Dumper Pull

Our neighbour, Lee, called on Saturday to see if we had a winch to help move a dumper truck that had been left un-driven for such a long time that it had seized. It needed moving out of the way before his new kennels arrive.

He expected me to have an electric vehicle mounted winch. That's not what I have. It is surprising that is not one of the toys we have ever added to our Land Rover. The vehicle mounted winches look good but I personally think the manual portable winch is more versatile. It has done every job I've asked of it, with ease.

I have a Tirfor(r) type wire rope hoist with a pulling capacity of 2,400 kg. It normally lives in the back of the Discovery but I had the foresight to remove it before it went in for it's engine overhaul.

The dumper needed to be moved up a steep bank to get it close to the fence. This is so Lee could bring a lorry with a crane close enough to lift it over. We had to pull from the other side of the fence.

We used Lee's Range Rover to pull against. With a couple of easy pulls from different angles we were able to rotate the dumper and get it up the slope.

The manual wire rope hoist is slow but it feels under control at all stages because you only move the load an inch at a time.