mack said:
i hope someone can help me out, first, i just got my winch (warn x8000i) and i have a hanson bumper, but, when i got the bumper it didn't come with the HD support brackets so i just have it bolted to the three stock holes, the guys at hanson said they won't make any brackets for months, so i got a set of stock towhook bracket, can the bumper mount come off the tow brackets? and will they help support the bumper for winching?
Also, what are some good tips for winching? how does a snach block work? any tips or info on winching will help a ton, since i've never had to do it before.
thanks to anyone that can help.:wave:
The factory tow hook brackets are very good, and are exactly what you need. Hopefully you got the two small L shaped brackets that come with them, they go against the crossmember and the two bumper mount holes that stick out from the crossmember, and are a good addition for strength. The factory tow hook brackets are also designed to be for mounting a winch, so they are strong enough.
Here are a few pointers for operating a winch. The danger in using a winch is the cable breaking, which can easily kill someone. It's good to put something over the winch cable to absorb the force if the cable breaks, like a jacket or sweatshirt, or if you know you have a good cable just make everyone stand back out of the way, or get behind something. Be careful about sidepulls, even slight ones, since the cable will bunch up on one side of the drum and if done excesively can exert enough force to break the winch housing. You'll have to do this occasionally, just watch the drum so it doesn't get too piled up on one side. To use a snatch block, you slip the cable through so it sets on the pulley, then attach a strap to the snatch block and to some real solid object, it's pretty simple once you see it. Always leave about 5-6 wraps on the drum, since the cable tightening against the drum is what really holds it on, not the flimsy little end connector. If you have to do a real long, hard pull it can be a good idea to stop part way through and let the winch cool down for a few minutes and let the battery recover....no one is in a hurry, and it's better to protect your equipment.
The
NUMBER ONE piece of advice about using a winch is to
NEVER reel in cable when it is slack. This is also the biggest mistake that I see people make over and over. Reeling in slack cable causes loose wraps, which then get overwraped with tight cable which puts kinks in the cable, which ruins the cable. Cable breaks at the points of the kinks, and then can kill someone. If I start to pull out someone's winch cable and see kinks in it, I won't use it and we get someone else to pull up to do the winching, and tell the person with the kinked cable to replace it before their next run. Always have someone pull the slack out of the cable when winching in, so if someone is hooking up your winch, make them hold it tight while you pull the slack out of it, and always do the same for others. If you are winching yourself, you MUST stay on the winch. Once you're winching, you're winching, resist the temptation to show you can still drive by overdriving the winch. Hit the winch switch and hold it down until you're through winching, and moderate the throttle to help you but still keeping the cable tight. Don't hit the switch off and on and drive, just hold it down until your through the section that has you stuck. When you overdrive the winch, it gets loose wraps on the drum, then when you slip and the winch gets tight again, you pull hard over the loose wraps kinking and ruining the cable. If you've used your winch a bunch, or if you see someone else's winch that is sort of bunched up or has some loose wraps, stop and rewind the cable.
If you never have to winch, you're not wheeling hard enough, so there is no disgrace in having to winch. Use the winch carefully with a tremendous amount of respect for the potential dangers involved, and you can winch for a lifetime with no problems.
