Good winch for pulling 2 ton van?

Mildly_Miffed

GervisLooper said:

What does it mean 70a no load? How can it be drawing that in stanby mode! What can be taking such draw if it isn't doing anything? 390a!!!? My leisure batt is only 100a

It means it draws 70A when operating with no load - just pulling the cable in, at 8m/minute. Not standby.

Your leisure battery is 100Ah, not 100A.
Amps are a measure of current, Amp-hours are a measure of battery capacity.
4A x 25hr = 100Ah
100A x 1hr = 100Ah.
400A x 15min = 100Ah.
(It's not quite that straightforward, because there's different ratings based on current, and your battery will also have a CCA rating - cold cranking amps. 400A is way over what a starter motor will draw, and if your leisure is a proper deep-cycle leisure, then it really won't like delivering big currents.)

You do not want to completely flatten your battery - if it's lead-acid, anything over 50% will damage it.

[Deleted User]

paul_c123 said:

If its only for the "just in case" scenario, then these would be a better investment: 
Google "sand ladders". And a decent spade too, to take the harshness out of the slope you would need to drive up, if you got stuck in a hole.

I have a set of these for emergencies. Rarely used but a lifesaver when needed.
The spade is useful for digging them out, they really grip the ground.

GervisLooper

paul_c123 said:

If its only for the "just in case" scenario, then these would be a better investment: 
Google "sand ladders". And a decent spade too, to take the harshness out of the slope you would need to drive up, if you got stuck in a hole.

Are these better than 'grass mats' used for festivals?

I don't see how I can take the harshness out of a slope if the top is the exit? If I take it out at one place it would then just have to be tackled further up.

GervisLooper

Mildly_Miffed said:

GervisLooper said:

What does it mean 70a no load? How can it be drawing that in stanby mode! What can be taking such draw if it isn't doing anything? 390a!!!? My leisure batt is only 100a

It means it draws 70A when operating with no load - just pulling the cable in, at 8m/minute. Not standby.

Your leisure battery is 100Ah, not 100A.
Amps are a measure of current, Amp-hours are a measure of battery capacity.
4A x 25hr = 100Ah
100A x 1hr = 100Ah.
400A x 15min = 100Ah.
(It's not quite that straightforward, because there's different ratings based on current, and your battery will also have a CCA rating - cold cranking amps. 400A is way over what a starter motor will draw, and if your leisure is a proper deep-cycle leisure, then it really won't like delivering big currents.)

You do not want to completely flatten your battery - if it's lead-acid, anything over 50% will damage it.

Yes I do get confused with those. I generally know those principles but it confuses me when I read A ratings over the capacity of my battery.

Another recent example is a jump starter power pack thing my mum gave me. It states it only has 11000mah capacity so 11ah right? Yet it also statest the the power output when connected to the starter is 200a and 500a peak. How can it be such high ratings when it only has 11ah total?

My leisure battery is a lifepo4.

What about that link I showed earlier then where the guy is happily using one strapped to a tree with just an atv battery?

Ok put another way what is the minimum battery that you would recommend to use it with? How come it requires such a super battery when most vehicle winches on tow trucks and such I presume are powered from normal van batteries? Do they have some type of super batteries for the towing factor?

Batteries over 100a get into the hundreds of pounds then so it would be getting to be silly money then for this project which would probably hardly ever be used. Would be better to buy the best under wheel grips money could buy instead for a fraction of the cost.

On that subject would getting off road tires make a big difference, even though not a 4x4? I have seen another van dweller with some beefy looking nobbly tires and I did think to ask him how much they helped with grip but not in the same area now to see them.

Mildly_Miffed

GervisLooper said:

Another recent example is a jump starter power pack thing my mum gave me. It states it only has 11000mah capacity so 11ah right? Yet it also statest the the power output when connected to the starter is 200a and 500a peak. How can it be such high ratings when it only has 11ah total?

Because it can deliver a lot of oomph, but not for very long.

Take 200A out of an 11Ah battery, and it'll last about 3 minutes to totally flat.

How come it requires such a super battery when most vehicle winches on tow trucks and such I presume are powered from normal van batteries? Do they have some type of super batteries for the towing factor?

A recovery truck is spending maybe a minute or two pulling a rolling vehicle up the steel ramps, relatively little rolling resistance, and the engine is running so the alternator is contributing charge. Also, it'll be 24v, so half the amps for the same number of watts.

GervisLooper

Mildly_Miffed said:

GervisLooper said:

Another recent example is a jump starter power pack thing my mum gave me. It states it only has 11000mah capacity so 11ah right? Yet it also statest the the power output when connected to the starter is 200a and 500a peak. How can it be such high ratings when it only has 11ah total?

Because it can deliver a lot of oomph, but not for very long.

Take 200A out of an 11Ah battery, and it'll last about 3 minutes to totally flat.

How come it requires such a super battery when most vehicle winches on tow trucks and such I presume are powered from normal van batteries? Do they have some type of super batteries for the towing factor?

A recovery truck is spending maybe a minute or two pulling a rolling vehicle up the steel ramps, relatively little rolling resistance, and the engine is running so the alternator is contributing charge. Also, it'll be 24v, so half the amps for the same number of watts.

What is the calculation to get the duration from amps of an ah figure? I can't quite get it. I can see how they go into them for simple examples but not sure what the calculation would be for the less obvious ones like the larger than a given total battery capacity amp draws.

So which battery would you advise for one of those 4 ton ones you recommended?

Could I get a smaller one, below 4 ton, for cheaper and just drive at the same time thus reducing the max required presumably? Would have to get a remote controlled one in that case to operate while behind the wheel.

GervisLooper

[Deleted User] said:

paul_c123 said:

If its only for the "just in case" scenario, then these would be a better investment: 
Google "sand ladders". And a decent spade too, to take the harshness out of the slope you would need to drive up, if you got stuck in a hole.

I have a set of these for emergencies. Rarely used but a lifesaver when needed.
The spade is useful for digging them out, they really grip the ground.

Which ones did you buy thin, medium or heavy and which length?

Iceweasel

Spear and Jackson No.5 as in Ripping Yarns.
Google it.

[Deleted User]

I bought these back in 2019 (listing is no longer on eBay)

2x Sand Ladders Waffle Boards Traction Ramps GRP - 996 x 310 x 25mm - Yellow

My van is 3,500kg, they seem almost over engineered and I'm pretty sure they'll last a lifetime.

Mildly_Miffed

GervisLooper said:

What is the calculation to get the duration from amps of an ah figure? I can't quite get it. I can see how they go into them for simple examples but not sure what the calculation would be for the less obvious ones like the larger than a given total battery capacity amp draws.

So which battery would you advise for one of those 4 ton ones you recommended?

Could I get a smaller one, below 4 ton, for cheaper and just drive at the same time thus reducing the max required presumably? Would have to get a remote controlled one in that case to operate while behind the wheel.

1 Amp x 1 hour = 1 Ah
0.5A x 2hr = 1Ah
2A x 0.5hr = 1Ah

Yes, probably you could use a lighter winch. Whether it'd save much power is another question, because ultimately it's doing the same amount of work.

They all have remotes. NEVER stand near a winch that's working, because if the rope breaks or comes loose, that's a very good way to lose any anatomy that gets in its way.