mounting a winch on receiver toolcat 5600

[swein]

Traction is a problem and I decided an electric winch would be a big help in many situations. The question is how big a winch 8000 lb, 9000 lb or more. Will the rear receiver hitch handle the stress of a winch this size when the machine is really bogged down? I don't want to get into anything that requires additional welding on toolcat. Anyone had anyexperience? Thanks Steve

 

[radman1]

I have a 2" receiver hitch on my 5610, the 5600 is a little different in the attachment of the 2" receiver. However, on either model, I would not be afraid of using an 8-9K winch. In fact, I would not go any smaller. Even an 8-9K winch has a lot less pull, with more cable on the spool. The receiver is probably one of the best places to attach the winch.

 

[swein]

Thanks, Any reccomendations as to size of winch that will get toolcat out of trouble. What about a mount on front?

 

[radman1]

I have skid steer to 3pt plate adapter on the front. It also has a receiver hitch on the front of the adapter. If your winch is mounted onto a 2" square tubing, it could then fit in the receiver hitch at either end.(front or back). I have a 9K winch on a trailer. It is mounted on 2" square tubing so that it is removeable and could be used in a receiver hitch on truck, TC ect.

 

[swein]

I am not familiar with the skid steer 3pt plate adapter. Can you describe? Is it available commercially. I know I can get a mounting plate for the winch that goes into a 2inch hitch receiver. That is what I plan for rear. You mentioned that you would get at least 8 or 9 klb winch. What would you recommend for optimal recovery? Thanks

 

[swein]

p.s. I googled the three point hitch adapter and found it on HLA attachments and hayspear. Still curious about optimal power for winch.

 

[patrick_g]

p.s. I googled the three point hitch adapter and found it on HLA attachments and hayspear. Still curious about optimal power for winch.

You can't know in advance just what situations you may find yourself stuck by.

Better to err on the side of bigger. I have a 12,000 lb Warn electric winch and have it powered by HD welding cables from paralleled 100 AH batts and I sometimes use a snatch block to double my pulling power. This lets me spool out more cable which increases pulling power also.

I'd recommend the larger winch (9000) or larger and do get a snatch block so you can double your pulling power. Either get a winch with a remote or a long cable on the hand controller as you don't want to be near a line under tension.

Pat

 

[swein]

Thanks for the informative reply. Steve

 

[radman1]

If you don't need or want the skid steer adapter plate, you could mount the winch on a 2" reciever mounted to the bucket or whatever attachment you would likely have on the front. If you get stuck and have the bucket on, you will not be able to switch out the bucket for a plate with the winch mounted on it. The TC is kind of a pig-in-the-mud. Gets high centered easily and tires not great for mud. I would go 9K winch. If you only plan to use the winch on the TC, you might consider a hydraulic winch.

 

[Spudgunner]

Thinking of the scenarios in which I've managed to get my TC stuck, I can't say that any of them required more than 6' of movement to get unstuck and I seriously doubt if the amount of force required to unstick me was over 2000 lbs.

With these parameters in mind, a Hi-Lift jack and chains/cables probably would have sufficed to get me unstuck every time. (For me, it was just easier to call a closeby friend with a tractor than get the Hi-Lift out. Yes, I'm lazy.)

Ultimately, however, experience beats the heck out of any winch/jack, IMO. I would not rush to get a winch without using a TC for a couple of snow removal seasons prior. This last season was my third and I didn't get stuck even once. Alot of that was simply due to experience with the equipment.