Power Wagon Problems-what Lockers?
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Joined: Oct 2006
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RE: Power Wagon Problems-what Lockers?
Another question guys, sorry for the hi-jack but there are two few PW owners out there.
Did either of you purchase a separate winch accessory kit? Are ****** blocks, tree straps, choker chains even needed? I intend NOT to get stuck buy staying away from anything that is a potential hazard.
Did either of you purchase a separate winch accessory kit? Are ****** blocks, tree straps, choker chains even needed? I intend NOT to get stuck buy staying away from anything that is a potential hazard.
Thread Starter
Joined: Mar 2007
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RE: Power Wagon Problems-what Lockers?
M14
Arrg....My feeling exactly!
And you would think the problem should be easy to diagnose! Apparently from what the service guy said, they do not have much data on the PW. My guess is that there are a lot of folks out there who have wagons but do not use or have not checked to see if the lockers are working.
The last explanation I got from the dealer is the computer is not sensing the lockers and will not allow the actuators to work??
Jimmy1
Be careful with the connectors. My dealer broke one and that is why they hadto replace the whole harness! The connectors are not available. What a pain.
Manual override:
I assume, the sevice tech is applying power form an external source? Or possibly they can override the computer?
I will try and find out. That would be a good thing know. Although it may be rather difficult to crawl under your rig when stuck to hook a power plug to your diff.
Arrg....My feeling exactly!
And you would think the problem should be easy to diagnose! Apparently from what the service guy said, they do not have much data on the PW. My guess is that there are a lot of folks out there who have wagons but do not use or have not checked to see if the lockers are working.
The last explanation I got from the dealer is the computer is not sensing the lockers and will not allow the actuators to work??
Jimmy1
Be careful with the connectors. My dealer broke one and that is why they hadto replace the whole harness! The connectors are not available. What a pain.
Manual override:
I assume, the sevice tech is applying power form an external source? Or possibly they can override the computer?
I will try and find out. That would be a good thing know. Although it may be rather difficult to crawl under your rig when stuck to hook a power plug to your diff.
Rookie
Joined: Oct 2006
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RE: Power Wagon Problems-what Lockers?
Well, the wife won't be too happy if my truck is in the shop as she said "get what you want, but don't complain to me about it later if there is a problem". I hope I don't regreat not buying the Toyota FJ Cruiser.
Thread Starter
Joined: Mar 2007
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RE: Power Wagon Problems-what Lockers?
I would 100% recommend a winch kit and two tree straps and a spare shackle!
I have been using winches (and getting stuck) for 30 years (Wow I am getting old)
The ****** blocks allow for turning your winch into a 24,000 lb pull. That greatly reduces the stress on the cables and winch. If you haveextra tree straps you canmake pulls from angles when helping others.Without the tow straps (tree straps) and shacklesit is easy to damage your cable (forget about damage to the tree!). Make sure you pre-load the winch before use. I would suggest to spoolout your cable and wind it back under moderate load (have someone help wind the cable while you have the brake on).
That way when you need it, the cable is wound tight and less likely to bind or cut.
I have been using winches (and getting stuck) for 30 years (Wow I am getting old)
The ****** blocks allow for turning your winch into a 24,000 lb pull. That greatly reduces the stress on the cables and winch. If you haveextra tree straps you canmake pulls from angles when helping others.Without the tow straps (tree straps) and shacklesit is easy to damage your cable (forget about damage to the tree!). Make sure you pre-load the winch before use. I would suggest to spoolout your cable and wind it back under moderate load (have someone help wind the cable while you have the brake on).
That way when you need it, the cable is wound tight and less likely to bind or cut.
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RE: Power Wagon Problems-what Lockers?
God, if the lockers won't work when needed, maybe I will need the winch and accessories. [:'(]
The Warn kit seems too costly, and I already had the two 3/4" D-rings, and the 30K Lbd strap. I see ARB has a 30K lbd ****** block for $60 which costs less than the $150+ Warn, so I figured I would pick up a tree strap and ARB block if these are tools really needed.
Regarding loading the cable: I have been scratching my head on this one trying to figure how to do this.I figured I couldconnect the cable to another vehicle, then start spooling in with the Ram in neutral so the rolling resitance acts as the load. Is this correct thinking? It also seems that the cable is awful tight on the drum, are we sure these may not already be reasonably tensioned?
The Warn kit seems too costly, and I already had the two 3/4" D-rings, and the 30K Lbd strap. I see ARB has a 30K lbd ****** block for $60 which costs less than the $150+ Warn, so I figured I would pick up a tree strap and ARB block if these are tools really needed.
Regarding loading the cable: I have been scratching my head on this one trying to figure how to do this.I figured I couldconnect the cable to another vehicle, then start spooling in with the Ram in neutral so the rolling resitance acts as the load. Is this correct thinking? It also seems that the cable is awful tight on the drum, are we sure these may not already be reasonably tensioned?
Amateur
Joined: Aug 2006
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From: Snowmass Colorado
RE: Power Wagon Problems-what Lockers?
dont worry Im not playing around with the locker connectors I have already notifyed the dealer that they still dont work and when I go in for the 10k service they can try to fix it for the 4th time. I appreciate the advice Im sure your right I bet ya if all of the PW owners tried the lockers Im sure many of them would find they dont work
Thread Starter
Joined: Mar 2007
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RE: Power Wagon Problems-what Lockers?
Good idea about the 30K ****** blocks! As long as they are strong enough they will work just fine. The tree straps are just short towing straps. They always come in handy.
re: loading the winch.
This is very important! If you look at your winch (I assume you have taken off the rubber band that hold your cable from un-spooling) you will see that the cable is very loose. If you winch with a cable that has not been pre-loaded your asking for trouble. I can not tell you how many times I have had cable that ended up so boundup that it took a lot of effort to unwind and the result was damage and smashed cable.
A winch is so seldom used that it is worth taking the time to treat your cable as good as possible. Pre loading in easy! Just unwind your cable until you have about 4 or 5 wraps around the drum. Secure the hook to a tree or car and carefully start pulling. Just like you would if you were stuck but with less force. You do not have to apply much brake to wind the cable tight. But you will need someone to help assure the cable is winding correctly. If you just tie off and start winching, you most likely will have the cable bunch up on one side of the drum. The idea is to have the cable wind smoothly from one side of the drum to the other.The trick is when the cable layers upon itself to try and make sure it is winding without bunching up in one place. It should go back and forth from one side of the drum to another.Usually, I find that with help, this is not to difficult. But you will most likely have to stop a few times and unwind a few wraps when things do not wind correctly. After you are done, make sure you slowly wind the cable all the way so the hook and cable is taught but not too tight! After all this effort if you place the hook on loose, the whole cable and drum will spool loose.
This all sounds like a pain, but the cost of a new cable is not cheep!
The alternative would be just to wait until you need to use the winch and try to only use the winch with the last layer of cable. This is recommend anyway but not always possible. You only need 4 or 5 wraps of cable on the drum and that way the cable is less likely to get damaged and the winch actually works better. With a ****** block or eventwo of them, you will be able to make a short pull, yet have most of your cable un-wound. The problem I find with this approach, if your stuck in mud trying to set up a few ****** blocks and unwind most of the cable is a real pain!For short pulls having a tightly wound cable to the drums is very handy and quick.
Wow! Now that I have read all this, if I never had a winch I am not sure I would want one! I hope the above makes sense without sounding like I "know it all" or make it sound harder that it is. Bottom line, if you stuck, just do what you have to to get out. $150 bucks worth of cable is cheep compared to walking out 20 miles and trying to get someone to pull you out!
re: loading the winch.
This is very important! If you look at your winch (I assume you have taken off the rubber band that hold your cable from un-spooling) you will see that the cable is very loose. If you winch with a cable that has not been pre-loaded your asking for trouble. I can not tell you how many times I have had cable that ended up so boundup that it took a lot of effort to unwind and the result was damage and smashed cable.
A winch is so seldom used that it is worth taking the time to treat your cable as good as possible. Pre loading in easy! Just unwind your cable until you have about 4 or 5 wraps around the drum. Secure the hook to a tree or car and carefully start pulling. Just like you would if you were stuck but with less force. You do not have to apply much brake to wind the cable tight. But you will need someone to help assure the cable is winding correctly. If you just tie off and start winching, you most likely will have the cable bunch up on one side of the drum. The idea is to have the cable wind smoothly from one side of the drum to the other.The trick is when the cable layers upon itself to try and make sure it is winding without bunching up in one place. It should go back and forth from one side of the drum to another.Usually, I find that with help, this is not to difficult. But you will most likely have to stop a few times and unwind a few wraps when things do not wind correctly. After you are done, make sure you slowly wind the cable all the way so the hook and cable is taught but not too tight! After all this effort if you place the hook on loose, the whole cable and drum will spool loose.
This all sounds like a pain, but the cost of a new cable is not cheep!
The alternative would be just to wait until you need to use the winch and try to only use the winch with the last layer of cable. This is recommend anyway but not always possible. You only need 4 or 5 wraps of cable on the drum and that way the cable is less likely to get damaged and the winch actually works better. With a ****** block or eventwo of them, you will be able to make a short pull, yet have most of your cable un-wound. The problem I find with this approach, if your stuck in mud trying to set up a few ****** blocks and unwind most of the cable is a real pain!For short pulls having a tightly wound cable to the drums is very handy and quick.
Wow! Now that I have read all this, if I never had a winch I am not sure I would want one! I hope the above makes sense without sounding like I "know it all" or make it sound harder that it is. Bottom line, if you stuck, just do what you have to to get out. $150 bucks worth of cable is cheep compared to walking out 20 miles and trying to get someone to pull you out!
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RE: Power Wagon Problems-what Lockers?
I don't know if I'm reading this all correctly, but are you guys basically saying thatif you can't have reliable lockers that you'll buy winches instead? Why not put reliable aftermarket lockers in if the PW lockers suck so bad. What kind of locker are they anyway? Where didDC get the technology from? Are they electric, air, etc? I would put ARBs in if you need a selectable or Detroits if you driving offroad exclusively. [/align][/align]AND if you guys are messing with winching, please spend a couple of bucks on synthetic rope. It could save you or a friend. http://www.winchline.com[/align]