cwstnsko said:
Not true, when you use a snatch block, you have 2 lengths of 5/16" sharing the load. The winch can only pull 6000 lbs, no matter how many pulleys you run it through, the cable still only sees 6000lbs.
With enough pulleys, you could extract a tank with dental floss
I think the wording may be messed up a bit, but the concept is right.
When you run the line out and around 1 snatch block (attached to a stout object like a BIG tree) and bring the hook back to the Jeep, the load on each side of the pulley is 1/2 of the total load. In that senerio, you can pull yourself out of a 12,000lb load jam (3X your vehicle weight) and the load on each side of the line, will be 6,000lbs. The Winch load will be 6,000lbs.
Play the same senerio with a total load of 6,000lbs, and each line sees 3,000lbs, and the load on the Winch is 3,000lbs.
The only problem is that you can't overload your bumper. If you have a 6,000 Winch mounted on a peice of industrial strength aluminum foil, it's not going to stand up to a 12,000lb force being placed on it.
The Army teaches rope recovery of vehicles with people acting as the winch force. It takes lots of rope, quite a few blocks to get the multiplication needed to do it, but it can be done!
Does that make sense, or am I smoking from the same bong as the other guy