[jg03rincon]

I have 50' wire cable for my winch, I'm looking to move over to a rope, what are your thoughts and How long can i go because the rope will take up more room then the cable. Is there any advantage going to rope?

Next...can any rope from local hardware stores work?, they seem to be much cheaper then what they sell on ATV sites...

 

[DRock]

I have the Amsteel Blue on my winch. I can say i am never going back to wire.

I would not reccomend using rope from the hardware store. I doubt it is rated to hold the load that the ropes specific for a winch will. In fact, the winch ropes have a higher tensile strength than wire cable. Winch ropes are a special high molecular weight polymer designed for its high tensile strength (kinda like Kevlar is designed for its high tensile strength)

As for cost, the amsteel is not that much more expensive than cable, and is well worth the money IMO. think i paid $40-$45 for the same length that came stock on the Ramsey 3000.

As for amount of rope you can hold, i have the same amount of rope as i had cable. Not a problem holding it. In fact, the rope lays better on the reel. If anything, it might hold more rope, not less.

 

[jg03rincon]

Drock
Do you have a weighting rate on that rope.It doesn't have to be to much does it? Or do you know the size? I know a few boat places carry that rope.
Thanks

 

[SXflyer]

Your not listening to DRock JG. The amsteel winch rope is SPECIAL. You will not get the same at your boat dealer. Most likely that is braided dacron or nylon and no where near the tensile strength of the Amsteel or Spyder line. Get the right stuff and you will swear by it. doesn't kink, won't stick you, 3 times the strength of cable, and won't snap and take off your head.

 

[DRock]

For the record, i have seen Amsteel at some boat dealers. Found it when searching the web for my winch line. Problem is, none of the boat dealers had it set up for winching. No eye splice and thimble to attach a clevis hook to. Moreover, they all seemed to charge about twice as much.

Here is a site that has it - not sure it is the best site, just the first one i found.

http://www.okoffroad.com/stuff-winchrope-atv.htm

Amsteel 3/16" is rated at 5,400#, while 3/16" wire is rated at 4,200#

The amsteel is $10 more then wire for 50' of 3/16" - $39.95 compared to $29.95
Factor in shipping and it is only $2.50 more since it weighs 1/6th that of wire.

$47.45 for Amsteel shipped... (and you might even find it cheaper) That's a no brainer. You will save that much in band-aids (or hopefully not, stiches) avoiding the damn wire spurs that tend to slice through fingers...

Hands down, the various synthetic winch ropes are the way to go. Once you use them, you will curse yourself for putting up with wire for as long as you have.

 

[plongson]

What is the deal with the aluminum fairlead. Seems to me that a properly maintained and rolling, roller style fairlead, would work equally well if not better. I think I will give the synthetic rope a try because my steel cable is full of burrs.

Just for your information, Ramsey sells 3/16"x50' of synthetic rope "SPECIALLY" for their winches for $130.00!!

 

[SXflyer]

I used "Spidertrax" (http://www.spidertrax.com/recovery_msp.htms) . 1/4" rated 9200lbs. and held 50 feet no problem. I also got an additional 100' line with a hook on one end and a thinble on the other to make an extension for winching or use as a tow or whatever. The hook weighs more than the line. Works great.

 

[DRock]

I kept my roller fairlead. There were no burrs or scuffs in it, so i continued to use it. The real concern here is if you have been using a roller lead with wire that it might have nicks and cuts in it. This could cause cuts in the rope.

If the roller is in good shape, with no damage, i fail to see why you would have to go to a Hawse lead.

The only other concern i have heard of is pinching the rope in the corners between the rollers.

 

[canadianviking]

I installed MasterPull synthetic winch cable on my Quest. It broke the very first time I used it. It wasn't even a difficult pull, but it broke about 2' from the fairlead. It broke as it was just starting to come under tension. I've heard far too many positive accounts of synthetic rope to consider this to be a typical problem. I truely believe this was a manufacturing flaw in my cable. My frustration was with Masterpull. I tried to contact them both via phone (where I left three voice messages - never did talk to a real person) and via email (sent 2 emails outlining the failure). I never, ever, heard back from Masterpull. In my experience, they have terrible customer service.

 

[SXflyer]

Your right DRock. The synthetic will flatten easier than cable and slip into the corners and jam. I use the hawse plate and it works fine. no lubing rollers and it is flatter. I guess you could continue using the fairlead if you guide the line on closely. I used the Spidertrax line to pull out a Rincon and a Foreman hooked together with a strap at the same time and in mud over the wheels. I straped my Rincon to a tree and my Ramsey 3000 pulled them out with no problem. the line is great. I wouldn't have wanted to be near that line then if it had been cable and broke. Talk about snapback. I have used my winch with the Spidertrax to pull out a rider on the trail and I had hooked to his web strap and his strap broke and all my line did was drop slacked to the ground.No snapback. Sold me. Be aware though, you must be sure to have a sleeve on the line for the first wrap on the winch spool to protect the line from heat buildup.

 

[DRock]

Never really thought about heat buildup on the first wrap. Then again, i don't think i have run my winch under load for more than about 60-90 seconds. That Ramsey 3000 get the job done quick.

What kind of sleeve are you using? The abrasion guard that the synthetic lines come with?

 

[SXflyer]

Mine came with a sleeve on one end and an abrasion guard on the hook end. I cut the abrasion guard off as was sloppy and took up too much space on the spool. The heat guard fits very tight to the line.

 

[jg03rincon]

I went on Amsteel blue wibsite and they gave me a local boat dealer that carries it. But I never thought about heat issues. SO with all different types of rope what is the best out there you think, I was just going to change out the wire line and just replace it with new rope but i wasn;t going to change anything else. What all do i need to make sure i have the right size and correct weight line? I just don;t like wire..Just scares me

 

[DRock]

I agree, almost anything is better than wire.

Can't really say which rope is the best, since all i have used is the Amsteel. I went that way for a simple reason - price. I got the best deal on Amsteel.

As for size, i used 3/16", others are using 1/4". I picked the same size rope as wire i had. The rope had better specs than wire, so i felt i could not go wrong.