Posted by Clint Dixon [172.70.130.97] on Thursday, March 16, 2023 at 19:20:03 :
In Reply to: Paging John Eickhof posted by Clint Dixon [172.70.126.142] on Thursday, March 16, 2023 at 10:17:15 :
I had thought of making something that would capture itself over the front bumpers (like what you described Jerry), but I have since ruled that out because I don't want to put any strain on the ends of the bumpers. I have seen a lot of front bumper halves bent to almost a right angle when someone tried to park against a tree to use it as a deadman. The Power-Wagon bumpers are surprisingly easy to bend and the upper and lower bumper braces don't add a whole lot of additional strength.
The chains from my blocks angled up to the custom bumpers on my four-wheeling truck and Jeep in straight parallel lines ahead of the center of each front tire. I would not be opposed to attaching the chains to the forward inner corners of the blocks and/or angling the chains up and inboard towards the ends of the frame rails. But under certain conditions, I would be afraid of the blocks pulling out from under the tires due the sideways force that the chains would apply when rigged to angle inboard.
I also would like to avoid connecting the chains to anything ahead of the ends of the frame rails (i.e. the frame extensions).
For the most part, other than self-recovery, I tend winch only logs, an occasional concrete slab, fell trees (and windmills), and skid other equipment with my Power-Wagons. But there are those times when I wish I had a better way to anchor the front tires without the danger of bending any of the parts at the front of the truck. Unfortunately, these rare instances require that I chain the rear of the truck to a tree or some other immobile object.
The last time this happened, I prepared ahead of time for the possibility that I might have to recover a loaded concrete truck mired on my property. I rigged together the winch lines from both of my trucks, to a track loader with the bucket teeth buried straight down into the ground, then to where I knew the concrete truck would be. Several snatch blocks, chains, and the rear of both trucks chained to trees I was ready. I cringed thinking about the possibility of hurting the rear crossmembers of other part ofs the frames.
Fortunately the loaded concrete truck had a good run at it and made it through the draw that he had to cross on our property. On the way out (empty), he didn't have room to get a run at it, but he put the hammer down and I ended up not having to help with my winches.
Thanks again.
Junior
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