First off many thanks and appreciation goes out to Ricky Garza (@Garza) at 4LowParts.com for hooking me up with this setup. I highly encourage any forum members to contact Ricky for a great deal on anything TRE related. Believe me when I say he will hook you up!
In addition my thanks and appreciation goes out to Blaine (@mrblaine) as he is the original inventor and developer of the TRE Safety Thimble II and TRE fairlead. Without great minds like his, cool things like this probably wouldn't exist.
Installation
Installation of the fairlead is simple, I'm not even going to bother touching that subject because if you can't figure out how to install nuts and bolts, well you probably ought to start somewhere else.
Installing the TRE Safety Thimble II was quite a daunting task. I will admit, I was overthinking this one big time and I let it get the best of me. Once I collected my thoughts, sat down and really started figuring out how to do it, it was actually really easy.
The knot you're going to want to use to install the safety thimble is called a long bury splice. I have scoured all of Google far and wide and while there is a TON of information on this knot, most of it is jumbled and confusing. The BEST site you will find to learn to tie this knot can be found here. That website explains the long bury splice knot in a very straightforward, elegant, step-by-step process. If you follow those instructions and use the fids provided by Ricky, you'll have no problem at all. Just take your time and watch the animation on that website numerous times before starting your knot.
I was extremely apprehensive about this knot because the only knot I've ever known how to tie is one in my shoe laces. I didn't think I had the skill to do something like this, but I was as wrong as can be. In fact, once I started doing it I quickly realized how easy and simple it was, including the concept of how it works.
So, my advice there is not to overthink things. It's really not that hard once you sit down with your rope in your hands. After completing my knot I felt a lot better about myself and feel like I've gained a useful skill should I ever need it on the trail.
I've also posted a thread on how to install a safety thimble here (it basically just reiterates everything I just said). Just wanted to cross link that for members benefit.
Review
Let me star my review by saying that I always, always, always try to support products that are made in the USA. The fact that these parts are designed and manufactured in the USA is a huge selling point for me. I'm sorry but I simply refuse to put anything on my Jeep (especially when it's related to safety or recovery gear) that is made in China. Being made in the USA makes these parts that much better in my eyes.
The quality of the parts is as you would expect, top notch. There's not much going on here, they're very simple, but in the case of recovery gear simple is what you want so I have no complaints here. Your other alternative to the TRE Safety Thimble II is the Factor 55 safety thimble. However, if you're smart and you do your research first, you'll quickly realize that the Factor 55 is NOT the ideal solution for a safety thimble. It introduces various other 'parts' that have the ability to break under heavy load and just complicate things further as well.
The hawse fairlead is awesome. I almost went with the standard hawse fairlead but Ricky convinced me to get this one instead. I like it much better because you can mount the safety thimble up and out of the way when not in use. I'm not sure if there is a practical benefit to this (maybe Blaine will chime in and let us know), but I can tell you that it looks more pleasing aesthetically, and it also keeps the safety thimble away from the fairlead opening which is a good thing. If you know anything about synthetic rope you'll know that you NEVER want to damage your fairlead or create any rough edges for the rope to snag on. By keeping the safety thimble away from it it's just one extra level of precaution if you ask me (not that it matters since the safety thimble has no way of really damaging or contacting the opening edges of the fairlead anyways).
I've purchased other stuff from Ricky and Blaine before and I'm always impressed with the quality and the thought that goes into their products. I can certainly promise you that anyone who is looking for a better (and safer) option for their winch should not hesitate to purchase the TRE Safety Thimble II and hawse fairlead.
I haven't had a chance to actually use the safety thimble in action yet, but once I do I'll certainly update this post.
If you're currently still using a hook on your winch do yourself a favor and get rid of it in favor of this setup!
In addition my thanks and appreciation goes out to Blaine (@mrblaine) as he is the original inventor and developer of the TRE Safety Thimble II and TRE fairlead. Without great minds like his, cool things like this probably wouldn't exist.
Installation
Installation of the fairlead is simple, I'm not even going to bother touching that subject because if you can't figure out how to install nuts and bolts, well you probably ought to start somewhere else.
Installing the TRE Safety Thimble II was quite a daunting task. I will admit, I was overthinking this one big time and I let it get the best of me. Once I collected my thoughts, sat down and really started figuring out how to do it, it was actually really easy.
The knot you're going to want to use to install the safety thimble is called a long bury splice. I have scoured all of Google far and wide and while there is a TON of information on this knot, most of it is jumbled and confusing. The BEST site you will find to learn to tie this knot can be found here. That website explains the long bury splice knot in a very straightforward, elegant, step-by-step process. If you follow those instructions and use the fids provided by Ricky, you'll have no problem at all. Just take your time and watch the animation on that website numerous times before starting your knot.
I was extremely apprehensive about this knot because the only knot I've ever known how to tie is one in my shoe laces. I didn't think I had the skill to do something like this, but I was as wrong as can be. In fact, once I started doing it I quickly realized how easy and simple it was, including the concept of how it works.
So, my advice there is not to overthink things. It's really not that hard once you sit down with your rope in your hands. After completing my knot I felt a lot better about myself and feel like I've gained a useful skill should I ever need it on the trail.
I've also posted a thread on how to install a safety thimble here (it basically just reiterates everything I just said). Just wanted to cross link that for members benefit.
Review
Let me star my review by saying that I always, always, always try to support products that are made in the USA. The fact that these parts are designed and manufactured in the USA is a huge selling point for me. I'm sorry but I simply refuse to put anything on my Jeep (especially when it's related to safety or recovery gear) that is made in China. Being made in the USA makes these parts that much better in my eyes.
The quality of the parts is as you would expect, top notch. There's not much going on here, they're very simple, but in the case of recovery gear simple is what you want so I have no complaints here. Your other alternative to the TRE Safety Thimble II is the Factor 55 safety thimble. However, if you're smart and you do your research first, you'll quickly realize that the Factor 55 is NOT the ideal solution for a safety thimble. It introduces various other 'parts' that have the ability to break under heavy load and just complicate things further as well.
The hawse fairlead is awesome. I almost went with the standard hawse fairlead but Ricky convinced me to get this one instead. I like it much better because you can mount the safety thimble up and out of the way when not in use. I'm not sure if there is a practical benefit to this (maybe Blaine will chime in and let us know), but I can tell you that it looks more pleasing aesthetically, and it also keeps the safety thimble away from the fairlead opening which is a good thing. If you know anything about synthetic rope you'll know that you NEVER want to damage your fairlead or create any rough edges for the rope to snag on. By keeping the safety thimble away from it it's just one extra level of precaution if you ask me (not that it matters since the safety thimble has no way of really damaging or contacting the opening edges of the fairlead anyways).
I've purchased other stuff from Ricky and Blaine before and I'm always impressed with the quality and the thought that goes into their products. I can certainly promise you that anyone who is looking for a better (and safer) option for their winch should not hesitate to purchase the TRE Safety Thimble II and hawse fairlead.
I haven't had a chance to actually use the safety thimble in action yet, but once I do I'll certainly update this post.
If you're currently still using a hook on your winch do yourself a favor and get rid of it in favor of this setup!
