Vehicle Recovery System
“BWA have 4 products that make up the Bush Winch vehicle recovery system:
The Bush Winch:
The Bush Winch is a wheel mounted winch which is carried as a pair (one for each side of the vehicle) in a kit bag for use when needed. The winches slot onto especially designed wheel nuts. These wheel nuts replace the manufactures wheel nuts and can be left on permanently so that the Bush Winch can be attached at any time. A simple push and twist action, without the need for any additional tools, is all that is required to attach and detach the Bush Winch.
A 4WD in a bog or on a slippery surface can use the front or back wheels as chosen. The winch ropes are taken from the winches to anchor points in front or behind the vehicle depending on whether you want to winch forwards or backwards. In a 2WD the winches are obviously just put on the drive wheels although you can still decide to winch forward or backwards. You engage forward or reverse gear depending on which way you want to go and the winch rope winds onto the winch drum forcing the vehicle along.
Because the vehicle engine is providing the power the vehicle recovery process is easily and safely controlled by the driver including stopping and starting at any stage. The power available from the engine is considerable so low engine speed is all that is necessary and winching can be continued for as long as needed.
The winch ropes supplied with the Bush Winch has been specifically selected for its strength and characteristics. The winch rope is very light, has no stretch and is colored bright red for visibility. No other rope, chain, cable or webbing should be used. Lighter vehicles can use the 4mm winch rope rated at 2000kg (4,410lbs) and heavier vehicles the 5mm rope rated at 3200kg (7,050lbs). Because two winch ropes are used in the vehicle recovery the actual pulling capacity is double the individual ropes breaking strain i.e. 4000kg (8,820lbs) or 6400kg (14,100lbs) respectively. This pulling capacity is unaffected by how much rope has spooled onto the drum. Approximately 50m (164 ft) of rope will spool onto the winch. The winch ropes non-stretch characteristic means that if the rope were to break under load it would not pose any risk from recoil and whipping action. Broken rope can easily be repaired and the rope can be used for any other purpose e.g. around the camp, on the boat, towing, tying down a load etc. No knots or shackles are needed to attach to the winch rope to the Bush Winch and eyes have been spliced into each end of the winch rope for joining and convenience.
The Bush Ground Anchor:
The lack of a suitable anchor to pull from often prevents the self recovery of a vehicle from a bog or a slippery surface. There are often no anchors at all, they aren’t positioned where you need them or they are not strong enough. The Bush Ground Anchor provides a unique solution to these issues.
The Bush Ground Anchor comes in a kit bag holding two anchors. The sand anchors work by screwing into the ground and connecting up with a spade to achieve extraordinary holding power in sand and unconsolidated ground conditions e.g. clay, mud, gravel etc. They are easily retrieved and can be placed in a large array of configurations to suit the circumstances. They can act as independent anchors to the winch ropes or be used in tandem to provide a single stronger anchor point.
A vehicle recovery using two anchors and two winches means that the loads are shared (halved). The anchor points do not need to be as strong as otherwise required from a single point.
The Bush Rope Guide:
The Bush Rope Guide ensure that the winch rope spools onto the Bush Winch even when steering during winching operations or pulling from anchor points to the side of the vehicles path. The Rope Guide attaches to the same wheel nuts that the Bush Winch uses. They attach and detach just as easily and are carried in the Bush Winch kit bag. The Rope Guide also assists in bringing the vehicle into line if it is slipping sideways or you want to winch around a bend or an obstacle. As winching starts the lines pull tight and a component of the force helps bring the vehicle around. Like the Bush Winch the Rope Guide works at axle level and the lowest point of balance where it is most effective in bringing you out of a tricky situation.
The Bush Bridle:
The Bush Bridle extends the reach of the winch ropes and allows weak anchor points or those in bad positions to be used. The Bridle comprises a non-stretch rope of a very high quality similar to the winch rope but with a breaking strain of 6700kg (14,794lbs) i.e. more then twice the combined breaking strain of the 5mm winch rope. The Bush Bridle strung between two separated anchor points to the side of the intended path of the vehicle acts as an anchor line to which the winch rope can attach to any point. This allows you to winch in the direction you want to go. The attachment of the winch lines to the Bush Bridle is through a “D” shackle fitted with a roller. These are provided as part of the Bush Bridle so that no knots are needed and attaching and releasing the winch lines is easy.”