Synthetic rope failure: Does it drop or recoil?

mrblaine said:
If you are going to run a hawse suitable for synthetic, that one is about as good as it gets provided the back edge stays away from the rope or is nicely radiused.

The Warn hawse fairlead pictured in my previous post has a rear radius of approximately 1/4".

Warn Hawse Fairlead front view.jpg



Warn Hawse Fairlead rear view.jpg





My existing S*ittybilt roller fairlead is pictured below. It has has standard width mounting holes but is actually narrower than the Warn roller fairleads, something I discovered when I tried to buy a flip-up license plate holder (designed by guess who) and it didn't fit the width between the vertical rollers.

Smittybilt Roller Fairlead.jpg
 
  • Like
Reactions: DrDmoney
The Warn hawse fairlead pictured in my previous post has a rear radius of approximately 1/4".

View attachment 101318


View attachment 101319




My existing S*ittybilt roller fairlead is pictured below. It has has standard width mounting holes but is actually narrower than the Warn roller fairleads, something I discovered when I tried to buy a flip-up license plate holder (designed by guess who) and it didn't fit the width between the vertical rollers.

View attachment 101320
I'll have 2 Warn Hawse Fairleads for sale too, or maybe i can bolt them back to back to make one properly radiused fairlead. :LOL:
 
The Warn hawse fairlead pictured in my previous post has a rear radius of approximately 1/4".

View attachment 101318


View attachment 101319




My existing S*ittybilt roller fairlead is pictured below. It has has standard width mounting holes but is actually narrower than the Warn roller fairleads, something I discovered when I tried to buy a flip-up license plate holder (designed by guess who) and it didn't fit the width between the vertical rollers.

View attachment 101320
Slightly narrower is fine. Narrower enough that it forces the wraps to reverse direction before they get to the drum sides is not good.
 
You can use a pencil to test easily. I'd think a low angle or high angle pull would cut the line.

View attachment 101328

You'd have to be pulling from a particularly extreme angle to get there. Using hose of approximate size to simulate rope, pulling from pretty extreme angles. At that point, I'd consider re-thinking the pull and find a different attachment point for a safer pull.

20190626_105415.jpg


20190626_105428.jpg


20190626_105434.jpg
 
  • Like
Reactions: DrDmoney
You'd have to be pulling from a particularly extreme angle to get there. Using hose of approximate size to simulate rope, pulling from pretty extreme angles. At that point, I'd consider re-thinking the pull and find a different attachment point for a safer pull.
I'd only sweat it when the jeep starts to slip into that extreme angle during a recovery and at that point your line goes pop. With steel it's not an issue but still interesting to think about. Does Marked Designs still exist?
 
I'd only sweat it when the jeep starts to slip into that extreme angle during a recovery and at that point your line goes pop. With steel it's not an issue but still interesting to think about. Does Marked Designs still exist?

I think they do. I think he's still active on JO.
 
I'd only sweat it when the jeep starts to slip into that extreme angle during a recovery and at that point your line goes pop. With steel it's not an issue but still interesting to think about. Does Marked Designs still exist?

Without knowing your hypothetical situation I can't say for certain, but synthetic rope isn't that fragile. I've run it across hard corners several times (albeit without a jeep literally hanging off the line) and it has frayed a bit but not popped like a balloon. It definitely weakened the rope and I'd definitely not recommend doing it, but in a freak senerio I think it'd be fine so long as the rope is in preexisting good condition.
 
A guy from Australia did a youtube video about the difference between cable and synthetic. The short story is the cable recoils and destroys anything in the path. The synthetic snapped back but not as violently. They tied one end to a tree and the other to a bulldozer so there was a lot of tension on both lines when pushed to failure. Moral of the story is be smart and stand out of harms way and definitely don't stand between the jeep and the anchor when pulling.
 
  • Like
Reactions: DrDmoney
Damage to any synthetic rope (rescue lifeline or winch rope) varies greatly by the load placed on it. As an example, you can run a rope across a piece of angle iron and not cause any damage if there is no load, put a 500 lb. load on it and you will see significant chaffing, put a jeep load on it and it will part and break....... this is why having radius' front and back as recommended by mrblaine is so important......
 
A guy from Australia did a youtube video about the difference between cable and synthetic. The short story is the cable recoils and destroys anything in the path. The synthetic snapped back but not as violently. They tied one end to a tree and the other to a bulldozer so there was a lot of tension on both lines when pushed to failure. Moral of the story is be smart and stand out of harms way and definitely don't stand between the jeep and the anchor when pulling.

It amazes and scares me to watch people standing in the 'line of fire' when winching. A snapped cable or failed component under load is a flying projectile.
 
I'd only sweat it when the jeep starts to slip into that extreme angle during a recovery and at that point your line goes pop. With steel it's not an issue but still interesting to think about. Does Marked Designs still exist?
This discussion or one similar came up on JF a few years ago. Several hopped in to refute the claim that steel cable was immune with experiences that they had cut their steel cables the same way. That is where the faulty design of the roller fairlead showed up as well.

Also, if you go back in the thread and watch the steel cable breaking under load, all it is doing in some cases is running across sheetmetal on the bodies of the trucks. On the surface, it would seem that should be more forgiving than the hard edge of the roller fairlead frame. Apparently that isn't quite true.
 
  • Like
Reactions: pagrey
Damage to any synthetic rope (rescue lifeline or winch rope) varies greatly by the load placed on it. As an example, you can run a rope across a piece of angle iron and not cause any damage if there is no load, put a 500 lb. load on it and you will see significant chaffing, put a jeep load on it and it will part and break....... this is why having radius' front and back as recommended by mrblaine is so important......
We did a video for Ricky showing the reason tubular chafe guards don't work. The load on the new 1/4" synthetic line on an ATV winch was 2 mounted MTR tires. It cut completely through the line in about 6" of movement across the rock we were dragging it over. Far less than 500 lbs with a "chafe" guard and very little travel over the sharp edge.

On a side note- I'll need some input from you regarding forces involved in change of direction pulls using a pulley block. I have ordered a small hand winch, some synthetic cable and my small digital hanging scales have already arrived. I'm putting together a small tutorial as a reference on a small scale to help folks understand what happens.
 
We did a video for Ricky showing the reason tubular chafe guards don't work. The load on the new 1/4" synthetic line on an ATV winch was 2 mounted MTR tires. It cut completely through the line in about 6" of movement across the rock we were dragging it over. Far less than 500 lbs with a "chafe" guard and very little travel over the sharp edge.

On a side note- I'll need some input from you regarding forces involved in change of direction pulls using a pulley block. I have ordered a small hand winch, some synthetic cable and my small digital hanging scales have already arrived. I'm putting together a small tutorial as a reference on a small scale to help folks understand what happens.
I would be more than happy to assist you in any way I can.
 
Last edited:
I'm guessing they would be good as a protection during self recovery but not if you were pulling another vehicle towards yours? IE, protection against a rough surface when the rope is stationary but not to be used in place of snatch block so to speak.