rbrtcrowther

A good winch of any size should have a limit switch or a stall rating lower than the cable fitted. the crane i drive at work has a weigh load fitted and tells me a lot of information including the load on the hook. I know what the load ratings of the tackle used below the hook and therefore never get in a situation where breakage will occure. The last thing on my mind is the cable breaking or tackle faileure (lots of other things such as outrigger loadings and wind to worry about) all the gear is inspected and tested. I do not consider craning dangerous if carried out correctly. If a winch is fitted with the correct rope in good order and limiting device and used properly there is little danger. It the rigging that often causes issuse. if you are un certain of the required pull the chains shackles and bridles should have at least the same rating as the main cable even better if they are over spec. if a snatch block is used it really needs to be more than twice the main winch pull and the same with the tackle connecting it to the casualty. Compound rigging is really best avioded if you don't know what your doing.:nut: A scammell explorer has a line pull of 15 tons set at the limit switch. If a double purchace is required it should be run back to a holdfast in the ground not to the rear tow hook. Also the truck should never be anchored to the ground or another truck/ buldoser to stop it slipping back via the front tow hook. this will put undue strain on the chassis. the skid pans under the front wheels and rear overall track will provide the nessary grip. if the truck slides back you may be on the limit of the winch. Taking any extra purchases back to holdfasts in the ground rather than the back towing hook will take half the load into the ground and not on to the back of the scammell. also ahold fast will show signs of "giving" rather than pinging accross the field which is what may happen if all the load is placed on the rear of the scammell:-) However most scammells are fitted with diesel engines and have had the limit swicth disconected:embarrassed: if You really want to use this winch in anger it would not be hard to connect this back up so it sounds an alarm as there is no magneto to trip on a diesel. sorry if i upset any one by saying winching is not dangerous:blush: but those are my reasons. Its when old unmarked shackles and unlimited winches are used or fastened to rusty bits of the casualty that rip off it becomes dangerous. Our winch rope at work snapped 15 years ago and sinch that it is shortened (the rusty bit removed) every 12 months and we have had no further issues. the most interesting thing i have found out from all this is the is an alowence needed for vehicle damage that needs to be added and will be trying to find out more info on this or if there is a scale to work off. You never stop learning. keep on trucking:-)......and getting stuck......and winching then getting stuck again:blush:

I'm not having a go:red: just wondered how you would calculate the force say between damaged lorry with an axle missing or a damaged lorry with a piece of chassis sticking down into the mud ie a flat bottomed wreck or something with lumps steel digging inti the mud. Is there a chart for ditterent degrees of damage X weight.

Ok sounds easy but what if the whole front axle is missing? now that is definately damaged i bet every recovery truck has a calculator in the cab. Best to lift or pull it on to wooden skids. Something only a good few years experience helps with no doubt:readbook:

Oh thank god for that:D i get enough stick with these meadows diesels anyway. must be down to your expert driving:-)

I bet i know what engine the looser had:blush:

just out of interest how is damage resistance calculated? Eg, front wheel missing or flat tyres.is there some kind of intteresting maths for this or is it down to experience?

So no danger of an apology for "Brain dead" insults then. Sorry is only one word andit goes along way to help people feel better. I know if i was new to the forum and reading comments like yours i would think twice about posting in fear of being made to look like an idiot. the reason i first posted was not because of the vidio but the aggressive insulting posts that followed.

So some kind of cribbing built into the river under the wheels would have helped to roll the stolly up the bank? Or better still a second truck with a slewable crane to raise the front of the stolly up as the winch pulls it out? This is the sort of disscussion we need so we are all educated ready for next time:-)

The gyus at work were trying to winch a 40 foot boat up the beach to repair the holes in it and refloat it. cutting a long story short the 68 year old boss had positioned his VW transporter over the winch cable for reasons unknown then from inside the Vw gave the command to winch in. After lots of shouting over the conserns of the unusual VW parking a disgruntled winch operator engaged the winch and gunned the throttle. The Vw transporter flipped on it's side in 1 foot of sea water .The funnyist thing i have ever seen in fact everyone was dying on the foor rolling round. poor jack russle pup trying to climb up the inside of the windscreen. Does that make irresponsible? i think it makes me human

Is the new owner going to keep in touch? would be nice to see some pics of the antar in its new home:-)

I'll drink to that:beer:

if the rope had not snapped would it have been a balls up? No, it would have just been another recovery "operation" equipment failure dose not a balls up make. The whole snapping winch cable thing is often blown out of all proportion. It won't cut you in half for instance but it will give you a good slap and if it were to hit you in the right place yes it could kill you. Old wives tales of people being cut in half are utter bullsh1t. I have to winch a 29 ton boat hoist up a slipway accross a public right of way we put up a sign saying "danger working area" 99 percent of people wait for the winch to stop or walk round the front of the tractor. There is always one who dosen't see the possible danger and will step right over the rope. the postman even rode his bike into it and went right over the handel bars:rofl: And yes the 100 meter cable has broken and nobody got cut in half but there was a big splash as hoist and boat hit the water at great speed. Sea water and wire ropes don't mix as they rot inside out.

I think it's appalling to call someone brain dead or say they have "no Brains" If someone said that about me i would be highly offended. Sometimes i really wonder about this forum. It's very easy to sit and watch a video several times then spout off about what they should have done and how not to do it. I watched it and saw a bunch of blokes pulling a truck out of a river and the rope snapped. I thought "bloomin heck" but had no urge to criticize and insult anyone. I have done lots of winching and lifting of big stuff and equipment has failed and cables have snapped. Only person who had to be in danger was the man driving the stolly sat directly in line with the winch cable. one man to operate the scammell and one man to direct the "operation" (Not sure when dragging a truck from a river becomes an operation but hey ho) all the other people chose to be there. all that needed to be said was to move back or clear the area. If i had been there i would also have stood in the trees and watched the "operation" as it seems the safest place at 90 degrees to the line of pull with lots of solid objects to offer protection. There rant over i shal now wait to be insulted:-) P.s took me bloomin ages to write this so there might have been a load of new posts since i started:blush:

Hmmmmm.....you could make a huge rear ground anchor and use the handraulics to push it down into the ground. was thinking of making such a thing for mine one day. weld the anchor mounting pivots near the winch where the front scotch chain hooks are fitted couple of RSJ's with a kink over the rear axle and a small bulldoser blade type thing on the back:cool2: Weight would be enough to dig it in and use the jib to lift it up:-) About all the bloomin jibs good for, put any serious weight on it and the fron end's in the air:nut:

The propper heater is a square box to the left of the gear stick under the passenger seat. There should be nice neat copper piping up the back of the cab with a large tap to shut off the water circulation then the pipes should run to the roof where there shoud be a demister unit with air ducting to all the windows. The switches to operate both heaters are in the read of the cab and there should be a fresh aie intake in the rear wall for the demister. but having writen all this you have probrobly looked in the book and seen the pictures:-D

Yep they were changed later and could only recive air and signal air through the front couplings.leaving the changeover tap open on early oneslets the air through the system the wrong way and will put all the tractor brakes on with the trailer brake leaver. don't really know why they were changed, perhaps there was no need to push trailers with operating brakes. All down to cost i should think:D

So whats all that hydraulicy stuff and extra nobs for under the new seat?

Yep Mike has it spot on. Big leaver with the ball on the end near the steering coloum is the hilll holder and the valve above the engine cover is the trailer brake. if your scammell has sprung towing hitches it is a first contract ( and in my opinion the best contract:cool2:)it will not have the hill hloder brake on the coloum. There is another valve on the bulkhead just above the accelerator pedal, This should be closed for normal use and only opened if the need arises to push a trailer with the ability to work the brakes ie down a bloomin big hill. If this valve is left open the trailer reaction valve above the engine cover will work all the brakes on the tractor. mine was in the open position when i got my explorer as i suppose people use it as a hill holder as the first contracts were not fitted with one, they were fitted with a transmission brake on the back of the gearbox, most trasmission brakes wee removed in service as huge expensive damage could be done by applying it on the move. mine however still has one:D hope this has confused you some more:nut: Later contracts had the transmission brake deleted and the ability to operate trailer brakes through the front coupling heads deleted also. They were fitted with the hill holder brake however (namby pambys can't do a hill start with a hand throttle eh:cool2:) They had no heater either or cab insulation and for some reason wrere about a ton lighter:D

My girlfriend say it's cute and looks like the bimbling slightly dim brother of a scammell:-)

Oh yeah....:red: Got me self all confused there for a moment doh! It's the up changes that bugger me up cos the bloomin engine takes so long to drop it's revs. So for now i only use the clutch to start and stop and do all the gear changey stuff on the throttle. i'll have to sort the cluch brake one day as i can see myself plodding up a hill in 4th cos i can't slap it into 5th before the truck stops rolling:-( P.S i'm not welsh i just live here!!

Well i am working flat out on it at the mo so fingers crossed.....To be honest i think both our ageing donkeys are putting out a few more horses than they should:cool2: but then by modern standards they are rather piss poor, but they do sound nice though all down to it being a 6 cylinder with a square stroke farting through a drain pipe:D

Ah.. met the bloke with the CS ellis explorer last year at llandudno rally and his missus. Not a single explorer there this year:embarrassed: see you have a working cluch brake on you truck i'd have no chance changing down gears like that with mine. oh i have been researching meadows engines and the 6dc630 seems to have been made in a few different specs over the years and i remember finding a plate on mine saying it had been brought up to blah blah blah specification ect ect however meadows made the later engines 160 hp.........nice:D fingers crossed eh need to find that engine plate again:cool2:

I like the scabby yellow one is he on this forum? And what donkey is has the last one in the line been fitted with? The front end had been lifted, mabey to clear a sunp ect?

It never ends with a scammell!! Let us know the numbers and supplier of the new bearings seals if you could:-) Suppose you may as well sort that leaky hub seal while your at it, keep the oil off the brakes and all....safety first:cool2: Road legal and all that:-D

i want to take them home and cuddel them:cry: