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Proof that winches aren't just for vehicle recovery

2 comments

Written: October 24, 2011

by Andy Lilienthal

Many immediately think: winch = vehicle recovery. And although WARN winches are great at pulling a stuck vehicle, they are often used to pull other things ... such as trail hazards.

Case in point, Russell Smith--one of our Customer Service Specialists, photography enthusiast, and off-roader--was headed up a narrow trail on the way to photograph a remote waterfall outside of Cascade Locks, Oregon. While on the trail, he encountered a narrow section with a large rock jutting out onto the trail. Fortunately, he was able to squeeze past it. However, the way back, the rock, which he described as being "the size of a wood stove," had become dislodged and rolled down the trail, landing smack-dab in the middle of it.

This big-'ol rock needed to get moved so he could get his pickup past it. To make matters worse, there was a 10 ft. drop off on the other side of the rock. This wasn't going to be easy. Lucky for him, he had his WARN VR12000 winch, straps, and shackles. After nearly an hour of rigging, winching, repositioning, and finally getting the bolder off to the side, he was able to pass.

This, however, illustrates the importance of going prepared for whatever the trail might have in store. After all, you never know what kind of obstacle you'll encounter when you venture down the trail.

Tags: winching,VR12000,winch,shackle,strap

Filed under: Universal

Comments:

Rob

says

October 24, 2011 at 02:18 PM

You can also use them for pulling down / out fallen trees!

Wendil

says

November 05, 2011 at 08:48 AM

Warn winches pull and drag, and LIFT. One time, deep in the woods, I was stranded when the road bridge washed out. My cell phone battery was empty so I couldn't call for help. My cell phone charger had to be plugged into my Honda generator, but it had a blown engine. (I didn't have the cigarette lighter charger for my cell phone.)

So I ran the winch cable up over a tree limb and down, and then lifted my ATV 4-wheeler about 30 feet in the air. I could have lifted a heavy boulder instead, I suppose, but the ATV was easier to hook onto. And I wrapped a second cable a couple hundred turns around a drum pulley attached to the engine shaft of the generator, tossed the loose end of the cable up over the tree limb and down to hook onto the heavy ATV dangling in the air.

Then I released the winch tension. As the ATV descended it turned the pulley on the generator shaft, which generated electricity, which charged up my cell phone, so I called for help, which brought me rescuers deep in the woods.

As I drove home, I got to thinking that you could rig a similar set-up on every street light pole. Put solar panels on the pole to power a winch lifting a weight up the pole during the day when the sun is shining. At night, release the winch ratchet so the weight descends, but slowly, and gear off of the winch drum to turn a high-rpm electric generator to light the street light.

Or something like that. It changes gravity's mechanical energy in the motion of a falling weight into rotational motion which generates electricity. It is like a cuckoo clock design, where falling weights turn the clock hands.

Only you need a Warn winch powered by 'free' electricity from solar panels or small (3-foot blades?) wind generators; the winch stores the electricity by lifting a weight - maybe not UP a light pole because raising weight high in the air is complicated to rig up safely, but how about lifting weight UP a hole in the ground and letting it fall back down. The weight's fall could (re-)generate the 'same' electricity that lifted it up, (minus 'friction' loss, but hey, it was 'free' electricity to begin with; you can afford to lose half of it). It's a cuckoo-clock battery.

Seems like it would be a new marketing opportunity to sell a Warn winch at the base of every street light.