12 volt winch - metal cable or synthetic rope ?

[rfuerst911sc]

Hey guys so I am getting a little more serious about buying a winch for my car trailer . My question isn't specifically about the winch but suggestions are welcome . But a lot of winches are coming with synthetic rope vs metal aircraft cable . The advantages of the synthetic rope per the manufacturers is it is lighter in weight and won't take your head off if it snaps under pressure .

I generally look at decapitation as a bad thing 😁 so the rope may have merit . But on previous trailers I have owned I stand as far away as possible and throw a blanket over the cable . In theory the blanket absorbs the energy if the cable snaps . My trailer is rated for 7K , subtract the aprox. 1600-1800 lbs the trailer weighs = about 5K car weight available . I am thinking a winch rated for 9K or so to have some safety margin . So you winch experts out there fire away 😄

[Sooner or later]

I have always used the cable. Would probably go with the syn rope if I did it again.

[Dantilla]

For pulling a car on a trailer, synthetic is fine.
For hard core off roading, you want steel cable.

[Rot 911]

Everyone I know in the off-road jeep world, including me, have switched over to synthetic rope. It’s stronger, lighter, and much less tangling on the spool when taking the line back up.

[Zeke]

Seems like an improvement. Cables have been the standard forever, and a PITA for as long.

[dad911]

I had a small cable winch on my ATV to raise and lower a plow. Cable snapped while plowing one winter, as a 'field repair' I replaced the metal cable with the flat strapping from a spare tie-down.

The strapping worked better, thus became a permanent feature.

[upsscott]

Synthetic and always use a dampener. Eliminates decapitations.

[Dantilla]

Interesting.

My neighbor helps put on extreme 4x4 competitions where the only vehicles that survive are custom-built tube frame buggies with massive articulation for their military axles running tall tractor tires on all four corners. Think Autocrossing over boulders, stumps and mud pits
Lots of carnage. Most don't complete the entire course.

For these events, synthetic lines fail often.

[rfuerst911sc]

Appreciate the feedback guys . I think I will look for the best winch at a reasonable price and live with whatever line/rope is on it . Pulling a car or tractor onto a car trailer is quite different than extreme 4x4 buggies crawling over boulders .

[Rusty Heap]

Harbor Freight Badlands winches are great bang for the buck.

[rfuerst911sc]

Originally Posted by Rusty Heap

Harbor Freight Badlands winches are great bang for the buck.

Tractor Supply also has a line of winches private labeled for them that are decent .

[Bill Verburg]

Originally Posted by rfuerst911sc

Hey guys so I am getting a little more serious about buying a winch for my car trailer . My question isn't specifically about the winch but suggestions are welcome . But a lot of winches are coming with synthetic rope vs metal aircraft cable . The advantages of the synthetic rope per the manufacturers is it is lighter in weight and won't take your head off if it snaps under pressure .

I generally look at decapitation as a bad thing 😁 so the rope may have merit . But on previous trailers I have owned I stand as far away as possible and throw a blanket over the cable . In theory the blanket absorbs the energy if the cable snaps . My trailer is rated for 7K , subtract the aprox. 1600-1800 lbs the trailer weighs = about 5K car weight available . I am thinking a winch rated for 9K or so to have some safety margin . So you winch experts out there fire away 😄

first off, just because the car weighs say 3000# doesn't mean that the cable sees 3000# of force, there's a sin theta thing going on there, the longer the ramp the less force it takes to pull the car up it.

You do want to ever do it though in case you need to pull a non-rolling car

I've always found that the synthetic ropes are far easier to handle and deal w/ in general