[phoenix]

Has anyone seen or got, the power winch as advertised in the NotW newspaper May 8th?

If so, can anyone tell us if its any good, ie, worth getting?

Says:
weighing only 22.2lbs, 120 watt, 12volt auto winch delivers 2000 ibs of torque and will uproot an unwanted tree, pull a vehicle out of a ditch or bring a boat ashore.
Power supplied from 12v car battery, leads included. Mounting plate with bolts, controlled by remote switch on 10ft cord.

Just £49.99 p&p free.

Thought it might get a motorhome out of trouble?

Lyn and Malc

 

[88726]

hi phoenix

sorry mate but 2000 lbs winch is no good , ive done thousands of vehicle recoveries in my years of offroad competition and you want an 8000 lbs winch , anything less is a hobby winch for pulling youre boat on to a trailer, dont know about uprooting stumps either , weeds maybe. the cable also wont be rated for the huge strains involved in vehicle recovery and the gears will be weak. if youre still shopping for one dont be tempted to go below 3 tonnes , youll also want a high capacity power isolator switch for safety and that'll cost 40-60 quid and dont forget the gloves for wire rope as it can rip the skin from youre hands whilst spooling back in. you also want 3 tonne shackles . snatch blocks can double the pulling power but the cable strength stays the same.

there may be some good deals for kits on ebay , 200-300 quid mark.
hope that dont sound too bad mate . just good advice .
sorry
cheers
kenny+stella.

 

[Brambles]

Are we talking serious vehicle recovery here or pulling a Motorhome out of a little mud when wheels get stuck!!!! Lets get pratical and not go way over the top. 1st, where on the Motor home are you going to fit the winch bearing in mind you are not alowed to fit dangerous projections that could injure someone. (Bull bars for example are technically illegal on road vehicles)

Whats the chances you will get stuck and need pulling out backwards and darn winch is fitted to front?

What can the winch do a long stong rope and one of these ratchet type winchs you put in line with the rope cannot do. When you get stuck is there a tree somewhere you can attatch to or will you still need another vehicle to come to the rescue to act as an anchor, so why not use a rope and have them pull you out.

Seriously, a winch sounds like a good idea but is not as practical as it sounds, but 2000Ibs is plenty to help pull you out of stuck mud.

As to quality of an electic winch costing under £50. Its won't be quality stuff. You could get problems with cable rusting, dirt getting into the works, and may not survive for long. Also cable will not be very long and you will need extra cable or rope to lenghten (to reach that tree and the other side of field) and darn its still not long enough and you need the local tractor again to come to your aid.

Just throwing in my pennies worth and some food for thought. Yep I like the idea of a winch as well, but........ is it practical and will the time I need it be when I am down a ditch and need flying scot to come to my aid with an 8000lb job.

Bst regards, Jon.