Front winch mount options

Krazyistkarl · Post by **Krazyistkarl** » Sat Jan 31, 2015 8:26 am

So yesterday in minus 20 some weather I got stuck twice in the snow, first time after digging I got out with digging, second time there was a culvert under the snow and was unable to dig in front, and there was a ditch behind me so I couldn't not back up.

Long story short I had to get a buddy with a winch on his Jeep come pull me out, and I've decided I need one too.

What are my options, I've got a 96 chamonix for reference

macro · Post by **macro** » Sat Jan 31, 2015 11:30 am

Good. Luck. If you search the Aus and UK forums a bunch of guys have done it. Not as straightforward as you would hope though. My van doesn't have the OEM bull bar and because of that I don't have any tow points on the front, so I need to actually get some fabbed and welded or bolted to the frame horns at the front.

Post by **FalcoColumbarius** » Sat Jan 31, 2015 1:09 pm

I got a come-along (hand winch) and some straps.

Falco.

macro · Post by **macro** » Sat Jan 31, 2015 1:17 pm

Falco, is it a turfer you have? A wire rope hand winch? Or a ratcheting chain come-along? I've been trying to tack down a turfer out here in Ontario but nobody knows what the hell I'm talking about.

Post by **FalcoColumbarius** » Sat Jan 31, 2015 1:59 pm

macro wrote:Falco, is it a turfer you have? A wire rope hand winch? Or a ratcheting chain come-along? I've been trying to tack down a turfer out here in Ontario but nobody knows what the hell I'm talking about.

Me 'n DeliCat picked them up at a shop in North Van called North Shore Off Road. I think they were $75? It uses a cable, has a snatch block and looks like the one used in this vid at 2:24:

Falco.

Krazyistkarl · Post by **Krazyistkarl** » Sat Jan 31, 2015 2:08 pm

Falco, I've always known that to be a come along, my brother has used them with his 2wd Toyota pickup. I just didn't think it would work that great for a 2.5 tonne vehicle, and I'd like to be able to control it from in the cab.

I managed to find a photo of the front Bull bar with the plastic off. If I cut the lower piece of plastic out that has the front license plate holder in it, a winch could probably be added with a home made plate and U bolts.

Also, while inspecting the front, I noticed I bent my front row hook while using my recovery strap, might have been taking a little too big of a run at it :/

Krazyistkarl · Post by **Krazyistkarl** » Sat Jan 31, 2015 2:52 pm

macro wrote:Good. Luck. If you search the Aus and UK forums a bunch of guys have done it. Not as straightforward as you would hope though. My van doesn't have the OEM bull bar and because of that I don't have any tow points on the front, so I need to actually get some fabbed and welded or bolted to the frame horns at the front.

Maybe you could drill holes through the bottom part of your bars, similar to the chamonix ones, maybe get some gussets welded on to thicken it up and strengthen it

islander20 · Post by **islander20** » Sat Jan 31, 2015 3:16 pm

My dad has uses a come along to pull his F-350 with a Bigfoot 3000 on it when stuck. That weighs much more than our Deli's. The snatch block creates a 2:1 which really helps. Nice being able to go off the front or back depending on the situation. Its much nicer to swap the cable out with amsteel, lighter and easier on the hands. Just dont let it chafe!

Post by **Big-Bird** » Sat Jan 31, 2015 3:31 pm

Take a look at the pics on this link. I posted numerous photos of winch mounts for the L400 some time ago.

http://www.delica.ca/forum/viewtopic.ph ... ilit=Winch

There is a shop near Ponoka, AB that built a wicked bumper for my Xteraa. Gonna take my Delica there and have him build something similar.

The prices aren't cheap though....close to 4grand for a custom unit.

macro · Post by **macro** » Sat Jan 31, 2015 3:42 pm

I've seen most of those bull-bars, the only ones I don't think are outrageous are the two custom units. All the aftermarket ones I find a bit too.....obtrusive.

All I need is a tow point on the front. I'll try and tackle that problem this summer.I have a tow bar on the back.

Anyone mount a tow bar on the front? Then you could get a hitch winch and move it front to back.

Post by **FalcoColumbarius** » Sat Jan 31, 2015 8:12 pm

Krazyistkarl wrote:Falco, I've always known that to be a come along, my brother has used them with his 2wd Toyota pickup. I just didn't think it would work that great for a 2.5 tonne vehicle, and I'd like to be able to control it from in the cab. ...

My come-a-long is good for four tonnes (as I read it off the lever) and two tonnes vertical lift. Of course one must be careful. One must take into account that if my wagon weighs 2.4 tonnes (metric) ~ chances are that if you need a winch there's going to be a hill involved and probably mud sucking the vehicle into it's trap, which makes the weight much greater that the winch has to deal with.

macro wrote:... Anyone mount a tow bar on the front? Then you could get a hitch winch and move it front to back.

I thought of the idea of getting a power winch on a tray that mounts on a receiver, that way you don't have to leave it outside the vehicle and typically if you need it for yourself there's a very real chance that you're trying to pull the vehicle out of where you were going, which in turn would be useful to be able mount the winch on the rear of the vehicle.

I was reading some history regarding the German Army during the Second World War. They had a wicked set up where the winch was located underneath the vehicle, in the middle. The winch had a dual spool system and powered via a PTO from the transfer case. The cables from the two spools would run fore and aft and could be selected via the transfer case shifter. Had I more money and time I might just build myself one of these.

Falco.

almac · Post by **almac** » Mon Feb 02, 2015 3:47 am

get a locker instead. with a locker, you'll never get stuck again.
IMO, it would be less hassle to install than a winch. and less hassle to use. :)

Krazyistkarl · Post by **Krazyistkarl** » Mon Feb 09, 2015 9:51 am

Well I don't think a locker is the magic never get stuck again remedy, but I have started looking into a rear locker. I'm going to be getting my on board air set up shortly for bags in the rear.

Post by **Big-Bird** » Mon Feb 09, 2015 11:10 am

The winch and the locker are a great combo and are an unequalled duo when trail riding. They both have their place and both are costly. Not too many ARB lockers out there for under $1000.00, plus the compressor plus the R&R labour. You can hit 3K very quickly with a selectable locker.

My Xterra had a limited-slip in the rear, Detroit mechanical locker in the front dana 44 (we did a solid axle swap from a Jeep Wagoneer into my beloved Nissan). It also had a 9500xl Patriot Winch (Made by Ramsey). but if we got stuck someone would whip out a tow strap and we would be free in minutes. 90% of my winching was pulling someone else out of a jam when the tow straps were too short or the extraction required some creative pulley/angle action.

If I took it easy and didn't challenge myself which happened when I had passengers I never got stuck. Mind you mud was something we would typically avoid as it just breaks things.

I am still thinking of getting a winch bumper on my L400. Just need to be ready to leave it at the shop for 2 weeks while the guys fab it up.

macro · Post by **macro** » Mon Feb 09, 2015 11:22 am

There is a big write up on this site somewhere about installing a locker. From what I recall, if you don't have the larger axle that some Montero's came with, you had to swap axles.

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