How often do you really use your winch?

[98dango]

no need to fuse a winch

Can anyone tell me if your suppose to fuse a winch, I put one on mine because I felt I should and the highest I could find down the auto shop was 80amps and it blew under load.

jed

 

[JED THE SPREAD]

Thanks for that

jed

 

[goodtimes]

Can anyone tell me if your suppose to fuse a winch, I put one on mine because I felt I should and the highest I could find down the auto shop was 80amps and it blew under load.

jed

It's not uncommon for medium sized winch (8K lbs) to pull upwards of 500 amps at stall.

I don't know of anyone fusing their winch, and I never fused mine. But, since it is hooked directly to the battery, it's a good idea to make sure you route the cables so you minimize the risk of rubbing a hole in the insulation, and use chafing material where appropriate.

 

[Ozarker]

Guess I need to get a winch. I used a towing strap once, wraped it around the tire and hooked it to itself, used reverse and it caught and pulled me out.
Another time I rolled my VW bug, but I just pushed it back over and took off again, doubt that would be the case now for my truck.

Are there any portable winches that don't need to be bolted to the vehicle? Asking since I don't think I'll do an ARB bumper on my truck.

 

[alexrex20]

No doubt the offroad recovery business is tough, but there is a predatory aspect to it as well.

Sounds like ANY tow truck driver. The only difference is that ON-ROAD tow truck drivers don't sit around and wait. They haul *** at triple the speed limit to get to the accident; they run red lights; they cut you off; they tailgate you; they blatantly disobey every traffic law to try and be the first on scene.

And then when they do get the job, they make up their own inflated price which you are then forced to pay because they threaten to tow your vehicle to their shop (instead of your house) if you don't pay up.

And for those reasons, I do whatever I can to block or slow down a speeding tow truck. They are not first-responders (EMS, VFD, LEO, etc.) and the only reason for them to get there as quickly as they do, is to pad their wallet.

All of the sudden, my truck becomes two or three, or even four lanes wide. and I get a nice, warm fuzzy feeling inside.

If you're reading this and you're that type of tow truck driver: Screw you.


/rant

 

[Gaidheal]

Are there any portable winches that don't need to be bolted to the vehicle? Asking since I don't think I'll do an ARB bumper on my truck.

You can mount a winch to a plate/carrier that you can plug into a hitch receiver. That way you could have it at either end if:
a) you run lots of expensive proper-size wire
b) you have somewhere safe to mount the winch when it's not in either front or rear receiver.

I've got mine installed on a plate that works with my stock bumper. Not sure what you drive but there might be options.

:beer:

 

[4x4x4doors]

Can anyone tell me if your suppose to fuse a winch, I put one on mine because I felt I should and the highest I could find down the auto shop was 80amps and it blew under load.

jed

Mine is not fused however, it does have a manual disconnect switch in the power cable. It is not unheard of for a solenoid to stick and that allows you to cut the power.

 

[Jerry]

Guess I need to get a winch. I used a towing strap once, wraped it around the tire and hooked it to itself, used reverse and it caught and pulled me out.
Another time I rolled my VW bug, but I just pushed it back over and took off again, doubt that would be the case now for my truck.

Are there any portable winches that don't need to be bolted to the vehicle? Asking since I don't think I'll do an ARB bumper on my truck.

This is one of a few heavy duty come-alongs
https://www.wyeth-scott.com/index.asp

Or a portable winch mount that slides into a hitch receiver
http://www.warn.com/truck/mounting-systems/multi_mount.shtml

And you might be interested in Warn's Trans4mer that bolts in front of the stock bumper
http://www.warn.com/truck/mounting-systems/mount_systems.shtml

 

[Bergum]

Winch or no winch?

Here we are standing in the middel of nowhere, 4 cars whinshing around us,
We had a Suzuki SJ410, and coud still drive

 

[Squatchout]

Mine is not fused however, it does have a manual disconnect switch in the power cable. It is not unheard of for a solenoid to stick and that allows you to cut the power.

Same here. I've always used a muti position marine battery switch and 2 deep cycle batteries on my winch vehicle. This allows you to use one battery for winching without drawing on the starting battery. Or allows you to run bath batteries for crazy draw loads. Most important you can turn it OFF QUICK. Also a good anti theft device. Open hood turn off batteries, close hood. Get the switch with the alternator protection circuitry built in so you can switch it with the engine running.

switch postions a, b, a+b, off

 

[MojaveLR3]

When i am stuck 300kms from the nearest vehicle in the treeless antiplano, i want to have equiptment that is guarenteed to work and work under any conditions.

...then you can throw away your...

...hi-lift, some maxtrax, a kinetic rope, and a tirfor...QUOTE]

 

[98dango]

I've been 4x4ing for along time and i agree that a winch is very useful....the question is useful for what? weekend 4x4ing is a lot different than overland global expedition. In an overland expedition you need to keep weight to a minimum, have absolute reliabile equiptment, and absolutely verisitile equiptment. I see many rigs with ARB bumpers and big Warn winches, but when i ask about the use of the winch, it seems to be pretty much useless for self recovery. Many instances of winch broken, shorting out, battery dying, want to move vehicle backwards not forwards, etc. Then there is the massive weight of the ARB bumper and the winch, both of which contribute very largely to the front wheels sinking into the terrian in the first place.

What is the solution? I don't know, but i do know that based on my experiences and my observations of fellow overlanders that having a hi-lift, some maxtrax, a kinetic rope, and a tirfor is the best solution for me. I like the complete durability of this setup and the complete flexibility of it. When i am stuck 300kms from the nearest vehicle in the treeless antiplano, i want to have equiptment that is guarenteed to work and work under any conditions.

I see your point but at the end of the day it all comes down to HOW WELL DO YOU MAINTAIN YOUR RIG. If you pay attention and take care of things your winch will never let you down. Now if you are dumb and never use some thing except when you need it dont service it then yes you just carried around 300 lbs for no reason. Would you take your rig over land and never service the gear boxes no thats the first thing you do befor you leave and when you get back. Why becaus with no motor trans t-case diffs you may as well stay home. A winch should be looked at as another vehicle it has a motor trans cable some even have oil.


SERVICE all your tools. I am a redneck hick hillbilly who has to work hard for everything. Even the junk I have and when I get it I use it but not abuse it there is a diffreance.

 

[Warn Industries]

This is one of a few heavy duty come-alongs
https://www.wyeth-scott.com/index.asp

Or a portable winch mount that slides into a hitch receiver
http://www.warn.com/truck/mounting-systems/multi_mount.shtml

And you might be interested in Warn's Trans4mer that bolts in front of the stock bumper
http://www.warn.com/truck/mounting-systems/mount_systems.shtml

Thanks for posting this. In addition, we also offer a portable 6,000 lb. winch:

http://www.warn.com/truck/winches/src/m6000sdp_multimount.shtml

- Andy

 

[PolarXJ]

I'm for having a winch, its more for the peace of mind. I've only used it a couple of times since I've owned it. This last time I was stuck up to my frame in mud (basically quicksand). We dug at it for a bit, but muck would just flow back in. We had to use a snatch block, the winch wasn't strong enough for a straight pull. Using the high-lift as a come along might have worked, but really would have exhausted us and would have killed the time we had planned for the rest of the day.

 

[Jerry]

...Using the high-lift as a come along might have worked, but really would have exhausted us and would have killed the time we had planned for the rest of the day.

You bring up an excellent point, and a serious one at that. Us old fat guys, or anyone out of shape, has no business over exerting themselves on the trail. The last thing we need is to suffer a heart attack or stroke. So a winch and traveling with at least one other vehicle could actually save a life.