pepper2 replied:

There are bigger hand winches available Size???? But when you have 3 tons of vehicle badly stuck you need every bit of 10000lb pull sometimes you use a snatch block for 20000lb pull.
Have had my patrol badly stuck where 10000 pul wouldnt move it.

But a hand winch can be very effective in majority cases and pull from any direction,sometimes i carry both...

Wizard1 replied:

Hand winches, also known as creeper winches, like Tirfors, are actually designed for lifting and all standards and ratings apply to their application in the construction industry.

Their rating applies to the device's ability to lift weight vertically say 2.5 tonne, hence what appears to be a much lower rating.

But when you pull something horizantally it all changes due to the physics of pulling rather than lifting. Add a snatch block or two and the weight it can pull goes up again.

You can get bigger ones, much bigger, for recovering trucks which are rated at around 5000 kg, but to recover a 4WD a 2.5 tonne is enough.

Here is a site link that might help.

Industrial Hand Winches

Mikee5 (QLD) replied:

I have an idea it may be because an electric winch only achieves its maximum rating on the first layer of wire. Second layer is less and third layer is less again. Hand winch is constant rating. just my thoughts.

gilghana replied:

Actually the other way - the less wire on the winch drum the greater the pulling capacity. The pulling Vs lifting scenario is 100% spot on - last weekend I was looking at one of our CAT skidders in the w/shop, betwwen teh winch wire and the hook was a rated 3 ton D shackle (rated for lifting): it was a "bit" deformed but had been regularly subjected to at least 15 tons of pulling!!! Wouldn't have wanted to be near it, but there you go...
Gil

Member - Shane D (QLD) replied:

EFFORT!
That's the short answer,If you have ever used a handwinch, say, in a deep mud situation, you will most certianly feel it through your whole body, YEP, a snatch block will half the effort,but will half the speed and double the amount of pumps.
I never seen any bigger hand winch(NOT saying they dont exist) commercially available,but owning and using H/winch I personally wouldn't want anything that would weigh more, remembering that it will have to be heavier.
Your body can only expell X amount of energy,so gear reduction will result in bigger loads being pulled at a reduced speed.
Shane

brushmarx replied:

Thanks all for your responses.
I guess we need to use Newtons 6th law of motion. A 2.5 tonne vehicle in 600mm of mud requires a horizontal pull of C=At x 4 in 30 degrees celcius, +/- 5% per degree of ground slope.
I used a tirfor in a previous life (army) and although heavy, bulky, and physically difficult use, we saved four Landrovers from sliding sideways down a steep mountain slope by side mounting on the chassis and pivoting off a tree when the only way out was a track washed away in a storm.