Factor 55 flat link vs standard winch hook

[mrblaine]

Please elaborate Given the hook is overkill and they only make it as an add on to a thimble. However I like options, and honestly is 1 or 2lbs ether way that big a difference on the jeep? In it's current configuration I'd never go near it though.

The splicer is the same price though.
View attachment 78842
View attachment 78843Are you referring to the ultra hook? If so I totally agree.

If you are referring to the splicer I don't see it. My masterpull rope has a similar design to the safety thimble, however I've never liked how that section of rope around the end of the hook is always exposed to the sun. I like the splicer because if you point the opening down the rope isn't exposed to sunlight if the winch has a cover.

—
There must have been a time
when we could have said no.

Sun is not an issue. The Splicer and the MasterPull thimble along with the one from another vendor up north are all derivatives of my design of the Safety Thimble. In fact when F55 first showed their original they were told to improve it considerably by making it have the features of the ST which they insistently poopooed as not necessary or prudent since the number of connections was and is not an issue. A rule they consistently violate in the interest of selling more bumper jewelry.

 

[mrblaine]

Fair points, I was not aware that the rope wasn't uv stable. I do like the idea if the flatlink thimble as I've had to back off things my thimble was going to hit. The safety thimble fairlead does move it out of the way but I'd be really nervous without a spotter with the rope exposed like that.

15 bucks to install that "skid" is nuking futs.

—
There must have been a time
when we could have said no.

The ST fairlead was developed to protect the thimble eye because we kept smashing them into rocks. We have yet to cut a rope since switching over.

 

[mrblaine]

Hawse fairleads are required for synthetic line, and synthetic line is required for a hawse fairlead: they're a matched pair. Likewise, steel and rollers go together; you can use synthetic in a roller fairlead, but you're likely to get it pinched in a corner, which can lead to failure. Steel line in a aluminum hawse fairlead will quickly cause damage of one sort or another, either to the line or to the fairlead.

Edit: just for clarity, this is my OPINION.

Both steel and synthetic have failed not because of the corner pinch, they ride up the side roller on vertical pulls over to the side and rub against the fairlead roller frame in the corner.

 

[mrblaine]

Had a Warn M10000 that came new in the box with steel line and a steel hawse fairlead. It's not a common setup to be sure but they do exist. I'm now using that fairlead with synthetic (it never got used with the steel even once) although at some point I'll probably replace it and the back edge isn't rounded enough for my liking and could create a bit of a small radus point on vertical offsets.

—
There must have been a time
when we could have said no.

There is an iron fairlead in the pics in this thread that should be swapped out. They do wear the synthetic a lot more than a smooth one does.

 

[Sundowner]

Both steel and synthetic have failed not because of the corner pinch, they ride up the side roller on vertical pulls over to the side and rub against the fairlead roller frame in the corner.

Makes sense. I've seen the corner issue twice, and "ride up on the roller" is a good description. I was amazed at how effective the roller was at shoving the line all the way to the sides, and then deflecting it even further.

 

[jjvw]

There is an iron fairlead in the pics in this thread that should be swapped out. They do wear the synthetic a lot more than a smooth one does.

Mine, I assume. I smoothed out the high spots and a couple flashes from the casting. But it's on my radar to keep an eye on. I haven't worn through the paint and powder coat yet, if that's an indication of anything.

 

[Sundowner]

There is an iron fairlead in the pics in this thread that should be swapped out. They do were the synthetic a lot more than a smooth one does.

Are they actual cast iron and not steel? I saw one advertised as such just a few days ago, and I wondered if it was legit cast iron. Not that "legit" means anything other than "made in Chinesea" when it comes to most cast iron, these days.

 

[Sundowner]

Mine, I assume. I smoothed out the high spots and a couple flashes from the casting. But it's on my radar to keep an eye on. I haven't worn through the paint and powder coat yet, if that's an indication of anything.

Yeah, you're not getting stuck often enough!

 

[mrblaine]

Mine, I assume. I smoothed out the high spots and a couple flashes from the casting. But it's on my radar to keep an eye on. I haven't worn through the paint and powder coat yet, if that's an indication of anything.

Edit your reply and fix wear please. Yes, it is an indication of two things. The little nubbies are protecting the paint and you don't use your winch very much.

 

[mrblaine]

Are they actual cast iron and not steel? I saw one advertised as such just a few days ago, and I wondered if it was legit cast iron. Not that "legit" means anything other than "made in Chinesea" when it comes to most cast iron, these days.

They are cast. Steel has two issues when you cast it. The much higher pour temperature over cast iron tears up the molds and gives you a crap finish that has to be machined and it costs a lot more.

 

[Sundowner]

They are cast. Steel has two issues when you cast it. The much higher pour temperature over cast iron tears up the molds and gives you a crap finish that has to be machined and it costs a lot more.

Well that's what I was wondering, because the only ones I've seen look pretty rough even in pictures, so I wondered if it was steel instead of iron.

 

[jjvw]

Yeah, you're not getting stuck often enough!

Yes, it is an indication of two things. The little nubbies are protecting the paint and you don't use your winch very much.

Fair enough. I'm working on it! I had rollers for quite a while before the hawse was installed.

 

[mrblaine]

Fair enough. I'm working on it! I had rollers for quite a while before the hawse was installed.

Once upon a time, a popular winchline vendor touted the benefit of the aluminum hawse fairleads saying they were superior to rollers in every way imaginable. I called him and explained I had a great idea for a snatch block. Just machine half a pulley on an aluminum plate, make a cover plate for other side and eliminate the pulley, the axle, and the associated cost.

He immediately replied that was the dumbest thing he ever heard and everyone knows the pulley has to be there to protect the rope from abrasion and dragging it over a pulley that didn't turn was just stupid.

I waited a few seconds for what he said to sink in.

 

[billiebob]

How about the smittybilt aluminum winch shackle that’s half that price at $70?

Even free, a Smittybilt part on a winch is not a deal....
if you ever use it stand waaaay back.

 

[jjvw]

Once upon a time, a popular winchline vendor touted the benefit of the aluminum hawse fairleads saying they were superior to rollers in every way imaginable. I called him and explained I had a great idea for a snatch block. Just machine half a pulley on an aluminum plate, make a cover plate for other side and eliminate the pulley, the axle, and the associated cost.

He immediately replied that was the dumbest thing he ever heard and everyone knows the pulley has to be there to protect the rope from abrasion and dragging it over a pulley that didn't turn was just stupid.

I waited a few seconds for what he said to sink in.

That makes my head spin. Wouldn't something like a UHMW hawse be a good solution to the potential problems of a metal wear surface for synthetic rope?

 

[billiebob]

Steel line in a aluminum hawse fairlead will quickly cause damage

Warn sells a cast iron hawse fairhead for steel cable.

 

[mrblaine]

That makes my head spin. Wouldn't something like a UHMW hawse be a good solution to the potential problems of a metal wear surface?

The biggest issue in all of this crap is we have to depend on a few folks and a large contingent of ignorant assholes to understand the nuance of a very dangerous activity. I repeat over and over that the biggest value a vendor has to the general populace and his customer is education.

No, a plastic fairlead is absolute shit. Any fairlead has to be able to withstand enough vertical loading to pick the front of the rig off the ground and maybe more depending on what is hung up. If it can't do that, then the deflection will allow the rope to come into contact with the hole in the mount and shred the line to failure with a quickness.

Lots of folks have done lots of gimmicky crap like plastic rollers and fairleads. I watched a set of the rollers in use. They didn't turn and locked up on the axles at which point they became a plastic hawse fairlead and still dumb.

 

[Sundowner]

Blaine: while I have your attention for a moment...

Is there a functional or practical difference between the TRE safety thimble fairlead and the Savvy winch hoop with the thimble mount? To my eye, they look basically similar in function, with the difference simply being that one requires a winch hoop and pin, and the other does not.

 

[jjvw]

It sounds like a well designed aluminum hawse is the best solution for synthetic right now.

If a roller stops rolling, it becomes a poorly functioning hawse. Producing a steel/iron hawse suitable for synthetic ropes sounds labor intensive and cost prohibitive. Plastics are not a viable option yet. Aluminum works well as long as both the fairlead and the rope designs are paired to each other so as to not create self-inflicted problems.

 

[Drizit]

The ST fairlead was developed to protect the thimble eye because we kept smashing them into rocks. We have yet to cut a rope since switching over.

Cool good to hear it from someone who actually uses the product a lot and as intended.

—
There must have been a time
when we could have said no.