Winch recovery kit

Gaston the Grenadier said:

Back to the original thread;

The Ineos optioned recovery kit is fairly competitively priced and is intended for use with the winch provided on the Grenadier.
A couple of add ons would be recommended, particularly as the fitted winch only has 12m of usable line.
So I’d firstly be sourcing an extension line (contact Red Winch as they can provide the correct size line as well as matching soft shackles etc.

If you’re serious about recovery, then I’d suggest steering away from snatch straps as they have a limited lifespan and lose their elasticity after a number of uses.

There’s a couple of US and Australian UT channels that have been realistically testing and using recovery ropes, which do the same thing as a snatch strap, but last considerably longer; much much longer.
However, all good things come at a price, and a good (branded) recovery rope won’t be cheap; so if it’s unlikely to get much use, then opt for the cheaper straps, but if regular recovery in all conditions is your thing, then I’d definitely consider investing in a recovery rope instead.

Next I’d source a universal adapter to fit your 2” receiver on your tow pack.
And yes, you’ll need to remove your ball hitch in order to access the receiver.
Make sure it’s intended for the correct line size or bow/soft shackle that you have.

As recent coverage of a fatality in the US shows, you should never use your ball hitch to recover a vehicle using the snatch method. If you have no options, then at least raise the stuck vehicle’s bonnet to act as a first line of defence from a ballistic tow ball.

I’m not sure what the correct term is, but most experienced recoverists (new word) drape heavy canvas covers over the recovery lines to keep the line down in the event of a catastrophic failure. Something like that would be a good addition.

And lastly, the best add on to a recovery kit, in my opinion, is good communication skills. It doesn’t matter how good your kit is, it ain’t worth shit if the others involved in the recovery don’t understand what to do or how to do it. Their lives are more important than the vehicle being recovered.
So I guess a good set of radios would be needed under the “good communications” tag.

The list can be as long as your arm; it’s down to how much you’re going to realistically use it, or if it’s mainly being acquired as a form of insurance (ie you’re hopefully never going to use it in anger, but maybe a bit, to get familiar with how to use it (safely))

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AnD3rew said:

I managed to use an appropriately rated bow shackle on the front loops by putting the pin through the loop as you have done in your last photo.

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DCPU said:

Tha

I prefer the bow on the inside of a closed loop for several reasons:
*the pin will slip to one of the ears and then impart a side load.
*Without the ability for the ear to go through the loop it can jam up.
*a screw pin can also unscrew itself if there's any lateral movement
* an eye strap sits better against the flat side of the pin rather than bunched on the bow

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AnD3rew said:

I managed to use an appropriately rated bow shackle on the front loops by putting the pin through the loop as you have done in your last photo.

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Michael H. said:

Hi @AnD3rew What size rated bow shackles are you referring to?

4.7T fit on the front loops, and wouldn’t they (used as a pair with a bridle) be appropriately sized?

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AnD3rew said:

I used 4.75t. I couldn’t get the ends of the shackle through the front loops, but could get the pin through and done up.

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Michael H. said:

That's interesting. I can fit both 4.7T and. 4.75T.

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AnD3rew said:

Hmmmm

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Michael H. said:

Hey Andrew. Do you have the roo bar on yours? I was wondering if it’s the roo bar's attachment to the bumper that's restricting access to the front loops?

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Logsplitter said:

And by the way I’ve just sold all my previous recovery kit, as a job lot with the Defender. Sold it as a fully kitted out overland build, so need to start again with a clean sheet for the Grenadier.
on another note is anyone going for the rhino rack 270degree awning with their build. I had an ostrich wing awning with my defender and will definitely be going for one of those again. They are super strong, no poles needed under normal conditions,!

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hopefulkiwi said:

the rhino rack awning(if itts like there "normal" 270 awnings) definetly need poles ,pegs and guy ropes which i woud assume comes as part of the kit

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Logsplitter said:

Agreed. The Rhino rack awning is not freestanding and light duty, so assume poles and guys come with it. Ostrich wing 270 for me. I need something to do pull ups on when camping and only need poles and guy ropes when quite windy.

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hopefulkiwi said:

the rhino rack awning(if itts like there "normal" 270 awnings) definetly need poles ,pegs and guy ropes which i woud assume comes as part of the kit

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hopefulkiwi said:

its always windy in NZ

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AnD3rew said:

I have one. Already had it from before, the poles are attached not separate and fold up into it. In light weather it stands fine without guy ropes but guy ropes and pegs are included and recommended if any significant breeze.

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AnD3rew said:

Agree with all this, I have a recovery rope, much better than a snatch strap.

We do use rope dampers, probably not as critical these days if you are using soft shackles but still good practice.

The hitch adapter is good and I have a couple but with proper rated recovery points would tand to prefer using those with a distribution strap between them (5m long, not less to reduce lateral stress between the loops)

Radio’s really essential, but if you don’t have them then a relay of people but make sure they are to the side of the recovery line and out of danger.

If you are wanting to use a winch rope extension and that may well be necessary with the relatively short rope length of the Grenadiers, you will need to think about how you shorten the extension, when you start to think about it, using an extension is not as straightforward as you may think. You can’t tie knots in winch ropes, it weakens the rope and even if you do manage to recover successfully with a knotted rope you will likely never undo that knot again and will have to cut it out of the line.

I have purchased an x-lock to aid in winch shortening, there are a couple of other similar devices, but I would suggest one of those and a an extension rope is essential for anyone with an OEM Grenadier winch.

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• 50 ft 11mm Winch "Superline" extension from Masterpull (Black Dyneema: the strongest available)
• Factor 55 Rope Retention Pulley (with Bubba Rope 7/16" Soft Shackle
• 2x Offroading 7/16" Synthetic Shackles
• Safe-Xtract X-lock (for shortening winch line/extension where necessary