Anyone use synthetic nylon winch cable? Or anything besides steel?

[acarleson]

Hello,

I have steel cable on my winch, but it's getting old and I'm starting to get a little nervous about it. I imagine that having a steel cable under tons of pressure exploding in your face is pretty painful, so I'm thinking about replacing it.

I could just get steel again, but as I am looking through, I'm seeing a lot of synthetic nylon cable (not the straps, it's much closer to rope). The descriptions say things like "stronger than steel! Won't rust or break down in the sun! etc." but I have no idea if that's just marketing speak or if synthetic nylon is actually better than traditional steel. It seems to have a higher load rating, but again, not sure if that's true or not.

Has anyone had any experiences with nylon winch cable, good or bad? Or have a preference between things like steel, or those straps, or nylon cable? I'd like to get something strong that won't snap and fly back and hit me in the face!

Thanks

 

[alldodge]

I have used both, and steel is all around better for the long run. You can normally tell when it needs replacing and in may cases, just need to cut the cable end off and use cable clamps to put the hook back on

Nylon straps, kevlar and other synthetic cables can were down inside. Could have a bad spot and not know it. I take my nylon strap and double it, then connect it to the snap hook and winch

 

[acarleson]

Thanks. Just went back to look at steel cable and now that I'm looking at them I'm remembering why I even started looking at the nylon in the first place... I'm not really seeing many steel cables that are strong enough. I see a lot of 600 pound steel cable, but I would want 3000-4000 pound to be safe (my boat is 2500 pounds). All of the winches that I see that are rated for 1200 pounds or over use nylon instead of steel, and I don't see any steel cable that's rated at the load i'm looking for.... hm... Now I'm a little worried that the steel cable I've been using is way too light for my boat...

Does a heavier boat change things? Should I still be looking at steel for a 2500 pound boat, maybe heaver when loaded?

Thanks!

 

[dingbat]

I looked into a synthetic winch cable when I needed to replace the cable on my #4,000 rated electric winch a couple of years ago.

Read all the pro and cons. In the end ended up staying with a good quality galvanized steel cable.

The advertised life expectancy wasn’t much different. Couldn’t see paying 3 times more to fix something that wasn’t broken

Dyneema Rope Manufacturer for Marine and Off-Roading Applications - USA Rope and Recovery

When it comes to steel cable versus synthetic Dyneema rope for marine and off-roading applications, there seems to be a distinct divide amongst enthusiasts. No matter where you go, people seem to argue the quality of both types, making it hard for someone to define the truth. Over the past few...

usarope.net

 

[dingbat]

Thanks. Just went back to look at steel cable and now that I'm looking at them I'm remembering why I even started looking at the nylon in the first place... I'm not really seeing many steel cables that are strong enough. I see a lot of 600 pound steel cable, but I would want 3000-4000 pound to be safe (my boat is 2500 pounds). All of the winches that I see that are rated for 1200 pounds or over use nylon instead of steel, and I don't see any steel cable that's rated at the load i'm looking for.... hm... Now I'm a little worried that the steel cable I've been using is way too light for my boat...

Does a heavier boat change things? Should I still be looking at steel for a 2500 pound boat, maybe heaver when loaded?

Thanks!

Amazon.com : Seachoice 51181 Steel Winch Cable with Safety Hook – 3/16 Inch x 25 Feet – 4, 000 Pound Tensile Strength : Sailing Hardware : Sports & Outdoors

Amazon.com : Seachoice 51181 Steel Winch Cable with Safety Hook – 3/16 Inch x 25 Feet – 4, 000 Pound Tensile Strength : Sailing Hardware : Sports & Outdoors

www.amazon.com

 

[JASinIL2006]

Personally, you couldn't pay me enough to go back to a steel cable. I got tired of little steel needles cutting my hands as the cable ages. I went with a nylon strap and never looked back. So much nicer.

Also, when looking at capacities, remember that your not lifting the boat in the air and suspending it, so you don't need to find a strap/cable that exceeds your boat's weight; you just need one strong enough to pull the boat onto the trailer.

 

[acarleson]

Thanks for all the input. I guess I didn't really think about only needing enough to pull the boat onto the trailer... is there a rule of thumb for this, like, the cable should be able to handle [x] percent of the boat's weight? I just figured, and maybe my setup is just garbage, but I figured that what with being on a tilted ramp and the friction introduced by the carpet on my bunks... I'm basically pulling the full weight of my boat uphill along a rough carpet. I assumed that the weight I was pulling was pretty close to the full weight of the boat, but maybe not! Might be time to switch to some nice roller bunks... ha.
So that's a few votes for steel and one for nylon... @JASinIL, can I ask, do you use the nylon strap, or the nylon cable?
thanks all

 

[dingbat]

Personally, you couldn't pay me enough to go back to a steel cable. I got tired of little steel needles cutting my hands as the cable ages.

The "little needles" are the individual strands of wire that make up the cable that have broken. The equivalent of a frayed strap.

Cable should be replaced with the first sign of a broken strand(s).
Use a good quality, (high strand count) stainless or galvanized steel cable and it will out live the trailer.

 

[dwco5051]

Nylon is just one of the different synthetic materials that are used for rope. It should not be used as a winch line as it has too much stretch. The kinetic energy stored in the nylon rope is equal to force times distance and if the line parts can be dangerous. Be sure if you do change to a synthetic of a material suitable for use on a winch.

 

[ahicks]

Do/use what you want, but I'm a strap convert here. I'd much rather deal with a strap when it let's go unexpectedly, and I don't have to worry about it stacking up wrong on the winch. I use as much as I need to reach the back of the trailer, and no more, to keep the mechanical advantage as best possible.

 

[JimS123]

The "little needles" are the individual strands of wire that make up the cable that have broken. The equivalent of a frayed strap.

Cable should be replaced with the first sign of a broken strand(s).
Use a good quality, (high strand count) stainless or galvanized steel cable and it will out live the trailer.

My last boat had a PowerWinch brand electric winch with a steel cable. After 35 years it still didn't have a prickly strand sticking out. I guess I took good care of it.

I have other boats with manual winches and the nylon straps work well too.

OTOH, if you store the trailer in the sun, the steel cable will last almost forever, but the nylon will deteriorate in a few years.

 

[dwco5051]

Do/use what you want, but I'm a strap convert here. I'd much rather deal with a strap when it let's go unexpectedly, and I don't have to worry about it stacking up wrong on the winch. I use as much as I need to reach the back of the trailer, and no more, to keep the mechanical advantage as best possible.

I am guilty as charged. I should have been more specific and not said all nylon. Both my boats are using synthetic straps. I have 4 equipment trailers sitting now at my shop and my tie down straps are all either DOT approved high tensile nylon or poly. Only steel cable is on a recovery winch on one of the trailers. My oldest boy replaced a kinked steel cable on an electric winch with nylon a few months ago. Being old I forget about changes made over the years such as glass reinforced HT nylon and such.
Should have kept my mouth shut and just said buy from a reliable source and be sure that it is rated for winch use and not the cheapest stuff on the shelf at HF.

 

[H20Rat]

Won't run anything but a strap any more. Boat weighs around 3300#. Straps are cheaper than synthetic rope, so there really isn't any advantage.

 

[Scott Danforth]

im using 10mm dynice dux. linear strength with a splice is 12.5 metric tons. running a brummel on the spool and a traditional eye splice on the hook end. using a 1500kg load, 100mm wichard hook.

when a synthetic rope snaps, it just falls to the earth.

when a steel cable snaps, it cuts things in half when she comes flying.

 

[JASinIL2006]

I use a strap, too.

 

[Bondo]

Ayuh,..... I've been convertin' all of my winches to amsteel, or dyneema rope,....

No longer any need to wear leather gloves when usin' 'em,.....

 

[bruceb58]

I use a strap. Was tired of all the cable issues including the starands and the cable getting stuck on itself. These days, I only use the winch once a year on each of my trailers and they don't have to be pulled very far up the trailer thankfully.

 

[jhande]

I hauled many cars with a ramp truck. A cable broke while the customer had my attention, damn thing nearly took my face off. After that, In HATE steel cables.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Ayuh,..... I've been convertin' all of my winches to amsteel, or dyneema rope,....

No longer any need to wear leather gloves when usin' 'em,.....

Amseel Blue?

 

[Bondo]

Amseel Blue?

Ayuh,..... I've got some blue, 'n some gray,.....
All are rated well over any expected loads, or many times the winch capacities,....