To winch or not to winch

[danend]

Picking up my bumper today and have a Warn winch arriving early next week. Going with the solenoid and wiring it into Aux 3 on the OEM switch panel.

Thanks for all the inputs from everyone, great discussion!

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[loganjeeps]

Love this thread because I have struggled with it internally as well for 20+ years and 5 Jeeps. Never liked the weight, especially in the old days. Haven't had a situation yet I couldn't get out with a come-a-long but the Northridge Warn sale has me eyeballing winches again.
.

On my Gladiator, I'm leaning toward a winch with a receiver mount. Then I don't have to carry it around everywhere. I've always felt that if I get into a sticky situation, I'll probably want to be pulled out from behind, anyway.

I am 100% with DanW. If I can ever figure a way to do a receiver in the Mopar Steel Bumper and not make it butt ugly this is the way I would go and only have it on for trips.


Congrats to the OP for making up your mind

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I'm of the thinking that if I think I won't need it, I'll need it.
If I had a receiver mount winch, I'd have likely needed to drive right by the guy in the snowy/icy ditch as there just wasn't enough grip to otherwise pull someone out, there was a bit of traffic and moving a vehicle around to pull someone out would have been dangerous.
I was able to stop my JT on what little exposed gravel there was at the side of the road so it wasn't too likely to slip. A truck driver realized how slippery and icy things were when he pulled up being me with a big load of scrap iron and offered if my JT slid, we could chain my truck to his.

I don't like the extra weight on the front, but I like even less the idea of carrying a heavy winch around and slipping it into a receiver when I think maybe I might need it, only to find I didn't - or to need it and not having carried that 70-80 pounds around the hooked it in. These days - carrying that weight just isn't a good thing. Where will I store it if not embedded into the bumper/on the truck. If I put it in the receiver before I drive off, then there's that thing sticking out front or back in the way. If I carry it in the back, then I gotta drag it out of the back and hold it while lining up with the receiver.

To show that I really did give it a lot of serious thought - I actually have, in my garage, in the box, a new receiver type winch mount. So no one can say I didn't even bother thinking about it. I thought about it hard enough to spend the money on that.

And if you think you can't drag yourself back out of something or even go sideways because the winch is on the front, refer to the video I've posted a couple of times where a guy with a winch on the front of his ute and dragged himself out of a ravine sideways but almost backwards.

 

[dmwphoto]

the weight of the bumper and winch really doesn't bother me. Never know it is there until I need it.

 

[WILDHOBO]

I'm of the thinking that if I think I won't need it, I'll need it.
If I had a receiver mount winch, I'd have likely needed to drive right by the guy in the snowy/icy ditch as there just wasn't enough grip to otherwise pull someone out, there was a bit of traffic and moving a vehicle around to pull someone out would have been dangerous.
I was able to stop my JT on what little exposed gravel there was at the side of the road so it wasn't too likely to slip. A truck driver realized how slippery and icy things were when he pulled up being me with a big load of scrap iron and offered if my JT slid, we could chain my truck to his.

I don't like the extra weight on the front, but I like even less the idea of carrying a heavy winch around and slipping it into a receiver when I think maybe I might need it, only to find I didn't - or to need it and not having carried that 70-80 pounds around the hooked it in. These days - carrying that weight just isn't a good thing. Where will I store it if not embedded into the bumper/on the truck. If I put it in the receiver before I drive off, then there's that thing sticking out front or back in the way. If I carry it in the back, then I gotta drag it out of the back and hold it while lining up with the receiver.

To show that I really did give it a lot of serious thought - I actually have, in my garage, in the box, a new receiver type winch mount. So no one can say I didn't even bother thinking about it. I thought about it hard enough to spend the money on that.

And if you think you can't drag yourself back out of something or even go sideways because the winch is on the front, refer to the video I've posted a couple of times where a guy with a winch on the front of his ute and dragged himself out of a ravine sideways but almost backwards.

I not only love having my front one, but am in the process of deciding on a custom diy setup for a removable rear winch. Now that I’ve been thinking n s couple situations where it would have REALLY made things safer, I’m done wheeling without one. It’ll be a lightweight, low profile, and lower pulling power setup, appropriate for the hitch I’m aware it’d me mounted in. But sometimes, you just need an active, but gentle supporting connection at the rear. And you don’t usually have the luxury of tons of trees right near you for long extensions and multiple pulleys for rear pulls from tue front winch. Nice to know the physics, but out in the wild, the winch points are never where they would need to be to make it work.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

the winch points are never where they would need to be to make it work.

Danged trees, anyway, no one ever plants them where they'd be needed.

 

[danend]

Danged trees, anyway, no one ever plants them where they'd be needed.

Never more true than on a golf course.

 

[danend]

Got the new bumper and winch installed today. Only issue I had is that I couldn’t figure out a good place to put the solenoid so I‘m temporarily wired directly to the battery. Starting a new post to ask opinions about that.

 

[cranbiz]

I put my solenoid here.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Got the new bumper and winch installed today. Only issue I had is that I couldn’t figure out a good place to put the solenoid so I‘m temporarily wired directly to the battery. Starting a new post to ask opinions about that.

There's a number of threads on solenoids and how/where to mount them.

As far as the shackle, I'm not so sure I'd leave it hanging out there for the weather (or the two legged varmints) to mess with. Maybe you just did that for a photo, but for storage, not me.

 

[danend]

There's a number of threads on solenoids and how/where to mount them.

As far as the shackle, I'm not so sure I'd leave it hanging out there for the weather (or the two legged varmints) to mess with. Maybe you just did that for a photo, but for storage, not me.

Agreed, adding a Factor 55 Flat Hook when it gets here. Didn’t like pulling the hook tight against the fairlead for the next few days.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

That's how I store mine............ but I do want to get a "shield" for the small bit of exposed rope to keep UV off it.
Gotta find one I like.

 

[bd100]

The one time I got stuck, saturated clay next to a river crossing, I used the following:
More Power Puller
The Original Pull Pal

And I had to pull the truck backwards. When done I had to dig down to retrieve the land anchor which had been pulled underground before it got enough bite to move the truck back.

So even if you have a winch in the front, you may want the More Power Puller or similar in addition.

 

[bd100]

I should add that at the river crossing the front immediately sank into the clay down to the axle, but the back was still up on dry ground. So the front had to get out of the pit and up the ledge onto the dry ground. It worked but it took a strong heave on the handle for each click, and took a lot of clicks to get the truck out. In hind sight it may have been better to dig behind the front tires, but that axle was in deep. Funny thing is it was still 20 feet or more from the river, but the saturated soil made it that far back. And I was finding red clay underneath the vehicle for years after.

 

[danend]

I put my solenoid here.

Thinking I’ll do the same. Picked up some metal to make a bracket today then realized I need to get a wire extend the aux and make a ground wire.

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