Come-along recommendations?

[MATPHAT]

It's gonna be a loooong time before I afford a bumper, wench and springs for the front of my 08 v8 T4R, but I do want some options for solo recovery since I do almost all my wheeling solo. I'm looking for some suggestions on what come-along wouldn't fail me in a pinch.

Thanks yall.

 

[DaveInDenver]

https://www.wyeth-scott.com/

I don't have a ton of experience but well worn Wyeth-Scott is all I've ever seen on fire and utility trucks. US-made, really stout and you can get them spooled with Amsteel if you want to save a bit of weight.

BTW, not sure if you already have a Hi-Lift but they can be configured to work as a come-along. It's tedious pulling yourself along 3 feet at a time and resetting but carrying extra rigging is minimal if you already have the jack.

How To Use Your Hi Lift Jack as a Cheap Winch

It's possible and pretty easy to winch with your Hi-Lift. Find out how to quickly set up your Hi-Lift for winching and what you need for the setup.

www.roundforge.com

 

[bassguyry]

You'll recover yourself once with a come-along/Hi-Lift, and then immediately buy a winch.

I had a cheapo Amazon come-along when I first started wheeling, and thankfully I never had to use it. For the money you'd spend buying a solid come-along, I'd probably just grab a Hi-Lift and any necessary accessories to use it as a come-along. Once you do buy a winch, the come-along probably won't stay in your truck for very long, while a Hi-Lift has way more uses and will likely stay in your truck forever.

 

[DaveInDenver]

Using a come-along is certainly less handy than a winch but honestly I bet you could flip your point Ryland and argue that for as much most of us use our winches carrying a nice come-along you can trust and will never wear out might end up meaning you don't need the winch at all. Plus having the ability to stash it, use it on the front, rear or sides and for lots of other task make them maybe even more useful than a winch in a bumper. Of course for simply pulling yourself through obstacles the winch is a clear winner but for general purpose utility just my $0.02 that the choice isn't absolute.

 

[Inukshuk]

60" Hi-LIft + Hi-LIft Off-Road Kit + Hi-Lift Lift-Mate + training in how to use all (which training I'd be happy to do at an upcoming Rising Sun meeting at the Chase Garage)

I have worked with those come-alongs pictured above. @allen.wrench has one. Decent, especially if you use a pulley block to increase pull, but a one-trick pony and 2x the cost of a Hi-Lift alone. Hi-Lift winching is not bad and using the kit makes re-rigging fairly painless. Plus then you have all the other benefits of a hi-lift.

Buy hi-lift brand, not a knock-off

 

[bassguyry]

Using a come-along is certainly less handy than a winch but honestly I bet you could flip your point Ryland and argue that for as much most of use use our winches carrying a nice come-along might end up meaning you don't need the winch at all. Plus having the ability to stash it, use it on the front, rear or sides and for lots of other task make them maybe even more useful than a winch in a bumper. Of course for simply pulling yourself through obstacles the winch is a clear winner but for general purpose utility just my $0.02 that the choice isn't absolute.

Oh, absolutely. I'm not arguing that a come-along isn't useful once you have a winch, it's just not nearly as useful as a Hi-Lift, IMO. If he starts with the Hi-Lift instead of a come-along, he can continue to use the Hi-Lift in many more applications after eventually buying a winch, versus starting with a come-along.

A Hi-Lift jack plus the off-road kit (which I believe includes other accessories) would be what, around $200? That would be way more useful in many more situations than a nice $200 come-along.

 

[MATPHAT]

60" Hi-LIft + Hi-LIft Off-Road Kit + Hi-Lift Lift-Mate + training in how to use all (which training I'd be happy to do at an upcoming Rising Sun meeting at the Chase Garage)

I have worked with those come-alongs pictured above. @allen.wrench has one. Decent, especially if you use a pulley block to increase pull, but a one-trick pony and 2x the cost of a Hi-Lift alone. Hi-Lift winching is not bad and using the kit makes re-rigging fairly painless. Plus then you have all the other benefits of a hi-lift.

Buy hi-lift brand, not a knock-off

Thanks for the advice all. Much appreciated. Inuk, I had considered it and now with the recommendation I suppose this is the way. I already have my Hi-Lift and Lift-Mate, so it's a no brainier to just grab the offroad kit to go along with it. Thanks a bunch!

Mat

 

[MATPHAT]

You'll recover yourself once with a come-along/Hi-Lift, and then immediately buy a winch.

I had a cheapo Amazon come-along when I first started wheeling, and thankfully I never had to use it. For the money you'd spend buying a solid come-along, I'd probably just grab a Hi-Lift and any necessary accessories to use it as a come-along. Once you do buy a winch, the come-along probably won't stay in your truck for very long, while a Hi-Lift has way more uses and will likely stay in your truck forever.

I'd like to agree, but once again, bumper+rated springs+wench is a long way off financially.

 

[bassguyry]

I'd like to agree, but once again, bumper+rated springs+wench is a long way off financially.

Understood. Like I said in my reply to Dave, I'm just saying that you'd spend the same amount of money for a Hi-Lift + accessories as you would for a come-along, and the Hi-Lift would be quite a bit more useful even after a winch purchase.

Case in point - I have a winch, bumpers, etc. and use my Hi-Lift more often than I use my winch, not necessarily for winching, but it's proven itself to be a much more useful recovery tool than the come-along. Rarely have I run into a situation where I needed a come-along after purchasing a winch (it's actually never happened, honestly), but I've encountered a number of situations where I needed a Hi-Lift.

 

[Inukshuk]

I used a hi-lift 2x at CM this year. Only bent one of them.

 

[Yeti]

Any recommendation for a quality 3/8” Chain with Holding Hooks (~25 feet) that is required to use with the offroad kit? I assume there is an economical local source that truckers use that I don't know about. I was thinking of a G80 chain if the cost isn't too much more.

 

[jps8460]

Any g70 will work fine for the hilift and basket for winching, say from a rock. Murdoch’s carry’s it.

 

[MATPHAT]

Any recommendation for a quality 3/8” Chain with Holding Hooks (~25 feet) that is required to use with the offroad kit? I assume there is an economical local source that truckers use that I don't know about. I was thinking of a G80 chain if the cost isn't too much more.

Was thinking the same thing. Thanks for asking.

 

[FunkyYota]

I'd like to agree, but once again, bumper+rated springs+wench is a long way off financially.

Just out of curiosity, how often do you reckon you'd use a hi-lift or come-a-long for winching a vehicle?

 

[MATPHAT]

Just out of curiosity, how often do you reckon you'd use a hi-lift or come-a-long for winching a vehicle?

I've already had two instances last season where I could have really used something to wench me out of a solo situation. I was lucky in the one situation to have a friendly guy in an XJ show up and pull me off a massive high center up on top of Kingston. The other time I had to bail on the whole day's worth of wheeling because of some massive alternating holes on a shelf road I could not get past.

 

[MATPHAT]

60" Hi-LIft + Hi-LIft Off-Road Kit + Hi-Lift Lift-Mate + training in how to use all (which training I'd be happy to do at an upcoming Rising Sun meeting at the Chase Garage)

I have worked with those come-alongs pictured above. @allen.wrench has one. Decent, especially if you use a pulley block to increase pull, but a one-trick pony and 2x the cost of a Hi-Lift alone. Hi-Lift winching is not bad and using the kit makes re-rigging fairly painless. Plus then you have all the other benefits of a hi-lift.

Buy hi-lift brand, not a knock-off

Looking at the reviews on the Hi-Lift off road kit has me wondering if it's actually a worth while purchase. May just have to build my own.

 

[FunkyYota]

I've already had two instances last season where I could have really used something to wench me out of a solo situation. I was lucky in the one situation to have a friendly guy in an XJ show up and pull me off a massive high center up on top of Kingston. The other time I had to bail on the whole day's worth of wheeling because of some massive alternating holes on a shelf road I could not get past.

I gotcha. Well, I guess thats enough to justify some investment in self recovery gear.

If it were my money i'd probably be looking to get a winch. I imagine you could get one setup for under 300 if you're willing to do some work yourself and can forgo adding stiffer springs.

 

[DaveInDenver]

Looking at the reviews on the Hi-Lift off road kit has me wondering if it's actually a worth while purchase. May just have to build my own.

I have the Hi-Lift offroad kit and you could assemble a reasonable facsimile of the brackets yourself. The ancillaries like the strap, gloves, shackle and stuff weren't particularly high quality. It would help to see the way the two brackets work to winch-hold-winch-hold but all you're doing is assembling heavy steel brackets to hold chains in place with good bolts.

 

[Inukshuk]

Looking at the reviews on the Hi-Lift off road kit has me wondering if it's actually a worth while purchase. May just have to build my own.

Easy enough. In fact, rated carabiners (@jps8460 is it 29+KN?) and synthetic winch extension rope do nicely.

But once you start adding up the bits, the kit + chain is not such a bad deal

 

[On the RX]

While a hi-lift is more work and time, it has the advantage of hooking to any sturdy point on the vehicle, which means if all you need is a bump backwards to get off that high center vs dragging expensive bits forward due to only having a front mounted winch then i would choose the jack. I say this thinking of my jack and having no bits to use it as a winch!
I personally think it should be on the first to purchase recovery gear list. It's so versitile!