[Green]

artsin01:

I ordered a bunch of accessories from Warn. A synthetic rope conversion kit with new fairlead roller, an accessory kit (tree trunk protectors, snatch block, shackles, bag), a synthetic 50' extension rope, an extra snatch block, and the best part...a wireless remote controller.

Can't wait to get it installed! Wire rope sucks...so does rewinding the cable without being able to watch and make sure it is spooling correctly.

 

[Pain]

Post up some info on the stuff. I need a synth rope and might need some of that other stuff too Probably just the synth rope for now. Just spent too much money on trail cams and other stuff.

 

[69quadracer]

You are going to love the synthetic rope its really nice when winding back and not worring about the steel splinters poking you in the hands and fingers, have had mine a couple years and will never have a steel cable again.

 

[JBGill06]

Haha, I just got on here to search the forums about the synthetic ropes, and here you guys are already talking about it. I am going to order a new synthetic rope and hawes fairleed. I have a Viper Max 3500lb, by Moto Alliance.

 

[Green]

Post up some info on the stuff. I need a synth rope and might need some of that other stuff too Probably just the synth rope for now. Just spent too much money on trail cams and other stuff.

Will do. I started installing the wireless system last night. First problem, and also my first complaint with my Rancher, is that I can't find an appropriate place to mount the box. The contactor has taken most of the available space in the electrical area. I think that I might be able to reroute and tidy up the area then wedge it in there, but it's gonna be a job. The other problem, and I haven't confirmed this, is that it looks like the wireless reciever will have to be activated before the handlebar mounted controls will work. The handlebar switch currently controls the contactor...the reciever installs between those two components (unpulg the switch, plug the contactor and the switch into the reciever). In other words...on the outside...it looks like a series connection. If this is the case, I will build an adapter pigtail that will allow parallel control of the contactor. I use the winch a lot for plowing snow...I don't want to have to activate the wireless system to use my winch the old school way.

My first impression of the rope is pretty good...it's definitely some solid stuff. My two biggest concerns with this are 1) using it with a snatch block, and 2) corrosion of the fairlead rollers.

I've seen mixed reports of using synthetic rope with snatch blocks, and what I've found is that if you're careful not to let the rope roll off the pulley and get wedged between the pulley and shackle, and you use a new, burr free snatch block, you should be ok. Just the same, I will probably buy a snatch block made specifically for synthetic rope in the near future.

The corrosion concern comes from all the salt they put on the roads in the winter. I trailer my Rancher to and from my hunting ground every weekend. The spray from my tires has caused my current fairlead roller to start to corrode. The rollers themselves aren't too bad yet, but the bracket is starting to rust...and it is less than a year old.

I just keep reminding myself that the rope, be it wire or synthetic, is a wear item and has to be replaced eventually anyway. I'll just do what I can to get the most out of it.

Haha, I just got on here to search the forums about the synthetic ropes, and here you guys are already talking about it. I am going to order a new synthetic rope and hawes fairleed. I have a Viper Max 3500lb, by Moto Alliance.

I was reading the literature that came with my rope last night and Warn recommends using a roller fairlead with their synthetic rope.

 

[Pain]

You could get a cover for the rancher which might help a little, but spray will still get up under it, no doubt. I have a cover that has tie-down openings in the 4 corners, and it covers pretty snug against the the machine with an elastic band around the bottom of the cover.

 

[Green]

I thought about that...how do you suppose it would do at 65 mph for an hour at 25* though? I also thought about a fairlead cover, but once the spray got in there it would essentially be ruined (same is true for a cover). If the spray (and salt chemicals) get under the cover, they will stay there until washed out...I could be making more work for myself. I think my best bet is to work harder at keeping it clean. Keep in mind that last winter was one of the worst on record as far as snowfall goes.

 

[Pain]

I don't know how the cover would work at driving speed, I don't use it to cover mine while on the trailer. I use it to cover it while I'm away from my property... I lock the ATV to the frame of the travel trailer and then put the cover on it to protect it a little.

You could just use the poor mans cover: Plastic grocery bags. Free and disposable. Tie one on and throw it away when you get there. I used to use those on my fishing reels at the beach to keep the salt spray and sand out of the reels when I was driving on the beach or when the wind was howling.

 

[shadetree]

artsin01:

I ordered a bunch of accessories from Warn. A synthetic rope conversion kit with new fairlead roller, an accessory kit (tree trunk protectors, snatch block, shackles, bag), a synthetic 50' extension rope, an extra snatch block, and the best part...a wireless remote controller.

Can't wait to get it installed! Wire rope sucks...so does rewinding the cable without being able to watch and make sure it is spooling correctly.

the synthetic rope rocks !!..it came with my set up..i baught the warn xt 25..warn snatch block..d-blocks..tree trunk protector..you think you had trouble mounting all of your stuff..try sticking that contactor box in a '89 trx350d foreman trunk !..lmfao..no room for even a match !..lol..i had to fab my own winch mounting plate..as they did not make a mounting plate for my atv. as for the remote..i kinda wish i baught that..it sure would of came in handy when i was winching my jet ski engine down from a tree when i was doing it myself..lol..anyway..i may add that later on..as for the warn xt 25..with the sythentic rope..it's the best thing i've ever used on a winch..i had my doubts about it holding up..but..after i pulled a 300 concret pole out of the ground..it surprised me that it did it without even blinking !..it's very strong.

 

[Green]

I don't know how the cover would work at driving speed, I don't use it to cover mine while on the trailer. I use it to cover it while I'm away from my property... I lock the ATV to the frame of the travel trailer and then put the cover on it to protect it a little.

You could just use the poor mans cover: Plastic grocery bags. Free and disposable. Tie one on and throw it away when you get there. I used to use those on my fishing reels at the beach to keep the salt spray and sand out of the reels when I was driving on the beach or when the wind was howling.

Not a bad idea. The bike stays in the garage when at home, so I don't worry about it there.

 

[shadetree]

would like to add..get a warn cover for your winch..i did..got it off ebay..fit's nice and snug..streches over it tight..it was made for my model..see if you can find one on ebay..or even got o warn..they make them for all models.

 

[Green]

What the hell?!? I just checked out Warn's website about fairlead rollers. Now I'm confused.

As mention in an earlier post, the papers that came with the synthetic rope say that Warn recommends using roller farleads with synthetic rope. They also supply a new roller fairlead with the atv winch conversion kit.

On their website, I just found a Hawse fairlead made of synthetic material (so it won't rust or corrode), and it says it's made to prevent damage to synthetic rope. It also says it's for the SnoWinch 1.5 (which is not what I have...I have an RT25). When I look for a Hawse fairlead for my winch, all I can find is the cast iron one...which I definitely don't want. Now the kicker...if you look at the spec's for the XT25, which is the next step up winch, it's identical to the RT, except it comes with synthetic rope and a synthetic Hawse fairlead. I guess I'm going to call Warn.

 

[Green]

would like to add..get a warn cover for your winch..i did..got it off ebay..fit's nice and snug..streches over it tight..it was made for my model..see if you can find one on ebay..or even got o warn..they make them for all models.

I can't put a cover on my winch because of the mounting location. I can touch the ends of it, but that's it.

 

[shadetree]

What the hell?!? I just checked out Warn's website about fairlead rollers. Now I'm confused.

As mention in an earlier post, the papers that came with the synthetic rope say that Warn recommends using roller farleads with synthetic rope. They also supply a new roller fairlead with the atv winch conversion kit.

On their website, I just found a Hawse fairlead made of synthetic material (so it won't rust or corrode), and it says it's made to prevent damage to synthetic rope. It also says it's for the SnoWinch 1.5 (which is not what I have...I have an RT25). When I look for a Hawse fairlead for my winch, all I can find is the cast iron one...which I definitely don't want. Now the kicker...if you look at the spec's for the XT25, which is the next step up winch, it's identical to the RT, except it comes with synthetic rope and a synthetic Hawse fairlead. I guess I'm going to call Warn.

the only difference between the warn xt 25..and the warn rt 25..is the xt 25 comes with the sythenic rope and fairlead made for the rope..and the rt 25 comes with the cable..and fairlead made for the cable..thats the only difference.

 

[shadetree]

would like to add..get a warn cover for your winch..i did..got it off ebay..fit's nice and snug..streches over it tight..it was made for my model..see if you can find one on ebay..or even got o warn..they make them for all models.

I can't put a cover on my winch because of the mounting location. I can touch the ends of it, but that's it.

if you got enough room to mount the winch..then you got enough room to put this cover on it..as long as you can reach the engaging level..then thats all you need..this is how mine is set up..i don't have alot of room on mine..and i got the cover on it..i can reach into my winch..raise the cover up just enough to get to the lever..when i'm done..i pull the cover back down...it streches real tight around my winch..it's kinda rubbery..so too speak..lol

 

[Helmut]

What the hell?!? I just checked out Warn's website about fairlead rollers. Now I'm confused.

As mention in an earlier post, the papers that came with the synthetic rope say that Warn recommends using roller farleads with synthetic rope. They also supply a new roller fairlead with the atv winch conversion kit.

On their website, I just found a Hawse fairlead made of synthetic material (so it won't rust or corrode), and it says it's made to prevent damage to synthetic rope. It also says it's for the SnoWinch 1.5 (which is not what I have...I have an RT25). When I look for a Hawse fairlead for my winch, all I can find is the cast iron one...which I definitely don't want. Now the kicker...if you look at the spec's for the XT25, which is the next step up winch, it's identical to the RT, except it comes with synthetic rope and a synthetic Hawse fairlead. I guess I'm going to call Warn.

I don't have any experience with synthetic rope, but I've always heard that you have to use a Hawse fairlead with synthetic rope because the rope will get hung in the edges of the rollers on a roller fairlead.

 

[Green]

if you got enough room to mount the winch..then you got enough room to put this cover on it..as long as you can reach the engaging level..then thats all you need..this is how mine is set up..i don't have alot of room on mine..and i got the cover on it..i can reach into my winch..raise the cover up just enough to get to the lever..when i'm done..i pull the cover back down...it streches real tight around my winch..it's kinda rubbery..so too speak..lol

Seriously...if you have to slide it from one end to the other, it can't be done...not on a late model Rancher. it is so tight that I cannot pass any object from one end of the winch to the other. It is basically completely encapsulated with a top and bottom bracket and frame/bumper supports one either end.

I don't have any experience with synthetic rope, but I've always heard that you have to use a Hawse fairlead with synthetic rope because the rope will get hung in the edges of the rollers on a roller fairlead.

That's what I was thinking too. I dunno...Warn sent the rollers with the rope as a boxed kit so I guess it's ok. I also tried finding the synthetic Hawse fairlead, but it would appear that they don't sell it by itself. The only one the list is the cast iron one and I absolutely will not go that route. There's a website (blitzkrueg.com)that does sell an aftermarket UHMW hawse, but they advise against it if using a plow (which I do). For plow use, they sell an aluminum hawse or UHMW rollers to replace the steel ones, which is the route I'm gonna take.

 

[JBGill06]

Just found out that my contactor/relay is bad. My winch would not feed back in when I would hit the button, so I took my switch appart to see if that was bad. It was fine, but I could hear a clicking noise coming from the relay, so I guess thats bad. Put the meter up to everying and got all the right voltage, except to the one that retracts the winch line. But, Its good to have have friends that buy in excess. He bought an extra contractor and handle bar switch. And this one comes with a wireless remote! So he's gonna sell it to me for cheap, and it looks like the contractor for the wireless switches are sealed better. Now I don't have to hate life.

 

[Green]

Warn had a recall on some of their contactors...might wanna check their website.

I got my wireless system and synthetic rope installed this weekend. It was a major PITA because of the lack of storage space on the Rancher. I ended up going back and redoing the original winch wiring. I had to shorten up some cables and reroute others to gain length or free up space where I had bundled the excess, then ended up zip tying the wireless reciever to the ECU. I literally had to disassemble my entire electrical box so I could get it all to fit back in there. Now that it's all said and done, I have added my contactor and the reciever to the electrical box and was able to keep all of the original components in their OEM locations...with the exception of what I believe is some sort of electronic shift module (when unplugged, there is no indicated gear on the dash and the engine cuts out). I'm glad it wasn't a tip sensor...I zip tied it to a cross tube above the electrical box.)

The wireless system is nice...especially when rewinding line. It makes it a lot easier to spool the rope evenly. The synthetic rope is awesome as well...I can't see myself going back to wire...even if I have to replace it more often. I found a large rubber bumper at work, it looks like a large hockey puck, that I ran the rope through. It will allow me to rewind the hook all the way to the fairlead but acts as a shock absorber and keeps the hook from contacting and damaging the rollers.