Rope puller vs.come-along

Arborist Forum

Help Support Arborist Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

ozy365

ArboristSite Operative
Joined
Feb 5, 2005
Messages
158
Reaction score
7
Location
DeRuyter, New York
Don't spend money on come alongs. Rope pullers are a great alternative. You can run the whole length of the rope, the ratchet tight by pulling the tail around the spool and you can use 1/2" line (hard lay 3 strand works best for me. I used one to land this dead hemlock
 
A come-a-long or wench has a spool that loads with line; this gradually reduces the pulling leverage.

Rope Pullers, Capstans and Chain Hoists work the line onto the drum and then off; so it doesn't build up, to change/lessen the pulling leverage/ ratio of pulling lever/lever to cylinder size that line is loaded onto. The Chain Hoist has a set pulling length, but not the loss of power.
 
I suppose it's safe as the rat???? prevents it from undoing or getting slack. But like spydie said you'd build up a big wad of rope on the spool.

Also, what's the safe load or breaking strength of that device? And how much do they cost? And how do you anchor it to the tree?

You guys have funny terms, a come along? I've also heard hand billy. Any chance of a pic of a typical come along system for us remote islanders.
 
I have not learned to fully trust my Maasdam rope puller yet. It has slipped on me a couple of times, even on 3 strand, and it does not work well for a hard pull using double braid or kernmantle. My bull ropes are 5/8 double braid, so I have to put in a section of 1/2" 3 strand to use the rope puller. I think that gets the safe working load down to 5 or 6 hundred pounds.

I have a Griphoist I dearly love. It runs on 7/16 wire rope much the same as the rope puller runs on a rope, except the wire rope runs through it without a bend. It works with a leveraged brake system, harder you pull the harder the brakes grab. It weighs a good bit more than the rope puller, but I can still get it up in a tree, and it is much more reliable. 4,000 lbs safe working load on single part line. I think that is about the same amount of pull I get with my 4WD 3130 Kubota on dry ground. It is slower than the rope puller, because of the mechanical advantage.

I guess each has its place, but like I said - I dont trust the rope puller for anything critical. I dont do it, but I would be willing, to hang my life on the Griphoist.

Ekka - I'll be rigging the Griphoist for a pull on a live oak this weekend. I'll try to remember to get a picture for you.
 
Fireaxman said:
I have not learned to fully trust my Maasdam rope puller yet. It has slipped on me a couple of times, even on 3 strand, and it does not work well for a hard pull using double braid or kernmantle. My bull ropes are 5/8 double braid, so I have to put in a section of 1/2" 3 strand to use the rope puller. I think that gets the safe working load down to 5 or 6 hundred pounds.

I have a Griphoist I dearly love. It runs on 7/16 wire rope much the same as the rope puller runs on a rope, except the wire rope runs through it without a bend. It works with a leveraged brake system, harder you pull the harder the brakes grab. It weighs a good bit more than the rope puller, but I can still get it up in a tree, and it is much more reliable. 4,000 lbs safe working load on single part line. I think that is about the same amount of pull I get with my 4WD 3130 Kubota on dry ground. It is slower than the rope puller, because of the mechanical advantage.

I guess each has its place, but like I said - I dont trust the rope puller for anything critical. I dont do it, but I would be willing, to hang my life on the Griphoist.

Ekka - I'll be rigging the Griphoist for a pull on a live oak this weekend. I'll try to remember to get a picture for you.
I too have a griphoist, it says Tirfor on it and that is what I call it, also with cable that is approx.7/16, about 70' long. What an awesome piece of gear, I rigged it to the front of my truck, tied it to the bull rope I had in the trees, backed up till the tires spun, blocked the truck and yarded them over with the Tirfor. Works great, holds in or out, invented by the Germans in WW2, they never had a patent so it is copied, by Jet and others, the real ones are made by Tractel I believe. Beats any come along, rope puller, whatever.
 
here it is....trust me it takes ALOT to blow the shear pins,there still intact.
 
Hey Lopa, where in the big blue sea would you buy a Tirfor winch here????

I wouldn't mind getting my hands on one, they're rare as hens teeth.
 
TheTreeSpyder said:
A come-a-long or wench has a spool that loads with line; this gradually reduces the pulling leverage.


I've never noticed that before. Can you help me with this Spyder? Where's the spool on this wench:


attachment.php




:hmm3grin2orange:



(Maybe you were thinking "winch"?) ;)
 
Last edited:
BlueRidgeMark said:
I've never noticed that before. Can you help me with this Spyder? Where's the spool on this wench:


now there's a wench i'd love to winch.....about anywhere
 
Uhhh........yes, I think I'ld like to have one. Where does the handle go? Never mind, if I get one I'm sure it will come with instructions. Probably more instructions than I would care to hear.

But about the Griphoist - I've never been man enough to shear the pins either. We are talking about the Griphoist, aren't we?

Think I got mine from somewhere in California, but a quick search of the web turned up this address.

Tractel, Inc.
110 Shawmut Road
Canton, MA 02021
[email protected]
Toll Free: 800-421-0246 • Tel: 781-401-3288
 
Ekka said:
.... Any chance of a pic of a typical come along system for us remote islanders.

Griphoist (Tirfor) rigged on 2 part line to pull the limbs together on a live oak before I cabled it yesterday. Would not normally want the cabling so tight but the crotch was already split (by Katrina) and this is a last ditch effort to hold it together. Tree is to large a diameter at the crotch for rodding (7 feet) and too tall for external support.
 
Last edited:
I like the idea of the Maasdam rope puller being able to use the whole length of the rope and all but I dont think it has the power that I need and the Grip Hoist is just too much money. So I got the More Power Puller.

It has a longer pull than Come-Alongs and a three ton pull rating for winching down leaning trees with more power. It is similar to a wire cable come-along but the pull is longer with the rope. Cost $400 from Amazon with shipping .
 

Latest posts

Back
Top