Feedback on idea of using 4-wheeler for winch rope retrieve

[Bret Hess]

Hi, we're starting our fall winch season soon, and I'd like to try at least one day of using a 4-wheeler for rope retrieve (pull it out from the winch drum to connect to glider).  It's a 2 mile round trip for every launch that we like to do at 20 miles per hour.  It's on the dirt west of the Nephi runway.  About half the distance is smooth, and about half you feel like you're wearing your car out.  Or you can go 10 mph and it takes longer, but it's still feels rough.  The pull on the rope is probably about 100 lbs.  

If you have experience with 4 wheelers you can give your idea of how big a 4-wheeler would be good for ride and value (price and longevity competing maybe).   If you have a 4-wheeler we could use for the experiments, that would be great too.  

Thanks,

Bret

[Brad Alston]

I think an ATV is a great idea. With about 3-4 PSI in the tires, typical for ATV, rough spots would feel a lot smoother than in your road vehicles. The 100# pulling force, dragging, should not be a problem either. I'm not sure how rolling weight would translate to dragging pull, but even the smaller ATVs can pull a reasonable amount of rolling weight (e.g., a 300cc can pull 400-450# rolling). And, since we're on mostly level ground, there shouldn't be an issue with traction or braking power either.

I've used a 350cc ATV with a hitch to pull around log splitters (rolling weight ~200#) and a trailer loaded with logs (rolling weight ~600#). I believe the rated max. towing capacity is near 850#.

Additionally, an ATV might prove handy around the airfield for other tasks besides winch line retrieval...with more power and speed than your typical golf cart. ;) I may be able to secure use of the 350cc ATV I've used before with enough advanced notice.

Brad.

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[Paul Agnew]

I went to Karl Striedeck's place for my winch endorsement and he uses an ATV to pull the rope.  His airport has large rises and valleys, so the ATV has to be robust enough to pull while running up a hill.  Now, he only uses one rope at a time and I don't recall how many drums we have on the winch in Nephi.  

Cheers, 

Paul Agnew

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[Bret Hess]

Thanks guys.  

Paul, we have a single drum on our winch.  There is however a TOST 2-drum winch for sale in the US for $67k if some donors step up:

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[mi...@mghendron.net]

A 4-wheeler ATV was Bill Daniels recommended line retrieval method back when we first got the winch up and running down in Nephi. (Bill was our initial “trainer” and consultant, followed by Karl Striedeck). I think we may have tried one early on for retrieves. As Brad suggested, the requirements would seem to be pretty minimal.

 

From: utah-s...@googlegroups.com <utah-s...@googlegroups.com> On Behalf Of Bret Hess
Sent: Monday, September 19, 2022 3:41 PM
To: Utah Soaring <utah-s...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: [Utah-Soaring] Feedback on idea of using 4-wheeler for winch rope retrieve

 

Thanks guys.  

 

Paul, we have a single drum on our winch.  There is however a TOST 2-drum winch for sale in the US for $67k if some donors step up:

 

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[Bret Hess]

This Polaris 325 Trail Boss (2000) is now in the club!  It will be the default retrieve vehicle for winching, but also available for some Nephi operations, policy still to be decided.