billf

I'm preparing to buy and install my first winch ever. I was reading the manual for one of the winches I was considering (the 12,000# Badlands from Harbor Freight) and it repeatedly warned that when using my winch I should have the transmission in neutral. That of course makes sense if I'm pulling my own truck out of the a stuck spot using a tree, etc. as the immovable anchor, but what If I'm using my winch to pull someone else's vehicle out of trouble? In that case I'd expect my truck to be the immovable anchor and the other vehicle to move towards me as I winch it out. In this case should I have MY transmission in neutral? If so, would my parking brake and maybe some wheel chocks be enough to keep my truck anchored?

zmadams

I've never heard this before but I'm thinking that if you were winching somebody else and were in park it would break the park lock/tooth/gear thing and mess up your transmission. Also if you were in drive or reverse you would be tempted to gas it trying to pull them out and put undo stress on your driveline. I don't have a winch but if I did and I was in that situation I would be in my truck, in neutral with my foot on the brake.

lambo2936

Yes, you pretty got it right ^ up there.
Now, im no winch master, im as clueless as you and just bought the 12000 badlands winch LOL but from the research i did, the CORRECT thing to do when pulling someone else out is to put your truck in neutral, lock your e-brake up, and chock your truck.
Thats those things that look like this; http://static.ddmcdn.com/gif/wheel-chocks-3.jpg

That should be enough to keep your truck from moving. If not, you can use a second strap to anchor your truck to a fixed thing IE tie your truck to a tree and then pull the guy out. DO NOT pull in park because apparently if its a very heavy load you can snap somethin, and your just puting unnecessary wear on your transmission.

As for pulling yourself out, yeah you want to be in neutral lol.

Someone please correct me if im wrong :P

billf

lanbo2936: in case you're interested, these are the wheel chocks I use:


I tried several and these worked best for me.

CPT150

so many different ways to do this. Generally, keep in neutral if winching yourself out unless you are trying to help your winch by doing a "rolling recovery" Also, you can use chock blocks and/or turn your wheels for extra stopping power. If you go to youtube and type in Winch Recovery or Recovery techniques, there are some really good examples mainly from all those dudes in Australia