The necessary pulling force is approx. 20 - 30% of the nominal pulling force of the winch.

In comparison to drum winches, TREIBMATIC winches require no spooling, with the rope exiting the winch along a pre-defined X-Y-Z axis at any given rope length. This is an advantage whenever space is limited in a vehicle.

The length of rope that can be stored is not dependent on the winch, but on the capacity of the rope storage drum. For that reason, a TREIBMATIC winch can theoretically be used to drive a rope of any length. Rope storage drums are available in both powered and rope-driven versions. In line with the available installation space, powered rope storage drums can store rope lengths of 200 m and more. Rope-driven storage drums are limited in size due to the laws of physics and can store a maximum of approx. 83 m given a rope diameter of 12 mm or 16 mm, but can store up to 108 m of rope given a rope diameter of 24 mm.

When using a drum winch, the length of the rope is limited by the height of the end discs. As long as installation space permits, rope length can be extended with a TREIBMATIC winch. Also see "Rope lengths with TREIBMATIC".

As rope storage is separate when using TREIBMATIC pulling winches, it is not necessary to ensure a specific pulling force. That removes the need for the operator to guarantee stable rope contact with the storage drum. For enhancing the reliability of the rope and for avoiding bird caging, it is useful to have a load on rope.

Rope wear is also caused by rope-on-rope friction. Ensuring as little rope-on-rope contact during winch operation and choosing large deflection radii will reduce rope wear.

As a general technical principle, the pulling force of a drum winch decreases the more of the rope length is stored on the drum while the rope speed simultaneously increases. This is not the case with TREIBMATIC winches. The pulling force and rope speeds remain constant along the entire rope length.

That would make little sense. A pulling winch generally needs a dog clutch to release the rope drum to enable rope payout. However, such a release mechanism at hoisting winches is not allowed for safety reasons.

Since synthetic-fibre ropes promise advantages with regard to weight and handling, this topic has resurfaced on various occasions in recent years. However, it should be borne in mind that multi-layer rope spooling, which is usual practice for drum winches, can also be problematic precisely because of its great flexibility. This type of rope can equally be sensitive to external influences during winch operation, such as stones, rocks, chemicals, fire or even a sharp knife.

During forestry work, especially when moving felled trees, winches are put under enormous strain and may have to run for many hours at a time. Rotzler HZ drum winches are dimensioned for recovering/loading vehicles and similar operations during which the winch is operated for short periods of time. For that reason, they are both smaller and lighter in weight than special-purpose forestry winches. An HZ winch would therefore quickly reach the running times it was designed for; continued use would result in damage to gearing/bearings, etc.