Winch: Rope or Cable?

[Big Bird 93]

Mine came with a cable. I am going to swap it out and put a synthetic rope on it.

The pros on a rope outweighed the cons for me.

 

What are you guy's running?

 

Also. What size and length should I get?

Size: 1/4 , 3/16, 5/16??

Length: 50' or 75'

Thinking 1/4" and 50' 🙂

Edited March 2, 2020 by Big Bird

[toodeep 1,732]

I use mine for plowing mainly so those machines have the 1/4 at 40ft an believe. Other ones 3/16 at 50. I only run synthetic anymore. 

[shadetree 5,543]

rope, 50 ft is most you can put on them.

[Wheeler 2,468]

I thought some winches you can’t switch from wire to rope... am I mistaken?

[jeepwm69 7,206]

You're correct.  Some winches have a gap in between the drum and end housings where rope will get bound up, and it's also not advised to run rope on a winch that has previously been run with wire, due to burrs that the wire might leave that the softer rope would catch on and tear the fibers.

[shadetree 5,543]

1 hour ago, Wheeler said:

I thought some winches you can’t switch from wire to rope... am I mistaken?

your correct. i buy my warn winches with rope !.

[01RUBY500 1,253]

Rope definitely. Jeep is right about the burrs. But you can put a new roller fairlead on and be good to go with a switch to a new synthetic rope. And I run 3/16” x 50’

Edited March 3, 2020 by 01RUBY500

[Mac102004 424]

I run rope, a lot safer than cable.

[sublime68charger 172]

What size is your winch?

 

i have 2 warn winches a2000 with cables 1 of these since 2002 still in good shape.

2 warn 1500 with ropes 

1 warn 3000 with rope, gets a lot of use as it part of a rear logging arch on a 450 foreman

 

I'd say 3/16 x 50 get new roller fair lead check your drum and sides for any rough spots and smooth them out before you put rope on.

[Fishfiles 19,667]

I been on both sides the fence , went to rope and loved it , broke the synthetic rope several times and got it wrapped up , pinched and  tangled in the drum a few times really bad so I went back to cable , which can get wrapped up , pinched and tangled in the drum as well , but it is easier to get a bird nest  out with cable 

[toodeep 1,732]

Depends on your winch but motoalliance had special drum bushings that filled the space between the drum and housing that helped a lot with spool jumping. 

[jeepwm69 7,206]

On 3/2/2020 at 8:14 PM, Mac102004 said:

I run rope, a lot safer than cable.

Weenie.

 

I have both now.  I prefer steel simply because it will last years and years and years. 

 

I put rope on the wife's rig and the daughters' rigs because they're women.  It already looks iffy/ faded and I wonder how long it will last, but at least if it breaks I'll be with them to pull them out, and I won't have to worry about wire whipping one of them if a cable snaps.

[sublime68charger 172]

2 hours ago, jeepwm69 said:

Weenie.

 

I have both now.  I prefer steel simply because it will last years and years and years. 

 

I put rope on the wife's rig and the daughters' rigs because they're women.  It already looks iffy/ faded and I wonder how long it will last, but at least if it breaks I'll be with them to pull them out, and I won't have to worry about wire whipping one of them if a cable snaps.

if the rope breaks you can always just thread it back threw the hook and tie a knot and get by.  that's darn hard to due with a cable.  

 

or tie a knot in the rope and it if its small enough to go around the spool you can leave it till you get back home and replace it with a new one.

[jeepwm69 7,206]

Yeah I know.  I carry a couple of line clamps with me so if my steel cable breaks I can fix it. 

 

My old Jeep winches have galvanized steel lines from the 70's on them.  It's not as easy to work with, but it's pretty much maintenance free and lasts decades instead of a few years.

[Fishfiles 19,667]

I agree , It is hard to tie a know in steel cable , but you can do it if you have too , I have had to before , a few times now ---- hook the hook on something solid , leave a lot of slack on the dead end of the cable and hold it and let the knot  tighten  slide into position , then hook it to something and pull hard on it with the winch or atv , the cable  will bend up and the knot stay tight 

[Fishfiles 19,667]

Jeep , when synthetic rope fades it's color , I think it is cheap rope , like the Harbor Freight junk , that is not good synthetic rope , the best I ever got was Spectrum , it holds it color better , almost looks lubricated  very expensive 

 

I just realized another reason why I got away from rope and went back to steel  , twice I had the rope got smashed thin and went between the drum and the winch mount , got all wrapped in there so bad I had to take the winch off the bike and disassemble the winch to get it out 

[sublime68charger 172]

fishfiles,  

 

or if your running cable and its starting to fry you put a couple of cable clamps in your toolbox with tools to tighten the clamps so if you break you can reclamp the broken end around the hook.  Also some Electric tape to tape the frayed end back down somewhat.  Gloves as well as frayed cable has nice little stick you points on it.

 

My 2nd A2000 winch has been broke before I got it and the hook end is held up with cable clamps and I had that end pull off the hook at 1 time and had to re clamp the end.

 

on your flat rope did it build up high on 1 side of the spool and then go over between the drum and winch mount?

 

I have 1 winch mounted on my front rack and I love being able to keep a eye on how the cable is wraping on the spool.  Many times I been doing angle pull and have had to give out slack and build the spool back up even till line get tight again and then let it build up on the one side till it gets tight,  rinse repeat till I'm out of the what ever problem that I needed the winch for.

 

 

[Akunin 335]

I'm personally fond of Amstel synthetic lines. Easy to repair on the trail on event of failure (very rare) but I can fix it literally as good (and stronger) than new in less than 5 minutes sitting trailside. I use heavy fishing line for the lock stitch and I've never broken the line at the stitch. For the atv (Can Am Renegade 800) I use a Superwinch Terra 35 that has a steel drum that uses either cable or synthetic. Why not have one where you can use both?

And experience has taught me ever use a winch that has an aluminum drum with synthetic,  will crush it like a pop can

 

 

[Wheeler 2,468]

For the amount of times that I can think of.... I've only had to use mine maybe 3 times in 3 years. Once to pull out myself, only to pull my buddy out, & the other I was hunting & actually got stuck trying to cross a brook by myself.... 3rd time I can't remember... so it wouldn't make much of a difference to me if it were rope or wire. I could see if one used it a lot that rope would maybe easier on the hands & wrapping around trees, but for me... wire is perfect!

 

[jeepwm69 7,206]

Syn is easier to deal with.  Wire lasts a lot longer. 

 

I use wire.  The winches on my Jeeps are from the 70's and my wire is still fine.  I don't think synthetic will have that kind of longevity.