From the factory, the cable is loosely wound on the drum. If you don't rewind it tight, the cable will sink into the lower coil levels and become stuck and possibly damaged. When you wind the cable on the drum tightly, the cable can't sink into the lower levels.

 

I believe it is also to stretch the cable.


As for hooking on the ball, NEVER hook on the ball. Think catapult.

For the purposes of performing the initial "stretch" of the cable, I hook on to where a safety chain hooks. We are not talking about huge stresses, If you are on a hill, your heep can be in neutral and just the weight of the jeep is enough.

If you are on flat ground, a few clicks of the e-brake, but where the jeep's wheels can still roll is enough.

 

Very helpful thread. I have been wondering this myself since putting my winch on last month.

 

I use my son's snow sled with two cement blocks in it. Works well, and it is light enough to keep the cable from jamming between layers.

 

Just wondering do u have to do this with synthetic rope?

 

I don't think the sled is enough weight. You want load of about 1000 pounds. If the line is not spooled tight enough, when you go to do a recovery the top layer will slide down into a lower layer and get tangled, unable to go in or out

 

Okay, so I'm thinking catapult and now I MUST hook on the ball. If you want to deter me from doing something stupid you will have to leave out really cool shit like catapults.

 

Imagine it going through your windshield, through your face, and wedging nicely in your head rest.. No so fun. Unless no one is driving and everyone is a good safe distance away, then yes, extremely fun.

If you happen to be a fisherman and use a bait caster think about what happens when your spool isn't wound correctly and your line digs into the spool, you reel in fine, but next time you go to cast, its not so pretty. Line sticks there, you can't get it out and you cut out 200 yards of line just to get the birds nest out. I've helped a few people spool their winch, and the tree on an incline seems to be more than common because its what we did.

I don't know why you wouldn't spool synthetic, theoretically you can suffer the same problems as the steel cable.

 

I'm thinking Monty python, LOL

 

She has huuuuuuuge..........tracts of land