[Dustin]

Im in the market for rope and Ive done a fair amount of searching but alot of posts are pretty old back when rope was pretty new to the market. Im sure there is alot more feedback with more people running rope now days so how about a latest and greatest ultimate rope thread.

here are some topics and questions Ive had while researching.

Im looking for experences with differnt brands, sizes, lengths on differnt winches etc. Im struggling with either 100' of 5/16s or 80ft of 3/8ths on a M8000.

There seems to be alot of confusion on the heat from the drum melting rope. there are companys offering "fire line" for the first wrap of the drum. worth the money? does it help?

Of course Ive heard of amsteel along with others like samson, viking, masterpull etc. I hear viking and amsteel are the same?

http://www.masterpull.com/index.cfm
http://www.amsteelblue.com/

distributors? prices service etc. right now Im looking at both rockstomper and northridge4x4.
http://www.rockstomper.com/
http://www.northridge4x4.com/
http://www.winchline.com/

hook/thimble offerings. seems there are alot of options here.

tube thimble $12.95

stainless thimble $5.95

safety thimble(to prevent going into the fairlead) $35.95

or if you like hooks

Of course everyone knows the rope does not like to be abused like wire rope but IMO the weight, saftey and wieght is a big plus.

And lastly fairlead options. Alum is the way to go with rope but Ive seen guys run rollers too if they are not nicked up. maybe some distributor options for these too, cost etc. Personaly I would just like a plain jane no engraved text on a fairlead.

 

[TravisITGuy]

i am curious as well. i would like to run rope on my HS9500I but no little about which style and length to run not to mention cost.

 

[jackhart]

i had the amsteel and melted it.

i would not buy that stuff again (without the fire line, that is) because of it.

i went with this stuff, viking trail line with the fire line for the first wrap of the drum:

edit: i got it from winchline.com. i shopped northridge4x4 but i think winchline.com was cheaper.

i've only used it a few times so far. i don't know if it's worth it, all i know is i melted the amsteel and this is supposed to not melt. so far so good.

btw, that is 3/8". i have it mounted on a warn 9500xp.

 

[Dustin]

Dave that was one of the threads Ive dug up. on the melting topic I saw jopes winch all friggen day on his amsteel from rockstomper and no melting.

did it happen to pull out of the eyelet and spin on the drum?

 

[jackhart]

i have an aluminum hawse. you are not supposed to use a roller with synthetic line. i got mine from rockstomper.com, it looks something like this...

 

[jackhart]

Dave that was one of the threads Ive dug up. on the melting topic I saw jopes winch all friggen day on his amsteel from rockstomper and no melting.

did it happen to pull out of the eyelet and spin on the drum?

no it never actually spun on the drum. it pulled out of the eyelet from melting.

the weird thing is, i ran that amsteel for probably 3 years and never had a problem with it. then one day, it just melted. i'm not sure why or how, i never felt like i abused it any more than any other time.

 

[TravisITGuy]

from that site $167 is the cheapest it appears for 100' of 5/16th. for our broncos would 3/8s be needed?

 

[Dustin]

for comparison sake here is rockstompers prices on all sizes.

I wouldnt want anything less than 3/8ths on a bronco

3/16" x 50', 5,400lb winch rope, $46
3/16" x 60', 5,400lb winch rope, $55
3/16" x 70', 5,400lb winch rope, $64
3/16" x 80', 5,400lb winch rope, $74
3/16" x 90', 5,400lb winch rope, $84
3/16" x 100', 5,400lb winch rope, $91

1/4" x 50', 9,200lb winch rope, $59
1/4" x 75', 9,200lb winch rope, $86
1/4" x 100', 9,200lb winch rope, $112
1/4" x 125', 9,200lb winch rope, $144
1/4" x 150', 9,200lb winch rope, $169
1/4" x 175', 9,200lb winch rope, $196
1/4" x 200', 9,200lb winch rope, $222

5/16" x 50', 13,700lb winch rope, $84
5/16" x 60', 13,700lb winch rope, $99
5/16" x 70', 13,700lb winch rope, $116
5/16" x 80', 13,700lb winch rope, $131
5/16" x 90', 13,700lb winch rope, $144
5/16" x 100', 13,700lb winch rope, $165
5/16" x 125', 13,700lb winch rope, $205
5/16" x 135', 13,700lb winch rope, $217
5/16" x 150', 13,700lb winch rope, $235

3/8" x 50', 20,400lb winch rope, $113
3/8" x 60', 20,400lb winch rope, $134
3/8" x 70', 20,400lb winch rope, $155
3/8" x 80', 20,400lb winch rope, $178
3/8" x 90', 20,400lb winch rope, $205
3/8" x 100', 20,400lb winch rope, $222
3/8" x 105', 20,400lb winch rope, $235
3/8" x 110', 20,400lb winch rope, $249
3/8" x 125', 20,400lb winch rope, $274
3/8" x 150', 20,400lb winch rope, $327

7/16" x 75', 23,925lb winch rope, $190
7/16" x 85', 23,925lb winch rope, $217
7/16" x 90', 23,925lb winch rope, $229
7/16" x 100', 23,925lb winch rope, $249
7/16" x 125', 23,925lb winch rope, $314
7/16" x 150', 23,925lb winch rope, $373

1/2" x 100', 36,250lb winch rope, $400
1/2" x 200', 36,250lb winch rope, $800

 

[TravisITGuy]

well now that we got the prices figured out.

would running a hoop end or a hooked end be better. i guess its personal preference at that point but there is addtional cost involved.

 

[Dustin]

I plan to just get the stainless thimble and run a shackle I hate hooks

or

 

[TravisITGuy]

Great thread Dustin

 

[Dustin]

This is off of the rockstomper site and really the only bit of info regarding heat I have found so far

What about heat from the winch drum?
Heat is generated in planetary winch drums (Warn laydown-style, Ramsey planetary winches, most Superwinches) only under "Power-Out" condition. This type of use drives the winch motor against the brake (note references by winch companies about "Automatic Load-Holding Brake"). This is similar to driving your vehicle with the parking brake engaged.
Doing so will generate heat if you were to use it extensively in this mode. Similar to driving your vehicle with the parking brake engaged, you can drive out of a parking space without causing problems, but if you drove for significant distance, you would quickly wear out the brake. The same is true for your winch. The "Power-Out" function should be used for relieving tension on the rope, not for extended distances, nor for lowering a load--4WD winches are not designed to be used as hoists. Our testing has shown that powering out for 10-20 feet is not a problem, but will cause excessive wear to the winch brake, so we recommend using the "Power-Out" to relieve tension only.
No winches currently made, if used correctly, will heat the drum on "Power-In" use.

 

[plug ugly]

get the full bodied thimbles.

 

[broncomania]

im running the amsteel but ive only needed it 2 times so i cant give an honest opinion on it yet. 7/16 x 90

 

[Dave's Bronc 90]

I'm running a set of Delrin rollers instead of a Hawse fairlead. I've got at least a dozen pulls on it and it hasn't affected my synthetic winch rope yet.

 

[jopes]

no it never actually spun on the drum. it pulled out of the eyelet from melting.

the weird thing is, i ran that amsteel for probably 3 years and never had a problem with it. then one day, it just melted. i'm not sure why or how, i never felt like i abused it any more than any other time.

Just thinking about this here. If I read it right some place on pirates [email protected] mentioned the eyelet on the end of the rope is not to be pulled on but to rather start the rope on the drump. like 6-8 winds to give the rope enough to hold on the drum.

That rope looks damn near new on your's, but looks really loose on the drum?



Dustin, Well you know where I stand. I love my rope. only good thing about the 3/8" rope is it is going to last longer against abrasions on a lighter rig.

This thing would be really nice to stop the thimble from knicking the fairlead. I am always touching my fairlead up from knicks to keep it from chewing up the rope.

I also always keep the rope clean from washing it, and tight on the winch as in near stall on the winch to run it up nice and tight.

BTW, I respliced my end on and used it for winching again at the hammers with out issues. :beer

 

[spbronc]

I can’t quite let the cat out of the bag yet, but I am testing a product for the manufacture. It has a higher strength that the "other blue stuff", and comes in many different colors. The melting or elongation of this rope is also higher than most.

As for the fairlead, I am running the uber hard plastic one from sky-manufacturing. It may be a little weak for a hard side pull, but has held up well.

 

[Dustin]

I ordered 80' of 3/8s line from rockstomper. little over 200bucks so not bad.

Everyone I talked to said the fireline stuff is overpriced and not needed

I will post up when I get it then when I actually use it.

 

[spikedzombies]

http://www.jeeperz-creeperz.com/viking-trail-line-p-6580.html

3/8" x 100' Viking Trail Line

Comes out to $223 shipped

 

[jopes]

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=177344

good info Dustin on how to splice plasma rope.