Delicas with winches

[Reinhold]

There has been alot of talk on this site about winches installed onto Delicas but doing a search I have never seen a picture of one. Anyone out there with one?

[jessef]

I had the same q.

The day I get my winch and Delica together in one place, the pics will be uploaded. Hopefully not much longer than a few weeks time.

Jesse

[TardisDeli]

We have looked into winches, but not installed yet. No one else that we have met (and that's lots of local Delica's) has a winch. But lots of chat at our meets. We currently tow / unstick other other delicas using tow straps to our rear hitch from E&H Hitch Burnaby. We'd like to use a warn winch on a removeable trailer hitch so can move to back or front depending on where needed.

But problem / delay is we don't believe the front is strong enough as is to install front hitch. The bambi bars certainly have NO strength *just unbolt them & see for yourself how & where they are fastened. And the front structural beams don't come out at a good angle to mount to. And extra reinforcement at front will reduce our ground clearance, which is where all of us touch ground by the front steps when we do our treking convoys here (touch regardless of tire height, lift) when going over the dirt trench on old logging roads, or into creek beds.

Jay has been talking to other delica owners & fabricators, they are mulling it over.

We know from several towing experiences that a stuck in the mud delica is a heavy thing. Amongst all us Delicas, on our last trek 3 tow straps snapped (the actual strap, not the weak spot where the strap is sewn / folded / metal hooked). First the 5000 pound rated snapped, then the 10,000 pound, then the 18,000 pound. Then sadly had to get a chevy with a massive tow system to pull the delica out, oh the shame of it all.

Most times we have towed each other out without much problems. And we carry come-alongs & shovels & chains for personal pull-outs and don't do stupid stuff when no support vehicles nearby,

Looking at some of the japanese photos I don't think they actually used the winch, it just sits on the bambi bars as a hood ornament.

IMHO, Christine

[jessef]

I'm going to have a reinforced mounting plate connected to the front beams.

Hydraulic winch because :

1. they are sealed and can be used under water (ie. stuck in water past winch is pretty likely)
2. 2A power consumption as opposed to 400+A's on an electric winch
3. the larger the load, the more efficient it runs
4. runs cool, quiet and doesn't need to cool-down or be afraid to overcook like an electric
5. hydraulic system is 99% idiot/bullet proof and very simple
6. low mass/weight for the winch itself compared to the pulling load weight

Disadvantages :

1. solid mounting. Can't remove (ie. cradle) and place it in the rear
2. takes more to set it up as opposed to a few wires on an electric

To me and a bunch of my wheelin' buddies. The advantages outweigh the disadvantages by a long shot.

When I go wheelin', it's never alone, however on long trips when it's just my one vehicle, a self-recovery option is a necessity to me.

Hydraulic winch 10.5-12k
Come along, snatch blocks, extra cable & tow straps
pullpal
two collapsible shovels
heavy towels
wire repair kit

The one thing that I see often when in the bush or on trails are people with capable rigs and great extraction gear but lack of knowledge on how to use one of them or both.

It can be dangerous if you don't know what you are doing. I suggest most of my friends who get into wheelin' to take a simple 4x4 recovery course or learn from an experienced off-roader as I did. That will save you endless amounts of grief/headaches and enhance safety when it comes down to crunch time and you're stuck on your own or heaving someone else out of a sticky situation.

My 2 cents.

Jesse

[monstabishi]

had a quick look on the Taiwan delica site http://groups.msn.com/fft21jcsiiqb0hdsf ... tsnew.msnw
see if these are any help ????????


Mick.

[patty]

dont really like the winch set up, but the rest of those delis are BITCHEN!

[FalcoColumbarius]

Nice site. They appear to have a lot of questions... Maybe we should join and share experiences ~ someone there surely speaks English.

Falco.

[jessef]

It looks like they just welded on a plate extending out from the bullbars

They sit really high and out front as well.

Mine will be tucked closer to the body and lower.

Lower = higher pulling angle = lift/pull instead of pull down/pull through.

I'm itching to get started. Just need to have the Deli in first !

Jesse

[Reinhold]

There has been a discussion on Expedition Portal or was it the UK Delica site talking about hydraulic winches. Some guys are saying that the small steering pump on the Delica would not be able to provide enough pressure to run the winch at a reasonable speed or power. What have you found?
Seems like it has its advantages though.

[jessef]

There has been a discussion on Expedition Portal or was it the UK Delica site talking about hydraulic winches. Some guys are saying that the small steering pump on the Delica would not be able to provide enough pressure to run the winch at a reasonable speed or power. What have you found?
Seems like it has its advantages though.

The pump doesn't care whether it's being used for steering or winching. Once you reach beyond the max pressure, it simply travels out of the built-in relief valve with no harm to the pump.

Hydraulics are a very simple design that have very few parts that can fail, meaning they can last a very long time.

An electric winch runs off the battery and can be used for a short time without the engine of the vehicle running whereas a hydraulic cannot. You will have to determine if you want a hugely reliable, waterproof and fast pulling (under load) winch or one that will run with the engine off (for a short time before the batteries get depleted). If you do not plan on rolling or submerging your vehicle, you may want the hydraulic. Of course, electric winches are not that great under water, anyways - Should you sink your vehicle, you are not guaranteed the electric will get you out, either.

Here is a great video about hydraulic vs. electric all by the same company :

http://www.milemarker.com/video/comparison.html

Jesse

[delicanewguy]

Great looking Delica's but I'm also not fond of how far their winches stick out. Very informative video Jesse,I'd be interested in seeing the set up when you get it done.

[loki]

I wouldn't think it would be terribly difficult to setup a hydraulic winch to be able to move from front to back, you would just need a control box to select which set of hoses you are useing and have quick disconnects on them, of course I'm probably over looking something here though :)

[Green1]

The pump doesn't care whether it's being used for steering or winching.

While that is true, it's also potentially misleading, the question isn't wether it can pull and empty winch line, it is wether the same pump is strong enough to pull the whole vehicle out of the muck, or if that's just too much for the little thing.

And no, I don't have an answer to that question, but it is something I've wondered about ever since you first mentioned using that pump. Please let us know how it goes, because if it works well I might be interested, the hydraulic winches are far superior, the question is simply wether that pump can support such a beast.

[EnviroImports.com]

in those picts for the most part, you have the winch mounted to the two steel bars that come out the front of the delica, they are FRAME mounted and strong enough to lift the the van straight up. the winch they used is wider than the inner tubes of the bull bars, the bull bars on these offer VERY little strength.
However if you mount the winch to a mounting plate that is bolted with grade 8 bolts and that to the mounts then its both very strong, and nicly tucked away. the bull bars them selves would NEVER be able to take the stress that winching puts on a vehicle.

[Green1]

the bull bars them selves would NEVER be able to take the stress that winching puts on a vehicle

The manual specifically states to tow the Delica from the bull-bar, the tie-down points are also on the bull-bar, and the only winching I have ever done was to the bull-bar
They're stronger than you think.