burlington
So...the best place to mount my winch on the buggy is going to be under my legs in front of the seat...

I jsut want to double check and make sure there really is no re-coil when you break a synthetic line...Is this true?...I've never had a rope...
 
I guess it depends on what you consider recoil. My old line broke a few times and almost always ended up with the line recoiling back underneath the truck...like when a strap breaks. There definitely isn't enough power behind it to hurt you, but I wouldn't want it whipping me in the nuts either...
 
What concerns me about synthetics is that if they break, yes, they'll drop. But if a shackle mount breaks on whatever you are pulling, I think it will launch pretty good, better than wire rope. Can you take a 3-lb shackle in the nads? Do you trust whoever welded a shackle mount on the rig you are helping out, which you've never seen before??
 
kaiser715 said:
Can you take a 3-lb shackle in the nads?
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there are some questions I NEVER NEVER want to find out the answer to.
That is definitely one of them.

Along those lines, could you weld up some type of "nut shield" for that just in case scenario?
 
I think since you're going to have to route the rope through some pullies or at least a tube, you probably don't stand any more chance of getting hit in the balls than you do with a front-mounted winch...
 
well i take it that it would be routed out through a fairlead mounted somewhere else? if thats the case, i think youd only really haveta worry about the rope breaking, and then id hope that it was routed under the floor or something... so i think youd be ok...

but if its not routed under the floor or out anywhere, then im goin with the statements above...
 
kaiser715 said:
What concerns me about synthetics is that if they break, yes, they'll drop. But if a shackle mount breaks on whatever you are pulling, I think it will launch pretty good, better than wire rope.
Click to expand...
I disagree. The whole point of a synth rope is that it doesn't have much stored energy because it doesn't stretch like a wire rope. If it has a shackle attached to it it should just drop straight to the ground. I've seen them snap twice and that's what happened.

Having said that, it's better to be safe than sorry. I wouldn't want a direct line from my winch to my boys. :D
 
This winch will be doing suspension limit duty full time and maybe a full pull once in a year (cause that's how often I get stuck:flipoff2:)...There'll likely be no tube...but just wrapped around a bar down to the axle...

Just wondering if it broke would it have enough energy to swing around and hurt at all...regardless of where it hit...from what I've read I'm gathering a 'no'...
 
vanguard said:
I disagree. The whole point of a synth rope is that it doesn't have much stored energy because it doesn't stretch like a wire rope.
Click to expand...

Synthetic does stretch, and more than steel. the stored energy relates to the mass of the rope itself and how slowly/quickly it accelerates (returning to it's relaxed state). If the mounting point separates....then you got the mass of the shackle or whatever at the end of a big rubber band.

here's one source for stretch I found on a quick search...1.7% steel at break vs. 4.6% X-Line at break. http://www.4x4wire.com/reviews/oro_xline02/

The "doesn't stretch" (elongation) is what you read on forums and in ad copy...look at the rope manufacturer's data, not a catalog. Amsteel Blue's (www.samsonrope.com) mfg website says 0.96% elongation at 30% of break strength.

Now, that said...there likely isn't enough energy to launch a 3-lb shackle very far. I'd rather not find out with my man-bits, though. :)

Disclaimer -- it's been over 25 years since I've seen my Physics textbook...I don't remember if I passed or not. :D
 
kaiser715 said:
Disclaimer -- it's been over 25 years since I've seen my Physics textbook...I don't remember if I passed or not. :D
Click to expand...

I wouldn't be as concerned about passing physics as passing a physical - without the doctor asking for an explanation about my mangled nuts during the "turn your head and cough" stage.


Nah, it sounds like that's highly unlikely. Plus you can offer to show girls the "crotch winch."
 
Just because synth. line stretches more than steel does not mean it has any of the same energy storing potential as steel cable, and comparing it to a rubber band is just plain silly...
 
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