Page 33 - Jeep Jamboree Ultimate Guide To Safe Common Sense Off-Roading

SAFETY SHOULD BE THE HIGHEST
PRIORITY IN RECOVERY SITUATIONS! WINCH RECOVERY

If your vehicle is stuck to the point that rocking, turning your wheel back and forth, or strapping won’t
help, it’s time for a winch. There are many pieces of equipment that go into a safe winching operation,
so it’s a good idea to purchase a winch kit so you have everything you need. At minimum you’ll need:

WINCH LINE DAMPENER BOW SHACKLE SNATCH BLOCK TREE STRAP GLOVES

Find a suitable winch anchor, such as a Choose a winch anchor close enough to Wearing gloves, drag out your winch
1. rock, a tree or even another vehicle. When 2. the vehicle to allow 4 or 5 wraps around 3. cable and connect your winch to the
using a tree, make sure you use a strap
strap using a bow shackle. The hook
the drum to ensure enough grip on the
or tree protector. Never wrap the cable drum. Any fewer could risk the cable should be attached open end up to
around the tree or hook the cable to itself being pulled off the drum, leaving you place the load on the hook.
— make sure you are not damaging a stranded.
living organism or your equipment.

4. over the winch cable to slow 5. the best and safest place to be 6. If you are not an essential 7. Take time to inspect the
Always place a line dampener
When controlling the winch,
winch and make sure it’s
part of the operation, stay
it down in case it snaps. This is in your vehicle. Your power clear of the cable. A good spooling property. Take
could be a blanket, coat or cable will reach through the rule of thumb is to stay back periodic breaks to make sure
even a floor mat. driver’s window, which will twice the length of the cable. that the motor of an electric
allow you to gently use both winch won’t overheat.
the power of the vehicle and
the winch to pull you out.

DOUBLE-LINE RECOVERY
Sometimes your anchor point will be DAMPENER
too close to spool out enough cable GOES OVER
BOTH LINES
to effectively winch your vehicle — or
your winch simply doesn’t have the
power to free it. Instead of hooking
your winch directly to the tree strap,
you can run a line through a pulley,
called a snatch block, and back to your
vehicle’s tow point. This will double
the pulling power of your winch and BOW SHACKLE SNATCH BLOCK
lessen the recovery time.
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