Winches

buckwilk

buckwilk

Adventurist
Front mount standard, movable front to back receiver hitch. Mobile, not attached. I run alone a lot, thinking through different mount systems. Winch prices make me think double duty. Any one same boat? Answers?
 
The movable concept appeals to many but just remember you will need to provide wiring of correct gauge at both ends which could be an issue or as Dave ably pointed out sometimes the juice isn't worth the squeeze?:worms
 
The other thing is, none of those receiver hitch mounts is rated for more than 9,000 lb winches. I've got a 12,000 lb on the front of my F250.

I saw a picture once, somewhere. A winch was mounted to a heavy steel plate, and the plate was attached to two recovery points with chains. Power by way of what looked like a modified set of jumper cables with Anderson Power Poles. Seemed to be working pretty well in the picture. Under tension, the winch and plate were up about 4 feet in the air.
 
I used to be concerned about the need to winch in any direction when I was a kid, and was planning to go this route on my Jeep. Looking back, I'm glad I never got far enough in that build to buy the winch.

There's just not much practical need unless you need it for work or ranch tasks (and can't just turn the truck around) or are getting heavy into rock crawling (even then the cost:benefit is hard to justify). Situations in which you cannot winch forward past an obstacle and continue on, and must winch backward at all costs are so rare you'd be better served carrying enough line and gear to do this: https://americanadventurist.com/forum/threads/winching-yourself-backwards.5218/
 
On a lighter set of solutions you could just say "go ahead you first" OR you could not say "hold my beer and watch this". Not much use flying solo but humorous none the less. I suspect the best solution is the grey matter between ones ears?
 
I've done a bit of rock crawling in my day, lot's of time spent at the Hammer's Trails in Johnson Valley. I agree with Chazz, I nor any of the guys that I went wheeling with had a rear mounted winch. I can't speak for folks that do a lot of wheeling in forests, mud, etc.
 
bob91yj said:
I've done a bit of rock crawling in my day, lot's of time spent at the Hammer's Trails in Johnson Valley. I agree with Chazz, I nor any of the guys that I went wheeling with had a rear mounted winch. I can't speak for folks that do a lot of wheeling in forests, mud, etc.
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This.

A winch on the front of the vehicle, properly wired and solidly mounted is the only way to go. The Mickey Mouse receiver mount ones, while useful in some applications, just don't compare.
 
I agree with Dave, for all the reasons mentioned before. I've actually witnessed a receiver mount flex under the strain of an off-center pull. And yes, you'd need to run some massive cables from a front battery to adequately power a rear-mounted winch.
 
The required gear and rigging to do a rearward pull is probably less expensive, certainly lighter and offers a much wider spectrum of versatility for whatever circumstances may dictate in any given recovery. I'd put my investment there, for sure.
 
Throw a come-along in your rig or learn how to use your hi-lift as a come-along for the off chance you just need a short tug backwards out of some muck when you're by yourself and winching forward makes matters worse.
 
Not to mention that you kill your approach/departure angles with a winch hanging off a hitch.

I keep saying I'm going to put a winch in the rear if I ever get around to putting a new bumper on but I doubt it'll happen. The only reason I say that is because I usually travel alone but then I also carry extra recovery gear and I have a spare winch line I can carry if I think I may need it.
 
Space, weight, and money are always in short supply on my vehicles. A come-along and some rigging will do a lot better job of justifying their weight and cost than a portable or rear-mounted winch, and are infinitely more versatile.
 
It all depends on how stuck you are. Stuck just means you can't generate enough traction to move in the direction you want. People push trucks out all the time, and I can pull a lot more with a come-along than I can push. Especially if you pay your dues with a shovel first. I had a buddy in Dubai that would lead "shovel-only" trips for new drivers that needed to learn how to self recover. Those guys would have traded a couple daughters for a come-along.

There are some great one's out there, but they tend to be really heavy and expensive. I have used the regular old fence stretcher kind for 5-10 recoveries. Usually they were a second line stabilizing or pulling a back end around, while a winch did the heavy lifting, but not always. With enough rigging (snatch blocks, winch extensions, chain etc....) you can do a lot. Most of my use has been with a CJ5, so its a completely different equation than that big dodge. (once I lifted the back end of the Jeep straight up to swing it out of a rut) But I have used it to pull an F350 back on the road as well. I've never tried it in conjunction with a set of maxtrax, but I think that would really be a good force multiplier for a coma-along.

Not trying to start an internet debate. Just throwing out what has worked for me.
 
A rear mounted winch is not all that unusual in Australia. They also seem to carry 4 maxtrax where in the U.S. two seems to be the norm. Tall lifts seem to be a U.S. thing. I wonder if that is because of the different vehicles available country to country.
 
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