1000 pulls? You must get stuck a lot! I actually have done thousands of pulls…but I work in forestry.. Forestry winches are usually designed to wind onto the drum smoothly so will function at an angle , but you can easily put a machine on its side if the angle is too extreme. In a 4x4 like I said you really want to be less than 20 degrees either side of centre otherwise all the rope will spool up on one side of the drum.. and you could also damage the winch or the vehicle. A short pull at an extreme angle might be ok, but its best avoided..
I found a real winching video from us 11 years ago …
View: https://youtu.be/P59obAokKks?si=Q95r9ySnWMVtozNs
Yea. Lost count for sure. Show me a fella that says he plays rugby but hasn't been busted up time after time, and I'll show you a guy that plays barrstool rugby.
Equipment needs to be designed for you to be stuck and any angle. You're stuck. Unless what you wanted was to be stuck, and you planned out how you're gonna be stuck, the idea there's an angle you want to be stuck at is ridiculous. What you are is stuck, and like any other stuck, you need to know how to use your equipment to get unstuck. This isn't forestry. Who the hell cares about forestry? Hey, we do Auxiliary power installations. Tugging, hoisting, rigging, all with equipment with more mass and power than a truck. What does that have to do with 4x4 winching situations? Hmmm... Safety procedures, Equipment inspection and PM, Rigging... And thats about it. 99% of the situations in one, have nothing to do the other. Vehicle recovery is whole different art. Nothing is planned, nothing is ideal. House painters and Picasso both used a brush and paint, but that's about where the overlapped stopped.
My favorite stuck was after being lead down a rocky mountain pass and the path just stopped 2 miles in. No turn around, steep slope up and steep slop down, and a couple sections where reverse wasn't doable. We all Had to do a 180. The solution for me was to run the front winch line to tree behind me, inflate tires to 60psi so they would drag easier sideways without losing a bead (potential tragedy), and hammer it in reverse cranking the wheel so the ass of the rig went up the slope, no matter the scraping of the bumper or protestations of the earth. Pointing down at over 50*, the winch line was at 100* right. (not "ideal") While nearly standing in the cab, I would slip it 6" forward back onto the path, and drag the front end with the winch a little. repeat repeat repeat. I got the rig realigned 180 without plummeting off the side. Gotta love a challenge. Nothing broke.
Point being Tom, in 4x4 land your 20* rule is an inapplicable observation that has noting to do with real life situations a reader may find themselves. The only time's I've had straight pulls where when I could line myself up to extricate someone else. (I suppose that may be like pulling logs) If your equipment can't handle the scenario I just described, go drive a subaru outback, and don't dare adventure in the Andes. Stick to greenlaning and club events on known trails where someone else can save you by lining up at 20 or less, and for gods sake prevent disasterous bunching on the spool line and don't let them hook up until they do..
As to the spooling on one side of the drum, first, you don't load a drum to 100% capacity. (8274's with 100-110ft is my MO) Unlike wire rope, poly line of the diameter and sheathing used on light duty truck winches NEVER re spools like a new thimble full of thread. It's not a godsend of perfection, it does have some downsides like that, abrasion, and icing. After EVERY trip the line gets pulled, washed to rid it of abrasives, inspected and respooled. It ain't steel. It doesn't act like steel, so don't treat it like steel. It needs PM. Going way back to original questions on this forum about the 15m of line on an oem winch, that's one of the reasons I said it was a god awful design by someone that doesn't winch. It's an RC winch. You only have 40ft of usable line on full spool for perfect conditions, which, if conditions were perfect or predicable, you wouldn't be stuck, now would ya? Which in turn leads to winch access... Hidden winches suck. Period. you always want access to the spool and easy examination of any rigging equipment that you need to save your skin.
Thats ma story, and I'm stickin' to it.
!
However, so far I did not have any probs , not with the winch nor with the bumper. Using it frequently in the woods . 
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