Shackle thimble vs hook for winch cable

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Shackle thimble vs hook for winch cable

Post by Wes » 12 Dec 2016, 9:21 am

I'm looking at Runva winches and I see they come with a "shackle thimble" instead of a hook like you usually see.

Every winching thing you ever see or read says limit the amount of links and hardware in a pull so you have less things to fail and less potential missiles.

e.g. connect extension straps by threading them through each others loops, don't use a shackle to connect them.

A hook is just a single hook, a shackle thimble obviously needs a shackle as well so seems like adding rigging to the setup, breaking a pretty commonly held rule?

So why do I want a shackle thimble instead?
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Re: Shackle thimble vs hook for winch cable

Post by Lorgar » 12 Dec 2016, 10:23 am

A couple of things.

Mostly a safety thimble stops the shackle before the hause, protecting your equipment, where a hook might get sucked into or through the fairlead.

They'll typically have a rubber foot which goes against it too, making tensioning that last bit of rope a bit softer on your gear than a metal-on-metal stop. And it won't rattle.

There is arguably an improvement in personal safety. Obviously if you get your fingers pulled through a hause with the hook or cable they're coming straight off, a thimble will stop them going through but you've still got potentially tonnes (literally) of force being applied. I guess a squashed finger is better than a severed finger.

Having said that, obviously, first and foremost, your hands should never be anywhere near the fairlead or hook/shackle as it's being wound in. Use the safety strap that comes with your winch and hang onto the far end of it, keep your fingers the hell away from the rest of it.
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Re: Shackle thimble vs hook for winch cable

Post by Rakk » 12 Dec 2016, 1:30 pm

Lorgar wrote:I guess a squashed finger is better than a severed finger.


Mate I dunno, I remember the pain of just giving a toe a good squash :?

Stuck between the hause fairlead and thimble your finder would be flat as a crepe. Part of me thinks I'd rather just lose it! :lol:
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Re: Shackle thimble vs hook for winch cable

Post by Wes » 08 Jan 2017, 7:04 pm

Lorgar wrote:There is arguably an improvement in personal safety. Obviously if you get your fingers pulled through a hause with the hook or cable they're coming straight off, a thimble will stop them going through but you've still got potentially tonnes (literally) of force being applied. I guess a squashed finger is better than a severed finger.


I hear you about the safety. I lift some weights now and then but I'm pretty certain I couldn't 'finger curl' 9,500lbs if I got stuck under the thimble :lol:
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Re: Shackle thimble vs hook for winch cable

Post by AusTac » 08 Jan 2017, 7:19 pm

I'm more of a hook guy, i have the exact same winch and never fitted the red shackle eye thing, i've been in a few situations where a shackle just wouldn't have worked, ie tight spot on a bogged family sedan in the middle of a forest but thats another story, the tow eye was in a real tight spot
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Re: Shackle thimble vs hook for winch cable

Post by Ariat » 10 Jan 2017, 9:34 am

A lot of people like the hook just for the convenience too.

Just click it on, no unscrewing shackle pins or bits to drop in the mud.

No pin to risk getting bound in the shackle after an intense load either.

Whatever though. Maybe shackle is better for a few reasons on paper but people have been using hooks successfully forever so...
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Re: Shackle thimble vs hook for winch cable

Post by halberg » 25 Jan 2017, 9:30 am

Ariat wrote:Whatever though. Maybe shackle is better for a few reasons on paper but people have been using hooks successfully forever so...


Same thoughts.

I've never seen a hook break. Don't see a compelling reason to change.
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Re: Shackle thimble vs hook for winch cable

Post by Farmjer » 31 Jan 2017, 9:38 am

The hooks are tough, they just break the windows of the winching 4wds when they hook on to something soft instead :lol:
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