5
Fleet Angle
THE IMPORTANCE OF A PROPER FLEET ANGLE
Maintaining the proper fleet angle is important to the success of
your winching operation, the life of your winch and the life of the
cable you are using. The fleet angle can best be described by
the following illustration.
The fleet angle should be kept as small as possible to insure
proper spooling and to maximize cable and winch life. To
promote even cable spooling, keep the fleet angle below three
degrees. Whenever possible, spool through a block at the back
of the truck body. Never pull directly against the flange of the
winch cable drum as this may cause the cable or the winch to
break.
If you are using a front mounted winch for vehicle recovery, use
a snatch block to avoid pulling sideways on the winch. If your
winch is equipped with a four way roller and you absolutely must
pull against a side roller, do so only for as long as is necessary
and carefully watch the cable on the drum. It will pile up on one
side of the drum and you must insure that it doesn’t jump over
the drum flange. When you are finished using the winch in a
manner where the cable does not spool evenly, disengage the
clutch and pay out the uneven cable. Then slowly re-spool the
cable, making sure that it lays evenly.
