Home Forums Gear Hunting Trucks and Four-Wheel Drives hi lift jack or come along for horizontal pulling.

When a winch is not a option what do you prefer. Come alongs seem like a necessary evil and never quite work as well as they should when you really need them. It may be I haven't bought the right one though. So I would appreciate some input

I've had better luck with a come along. But I try not to need it in the first place....

Com-a-long, but one with chain, not cable.
I have both and a winch ,but I have not used the hi lift more than 5-6 times in40 years and it wasn't for getting unstcuk

My hi lift is best used for putting on chains when it's impossible to drive onto the chains. It can be used to pull but at only a couple feet at a time, it gets pretty tedious.
If you get a come a long, be sure it's capable of doing the job. Most on the market can't handle a full sized pickup that's really stuck. You're not going to get a capable come-a-long for $40.

I have been carrying a Weyth-Scott 3 ton (dead lift) ratchet puller for the last couple of years. I have been lucky and have not had to use it.

Yea, the key is a decent come along, the cheap chinese junk will just frustrate you.

Frustrate or worse. If the handle breaks while under tension between your truck and a tree, you might not be able to back it off to remove it.

This brings up a question of pulling power comparing a come-a-long to an electric winch. Does anyone know how to compare their power? A come-a-long is rated at it's full lifting power. A 2 ton supposedly will actually pull a full 2 tons. Electric winches, however, are rated at how much weight they can pull up an inclined plane. A 10k winch will pull a 10k rolling load up a slope of something like 20%. How do you compare that to a dead lift come-a-long?

I have used a Wyth-Scott instead of a winch to unstick my Excursion several times. It has worked well using the double pull and lots of chain/tow straps coupled to/with a ground anchor. It should do just about anything you need. I also have and have used HiLift jacks. They can be VERY dangerous unless used carefully and in the proper circumstance. Both have their place.

The Wyth-Scott website answered my question on how to compare a come-a-long to a winch for power. They use a 2 to 1 ratio. A come-a-long with a 4000lb capacity is roughly the same as an 8000lb winch.

Rating means squat unless you have the physical strength to crank the handle and some of those handles are pretty short.

Good info guys thanks for the help I wonder what the longest come along they make is

no matter the length, it'll always come up short...

I have a come along that I bought at a Bozeman hardware store for about $150 that weighs about 30 pounds, maybe more. It has a drastic gear reduction, so it moves stuff slow, but I think it would pull most any truck out of any mud hole, Thankfully, I haven't had to try, in spite of a couple of trips to some wild parts of Alaska and Canada.
I also carry a Chink come along to pull the slack pout of the line if I do have to use the heavy lifter.

I have only used one "come along" on a full sized truck and it worked well but slow, it was called a power puller though the spelling seems to be messed up, I'll look. So I searched and what looks like the one we used seems to be the Weyth-Scott "More Power Puller" already recommended.

In my small jeep and 4runner, i have the little cable puller and a handiman.

None of the portable stuff beat the convienience or speed of a mounted electric winch. I have been considering a portable capstain winch with pull tape and a snatch block.

Where have you seen a capstan with enough power to unstick a heavy pickup? None that I've seen are powerful enough.

The come along that I have is a Maasdam USA Pow'R-Pull. It is probably one of the best portable come alongs still made:

http://www.maasdam.com/

For the big jobs, this Power Puller (USA)that was mentioned would get my vote too, but it weighs 25 pounds:

http://www.arizonatools.com/come-al.../2-Ton-30-Cable-Power-PullerUSA/AZT2-30/

I've got a Wyeth-Scott More Power Puller also. I've only used it once, but it did the trick. It doesn't hold nearly enough line to reach much, so I've got another (2)100ft rolls of wire rope and 25ft of chain to make sure I can reach a good anchor. The chain allows for adjusting the slack.

I have 3-25' 5/16" towchains, a 4" 30' snatch strap, 3- 2' chains with grab and slip hooks, a Handyman jack and a Lugall comealong in the toolbox. And tirechains for all 4.....

Simpson Winch Inc. makes a handy Honda powered 4stroke capstan rated for #2500 single line. With a snatch block you'll double that. If need be you could add yet another pulley.

I'm not saying it's ideal but rarely do you need a full 8k worth of pulling power to get out unless you're buried in mud. The thing with this setup is with some weight rated rope or pull tape and a couple pulleys, you could use it to winch a whole animal up to a road as well as get a rig straightened out.