Self Recovery Bush Winch

Just found this... it actually popped up at the end of a video I'd just uploaded -



It's an idea?!

It's been about for years. It's a brilliant idea for a fail-safe recovery system, and with potential for 'god-winch' speeds! I guess once you've got all the lugs fitted it's not too slow to set-up either.

"Even females can use it" lol how does this guy get away with this haha

I was thinking about buying such a system allready long time now.
Instead of the heavy "winch + battery" setup with all the extra electrics.
Just a quick fit once it's all is prepaired, and i also think it's safe to use.
Don't now if we can buy it over here in Europe, maybe i will write them a mail and ask them how much they ask to send it over to Belgium. And hopefully they have it for Jimmy's.

Not much use if you wheel deep in mud

Was looking around on the internet searching for reviews with pro's en con's about this bush winch.
Found following text on a Australian 4x4 Forum.
Reading this i can follow this guy's tought's about safety and putting extra strainght on drivetrain and bolts... so have to look after something else... again...

Quote : www.4wdaction.com.au

That whole idea was commonly touted way back in the seventies and was certainly used long before.
I seem to think it stemmed form a method of recovering dual rear wheel trucks, back in a time where we were less informed and concerned with safety....then the outer tyres would be removed from the rims and two cables would be laid out, and the vehicle would simply drive out supported by the remaining tyre and hauled by both cables ( more or less as in the video)....remember these vehices were designed to have dual rear wheels.

I have seen several similar products on the market now and in the past. one of the competitors is sold as a single device not as a pair and without the guide devices

I have several concerns about the whole idea...

1. the space involved in carrying the thing along with SUITABLE rope or cable....remember at least half the cost and weight of a nice cheap winch is the cable....

2. if you have one of these thing fitted to only 1 drive wheel, and the opposite wheel had no traction AND you have an open diff, it will be completly ineffictual..remember other brands have been sold singly.

3. our wheel studs are not designed to take this sort of strain, when a second thickness of material is between them and the wheel, in fact on some vehicles you would not even get full thread engagement in the wheel nut, (some of the other products use the standard wheel nuts) this particular product has the long nuts.....the wheel studs on our vehcicles were never designed to take all that extra leverage.......I can see, some over keen operator braking all 5 or 6 wheel studs in one go with one of these things.....then you are up to your @r$e is $h!^ AND with only 3 wheels.

4. The safety and effectivness is compromised in so many ways.
Unless you are actually using and fitting the things two at a time, the whole thing wont pull straight in any sort of reliable way.
If it does not pull straight, at some point the fully loaded rope may ride up over the flange, and a very dangerous situation occurs.

On a similar theme, if you are running two devices and two ropes (as in the video), if one rope or anchorage fails under high load, the vehicle could be sideways in a big hurry, this could easily find you very quickly in a ditch or rolling down a hill.
If one rope or anchorage fails the second could quite possibly follow...then you have a choice, hang on and pray, or bend over and kiss your @r$# goodbye.

when using 2 devices and two ropes you will have absolutely no steering controll in some circumstances

If the system is operated as pictures with an open diff, I can see certain circumstances where the ropes may not haul evenly ( one wheel finds good traction) and the vehicle again ends up skewed uncontrollably.

There is no system of controlls for the device, it is totally dependent on the operator knowing what they are doing and having the presence of mind and physical co-ordination to operate the vehicle contols to achieve winching.

In a properly built winch when you take your finger of the haul button the winch stops imediately in a fraction of a rotation of the winch drum and a brake is applied.

How far out of shape could you be before you have the presence of mind to lift off the accelerator pedal apply the brake and dipress the clutch......Iven if you did a stall stop by stamping on the brake..how far have you winched.

Those who have any formal training in recovery or industrial lifting will know that, you NEVER step over a live rope ( one that is or potentially could be under tension), with this device the way it is pictured there is no way of entering or leaving the vehicle without stepping over a "live rope"

I am not at all keen on the whole slotted holes concept particularly in "cast alloy"

And the big kicker, for anybody who,has watched a 4wd action DVD, to install the blasted thing means you have to get right down in the mud, sand or whatever other $h!^ you happen to be stuck in. On the one hand this could be unpleasant, on other situations is could be down right dangerous.

While I think about it...there you are stuck in some pair of fettid, stinking, ruts, how much digging will you need to do just to get room to attach the blasted thing.

And a last nitpick....look closely at the ropes used, they appear to be some for of plasma rope.....no mention of that requirement......remember the issues with abrasion and plasma rope..it is being employed at ground level where it is subject to abrasion and no attemt has been made to protect the eyes with any form of sleeve or thimbal.

some poorly informed person is going to see this and ty it with some similarly thin ordinary synthetic rope and get in a hell of a lot of trouble.

Sorry but in this day and age, I would expect such things to be banned...in my view all these devices, the one in the video included are dangerous as hell.

Like many things on the internet....I view this video as being 100% sales material and not the "review" it puports to be.

cheers