shopping 12K winches. use will be dual-duty, I'm installing a receiver on the front of my truck to use the winch for pulling logs out of the woods/up hills and will also have a receiver on the trailer for pulling up dead vehicles. I'm seeing traditional steel cable winches and ones with synthetic cables - which is I guess a very strong rope? the synthetic is appealing for not scratching the trailer up while loading vehicles, but will it stand up to the use of pulling logs and rubbing along the ground and stuff?
I'm not new to winches but the non-steel cable ones are very intriguing. learn me please!
I'm not an expert but I know this topic is discussed frequently in the Jeep world. One huge advantage of synthetic is that, if it breaks, it falls to the ground, rather than the energy being released with the steel cable and possibly doing really bad things.
A few links on the subject:
Synthetic rope vs steel rope: Which one is best?
Synthetic Winch Line vs Steel Cable
Having used both, I prefer synthetic for bumper-mounted winches used in recovery. Plan to replace the rope every few years as the sun deteriorates it. This is what is on the front of my XJ. It works well but I'm pretty careful not to abrade it too much.
If it's for general purpose use, I would go with steel rope. It will handle more abuse than synthetic. This is what is on the winch on my trailer. It generally gets ignored until I need it. 10 years later it's still getting the job done.
A friend who is a Camel Trophy vet and a recovery instructor swears by synthetic. But he doesn't do logging.
Do the synthetic lines spool any better than the steel ones? I need to replace the line on my winch and I've been thinking about synthetic.
In reply to APEowner :
It does, but it will also abrade if it's not wrapped tightly on the drum. The other issue is it needs to be pulled and washed. It gets sand and mud in the fibers that wear it faster.
For recovery use, I can't imagine using anything else. It's much easier and more pleasant to work with. You just have to be cognizant of its limitations.
For more industrial use, I'd stick with steel which can pretty much be ignored beyond making sure you don't kink it.
I vote synthetic all the way, unless you have to drag line over rocks n stuff. Its lays in the spool easier, easier to handle, thinner/stronger, isnt going to prick your hand with broken wire.
I got wire rope because I'm cheap. I'm sure synthetic is better in most categories, but my wallet was a little skinny that day.
