winding winch line

[BurbanAZ]

i have an engo 12k winch on my suburban, ive used it a ton of times, some really hard pulls, i seem to end up using it atleast a few times a month usually, always done great. I have the steel cable and its such a pain in the butt to wind the freakin thing even. Does anyone have a trick to winding? does steel cable have to be pretty even without criss crossing at all? its such a pain i was considering going to synth line because thats supposed to load criss crossed but i dont want to lose the abrasion resistance of the steel, also i live in the desert so it would have alot of sun and heat exposure and ive heard that isnt good for synth rope.

[tom from avon]

no trick, just use gloves, yes, even, no criss crossing. it will build up your muscles.

[Glenn-BJ74]

Winch cable should be rewound with a significant amount of tension, otherwise the line will be pulled between the lower coils. The proper amount of tension can't be done by rewinding by hand. The best way is is hook the cable to a tree on level ground and use the vehicle's rolling resistance to recoil the line tightly on the drum. This takes two people.

Few people do this and that is why often you see damaged winch cables (e.g. hairpin loops), including being unable to free wheel the drum because the winch line is pinched under the upper coils.

[mowerman]

Winch cable should be rewound with a significant amount of tension, otherwise the line will be pulled between the lower coils. The proper amount of tension can't be done by rewinding by hand. The best way is is hook the cable to a tree on level ground and use the vehicle's rolling resistance to recoil the line tightly on the drum. This takes two people.


Definately the best way if you can...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUASH4rENEc

[nk14zp]

Definately the best way if you can...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUASH4rENEc

X2 A wood 2x4 can be used to push the cable over if needed also.

[Antichrist]

There wa/is and Australian company that sold a winch that has thing on it that would guide the rope to correctly wind it on. DAP sold them, for a while at least.

[racemedic]

We have the winch lobster at work for the ones with steel cable. http://www.knightscan.com/product.htm

[Antichrist]

Same principle, though on the winch DAP sold it was, I believe, a worm drive mechanism connected to the drum drive that was always in play, even while winching.

[ExpeditionBound]

As for wire....

Rewinding wire cable with 2 people? or a tree?

Regardless if this is the "official method"....its rediculous, especially when you have a 4x4 fully loaded for a weeklong trip,
buried in clay to the floorboards on an incline, while winching to the only tree 50ft to the right at 2 oclock.

This isnt going to spool-in anyway how it should and is probably going to stack up on one side of the drum with lots
of boogered criss crosses.

So with that kind of stress on the wire, what is the point in "filing your fingernails" and making sure there isnt ONE
criss cross or hair out of place when respooling.

Unless you are going to a photoshoot, why.
People practically give away wire rope these days, so trying to make the cable last 20 years is extreme.


As for synthetic...

Synthetic rope life is shorter of course. But the performance should obviously outweigh the cons. Weight, safety, grabbing bundles
of rope and not worring about jaggers, etc, blah.

The 10ft rock rash sleeve is signficant enough UV protection for me. When spooled up with the rash guard the sun doesnt shine on
my rope at all.

In my opinion, the health of your winchline should be compared to rock climbing.
There is a certain amount of falls that each rope is rated to withstand. Beyond those limits the rope is compromised and should be retired.

The way you put your rope in the closet is irrelevant.

[Glenn-BJ74]

See page 11, Before You Pull,second paragraph

http://www.warn.com/corporate/images/90/TechGuide_PN62885-A2.pdf

I am on my third winch which is a Toyota mechanical PTO, the first was a 12 v Warn 8274 and second was a 24 v Warn 9000i.

[ExpeditionBound]

Im sure that Warn is correct by stating that 500lbs of tension is needed on the spool. Its probably the first thing they ask when you
try to redeem their warranty.
Also, funny how Warn winch sales arent through the roof anymore. (Sorry Warn Vendors)

And do the math. When you first start winching you probably pull 5-10 wraps of 500+ tension before the vehicle even budges.
So why would you do this BEFORE the pull.

I have a 50/50 Daily Driver/Offroad truck. My winch gets regular use, its not a prop like most.

Myself and another truck just succeeded in recovering a Mitsubishi 4x4 100ft from the bottom of a cliff in Capitol forest,
by using a triple line pull via Warn M9500i (wire) and a double pull via Superwinch Terra 4500.
Also used was 60 ft of chain, 100ft of wire extension, 2-20ft tow straps (anchors), 10 bow shackles, 2 chainsaws and a 12 pack of Alaskan Amber.

I spooled 80 ft of line completely off my drum. Some sythetic doesnt have a screw at the end like wire or even attach to the drum. You just use a "pinch wrap" on the drum.
I respooled 6 wraps and maybe 50lbs pressure.

The other truck with 110ft of wire spooled out with 5 wraps left had no problem, because the following 10 wraps was most likely 500lbs +/- slack weight
in the system.

After all said and done. Neither of us respooled our trucks while attached to trees, using 2 people, or lumber.

Yes I did my best to not make my drum look like a Robins nest but only with minimal tension, while thinking the whole time of the irony, that hours prior I started posting on this silly tread about winch etiquette... thats probably scarying people away from buying or using their winches then doing good.

[bmxer06pa]

ExpeditionBound You seem like you are completely missing the point. Everyone realizes that when you are using your winch it does not get spooled back up neatly. This thread is about what to do afterwards. My winch looks like a birds nest of line after I use it since I am generally in the drivers seat. When I am home I unspool my line, wash it, let it dry, and neatly respool it on a slight incline. I'm sure you use your winch to do some awesome recoveries on the trail, but that dosent mean you can't come home and straighten it up.

[BurbanAZ]

cool thanks for all the input guys, i wasnt using any tension really to spool it just pulling tenion with my hands and maybe that was the issue i was having. I dont take time to make it pretty when im out on trails because the last things i want to do after shoveling and winching for a long time is screw with getting the line perfect. When im back home though and the truck is clean and ready for a nother trip id like to straighten everyting out so i dont pinch a bunch of my cable.

[ExpeditionBound]

Ha. Also while winding up winch line dont forget to study the manuals on brake light fluid.

Dont stress over my ignorance, Ive removed myself from the forum and transitioned to pirate4x4.

Ta Ta

[bmxer06pa]

Ha. Also while winding up winch line dont forget to study the manuals on brake light fluid.

Dont stress over my ignorance, Ive removed myself from the forum and transitioned to pirate4x4.

Ta Ta
Oh thanks now I understand how much of a bad *** you are. Sorry to question your sweet pirate knowledge.

[BurbanAZ]

i cant stand pirate, but if it floats your boat then enjoy

[mogwildRW1]

My Werner Hydralic winch has a roller cable tensioner, it works great and keeps the wire nicly spooled. All it does is put pressure on the wire as it comes in, forcing it to fall in line. Warn has a similar product that you may be able to adapt to your winch, or copy the idea and make something similar:

http://www.warn.com/industrial/tension_kit.shtml

89993

They work great to help spool the cable in nice and neat.

[Glenn-BJ74]

I think ExpeditionBound might just spring for that mod given the large number of near hopeless recoveries he has achieved.

[mogwildRW1]

9038790388

Here is the Roller version on my Werner mid-mount, you can see the powerful springs that hold the roller onto the cable, and how nice it rolls the cable.

[BurbanAZ]

yea that looks good ill probably just build something like that, thanks

[Glenn-BJ74]

Regarding the cable tensioner -- from the picture it is not clear how it works. I guess it would only work with wire rope?

[mogwildRW1]

As the rope winds inwards, it keeps consistent down-pressure on the rope, keeping it from jumping up on the row prematurely. The rope winds nicely until it reaches the end of the drum, where it overcomes the downward force of the spring and roller, because it can't go anywhere else, and starts a new layer. Works wonderfully.

I **Think** the roller style (vs the pressure flat smooth non-roller style) will work with synthetic. I will find out soon enough, I'm in the middle of swapping from steel to amsteel

[Glenn-BJ74]

So the spring loaded bar that pushes down on the wire rope must fit within the drum width?

[mogwildRW1]

Yes.

I have the rope off today (preparing for synthetic) I'll go take a picture of the Werner setup, and the Warn Severe duty setup (have both).

[mogwildRW1]

9177691777917789177991780

Here you are.

The Warn is simply a plate, with rolled edges, the two springs pull on the top of the plate, thus, pulling the bottom of the plate onto the wire, holding it against the drum, preventing the cable from jumping up on itself prematurly.

The Werner is a roller, and has about 5 time the force (I can pull the warn's plate by hand away from the wire, the werner, I need a 4ft long crow bar) but same idea, pressure keeps the wire rope pressed tight against the drum, so it winds nicely.

And just because, bonus video:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fouTldH_3jg

[Bugspray]

In my opinion, the health of your winchline should be compared to rock climbing.
There is a certain amount of falls that each rope is rated to withstand. Beyond those limits the rope is compromised and should be retired.

The way you put your rope in the closet is irrelevant.

that makes sense to me. so what would be a good estimate for synthetic life span not taking any hard "falls"?

[mogwildRW1]

As for wire....

Rewinding wire cable with 2 people? or a tree?

Regardless if this is the "official method"....its rediculous, especially when you have a 4x4 fully loaded for a weeklong trip,
buried in clay to the floorboards on an incline, while winching to the only tree 50ft to the right at 2 oclock.

This isnt going to spool-in anyway how it should and is probably going to stack up on one side of the drum with lots
of boogered criss crosses.

So with that kind of stress on the wire, what is the point in "filing your fingernails" and making sure there isnt ONE
criss cross or hair out of place when respooling.

Unless you are going to a photoshoot, why.
People practically give away wire rope these days, so trying to make the cable last 20 years is extreme.


As for synthetic...

Synthetic rope life is shorter of course. But the performance should obviously outweigh the cons. Weight, safety, grabbing bundles
of rope and not worring about jaggers, etc, blah.

The 10ft rock rash sleeve is signficant enough UV protection for me. When spooled up with the rash guard the sun doesnt shine on
my rope at all.

In my opinion, the health of your winchline should be compared to rock climbing.
There is a certain amount of falls that each rope is rated to withstand. Beyond those limits the rope is compromised and should be retired.

The way you put your rope in the closet is irrelevant.

I disagree. On most counts.

Synthetic generally lasts longer than steel. Ask the guys who use them in the marine industry. All good synthetic is also UV protected, sun doesn't make a difference, except in colour.

As to who cares if it stacks up on one side of the drum? I do. The pulling force is greatly reduced as you increase layers, when your pulling a 13000lb+ Unimog out of mud, that can make a huge difference. And jumping over the drum and pinching the line, steel or synthetic, can be disastrous. It happens. In the case of winch's with crossbars you can bend these quite easy.

Since I store my line on the drum, not in a closet, and my drum holds 55meters (180feet) on the truck, its important to me how its put away. Its not for looks, my winch is mid-mounted, under the truck, you won't see it unless your looking. Its for longevity, pulling performance and safety.

[mogwildRW1]

Another option, possably, depending on winch manufacturer and your fabrication skills, is the autowinder. These are available aftermarket, or OEM from some manufacturers (Werner, Rotzler, others)91967

The device travels back and forth, auto laying the cable where it should go, very slick. note the cut pattern in the lowest bar, the black one, that directs the feeder side-side, at a rate depending on line in speed. I'd love to have one.

Same as a large scale fishing reel I guess ;)

Here is an aftermarket example:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwgFkACxgWc

[Antichrist]

In my opinion, the health of your winchline should be compared to rock climbing.
There is a certain amount of falls that each rope is rated to withstand. Beyond those limits the rope is compromised and should be retired.Very true, if you're using incorrect winching technique and are subjecting your winch line to shock loading.



Another option, possably, depending on winch manufacturer and your fabrication skills, is the autowinder. These are available aftermarket, or OEM from some manufacturers (Werner, Rotzler, others)

The device travels back and forth, auto laying the cable where it should go, very slick. note the cut pattern in the lowest bar, the black one, that directs the feeder side-side, at a rate depending on line in speed. I'd love to have one.Yeah, that's the principle on the Thomas winch DAP Enterprises sold in the 90's. I've heard Thomas still makes them, but I haven't had the patience to try to find them on their web site.

[BIGdaddy]

Sorry if I missed it, but is the pressure roller mentioned and illustrated via pics by Mogwild available commercially for a winch like the M8000 or XRC8 non-integrated solonoid-style winches?

Thanks! -B

[mogwildRW1]

Just ran across another picture I thought I'd share for anyone making there own or adapting a commercial system.

You can see this installation is actually synthetic rope (though he also has a roller fairleed which I've been told with synthetic is a no-no).

I figured this angle shows the idea pretty well.92742

[Eventhough]

<snip> (though he also has a roller fairleed which I've been told with synthetic is a no-no). <snip>

Not necessarily. An aluminum, machined hawse fairlead will typically be gentler on a synthetic line and is the preferred option. A brand new pair of steel rollers can be OK if the rollers overlap fully in the corners so the synthetic line cannot be pinched and the rollers are burr free. If a roller does get a burr on it it can abrade your synthetic line significantly.

[mogwildRW1]

I figured as much. A friend of mine CAD designed and another made me a custom winch trumpet for the conversion :)

92771

92772

[BIGdaddy]

Ok, so 4wheel parts sells these wire tensioners for the industrial line of winches.

The info says its only for "those winches" as can be seen in this link:
http://www.4wheelparts.com/Winches-and-Winch-Accessories/Industrial-Wire-Rope-Tension-Kit.aspx?t_c=18&t_s=124&t_pt=5768&t_pl=100435&t_pn=WAR31150#active2

Can anyone confirm this, that I couldn't take one of the 4 part numbers listed on the 4WP's website and install it on a Smittybilt XRC8 or a M8000 winch? Is it the drum width or the bar diameter that makes it different?

In any case, thanks for bringing up this winch accessory. Seems like a very good option for those who choose to run steel cable to help prevent kinks.

[86tuning]

I believe the main reason for re-spooling a winch rope neatly and under a LOT of tension is to allow you to pull out a bit of the winch rope to do a pull, without having the rope dive between the layers.

My line gets respooled neatly and under a lot of tension in preparation for any short pulls.

[HillbillyfromAL]

Yes that's the reason it's important to spool it properly. If you don't then it can get stuck so bad you have to dissasemble the winch around it.

For the guy that moved back over to pirate4x4 there was a thread on there about this exact situation a few years ago. There was also a guy who had cut off $500 worth of synthetic winch rope because he was doing exactly what you say you do all the time. So please if this ever happens to you, during one of your daring rescue missions, come back and share some pictures with everyone.

[upcountry]

Thread revival. After killing a cable a few weeks ago recovering a vehicle that was blocking the Icicle Creek Brige in Leavenworth, I need to pay more attention to re-winding my winch.

We were stopped waiting for a break in traffic to make a left turn before the bridge heading upstream, an older Toyota Tacoma came around the corner heading towards us, hit a patch of ice right before the bridge, and ping-ponged through the brigde almost roilling over, ended up lodged with the tow packag up on the concrete brige rail, broken rear axle, broken front ball joint.

If we had not been stopped and instead driving on he would have hit my passanger side. I had two young kids in the truck.

Sherriff showed up, towtruck was 2 hours away due to lots of accidents (cold snap after wet day). He looked at me and asked if I could pull it off the bridge to open the lanes. Dropped kids off, pulled the truck off the bridge in three medium pulls. Easy due to ice.

Cable was only half deployed. The first pull off the bridge rail did some damage to the cable and it got wedged in the spool badly.

If I had properly wound the cable with the right tension it would have been fine.

[upcountry]

Dont get me wrong, I know how to use the winch, this is more of a question about the best way to re-spool the cable when cleaning the vehicle prepping it for storage.


After reading the Warn guide to winching, from which I am quoting below, and after reading the thread above, there are different variations to theory.

1) Some have mentioned the need to respool with at least 500 pounds of tension. I beleive the 500 pounds of tension requirement cited by Warn was only related to "stretching" or prepping the cable for its first use. There is no need to wind the spool with 500 pounds of tension, although I have to wonder if this would have helped my situation?

2) Is it possible to cross wind a wire rope? Maybe this would help, but how would this be accomplished?

3) The Warn manual shows a guy holding the rope in a position that is above the winch, would this help keep it aligned?

4) I think my biggest issue is re-spooling it after use for storage. I need to keep it straight, and need to keep it tight. It is looking like the spooling tools are the best option, but my winch is buried in my bumper and mounting some sort of spooling tool would be impossible and impractical?


Some quotes from the Warn manual:

Make sure new wire rope is stretched
before it is first used. Unspool the full
length of the wire rope, leaving 5 wraps
on the drum. Apply at least 500 pounds
of tension.You can do this by setting up
an anchor point and pulling your vehicle
to it on a slightly inclined, flat surface
and letting the vehicle roll.

Step 11: CHECK WIRE ROPE. The wire
rope should be neatly wound around
the spooling drum. Improper winding
can cause damage to the wire rope.


Step 18: REWIND WIRE ROPE. The
person handling the wire rope should
walk the rope in and not let it slide
through the hand and control the
winch at all times.
146589

Images from WarnPublication http://www.warn.com/corporate/images/90/TechGuide_PN62885-A2.pdf

[highdesertranger]

as far as synthedic goes if you are using your winch just for vehicle recovery it works good. but if you are pulling objects (cut trees, rocks, etc) with the vehicle stationary it's better to have wire rope the abrasion of the line going over rocks and the like will destroy syn. quickly. also when done respooling don't anchor the end to your vehicle and pull too tight the stress causes a weak spot in the wire rope were it makes a sharp turn. btw i have been using winches for 45 years mas or menos missing the end of a finger from being young and knowing it all. highdesertranger

[86tuning]

4) I think my biggest issue is re-spooling it after use for storage. I need to keep it straight, and need to keep it tight.


I pull my truck towards a post or tree when I respool. You can turn the steering slightly and the rope will stack up neatly while it winds in. Takes less than 10 minutes to set up and respool.

If no trees are handy I'd just hook up to another vehicle.

I've only used synthetic ropes though. My used winch came without a rope, and I decided to go straight to synth, since I was buying one anyways...

HTH.

[LR Max]

@upcountry, I know EXACTLY what you are talking about. You know what you are doing but you say to yourself, "its ok this one time" or "I'll take care of that later". That is when you get bit.

I will say, if you have steel cable, now would be a GREAT time to upgrade to synthetic. Mine has been massively forgiving and a lot easier to work with. I know its ~$300 you weren't planning on spending, but its worth it.

As for winding in the cable, I always did it in a parking lot, strapped to a big concrete pillar at one end (BTW, old decommissioned tow straps work GREAT for attaching to such an object). With the truck in neutral and off (you can have it on, whatever) and the winch cable all the way out, begin winding in. With my hand ~5 feet away from the fairlead, I guide the rope in. The tension of the truck tugging on the rope keeps everything nice and taught. If the rope starts crossing up or not all nice and pretty, I stop, back off, and do it again. Also as I'm doing this, I often turn the wheel a little bit as needed to correct and keep me fairly straight.

That would be my recommendations. Also FYI, I recommend continuing using gloves with synthetic rope. Rope burn is rough and sometimes surprises get stuck to the outside of the rope...think thorns! OUCH!

[upcountry]

@upcountry, I know EXACTLY what you are talking about. You know what you are doing but you say to yourself, "its ok this one time" or "I'll take care of that later". That is when you get bit.

I will say, if you have steel cable, now would be a GREAT time to upgrade to synthetic. Mine has been massively forgiving and a lot easier to work with. I know its ~$300 you weren't planning on spending, but its worth it.

As for winding in the cable, I always did it in a parking lot, strapped to a big concrete pillar at one end (BTW, old decommissioned tow straps work GREAT for attaching to such an object). With the truck in neutral and off (you can have it on, whatever) and the winch cable all the way out, begin winding in. With my hand ~5 feet away from the fairlead, I guide the rope in. The tension of the truck tugging on the rope keeps everything nice and taught. If the rope starts crossing up or not all nice and pretty, I stop, back off, and do it again. Also as I'm doing this, I often turn the wheel a little bit as needed to correct and keep me fairly straight.

That would be my recommendations. Also FYI, I recommend continuing using gloves with synthetic rope. Rope burn is rough and sometimes surprises get stuck to the outside of the rope...think thorns! OUCH!

Allright, I have a new mission, the perfect cable wrap.

Thanks for all the feedback!

[Antichrist]

Also FYI, I recommend continuing using gloves with synthetic rope. Rope burn is rough and sometimes surprises get stuck to the outside of the rope...think thorns! OUCH!Not only that, but a lot of people still use wire rope and if you're in the habit of not wearing gloves because you have synthetic, then you likely won't wear them next time you're helping someone who uses wire rope.

[Eventhough]

Not only that, but a lot of people still use wire rope and if you're in the habit of not wearing gloves because you have synthetic, then you likely won't wear them next time you're helping someone who uses wire rope.

Thorns, yes, been there - had that stuck in my hand from synthetic line. Not fun. Always wear gloves.

[verdesardog]

Well, talking wire rope, you only need the first two layers tight and neat because you will probably spool out enough line to reach that point anyway....

[Eventhough]

Well, talking wire rope, you only need the first two layers tight and neat because you will probably spool out enough line to reach that point anyway....

I disagree. I've had pulls with very short lengths of line down to every bit I could spare off the spool. If you have loose outer wraps with wire and you load your cable you can start kinking your wire.

[Wh1t3nukle]

I concur with LR Max's response to upcountry.

Rewrapping after an event is quite fine, just hopefully you can do it sooner rather than...

Correct that first time use needs a stretch of the CABLE (e.g., the 500 lbs line item). Practice safety at all times with this. OHV park if you have access to one. Large parking lot, preferably with a grade. Do it in evening or some other wide open space. This is definitely preferred to do with 2 people.

Vehicle running and in neutral. Set parking brake to 1-2 clicks, just enough to provide tension. Hard to tell how you get to 500 lbs unless you have a load cell handy. lol

If you can get one, then I suggest a wireless remote for the winch. Comes in very handy. I also use something like a long socket extension > 12" for leveraging the cable on the drum. It can slide on the extension's shaft if used in pivot type action. The only annoying part is if you wrap bad, you unwind a little, and thus lose your tension. Then have to get back and reverse the vehicle.

I repeat the above process after respooling from an event. I've done this solo as well. Spray WD-40 on the cable every so often.

As of last week though...i upgraded to rope. I've got a family and my intention is to teach them and have them assist me. Safety first!! I gotta say that all the time with cable, I really disliked the possibility of a free wire end that would come through any leather glove. :( Just not ok if a family member experienced that.





@upcountry, I know EXACTLY what you are talking about. You know what you are doing but you say to yourself, "its ok this one time" or "I'll take care of that later". That is when you get bit.

I will say, if you have steel cable, now would be a GREAT time to upgrade to synthetic. Mine has been massively forgiving and a lot easier to work with. I know its ~$300 you weren't planning on spending, but its worth it.

As for winding in the cable, I always did it in a parking lot, strapped to a big concrete pillar at one end (BTW, old decommissioned tow straps work GREAT for attaching to such an object). With the truck in neutral and off (you can have it on, whatever) and the winch cable all the way out, begin winding in. With my hand ~5 feet away from the fairlead, I guide the rope in. The tension of the truck tugging on the rope keeps everything nice and taught. If the rope starts crossing up or not all nice and pretty, I stop, back off, and do it again. Also as I'm doing this, I often turn the wheel a little bit as needed to correct and keep me fairly straight.

That would be my recommendations. Also FYI, I recommend continuing using gloves with synthetic rope. Rope burn is rough and sometimes surprises get stuck to the outside of the rope...think thorns! OUCH!

[Antichrist]

Well, talking wire rope, you only need the first two layers tight and neat because you will probably spool out enough line to reach that point anyway....Ok, you lost me.
Why does the type of rope determine how much you spool out?

[verdesardog]

Ok, you lost me.
Why does the type of rope determine how much you spool out?

The type of line has nothing to do with how much you have to spool out. It does make a big diference on how you spool it in, wire rope has to be tight and neat to prevent damage, synthetic needs to be criss crosed to prevent the outer layers from migrating deep into the bottom layers.

I was saying that with wire rope you need at least the bottom two layers neat and tight because you will probably have enough spooled out that the top layers will be used to reach your anchor point... Of course some of us (that used to use wire rope) would make all layers tight and neat.

[Eventhough]

...synthetic needs to be criss crosed to prevent the outer layers from migrating deep into the bottom layers.

A taught, neat spool of syn line will be just fine. If you loosely spool on syn line then when you spool in under heavy load the outer, loaded layers can split the inner, looser layers. I've loaded my winch hard many times and have never split an inner layer of syn line and I spool my line in under hand load and in neat wraps.

[86tuning]

A taught, neat spool of syn line will be just fine. If you loosely spool on syn line then when you spool in under heavy load the outer, loaded layers can split the inner, looser layers. I've loaded my winch hard many times and have never split an inner layer of syn line and I spool my line in under hand load and in neat wraps.

+1 this is what I've always done. Spooled in neatly under a bit of load, that will prevent line dive.