What Winch?

[Jed]

Hi all,

As a Land rover Club Marshal i use my winch quite a lot,

My very very old Duke Winch is on its last legs, so i need ta replace it.

So What Winch do i go for?????????

What do you guys run? n how ya getting on with it?

Price around £500

Jed

[clbarclay]

The Superwinch EP9 gets my thumbs up as a dependable winch. The only issue I've had with the design was the stiff free spool, but after some good tips from David Bowyer its improved a lot. I've given it a fair bit of abuse, though not in competitions and the only things that have stopped it were a tired old battery and burnt contacts on a separate isolator switch. Its very rare that I use/need a snatch block, even dragging 2 range rovers at a time up a rooted gully. I would like a bit more power to speed it up under heavy loads, but since I'm not competing its quick enough and a Bowmotor upgrade can wait.

I am considering a TDS winch (available branded as Goodwinch or Champion) if I buy another, which is similar to the EP9 but with some improvements, though I'm in no rush to change.

[topless matt]

Tds gets my vote.  A good quality fairly fast winch that is almost waterproof out of the box.
Only ever had one problem with mine due to the loss of a rubber bung!
Had lots of very big pulls on it and it still pulls like a train

[Holyzeus]

TDS is cheaper than the ep9 and arguably better, however do not get confused between the Champion versions and Goodwinch.
Dont buy a champion one

[Saffy]

http://www.dborc.co.uk/goodwinch/pdf/tds%20priced.pdf

[Jed]

Thanks all,

Thats given me "loads" (See what i did there) ta think about :-k

Will report back soon.

Keep all an any info comin....

Many thanks,
Jed

[N!GE]

TDS gets my vote ,I went down to see David Bowyer,when I bought my winch,he was very helpful.I have had no problems with the winch ,but I did remove the steel cable and wound on the Dyneema,much easier to use and a lot safer. :)

[Jed]

But I did remove the steel cable and wound on the Dyneema,much easier to use and a lot safer. :)

Safer!

How?

No steel barb's, i understand but i use aways use gloves.
And i use an ARB sail if the cable was ta snap.

Don't get me wrong I'm all for safety but I would find it hard ta justify the cost of a synthetic rope at this time.

many thanks for all the info, keep it comin.

Jed

[J.D.]

But I did remove the steel cable and wound on the Dyneema,much easier to use and a lot safer. :)

Safer!

How?

Plasma rope (ect ect) is stonger and lighter than steel cable, so thus if the worst happens and it does snap, put it this way. If 9mm steel cable hits you under tension it will quite cheerfully slice you, the vehicle behind you and most other things in its way in half. Plasma rope will hit you hard, and will probably hurt A LOT, but is not likely to kill you. It also tends not to whiplash as much as cable. If someone turns around to you and says it just drops to the floor when it snaps, tell them its horseshit, it still whips, but no where near as much as steel cable.

[burgerman]

 We use a "plasma" rope for comp use, cant reccomend it nearly enough. for ease of use, weight, strength and mostly safety, Due to certain situations i have been close to a plasma rope when it snapped and jolly glad it was only plasma not wire rope, It is expensive but i would not use anything else on a occasional use vehicle or a play day special, 

If you do use iit especially in muddy/stoney situations, take it off and wash it after, it greatly prolongs the life of the rope

[Saffy]

We use a "plasma" rope for comp use, cant reccomend it nearly enough. for ease of use, weight, strength and mostly safety, Due to certain situations i have been close to a plasma rope when it snapped and jolly glad it was only plasma not wire rope, It is expensive but i would not use anything else on a occasional use vehicle or a play day special,  

If you do use iit especially in muddy/stoney situations, take it off and wash it after, it greatly prolongs the life of the rope

Isn't it the case now (or will be) that winch challenge competition regulations only allow synthetic winch rope? Speaks volumes.

My self recovery winch is wound with 120 foot of 11mm dyneema bowline, now over 3 years old and I have no concerns about it lasting another 3 years. Probably saved a fair of that cost in fuel and suspension wear from not have steel cable. The equivalent size of steel is 13mm and a 120foot of 13mm steel doesn't fit on drum, the 70foot length that does fit is bloody heavy, hard to handle and needs a lot more care taking.


The winch does have a drum shield which keeps the sun off and most abrasive blasting from the road. Even though rope has UV resistant characteristics the life of synethetic rope is greatly reduced when permanently exposed to the elements, especially sunlight. It originates from sail boat rigging, so take a look how often they change out gear. If the synthetic does break or get damaged it can be easily and quickly spliced on the trail and retain high percentage of its unspliced strength.

[Jed]

Ok all, i'm sold,

Thanks for all ya info on what winch ta get.
 
Well I have spent a grate deal of time looking at this n that, Gearing, Deals, Makes, Brakes, Motors, Power n Amps.

I have spoken to lots of people, Club members, Winch maker's n Winch suppliers and Feed back form you guy's
and have found out that even tho a winch From one supplier may look just like a winch from another supplier on the outside goes a long way short of being the same on the inside.

Granted that the power and output may be the same, but seals, gears n all the little bits that make ya winch work when ya need it most are not.

For a lot of people and most of the time the winch on the front of ya motor just sits there n looks mean, but when ya need it, it's got ta work, n work well.

So as a marshal for a land rover club my winch will get used quite a lot, and worked hard.

So in short I have gone for the one supplier that gave me the best n most info, and the best service.

David Bowyer
From
www.goodwinch.com/

Jed

[clbarclay]

Even for recreational use I prefer plasma. I got both steel and plasma with ropes with my winch and the steel was past its best after about the forth time I used it.

With steel you have to ensure that tension is kept on the cable at all times, otherwise its springiness causes it to unwind on the drum and it never rewinds evenly onto the drum if you just reapply the tension. This can then cause the top layers of rope to get pinched between or crush loose bottom layers (what happened to mine).

This is particularly annoying if winching with drive assist, where most winches under no load are still slower than most 4x4s in slowest gear tick over, so even a brief moment of grip looses the tension. With a synthetic rope only the last wind or 2 goes loose and this tends to re-tighten nicely again when load is applied again.

[Range Rover Blues]

I've been near a synthetic rope that snapped, it didn't even recoil enough to cope out of the fairlead.  Steel cables will stretch like a spring, but also they want to coil back up when released so if they snap (and they do) then the resulting recoil is pretty nasty.  As said it can cut you, your truck etc like a hot knife through butter.

Plasma is lighter, stronger, floats, easier to splice and doesn't have the nasty barbs like worn steel wire.  Just watch the internal brake temp for melting it, the EP9 has an extarnal brake which is another reason it was so popular.


TBH if Dave Bowyer recomends the TDS then it must be pretty good.  I've I ever replaced my EPi9 then I'd get one.

[davidlandy]

I have run wire for many years and have never really had an issue with it and have never snapped it or seen any snap.  I have seen plenty of plasma s snap though.  Agree that they are safer when they do go, but what about the vehicle on the other end when it snaps, say its winching up a steep hill, or down a slope and the plasma breaks - that could be a lot more catastophic than a wire flying around it could be argued. With plasmas snapping more , the likelihood of that occurring could be higher the wire.

All that said I am now on plasma , and I like it cos it easier to handle.

As winches go, on a budget the EP9 is a great piece of kit, the first thing i would do though for any winch would be to move the solenoids and relocate them high up under the bonnet somewhere.

[crazymac]

I know that its not truly comparable but!!!

In my younger days, I served on a type 42 destroyer while in the Royal Navy. While we were tying up alongside a quay in Naples, one of the wire hawsers got a bit tight and started "singing" so we all RLF!!! for cover.

The hawser snapped and whipped back imbedding itself 7 inches into the armoured steel of the gun emplacement!

It would have gone through anyone in its way, for that reason, I use Plasma!!

[Xtremeteam]

gigglepin twin motor with freespool

[davidlandy]

Dribble!

[clbarclay]

gigglepin twin motor with freespool

Would you mind telling me where I can acquire one of those for £500

Oh and preferably legally as well. :lol:

[Xtremeteam]

Dribble!

yup

work nicely aswell

missus loves having an air freespool

[LR90]

Warn 9.5 BEAUTIFUL!!! so easy so strong so reliable but Expensive !!