Budget Winch

[roamingyak]

For my next trip I think I will get a winch - travelling solo and not always hitting countries during the best seasons etc.

My esteemed outfitter has suggested a "Superwinch 9000LB £475 inc vat! But you need a fancy bumper to mount it on. Or, we could make something using your existing military bumper - I've done it before"

Does anybody have any comments on this? I wouldn't want to spend too much more than that - and am hoping to mount it on my existing bumper rather than go to the extra cost of a new bumper etc.

I'm not going to enter any winching compitions, I just know there will be some mud to get through on the next trip and if I'm by myself it might well be helpful.

Is Superwinch ok? Any better bang for my bucks? Koni shocks and HD LR Springs on the front of the 110 should be ok? any suggestions welcomed...

[Big Yellow Tractor]

I've got a superwinch on my shooting vehicle (SJ410)

I made the bumper and mount and it works great.

I wouldn't expect it to last forever but it's been on there about four years and got me out of trouble a few times. I keep a selection of straps, shackles and a snatch block in an ammo box bolted in the back of the jeep. I also have some lengths of 2" angle that I use as a ground anchor.

It was cheap (£200 from memory) and has done it's job admirably.

It gives me piece of mind when I go out on my own. When we are out in a couple of vehicles, I just use a kinetic strap (quite scary but fun)

[Toby2]

Cheaper option would be a handwinch - if you are travelling as a solo vehicle it can be more flexible because you can attach it to different points on the vehicle rather than being constrained to having it mounted on the front. They are a bit cumbersome but useful in the context that you mention. I had one in Aus and it saved my old nissan patrol plus a 75 series landcruiser that were badly bogged and getting close to being swamped by an incoming tide.

[Richard K]

Darrin,

I have a Superwinch and Superwinch bumper, which I have been meaning to put on Ebay for ages. I can't remember the weight rating offhand, but it's "enough to abseil a Defender down a cliff".

Interested?

[TWODOGS]

Get a tirfor , hard work but never fail pull from any angle and can move to different vehicles .
Twodogs

[Big Yellow Tractor]

Originally Posted by TWODOGS

Get a tirfor , hard work but never fail pull from any angle and can move to different vehicles .
Twodogs

If you're on your own, you can't drive and winch, but for what they cost, I'd chuck a tirfor in for good measure. Certainly would get your vehicle rubbersidedown again if you had a little roll and won't kill your batteries.

Electric winches are so much quicker & easier for a straight pull out of a hole though.

Please get into the habit of using a sail. I've seen some really close shaves with snatch-blocks or shackles though windscreens

Always use rated and tested shackles & hooks; they cost more but it's just not worth the risk to skimp.

[Pumbaa]

Originally Posted by roamingyak.org

For my next trip I think I will get a winch - travelling solo and not always hitting countries during the best seasons etc.

My esteemed outfitter has suggested a "Superwinch 9000LB £475 inc vat! But you need a fancy bumper to mount it on. Or, we could make something using your existing military bumper - I've done it before"

Does anybody have any comments on this? I wouldn't want to spend too much more than that - and am hoping to mount it on my existing bumper rather than go to the extra cost of a new bumper etc.

I'm not going to enter any winching compitions, I just know there will be some mud to get through on the next trip and if I'm by myself it might well be helpful.

Is Superwinch ok? Any better bang for my bucks? Koni shocks and HD LR Springs on the front of the 110 should be ok? any suggestions welcomed...

We didn't want to spend '000s as well, but wanted the 'luxury' of a winch because we will be travelling on our own as well. In the end, we decided on a T-Max 10,000lbs winch with 6.6hp motor. They are cheaper than Warn etc, but not a real budget winch. They have a very good reputation here in Oz amongst the 4 wheel drive community.

We paid AU$ 1,500 including fitment.

Have a look at our website for a photo of it. It fits on a normal winch bullbar, no problem.

[Pumbaa]

If you are stuck in the middle of the dessert and need to winch, try the following (depending on how bad you are bogged will obviously dictate your level of success)

This is fairly hard work...

Use your shovel (assuming you carry one) and dig a hole which will be big enough to bury your spare tyre in. If you carry 2 spare tyres, dig 2 holes about 3-4 meters apart. The holes should be big enopugh to cover the tyres with about 1 foot of sand.

Attach cable and winch...

[onlyMark]

And you'd probably move more sand digging one hole than you would digging yourself out in the first place.

[Graham Smith]

If you are stuck in soft sand in the desert... forget the winch.
Dig to clear the axles, and use sand ladders/boards in fact anything -even a chunk of heavy cardboard would help.

I spent 3 hours trying with a winch, pulled out 3 x 4foot angle iron ground anchors, so added a burried spare... pulled that out too. We had cleared all the sand prior to trying.

A friend with sand ladders arrived, and we simply drove out.

Just my recent experience. Winches are great, but NOT in deserts.

[TWODOGS]

I still stand by a tirfor even for solo use ,
you can pull from any angle , you can still snach block it if needed to change angles,
yes thay are hard work but time wouldnt matter if your were putting your motor back on its Michlin XSs after a roll , this would take some well funky snach block skills with a front mounted electric winch especialy on your own .
If you were stuck in the desert needing a anchour point you would find one time wouldnt matter .
Tirfors Cheap , never seem to brake unlike electric winches that are on the front of your auto in all conditions, very controled ,
Having said all that I have a Hydraulic PTO driven winch on my G
but i would still carry a Tirfor .

If you go for a cheap electric winch look at the "come up " range well used and abused in the UK trail area .

Twodogs

[Graham Smith]

Originally Posted by Graham Smith

If you are stuck in soft sand in the desert... forget the winch.
Dig to clear the axles, and use sand ladders/boards in fact anything -even a chunk of heavy cardboard would help.

I spent 3 hours trying with a winch, pulled out 3 x 4foot angle iron ground anchors, so added a burried spare... pulled that out too. We had cleared all the sand prior to trying.

A friend with sand ladders arrived, and we simply drove out.

Just my recent experience. Winches are great, but NOT in deserts.

Having said this I did NOT mean for some thieving bas***t to help himself to my Warn XD9000 from the front of my car...

[roamingyak]

Many thanks for all of the great info and offers - I will digest it over the weekend and no doubt have a few questions afterwards...

[gilghana1]

I had a come-up winch on my Defender and have yesterday had it mounted it on my work 105 L/C as I was lucky enough to acquire a TJM bullbar which was wrongly ordered... :-) I didn't put it on my own 78 as I rarely take it into extreme situations and to be frank I didn't want more weight hanging off the front. Like Col's recommended superwinch the come-up also has an external brake so the drum runs cooler if you are using plasma rope - plasma rope has a low heat tolerance, but otherwise is much nicer to use than steel rope. I have not done a lot of winching with a recovery winch but even that limited use has resulted in plenty small cuts... Gloves are essential! Obviously the whole topic demands care and respect, I stupidly left the electrical connections on my first installation to one of our auto electricians who ran the earth cable to the gearbox... With the result when I was playing with it for the first time god knows how many amps ran through my handbrake cable - melting it and setting fire to various rubber parts!!!

But these things do put a strain on your front suspension - after the TJM and winch was put on the cruiser there is a noticeable droop which I will now have to sort out with heavier springs. Great fun in the mud though, but I can't help thinking that really for expedition (as opposed to rainforest challenge type stuff/recreational off-roading) a tirfor type mechanical winch kind of makes more sense. However they (at least Tirfor and other good makes) are also not cheap. For my 78 I think I will try and acquire a used Tirfor type winch due to weight issues, as well as the costs of mounting bumper, suspension upgrade, maybe further electrical modifications...
Gil

[roamingyak]

Superwinch have a new model out that looks suitable - the 8500 which is 'entry level' so might fit the bill:
LP8500 8,500 lbs 4x4 - Superwinch

Combined with the Dave Bowyer 'Bikini' option helpfully listed by Col that might do it - just need to measure if I can keep my A bar which I quite like:


Else the likes of Safari Equip do a nice combined bumper, but can't seem to reply to emails: