Sufficient Cable Size ?

Bravo30

Well-known member
Are these cable suitable to use in a recovery bag for a 2013 two wheel drive Sprinter van? the pair of cables are 3/16'' and the single cable is 3/8''. i plan to use a 5 ton come along with the cables. worst case i can see myself stuck on a dirt road somewhere needing to be pulled a few feet to get me going. im not trying to put together an elaborate system to drag the van up hills or anything.

also, my van weight around 8,000 when fully loaded. will the come along be enough ? should add a few pulleys just in case? anything else i need to have in my recovery bag for a 4x2 on desert roads ?

edit to add:

i have all the tools and everything, just need the actual pulling equipment/gear to yank me out if need be.



thank you for your time, Brad






 
Last edited:

TernOverland

Supporting Sponsor Ternoverland.com
Well, when you're stuck you use whatever you have, but that scenario is liable to be a very long day for you. a vehicle that heavy, even lightly stuck is a stout pull with any hand operated winch. Also bear in mind that 3/16" cable is not half of 3/8". It's about 1/4 the strength of 3/8". You could easily snap it, and snapping cable can cause injuries. If a real winch is not in the budget, a better idea might be traction boards?
 

Bravo30

Well-known member
Well, when you're stuck you use whatever you have, but that scenario is liable to be a very long day for you. a vehicle that heavy, even lightly stuck is a stout pull with any hand operated winch. Also bear in mind that 3/16" cable is not half of 3/8". It's about 1/4 the strength of 3/8". You could easily snap it, and snapping cable can cause injuries. If a real winch is not in the budget, a better idea might be traction boards?


ill be bringing enough tools to cut or dig my way out off most issues along with a few boards. . i do have a rear receiver hitch so i will look into an electric receiver winch for it.
 

CampStewart

Observer
3/16 is too small to pack in a recovery kit for a vehicle that size. The dangers of a cable snapping are horrific if you are pulling it with a hand winch.
 

DCH109

Adventurer
3/16 is to small. What type of come-a-long do you have? I hope it is not one of those store specials.

Here is what I carried last year, I used it once and it worked perfectly.
Tirfor type hand winch 3 ton with 50' of cable. Remember this is 3 ton WLL, with a factor of 5:1 it is more than enough.
50' of 7/16 synthetic rope with tube thimbles.
Snatch block
3/4" shackles (4)
tree saver
long snatch strap
20' recovery strap.

Now you could do without some of this for sure, I have the long lines simply because trees, rocks, anchor points are never where they should be. Like you 97% of the times it is only a few feet if that. Only twice have I needed a actual electric winch for recovery.
1. Slid off a trail in the snow
2. Pulled someone else out that slid off a road in white out conditions.

So now I carry the kit above.
 

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