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The sound of a Kinetic Rope failure. Damage and cost..... Plus photos of the wheeling and camping.

Zandcwhite

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With the massive amount of use you put your rope under, it is bound to fail eventually. I’ve broken many a pull rope pulling big wire through too many bends, but 9 out of 10 are old, worn ropes. That being said, if I ever break my 7/8” kinetic rope (10 years old and used maybe 3 times) I’ll step up to an 1 1/4” just to make sure it has the extra margin of error so to speak. 100+ recoveries out of a rope is awesome.
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wibornz

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Looking back, I think I know how I damaged the rope. I was on the Outer Banks of North Carolina a few months ago and a 4dr GMC Serria 4x4 truck pulling a 23 or 24 ft camper was stuck on the sand trail and vehicles were stacking up behind him. I pulled him out and he was immediately stuck again. His bud jumped in the Jeep. I asked him were he was going, I ended up pulling him about 8 miles down the beach in the soft sand to where they were camping with others. I used the Kinetic rope the entire time and probably should have switched over to the tow strap that I also carry. The repeated 20+ minute of stretching and pulling of the rope over that distance is probably what did it in as I look back.
 

DV LAWYER

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So up wheeling over the weekend and been in 2wd all weekend. The trails are sandy and no real threat of getting stuck..... well or so I thought.

We are leading the pack as normal. Enter a water hole and bam stuck we are. Out comes our kinetic rope. The 2nd Jeep drives around the water hole and hooks up to pull us out. We are not super stuck. Should be an easy recovery. My bud gives it a yank and the kinetic rope breaks.

Turn up the sound. It sounds like a rifle shot through the woods.



















The rope come back to my Jeep and destroys the winch control box, and winch solenoid. Then hits the grille and bust the grille insert and caves in the AC condenser. I unhook the positive cable to winch to ensure that the exploded wires do not turn the winch or or ground out the battery. Luck is on my side though as the A/C condenser is not leaking and we still have air. We continue wheeling the rest of the day without issue.

A/C condenser
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Grille insert
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Winch Control box
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Get home and today, finish ordering everything I need.

Bought a new Warn winch to replace the Smitybuilt X2O. The cost to get a new control box,, solenoid and wireless control module and I had planned on replacing the synthetic rope in the near future, it just made sense to upgrade to the WARN and have a new winch. The Smitybuilt had served me well, but I just could not see dropping approx 400 to 450 into the Smitybuilt winch when that money could be used to upgrade to the Warn.

I bought this for a winch $840 of Amazon. About $50 cheaper than anywhere I could find it on the web.
Warn VR EVO 12-S Winch with Synthetic Rope

I ordered a new Gladiator center grille insert. $23 at the dealer. I could find it for $13 on the web, but by the time I added shipping, most places were at the $45 range. Score one for the dealer.

The new A/C condenser was $54 + shipping and total cost was $75. I will still have to pay someone to drain the old system and recharge it after I install the condenser so there is no total cost on this.

Bought a new kinetic rope from Factor 55. Cost $170

Just the cost of wheeling.

Some pics leading up to it and the weekend in general.

Pic of the Jeep and camper heading home after the weekend.
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out on the trails
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Drone flight through our base camp at a lake that is off the beating path in Northern Michigan.

Dude, awesome video. You certainly captured the essence of being out there, the camaraderie, the peace, the beauty...
 

DV LAWYER

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You should get the rope that Matts Towing sells on his YouTube channel, he pulls everything with them. I think they are around $400 or so, but you can't break them. Watch Matts Towing on YouTube he pulls everything out with a Jeep Cherokee, I mean just about everything.
Matts Towing on YouTube
True. I purchased one from Matt and use it in recovery around here in the Houston area. They are strong as hell, but as with any tool, you must use it properly AND maintain it. Love it though, and would try to pull out just about anything using it.
 

Thinman

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so glad nobody was hurt. it freaks me out every time I see Matt using steel shackles on kinetic ropes and was super happy when he finally went (predominantly) soft shackle.

7/8" is pretty tempting and likely good enough, but I think 1 1/4" is a better choice imo for 6k# mud stuck jeeps
 
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SoCal

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live look at the pep talk before the dude tried to pull you out....

 

A Sober Animal

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I'm not following why people keep asking questions about the brand of recovery rope. From the video (once OP was able to convert in a later post), it's pretty clear that the jeep recovering took one hell of a running start and was moving far too fast.

That, and the fact that OP had used the rope numerous times - simple wear and tear - seem to be the primary contributing factors.
 

Pepe My Little Mule

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I'm not following why people keep asking questions about the brand of recovery rope. From the video (once OP was able to convert in a later post), it's pretty clear that the jeep recovering took one hell of a running start and was moving far too fast.

That, and the fact that OP had used the rope numerous times - simple wear and tear - seem to be the primary contributing factors.


Not necessarily so. Not all brands are made the same. My recovery strap is a heck of a lot older and has been ABUSED more than what was shown in that video and has yet to fail. But after watching this clip It will no longer be used for snatching - tow rope only moving on.
 
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wibornz

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so glad nobody was hurt. it freaks me out every time I see Matt using steel shackles on kinetic ropes and was super happy when he finally went (predominantly) soft shackle.

7/8" is pretty tempting and likely good enough, but I think 1 1/4" is a better choice imo for 6k# mud stuck jeeps
After talking with Factor 55 and Yankum, I did not buy the heavier rope. They both said, you buy the rope for the weight of the recovery vehicle. Your Jeep will not be heavy enough to stretch the bigger rope.
 
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wibornz

wibornz

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Not that it matters, because Roam Offroad is not responding to anything, so I don't think you can buy one, but a Warn VR EVO winch will not fit in a Roam front bumper. So the winch install did not go as intended. Took the Jeep all apart to swap in the new winch and mounted the winch, then the bumper would not clear the winch. FUCK.

Everything that I liked as a front bumper is out of stock. or will not fit the Warn winch. Ended up ordering an ACE Engineering front bumper. Now the waiting begins..... Put the Jeep back together, minus a winch. Wait time 6 to 8 weeks.

That should give me ample time to yes, put a new windshield in. and get the AC condenser changed. It also means no winch for Drummond Island is three weeks. Just hoping the bumper is in before September 20, for when I leave for Flagstaff Arizona.
 

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Lapis

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Not that it matters, because Roam Offroad is not responding to anything, so I don't think you can buy one, but a Warn VR EVO winch will not fit in a Roam front bumper. So the winch install did not go as intended. Took the Jeep all apart to swap in the new winch and mounted the winch, then the bumper would not clear the winch. FUCK.

Everything that I liked as a front bumper is out of stock. or will not fit the Warn winch. Ended up ordering an ACE Engineering front bumper. Now the waiting begins..... Put the Jeep back together, minus a winch. Wait time 6 to 8 weeks.

That should give me ample time to yes, put a new windshield in. and get the AC condenser changed. It also means no winch for Drummond Island is three weeks. Just hoping the bumper is in before September 20, for when I leave for Flagstaff Arizona.
I've heard of people using spacers to make the factory steel bumper clear larger winches, If you like your ROAM, that might be an option.

Something like these (not my link/no affiliation):
https://www.etsy.com/listing/880037883/jeep-jk-jl-front-bumper-spacers-14-thick
 
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wibornz

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Well to update this thread. Ace promised that my bumper would be here between the middle of September to the end of September. They did not come through. Then they promised the middle of October. Nope didn't happen. Then they said the November 11th. Nope didn't happen. Then they said December 4th, didn't happen.

I got tracking number on Thursday. UPS reports that is on a delivery truck in route to my house today.

They put off the delivery every time I called them. So I offered to drive to them and just pick it up so that they did not have to ship it. I got a lot of resistance on that option. Then the other night I was looking at their site and noticed something. Mind you I have their rear bumper and their stand alone tire carrier and they are very high quality, excellent welds, the finish has stood up to the salt of Michigan weather so far. (three winters) and I don't think you can damage them. They are tough.

So what did I notice? In the past all of their product used to state "American Made". So ACE was sold to a German company and moved from Michigan to Illinois. Now some of their product state "American Made". and some do not. So either they have off shored the production of some of their products or they forgot to add it to their page on selected products. I for one think my new what I thought was an American Made product was probably produced somewhere else in the world and my bumper that was to be 6 weeks for delivery that turned in to 5 months was stuck on a slow boat from somewhere waiting to be off loaded at some port.

I have 20 days to finish prep work on the Jeep. These guys at ACE have me down to the wire working in cold weather to change out the bumper, add two different sets of light, plumb the on board air to the front bumper and install the winch. So much for having anytime to address any potential problems and thanks for making me work in the cold.

This bumper better be worth the wait.
 
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MtCamper

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OUCH! I hate that it's so damn hard to find country of origin on things. Hope all the holes line up and the winch has the clearance you need.
 

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It doesn’t look like Steinjager is actually German, just a German name. Part of Midwest Control Products.
 

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@wibornz Good post, thanks for the video and details. The A/C repair is gonna be another swift kick in the nutz with the lost refrigerant cost.

Your wife is bad azz. I could never do her job and I am a US Army combat vet.
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