Winch rope to tow hook, WHATS the go? Opinions...

[^Nicko]

Just want to throw this one out there and get some peoples opinions.

I personally dont get why people hook their synthetic rope down below bullbar, OVER the "bash" plate and risk it getting hacked by rocks or trees or anything you may or may not want to hit.

why do you guys who do it, do it ?

it does look kind of cool and im open to changing my mind.

[Rocket55]

Can't see the point of running it like in the first photo for exactly the reasons you have said, it gets damaged. Mine won't sit neatly in the hawse like your second photo as the back of the hook is just slightly to small and jams in the hawse and dings it up causing sharp edges which then damage my rope, so I just run it back in the bull bar and hook it onto one of the support brackets back there and then winch it tight, like so. Make sure any exposed pieces of rope are sheathed as the UV from the sun light perishes the rope and then when you go to use it, it busts

[Alby]

I agree with you 100%
I leave mine on the drum with the hook laid flat on the hawse with a cable tie on it to stop it flapping around

[dute]

I agree with you 100%
I leave mine on the drum with the hook laid flat on the hawse with a cable tie on it to stop it flapping around

X 2 I do the same . . .

[jakelux]

I agree its better up in/on the Hawse but probably more times then not i have mine attached to a D-shakle off the recovery hook... only cause im too lazy to reel it in the extra 2 feet..

I have found with the rope and hawse the hook doesn't sit firmly when wound up compared to when i had steel cable and roller fairlead.

Was looking at one of these rubber stops for a while, practical.. but bloody ugly looking things

[DeadlyBeast]

ProLink shackle mount:




$$$!! - worth the coin?...

[Flava]

Was looking at one of these rubber stops for a while, practical.. but bloody ugly looking things

Na mate, thats just the Nissan your seeing

[Rooboy75]

That Factor 55 unit is a cracker bit of kit!

I see a lot of people mentioning about leaving the synthetics out in the sun.

Your ropes shouldn't be bothered by uv and most are listed as uv resistant. Have been dealing with all kinds of it over the years at sea on tugs and have never had an issue after it sitting out side in the sun and salt.

All the same, can't hurt to keep it covered and clean it regularly as dust and oils will be more abrasive than anything.

[Stef]

ProLink shackle mount:

$$$!! - worth the coin?...

That's so neat! I'm trying to think of something else I could use to get the same effect,
Wonder what it would be like running a shackle straight onto the rope instead of a hook

[hiluxxury]

When my main hobby was climbing, the rule of thumb was the fewer the links in a anchor setup, the fewer points to fail.

Those attachments look good but for me they are just another link in the recovery line that might fail.

A soft dyneema shackle might be a cheaper and safer option if this becomes a projectile.

[taresk]

I think the main issue is as mentioned above, the hawse fairlead is made of alloy, unlike the old steel rollers it's easily damaged by the hook sitting against it, which can in turn damage the rope. Factor 55 have plenty of options that are designed to sit against the fairlead without damaging it, they're not cheap by any means, but worth it to protect your rope.

[HK1837]

I use a Factor55 Flatlink Expert. Picked it up for about $160 as a special, last one etc in orange colour. I wanted the normally cheaper Flatlink but this one was a bargain. There were the round Prolink style as shown in prior photos in this thread in Lime Green cheap at the time too, like $125.

[Ben80]

I cut up a large poly suspension bush into a thick washer and put it behind the hook to save damage to the fairlead

[xychix]

This is how I prefer mine . and YES it's really there in the Rhino Evolution behind the license plate is a Factor 55 flatlink.