Shared winch concept...opinions?

[MT Tatman]

Just throwing out an idea we had. We are going to be making/buying front and rear bumpers for a couple of our rigs. (a few friends who I wheel with) The idea is to have a receiver mount on front and rear bumpers, and have a winch mounted on a hitch plate, so it can be used on the front or rear of any rig that may need it on an outing. Are there any inherent weaknesses in using a winch this way, or disadvantages that we have not thought of? Do you think this is a good idea, or a bad idea? Our logic is simply, why spend money on 3 separate winches, permanently mounted on the front of the rigs, when one winch can do the same job?

 

[UnderFire]

Receiver mounted winches are very common in the side by side world, the only inherent weakness I can think of is the winch sitting out on the front or rear of the vehicle messing up the approach or departure angles.

 

[KidVermicious]

A reciever winch mount won't stand up nearly as well to a hard side pull as a frame winch mount, that's the big drawback. And since there's three trucks to pull eachother out, it's the side pull when you're really going to need it. And what happens if the guy who had the winch last stays home?

Economy winches are not expensive, 9000lb Badlands winches are $299 at Harbor Freight right now and those are getting pretty good reviews. Get one of those to get you started, then get a Warn when you can afford it. Three trucks with hard mounted winches on front with a good collection of snatch blocks and such is much better than one winch on a cradle.

 

[Quatre Coureur]

X2 on what Kevin said. The side loading is the big problem. Combine that with how bad your stuck(deep mud, wedged in rocks)and the forces generated really add up. That's asking alot of a hitch pin.

 

[Hyde802]

I like the idea of having a winch that can attach to anyone in the group. I would want there to be more than winch though. Some times they die/fail and sometimes, you just need more than one winch..

 

[nevada]

Just throwing out an idea we had. We are going to be making/buying front and rear bumpers for a couple of our rigs. (a few friends who I wheel with) The idea is to have a receiver mount on front and rear bumpers, and have a winch mounted on a hitch plate, so it can be used on the front or rear of any rig that may need it on an outing. Are there any inherent weaknesses in using a winch this way, or disadvantages that we have not thought of? Do you think this is a good idea, or a bad idea? Our logic is simply, why spend money on 3 separate winches, permanently mounted on the front of the rigs, when one winch can do the same job?

as the others have said, you are better off with a solid mounted winch up front, on each rig.
there have been more than one occasion that we had to use 2-3 winches at once for an extraction.

you can get a pretty good winch for around $300 now a days.

having a mobile winch for the rear isn't such a bad idea tho.

 

[MT Tatman]

Thanks, folks, this is exactly the info I am looking for. Seems like front mounted winches and one floater for the rears would be the way to go. I am very familiar with my local terrain, but I want to push the limits here in regards to snow in the transitional seasons.

 

[KidVermicious]

I've wondered about setting up a winch to run front or rear. I'm thinking a front mounted winch with like a couple extra fairleads in the front and rear reciever to redirect the winch line out the back of the truck.

Probably easier to just put a winch on the rear. But it'd be cool.