A winch for a dexta

GERRY · Post by **GERRY** » Sun Apr 25, 2010 7:35 pm

Hi, would any of you know of agood winch that would be suitable for fixing to front of dexta and which would be best means of operating it ie battery or other method. Any ideas welcome on this one. Gerry

john.n · Post by **john.n** » Sun Apr 25, 2010 9:33 pm

can i ask what do you want to use a winch for? would a tow rope not do the job? you may find the tractor will move rather than pull anything but that all depends on the brakes. or is it to get you out if you get stuck?

GERRY · Post by **GERRY** » Sun Apr 25, 2010 10:44 pm

It would mostly for to pull my own tractor when she gets bogged down , as this usally happens when iam in aplace where there is no other tractors around , iwas thinking if i had a whinch and a snatch block or two i could pull her out that way, Gerry

Dunggatherer · Post by **Dunggatherer** » Mon Apr 26, 2010 9:45 am

There are basically three types of winches,when it comes to the way they are driven.
Hydraulic,very very strong,but the engine needs to be running to use it.
When you are really stuck,for instance in a pond,it might stall,due to the fanblades scooping water.

Then there's the PTO-driven winch.
Apart from the huge amount of fabricating to produce a shaft to drive it,it also needs the engine to run.

And there's the electric winch.
No need to run the engine,until the battery is empty of course.
Easy to install,usually just some bolts,plus most can be detached,to prevent theft or rain.

And you could make an attachment on the rear of the tractor too,should you need to winch yourself out backwards.

Greetings from Holland.
Rob.

john.n · Post by **john.n** » Mon Apr 26, 2010 7:51 pm

just for cheapness could you get away with a hand winch? wont have to worry about a flat battery, nor having the engine running.
would it be worth fitting a second battery for the winch and use one of the marrine charging systems used to charge 2 batteries.

GERRY · Post by **GERRY** » Mon Apr 26, 2010 9:55 pm

I have a hand winch a 4 ton , the problem with these if your are stuck any distance from from a solid fixing and as there is only about 2meters of cable on the winch by the time you have winched up the slack on the attached rope the cable has been used up and it then can,t be released as you are tied between two fixed points , it then means cutting the rope . ihave not been able to find a hand winch with about 8 meters of cable which would be ideal, some sort of aquick release when under pressure would be good also, the 2 battery set up might be the way to go, GERRY

pjjms · Post by **pjjms** » Tue Apr 27, 2010 9:29 am

This type of hand winch gets around the short chain on conventional hand winches.

http://www.directindustry.com/prod/trac ... 18556.html

Have used them in industry with good results.

Jerry Coles · Post by **Jerry Coles** » Tue Apr 27, 2010 6:07 pm

I would invest in a Tirfor type of winch. They come with a good length of wire rope and are very versatile and are hand operated.
They are often for sale in places like ebay and some of the bigger tractor autojumbles. You can control the winching in and out by changing the handle onto the other post.
IMHO

GERRY · Post by **GERRY** » Tue Apr 27, 2010 8:17 pm

I have just been googleing the trifor winch an this seems to be ideal for the job , no more worries of not enough cable , its strong enough, this i think is what i will try for , before i brought up the subject had no idea there was such a winch

. Now ill have try to get one some how. will be very handy indeed:lol: . Thanks for all your replies and intrest on this one . Gerry

Jerry Coles · Post by **Jerry Coles** » Thu Apr 29, 2010 11:26 am

Just a few tips on winching:
1. Always use good strap, rope, shackles and chain etc and never stand close to a rope under tension as they can whip back!
2. Ensure both fixing points can carry the tension, if using a tree as a fixed point keep the fixing as low as possible other wise you could pull over the tree.
3. Consider the 'rolling resistance' as a tractor on tarmac requires less tension than one up to its axles in mud.
4. If you are pulling at a vertical angle then you are also applying a lifting force so if you are bogged in then maybe a as near to vertical lift should be aimed for.
5. When in mud etc there is an element of suction so poking a pole down into the mud to let air into the space below can help.
6. If the pull/lift fails suddenly are you out of the danger zone? Always consider your own safety first!!!
7. If someone can drive the tractor while a pull is applied then you can assist as any slack the driver can create can be taken up with the winch and used to advantage.
8. If you have no hard/fixing point ie in the middle of a field try digging a T shaped trench with the bottom of the T pointing to the Tractor. Once dug place as big a piece of wood/steel across the top of the T, fix your strap/chain to the centre and lay it down the vertical. Backfill and you have a ground anchor.
9. If you are constantly having this problem then consider a large piece of angle iron with a fixing eye at one end. Drill large holes down both sides alternatly and get some reebar. Lay down the angle iron, hammer in the reebar at an angle through the angle iron into the ground. It surprising how much tension you can apply!

IMHO! (ex Army recovery experience)

regards
Jerry

john.n · Post by **john.n** » Thu Apr 29, 2010 4:23 pm

looking at point 7, mounting the winch controls on or next to the dash or on the wing would mean you could operate the winch and drive at the same time.

are you planning to mount the winch to the front? if so are you mounting to the engine where the axle assembly bolts on or bolting to the front axle baracket?

Jerry Coles · Post by **Jerry Coles** » Thu Apr 29, 2010 4:57 pm

John.n
If one person can operate the winch and the other the tractor then by rocking the tractor forwards and backwards you could obtain some tension with the winch when the rope goes slack. This would prevent the tractor rolling back into the hole and so gradually you work your way out.

GERRY · Post by **GERRY** » Thu Apr 29, 2010 6:29 pm

These ideas will come in very handy especially the tee type anchor , iwould never have thought of that, the ground is boggy moor land,there are no trees belive it or not, iam mostly on my own so the trifor hand winch will be ideal , woud you have any idea what breaking strain or thickness of cable would be ideal. taking the dexta weighs one and half ton roughly plus suction if she is bogged up to her axels, ialso somtimes I have the small tipping trialer on her , iwas thinking about 12mm this should give me about 10 ton breaking strain , or would it be better with a thicker cable , GERRY