Top 5 tips to safely perform a winch recovery up hill

In this video Mark from British Off Road showing you the Top 5 tips and more on how to safely use your winch in an uphill recovery situation.

This style of winch recovery is called a single line pull and we are using the Warn Zeon Platinum winch with the VRS Winch recovery kit.

How to safely winch up hill recovery | A basic guide to using your winch

 

In this video Jamie’s mate Mark shares his Top 5 ( And more) tips on how to use your winch recovery gear including:

• How to use a winch extension,
• How to use a warn zeon winch,
• How to do a hill climb recovery.

Winch Recovery Tip 1:

Have Handy a full recovery kit in good condition. A full kit will help to have you ready for any situation. A full kit includes:

• 1 x 8000kg snatch strap
• 2 x 3.25t bow shackles
• 1 x 4.75t bow shackle
• 1 x recovery gloves
• 1 x 8000kg tree protector
• 1 x 20m winch extension strap
• 1 x 8000kg snatch block
• 1 x Winch cable damper
• 1 x Large Recovery Bag

Hot Tip, If you have a wedding band it is a good idea to remove it so it can’t get caught on anything during an emergency.

The gear used in this example includes a tree trunk protector to protect the bark of the tree being used as an anchor point and a rated heavy duty bow shackle.

The other essential piece for safety is a winch damper, this will cause the cable or shackle to drop in the case of a failure helping to protect the vehicle and driver from possible serious damage.

Hot Tip, When you do up the bow shackle loosen it off slightly so it can be removed easily and not bind up when under load

Winch Recovery Tip 2:

Unwind the cable at the winch. It is a lot easier to carry the cable up unloaded than trying to pull it up hill as as you un roll it.

When using Synthetic cable (rope) use the damper over the shackle and hook as this is the heaviest part of the cable and the most dangerous under load.

When using a steel cable winch place the damper half way down the cable.

Winch Recovery Tip 3:

Winch and drive at the same time. If possible driving in 1st gear low range will help when whinching and this allows the vehicle to grab traction as soon as possible.

Winch Recovery Tip 4:

After the vehicle is free of the obstacle wind the left over cable back onto the spool. Be sure to keep your hand well away from the fairlead as they can be easily caught and cause major damage.

Winch Recovery Tip 5:

Collect all your gear, you will be surprised how many people in the excitment of the recovery forget to pack up everything and leave bits behind.

Winch Recovery Bonus Tips:

• Make sure your recovery gear is easy to get to.
• A Hand Held UHF for the spotter:
  • Winch recovery is a 2 man job and a hand held UHF makes communication easier.

Do you have some more tips when doing a recovery? Be sure to leave your comments below.

Video source:

This video was taken from The Australian Bushman DVD Series: http://australianbushman.com.au/ The Australian Bushman explores the hidden secrets of his own back yard the Sunshine Coast. Jamie heads off road to explore tracks of the Glass House Mountains.

Kerry Neil from Goombuckar Creations takes us on a journey to the traditional bush tucker grounds of the Gubbi Gubbi / Kabi Kabi people, cooks up a meal in a local meeting place and talks about the history behind the traditional grinding stones in Landsborough.

Local historian buff John Grove has spent 25 years researching the ruins of Fort Bribie. John takes Jamie through the remaining ruins and the team search the area for the remains of the lost hospital.