Reciever Mounted winch or hand winch

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PirateMcGee

Expedition Leader
So I got my 4runner stuck for the first time in a very bad situation.

Was driving on a forest road that was covered in snow, I was only sinking maybe 2-3" into the snow when suddenly I hit a very deep drift that must have been laying across a deep dip in the road. I basically sank 3-4' down to the frame of my 4runner. It turned into a very bad situation that took over 8 hours to solve.

Anyways this potentially dangerous situation opened my eyes up to the fact I have no way of recovering my vehicle if I get stuck other than my shovel. Since I like to explore off the beaten path often by myself out of cell phone range I figure it may be a good time to invest in some recovery equipment, particularly some kind of winch.

Now I am honestly not a fan of permanant front mount only winches because in situations like where I was stuck only going backwards will help. So I've looked into receiver mounted winches but it seems like there are issues regarding the fact that they weigh about 100lbs, may not be strong enough, and wiring can be a pain. What are your guys experience with reciever mounted winches?

My other option is a hand winch of some kind either a 60" hi lift, or a wythe-scott come along type. Opinions??

I don't plan on getting stuck often but it would be nice to have something in case I do get stuck or come across someone else who is stuck. However, weight in the underpowered 4runner is an issue so I try to keep it to a minimum.
 
angusdevil

angusdevil

Adventurer
The hi-lift or come along are an alternative but man, they will wear you out! Personally, I would spring for a winch setup. Store it in the back of the truck until you need it and then pull it out and hook it up. This will keep you from smashing it up on the rocks when out playing and also keep it out of the elements. You could pick up a little 8k or 9k winch for a couple hundred bucks and get it mounted for a few hundred more. I wouldn't use it on anything less than a Class III hitch but obviously, investing in a better hitch might be the idle situation here.

Other options are to carry some traction aids. I've gotten by for years without a winch only using a shovel and a land bridge. For MOST situations, these are more than enough to help get you out but as always, YMMV.
 
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PirateMcGee

Expedition Leader
ya I actually used my floor mats plus cut logs to make some traction aids, it worked to a point but with no locker it was limited and everytime I made a foot or two of progress it would resink to the frame and I had to redig.....
 
H

hillbillyjake

Explorer
my step-mom slid over the hill in the winter of 2010. my buddy and i had a come along (wythe-scott), 48 hi-lift, and a whole bunch of ropes and straps. after about 4 exgausting hours the truck was still very stuck. imagine trying to pull the truck (trailblazer) from the front and rear bumpers sideways up 15 of side hill back onto teh road. 4 hours and still stuck. if i would have had a winch on teh front of my truck it would have been a 15 minute deal. i emphasize GIVEN THE SITUATION.

not to mention, the price of the come along and hi-lift combined would have bought a winch. my $.02
 
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PirateMcGee

Expedition Leader
true on the price.......I can get a 9,000lb summit winch for $350 but my worry is mostly the reciever being strong enough etc.
 
4

4671 Hybrid

Adventurer
As long as you have a stout receiver, you'll be good to go. I'd be careful on the side pulls but for most things that are straight on or a bit angled, you won't have too many problems.

I had a car trailer that had a receiver mounted winch on it and it pulled tons of stuff up on there just fine.

That being said, a come-a-long and a wire rope extension are pretty handy. I think that with a proper jacking point, a hi-lift, and a come-a-long, you probably could have gotten out of your stuck in about an hour (I'm an All-Pro Monday morning quarterback:)) For wiring, I eventually made it permanent but for the first month I just ran it off an aux battery that had jumper cables running to my main battery. I could drag a completely flat tired auto with no problems and then I'd just drop it on the charger when I got back home.

Another thing to consider is a DIY Pull-pal. This'll give you winch point as long as you have soft enough ground (i.e. not permafrost) to sink it into. The Pull-pal company makes a stout product but if you have any fab experience, there's a number of DIY examples on the net that you can copy.
 
Eventhough

Eventhough

Explorer
My suggestion is run a front mounted winch with synthetic line which is more flexible than cable. Add in a block, maybe even two, and you can do multi-directional pulls if you need to go backwards.

November 2010 a buddy slid off a slick trail. We secured his vehicle by running his synthetic line underneath his 80-series Land Cruiser while we decided what to do. We ended up just winching him backwards with the winch line running underneath his vehicle. Worked perfectly.

I'm not a fan of receiver mounted winches. Often when you need a winch you are off camber or otherwise leaning hard. This is not the time to be pulling out a heavy winch and mount and trying to put it in a receiver. You also need more room to mount a receiver winch and it won't be as secure as a properly permanently mounted winch.
 
eric1115

eric1115

Adventurer
Eventhough said:
... a buddy slid off a slick trail. We secured his vehicle by running his synthetic line underneath his 80-series Land Cruiser while we decided what to do. We ended up just winching him backwards with the winch line running underneath his vehicle. Worked perfectly.
Click to expand...

I'm sure most will think of this, but it bears mentioning: Often times a winch is needed because you're sunk to the frame rails. Pretty hard to run winch line under the vehicle in those circumstances. Backwards pull is still possible, but requires a lot more line/extensions, and a lot more snatch blocks. Gotta route the line around the vehicle and rig at least a double line.
 
T

Travelmore

Adventurer
I run a M8000 with stock cable on a custom hitch mount plate. The unit is heavy but you are going to be working a lot harder to get yourself unstuck without it.

My system is completely portable. I bought cables like this (didn't spend this much) they have eyes on both ends to connect to the winch and screw terminals on the battery. If your battery doesn't have screw terminals the screw holding the battery post clamp shut has worked for me.

I think about going to a low weight fairlead and synthetic line but I haven't... I use the winch less than a dozen times a year and haven't been bothered by the weight.
 
Metcalf

Metcalf

Expedition Leader
You could also just mount a winch in the rear leaving out the multi-mount factor....

Most of the multi-mount systems I have used where pretty clunky. If you store the winch in the back of the vehicle and have to install it AFTER you get stuck its generally slippery and hitch is buried in the ground or WAY up in the air. Sticking the winch in the hole on flat ground in the driveway is one thing, doing it in the woods when its snowing, slippery, and at off angles is another.

For solo travel a rear mounted winch seems to work out pretty good. There is something to be said for NOT having the winch in the front and using it to pull yourself into more trouble.

Mr Murphy will generally always make the winch mounted on the wrong end no matter what. If you have one mounted on BOTH ends he will slide you off the road and you will need to pull yourself perfectly sideways, or roll yourself back over, etc.....

You can't plan for everything, you just need to recognize that you can overcome just about anything by thinking the situation through, forming a plan, using some ingenuity, and overcoming it in end.

The front mounted winch is generally more conventional and easy to work with for most people. Its also on the front where everyone can see it :)
I'm sure you would have gotten out with a front mounted winch also, you just would have done it a little different.

If you really want to dream a little, check out the 'vector winch system' that was pioneered by the builder of the land rover based Ibex vehicles. It mounts the winch in the middle of the car and can pull both directions, be rigged as a trolley, or used to pull yourself sideways, etc....
 
Eventhough

Eventhough

Explorer
eric1115 said:
I'm sure most will think of this, but it bears mentioning: Often times a winch is needed because you're sunk to the frame rails. Pretty hard to run winch line under the vehicle in those circumstances. Backwards pull is still possible, but requires a lot more line/extensions, and a lot more snatch blocks. Gotta route the line around the vehicle and rig at least a double line.
Click to expand...

'Sometimes' a winch is needed because you are sunk to the rails. If you are sunk to the frame you might also be in water or have something else blocking your access to a rear receiver hitch.

There is a reason you don't see many people running receiver mounted winches.
 
eric1115

eric1115

Adventurer
Eventhough said:
'Sometimes' a winch is needed because you are sunk to the rails. If you are sunk to the frame you might also be in water or have something else blocking your access to a rear receiver hitch.

There is a reason you don't see many people running receiver mounted winches.
Click to expand...

I wasn't suggesting that a winch in a cradle for a receiver was the better option there; just that the poster's solution won't always work. A hand winch or a robust line/rigging kit is important if you want to be sure you can pull yourself backwards out of a good stuck.
 
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