Winch; front, rear, both? Fixed or movable?

[roving1]

For an F350 there isn't much reason to not mount 2.

One winch on the rear makes no sense to me. I generally want to keep going the direction I am facing, or generally want to go forward up and over something. There are ways to winch backward if you really have to.

Agree about those Warn winch bumpers. Have seen a few broken and whatever the mounting method having the winch gobble up most of one's approach angle seems pointless to me.

 

[NatersXJ6]

To the best of my knowledge, ARB is the ONLY front bumper made that is actually airbag CERTIFIED (a big difference to "compatible")

I’ve heard this before, yet I’m left with a question:

Who certifies compatibility of a bumper and an airbag system?

The vehicle manufacturer? The bumper manufacturer? A government entity? Takada?

I would seriously like to know who and how certification takes place and to what standard.

 

[RAM5500 CAMPERTHING]

I’ve heard this before, yet I’m left with a question:

Who certifies compatibility of a bumper and an airbag system?

The vehicle manufacturer? The bumper manufacturer? A government entity? Takada?

I would seriously like to know who and how certification takes place and to what standard.

I’m curious too...

BUT... I have piece of mind that a giant company like that would have valid certs from the right safety agencies to be making those claims, liability Reasons obviously

A lot moreso than some Instagram Popular brand stating they bumpers are “airbag compatible”

 

[RAM5500 CAMPERTHING]

For an F350 there isn't much reason to not mount 2.

One winch on the rear makes no sense to me. I generally want to keep going the direction I am facing, or generally want to go forward up and over something. There are ways to winch backward if you really have to.

Agree about those Warn winch bumpers. Have seen a few broken and whatever the mounting method having the winch gobble up most of one's approach angle seems pointless to me.

I'll disagree/argue this all day long. I've been stuck 4x in 20 years and all 4x, I needed a tug backwards.

Of course, YMMV

 

[mk216v]

Front with the Warn bumper is exactly the route I'm taking, if/when I add a camper.

We're always trying to move weight forward. Adding weight to the rear bumper is not going to help.

For winter or a canada trip, I'm considering an extra spare like this:

Although a little ''supply trailer'' with bikes, 80g tank of gas, ez up, and both spares is on the table as well.

Well, I will have considerable weight on the rear with 40gal fuel, ~120'ish lb spare(or ~240ish lbs for dual spares for Alaska/etc), 100'ish lbs for 16gal extra fuel, etc...
I suppose when Alum-line installs a rear hitch receiver in the flatbed setup, I already have a ComeUp DV-6S on hitch mount, a bit lightweight for this F350 setup, but with some snatch blocks it could possibly help on specific trips where I think I might need it.
That being said, I still need to work with "the engineering dept" on a hoist for the spare on rear of my flatbed deck, and a pre-mounted winch and pulley system could take care of this detail too.

 

[roving1]

I'll disagree/argue this all day long. I've been stuck 4x in 20 years and all 4x, I needed a tug backwards.

Of course, YMMV

Hard to quantify without any explanation of how and why you travel. Then possibly not applicable to other people's needs.

In 20 years of travel you have never needed to get up a muddy or snowy hill to get where you are going, or get back to a main road? Never needed to get up an obstacle you do not have enough traction to climb? Never? OK fine. But that seems like more a function of what you are doing specifically.

I did not get stuck too often in 20 years of travel either, almost all of which I had no winch. But I also turned around out of precaution and failed to continue on or reach a goal all the time because my biggest concern was to never get stuck. Now I get stuck more because I can easily continue on to my goal/get unstuck which now is more important than never getting stuck. I am willing to try way worse things with the winch than without.

I also think there is a big difference in the mentality of getting stuck/unstuck vs going where you want to go. To me a winch should allow you to get unstuck and allow you to continue. But a rear mounted winch severely limits your ability to continue.

But if the goal were only to get unstuck period you could make more of an argument for a rear winch. I agree when I encounter people randomly in the woods/trail somewhere I can often give them a quick tug backward. Then they usually turn around and go back the way they came though.

Also my number one winch use has been to clear large trees off of trails which would be way more difficult with a rear mounted winch.

But to each their own.

 

[mk216v]

Well, from my experience:
-permanent front and rear are most secure and solid, especially for solo travel.
-the removable/portable option is poor at best. They do ‘so so‘ in a straight line pull, but really do not like any sort of sideways pull. And remember, again solo, if you are headed down a trail, there is nothing directly ahead or behind you, so some sort of angled pull will be necessary. Also, while storage is at a premium, now find a place to securely store a 100# brick!!
-the winch is recovery, aka can be critical, so I encourage the absolute best system to ensure function when it is needed.
-your rig, which sounds awesome, will likely push over 12k pounds, so a 100# piece of critical kit isn’t even a consideration IMHO.
-lastly, all of the above is vital if traveling solo remotely. Conversely, if only gravel single track, forest roads, etc- shag it all...
Just my 2c.

Thx for your feedback, I appreciate it.
PS--off topic, but I don't expect to be pushing anywhere close to 1Xk pounds. 5882lbs base curb weight to start. Hawk flatbed camper ~1325lbs dry. Unsure yet how much the aluminum flatbed/tunnelbox will weigh. Warn front bumper sub-100lbs, ComeUp 12.5k winch sub 100lbs. 120'ish lbs for a spare wheel/tire. Other gear/lights/etc, 1000lbs or less? = 8500'ish lbs so far...

 

[mk216v]

If you don’t already go follow go2xplr on Instagram. He had a really nice rear winch mount made. He runs a front and rear. If running two I would go at least 12k for both since your truck is likely to be close to 9k when finished.

I think dual winches would add close to 200lbs once you factor in a proper rear winch mount too. Just one more thing to think about lol

Following him, and spied his rear winch in solid bumper, thx!

 

[mk216v]

Why not give this a go? It does front or back and is not too heavy.

Bush Winch » Self Recovery Systems | Outback Driving

The Bush Winch is a self-recovery system for 4WDs and 2WDs. It was created for the modern adventurer looking for a simple, reliable and portable winch system.

www.bushwinch.com

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Interesting! I had seen that before. Will look further into it.

 

[IdaSHO]

I’ve heard this before, yet I’m left with a question:

Who certifies compatibility of a bumper and an airbag system?

The vehicle manufacturer? The bumper manufacturer? A government entity? Takada?

I would seriously like to know who and how certification takes place and to what standard.

Its right on their site...

Winch Bumper 3423140

Winch Bumper

arbusa.com

AIR BAG COMPATIBILITY

With an air bag equipped 4x4 it is essential that the vehicle's crush rate and air bag triggering is not altered when a bull bar is installed. To ensure compatibility, ARB assesses each vehicle's frontal crush characteristics and replicates the crush rate into the design of each air bag compatible bull bar and its mounting system. This method enables engineers to achieve maximum possible vehicle and passenger protection without affecting the crash pulse. ARB has invested heavily in vehicle crash barrier tests to validate the performance and compliance of its air bag compatible bull bars, and as a consequence, our bars offer a far greater level of protection than most standard brush guards and grille guards.

Please note that a few of the bumpers for older model vehicles are not air-bag compatible, refer to the Vehicle Application Guide for confirmation.

 

[RAM5500 CAMPERTHING]

Well, I will have considerable weight on the rear with 40gal fuel, ~120'ish lb spare(or ~240ish lbs for dual spares for Alaska/etc), 100'ish lbs for 16gal extra fuel, etc...
I suppose when Alum-line installs a rear hitch receiver in the flatbed setup, I already have a ComeUp DV-6S on hitch mount, a bit lightweight for this F350 setup, but with some snatch blocks it could possibly help on specific trips where I think I might need it.
That being said, I still need to work with "the engineering dept" on a hoist for the spare on rear of my flatbed deck, and a pre-mounted winch and pulley system could take care of this detail too.

What is the payload of the F350?

I’m not a mathematician, but I can’t see you possibly being anywhere near having to count pounds if a FWC is going on an aluminum flatbed...

What am i missing?

 

[mk216v]

A lot of factors here...

Generally speaking, a rear winch would most definitely be the most useful if you only had one...

Majority of the time front winches are for helping others, rear winches are for helping yourself. Of course oddball scenarios pop up, but...

Worrying about 100lbs to add a freaking WINCH and possibly save **************** is a silly moot point in the grand scheme of things in my opinion.

Hitch mounted winches seems good in theory, but moving those around when youre stuck and in the poop just doesn't work as planned.

I'll be installing a 16.5 in the rear of mine, and a 12k in the front.

20 years doing this, 95% of the time folks are stuck they are getting pulled out or strapped out from behind, backwards

Do more research on the Warn winches bumpers. I have 2 friends that have broken them on F150s, and they stick out an ungodly amount.

This is one of those critical things saving $ and weight shouldn't apply to. To the best of my knowledge, ARB is the ONLY front bumper made that is actually airbag CERTIFIED (a big difference to "compatible")

Buckstop is about as tough as it gets for animal strikes and having had 3 close calls with animals bigger than my truck up north, the decision is a no brainer for me.

My .02

Thx Kevin.
Interesting--you'd be the only I know of with 16.5k rear and 12k front. <thumbup>

Will check on the Warn winch bumpers, thx. I like how they're narrow height. Got a friend of staff member who is an engineer in that Warn division, so will razz him for sure! I had an ARB on VDJ, and ARB on my Rover, yet ARB doesn't have one for the '17+ F-SD and they said they had no plans in the nearby future to engineer on. Lame as ARB is my #1 choice! I'll ping ARB USA again just to confirm they have no new plans.

Buckstop is in OR too, and maybe I missed it before, but they offer an aluminum option, sweet!!!

2017 – Current F250/F350 - Buckstop Truckware

No Grill is clean; https://www.buckstopinc.com/no-grill-1755.html
Dual 6" round light holes standard, can add dual 4" round too(yeah, doesn't match the boxy Ford front end, ugh). Or dual 3.5x5" rectangular per side(odd size; Rigid, Baja, VisionX have nothing. Interestingly, TrailReady offers a similar "square" option...).

TrailReady is the other I was thinking. In the PacNW as well. Too bad they don't make their SD RockCrawler version for anything but '11-16;

Ford | Trailready Bumpers

trailready.com

 

[Nathansharkey80]

Interesting! I had seen that before. Will look further into it.

I think this would be a great option for you. Just need to make sure you have a locker in your axle I think. But otherwise it should be ideal. Light weight. Reliable. Easy to move around. Easy to store or take on and off.


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[mk216v]

For an F350 there isn't much reason to not mount 2.

One winch on the rear makes no sense to me. I generally want to keep going the direction I am facing, or generally want to go forward up and over something. There are ways to winch backward if you really have to.

Agree about those Warn winch bumpers. Have seen a few broken and whatever the mounting method having the winch gobble up most of one's approach angle seems pointless to me.

Thx.

Few F150's as well, or other makes/models?
Sadly, most of the other front bumper options are pretty bro-truck'ish.

 

[RAM5500 CAMPERTHING]

Thx Kevin.
Interesting--you'd be the only I know of with 16.5k rear and 12k front.

Yeah.. In my experience and the type of exploring I like to do the only times I’ve needed a winch or a tug were going backwards.

Everyone’s different in this aspect, but I’m planning this based on my past issues / experiences