When it snows here, our hill is iffy at best. Actually, going up has never been a problem, as long as I am able to keep momentum. It's going down the 15 degree slope with a drop off on both sides, and no shoulder that get you. Usually it's just a matter of going slow, and keeping the tires rolling so you have directional control. I learned this a few years back when using the 2008 GL320 hill decent control, and spinning 2.5 times at 3 miles per hour. The computer breaking for the hill was enough to cause the spin. This morning, I put chains on just to drive 1/2 a mile, knowing I'd take them off when I got to the level roads down below. It was 20 degrees, 4-6" of snow, packed snow, that had become solid ice over night.
https://flic.kr/p/245v7rR
On the way back up in the afternoon, even with patches that had melted in the snow, the hill was still a bit iffy. This guy had been up the hill, and didn't make the turn into his driveway. I attempted a quick yank with a strap just to see if we'd get lucky. But he had zero traction, and even though I got the rear wheel to come down to the ground, this lifted the front wheel into the air.
Out came the new winch line! And... a lesson I'll not forget.... I repositioned the truck to do the pull, and underestimated the length of the rope and yanked it right off the spool! Idiot.... well, it is fixable, and I won't lose more than an inch or so of rope length since all it did is pop off the locating screw. The good part of this is that I was able to prove that the synthetic line is repairable in the field. I simply knotted it around the spool, turned it over by hand till it pulled itself tight, then winched like normal. Lesson: just pull the line out by hand, not with the truck. You probably already knew that.
After one attempt, we dug the front wheels out a bit more, put some wood under them, and spent some time cleaning the ice off the driveway for the tires to get some traction. It came out alright after that. To give you an idea of how slick it was, and how steep the hill is, the truck actually slid laterally out into the street on it's own after he turned the engine off.
https://flic.kr/p/2eFXBBR
The second thing I learned is that my set-up actually works. The winch was put to its limit. The line held, the winch motor didn't heat up, and although I still need to make a permanent connection to the battery, and permanently anchor the controller plug in place. The rest of the pull went off without a hitch. Literally. The Smitybilt isn't as high-end as a Warn or Superwinch, but the working components proved themselves in exactly the way I need -- as a once or twice a year type of insurance plan. Well, and for when it snows on my hill. I don't particularly like the control cable plug, but I'm going to reserve final judgement on it till I get the plug fixed in place on the vehicle.
https://flic.kr/p/245v7rR
On the way back up in the afternoon, even with patches that had melted in the snow, the hill was still a bit iffy. This guy had been up the hill, and didn't make the turn into his driveway. I attempted a quick yank with a strap just to see if we'd get lucky. But he had zero traction, and even though I got the rear wheel to come down to the ground, this lifted the front wheel into the air.
Out came the new winch line! And... a lesson I'll not forget.... I repositioned the truck to do the pull, and underestimated the length of the rope and yanked it right off the spool! Idiot.... well, it is fixable, and I won't lose more than an inch or so of rope length since all it did is pop off the locating screw. The good part of this is that I was able to prove that the synthetic line is repairable in the field. I simply knotted it around the spool, turned it over by hand till it pulled itself tight, then winched like normal. Lesson: just pull the line out by hand, not with the truck. You probably already knew that.
After one attempt, we dug the front wheels out a bit more, put some wood under them, and spent some time cleaning the ice off the driveway for the tires to get some traction. It came out alright after that. To give you an idea of how slick it was, and how steep the hill is, the truck actually slid laterally out into the street on it's own after he turned the engine off.
https://flic.kr/p/2eFXBBR
The second thing I learned is that my set-up actually works. The winch was put to its limit. The line held, the winch motor didn't heat up, and although I still need to make a permanent connection to the battery, and permanently anchor the controller plug in place. The rest of the pull went off without a hitch. Literally. The Smitybilt isn't as high-end as a Warn or Superwinch, but the working components proved themselves in exactly the way I need -- as a once or twice a year type of insurance plan. Well, and for when it snows on my hill. I don't particularly like the control cable plug, but I'm going to reserve final judgement on it till I get the plug fixed in place on the vehicle.