Winches

MF283 · Feb 6, 2016

I got my JD XUV last November, it has a place for a winch on front & i know they make hitch mounted ones for the rear as well.
While i have a tractor to do pulling or other things when necessary, i was wondering , those of you that have winches on your off road vehicles, do you really use them a lot & do you think it's money well spent??

Thanks,
Ronnie

GPintheMitten · Feb 6, 2016

I rarely use my winch. But when i have used it, it was a must have.

oosik · Feb 6, 2016

I would venture to say that most winches are seldom used. Unless you do a LOT of off-roading, you will probably seldom use it. I see ATV's with their winch hooked to a log/tree, pulling it. WHY??? Hook a rope/chain to the log and pull it with the ATV. Either way - if the log is too heavy neither the winch or ATV will pull it. If the log is too heavy - the winch will simply pull the ATV towards the log. A winch becomes a pretty expensive status/macho symbol.

Had a friend with a Warn winch on his Jeep. It only sat there on the front bumper and he never found out how to use it. The day he & his wife got stuck with the Jeep - he sat there for four hours before calling me to come help. By the time I got there he had all the winch line unspolled & completely soaked/covered in mud, the battery was hotter than the surface of the sun from constant use/recharging and the wife was seriously considering walking out to the county road and hitching a ride home. It was not a pretty picture.

About 50% of the time when I would get the Jeep stuck and need the winch - there would be nothing to attach the winch line to. Bring on the double-fluke boat anchor. Start the anchor into the ground and believe me the winch will completely bury it. I learned quickly what a ten foot "back line" was for.

Remember - if you do a lot of off-roading, you are probably in an area where some form of tow vehicle would never be able to reach you. In this case a winch can be a real life saver. But only if you know how to use it - and use it safely.

ovrszd · Feb 6, 2016

GPintheMitten said:
I rarely use my winch. But when i have used it, it was a must have.

Well stated. When you truly need a winch, nothing can replace it.

nybirdman · Feb 6, 2016

Can't see a winch mounted on the front;what if you need to pull backwards.Only good use is raising a snow plow.Looks like you have a tractor to pull your self out if stuck.

ovrszd · Feb 6, 2016

oosik said:
I would venture to say that most winches are seldom used. Unless you do a LOT of off-roading, you will probably seldom use it. I see ATV's with their winch hooked to a log/tree, pulling it. WHY??? Hook a rope/chain to the log and pull it with the ATV. Either way - if the log is too heavy neither the winch or ATV will pull it. If the log is too heavy - the winch will simply pull the ATV towards the log. A winch becomes a pretty expensive status/macho symbol.

Had a friend with a Warn winch on his Jeep. It only sat there on the front bumper and he never found out how to use it. The day he & his wife got stuck with the Jeep - he sat there for four hours before calling me to come help. By the time I got there he had all the winch line unspolled & completely soaked/covered in mud, the battery was hotter than the surface of the sun from constant use/recharging and the wife was seriously considering walking out to the county road and hitching a ride home. It was not a pretty picture.

About 50% of the time when I would get the Jeep stuck and need the winch - there would be nothing to attach the winch line to. Bring on the double-fluke boat anchor. Start the anchor into the ground and believe me the winch will completely bury it. I learned quickly what a ten foot "back line" was for.

Remember - if you do a lot of off-roading, you are probably in an area where some form of tow vehicle would never be able to reach you. In this case a winch can be a real life saver. But only if you know how to use it - and use it safely.

Lot of good stuff in this post. Great examples of not understanding a winch. A winch requires a good platform to pull from. A good anchor point. And a good power source.

A properly sized and powered winch should easily be able to drag the host vehicle.

ovrszd · Feb 6, 2016

MF283 said:
I got my JD XUV last November, it has a place for a winch on front & i know they make hitch mounted ones for the rear as well.
While i have a tractor to do pulling or other things when necessary, i was wondering , those of you that have winches on your off road vehicles, do you really use them a lot & do you think it's money well spent??

Thanks,
Ronnie

Ronnie, I don't think we can answer that for you. We don't know how often you put your vehicle in a potential "stuck" situation. If you could add some clarification of that our added comments would be more logical.

ovrszd · Feb 6, 2016

nybirdman said:
Can't see a winch mounted on the front;what if you need to pull backwards.Only good use is raising a snow plow.Looks like you have a tractor to pull your self out if stuck.

No flame intended so please don't take this comment as that.

You defintel don't need a winch.

Ronnie, this post is an example of what I mean. Nybirdman's uses don't justify the cost of a winch.

Sawyer Rob · Feb 6, 2016

nybirdman said:
Can't see a winch mounted on the front;what if you need to pull backwards.Only good use is raising a snow plow.Looks like you have a tractor to pull your self out if stuck.

What if it's mounted on the back, and you need to be pulled out forward???

SR

oosik · Feb 6, 2016

nybirdman,Sawer Rob:

Warn winches makes a winch that attaches to the ball hitch on the stuck vehicle. So you carry the winch in the vehicle in its cute carry bag and when you need it - attach to the ball hitch. This allows for a strong ball anchor point on both the front & back of the vehicle.

ovrszd · Feb 6, 2016

oosik said:
nybirdman,Sawer Rob:

Warn winches makes a winch that attaches to the ball hitch on the stuck vehicle. So you carry the winch in the vehicle in its cute carry bag and when you need it - attach to the ball hitch. This allows for a strong ball anchor point on both the front & back of the vehicle.

Yep. I think they maybe even sell the cradle that the winch mounts in separately. The cradle then plugs into the hitch receiver. I see this setup occasionally on Buggies. They also generally have a receiver mounted in the vehicle to carry the winch when not using. Biggest hurdle is the wiring and high quality "plug in" system required to fully get the power to the winch.

Sawyer Rob · Feb 6, 2016

oosik said:
nybirdman,Sawer Rob:

Warn winches makes a winch that attaches to the ball hitch on the stuck vehicle. So you carry the winch in the vehicle in its cute carry bag and when you need it - attach to the ball hitch. This allows for a strong ball anchor point on both the front & back of the vehicle.

My point was, you never will have EVERY circumstance covered no matter what you do! But, having a winch on the front will get you out of 90% of the problems you run into... (or more)

When I was going off road with my Kubota or ATV, 20 or 30 miles back into the bush, (in Alaska) I just carried a come a long, small diameter wire rope ect.. to get me out of trouble...

I have a Warn 12,000 pound winch on the front of my PU and it's got me out of some tough spots! Do I use it all the time? no, but when I need it, it's really a life saver!

SR

GPintheMitten · Feb 6, 2016

For my Jeep Commander that I used to have, I welded up a cradle with a 2 inch insert. But you can also buy them. I made mine so that it had its own 2 inch receiver as well, so I could have it mounted and still hook up a trailer.

I also had a front 2 inch receiver custom fabbed for the the Jeep.

I bought some thick welding cable, red and black. I used Anderson heavy connectors like this

Amazon.com: Battery Quick Connector Kit 175A 2AWG Plug Connect Disconnect Winch Trailer Gray: Automotive

I installed an Anderson connector to my battery in the engine compartment, put one on the winch and made a long extension cable with an Anderson on each end that I could use to go from the front to the rear.

I still have everything but haven't put an Anderson connector on my new Ford Truck yet but it's on the list. Also on the list is to someday buy or fab a front receiver mount for the F150.

check · Feb 6, 2016

Where we go ATVing, everybody has a winch. And far and away the best time to go riding is in the spring, when everything is all wet and muddy, and when someone always get stuck. Otherwise, the ride is no fun!

I wouldn't dream of taking my ATV on the trail without a winch. It also comes in handy for pulling the dock up on shore!

C4Ranch · Feb 6, 2016

You could buy a come along and if you find yourself using it a lot, then go for a winch. My 4 wheeler came with one but my UTV didn't. Thought about getting one but I've never had to use my come along so it would just sit there.

MF283 · Feb 6, 2016

Thanks for the answers guys, i just use the UTV on the farm, relatively flat, avoid going into the pond & climbing steeper sections of a branch through the property.
I have tested the 4WD on a steep incline & it walked right up it. Haven't though about a come-a-long, cheaper than a winch & would beat having to get tractor or truck to get it out.
Yep, for my part, i can do without it, as some of you stated, going to different places & riding unknown terrain, i can see where it would be nice to have one.
I think i'll tell the wife i don't need a winch & go for the windshield:thumbsup:

Ronnie

PhysAssist · Feb 6, 2016

nybirdman said:
Can't see a winch mounted on the front;what if you need to pull backwards.Only good use is raising a snow plow.Looks like you have a tractor to pull your self out if stuck.

Unfortunately, even with beet juice loaded rears and about 800# in a ballast box, our B-2320 tractor doesn't have enough moving traction to pull our F350 plow truck out when it gets stuck, but with the FEL down so the Piranha tooth bar is dug in, and the winch plate hooked over the trailer ball, it makes a great static pulling point for pulling the truck, using a snatch block anchored to a couple of convenient trees as a fulcrum.

Ken45101 · Feb 7, 2016

I just used the winch on the Kubota RTV900 a couple of days ago, here on the farm. I was checking the edges of the horse pasture and took a short cut on a trail through the woods. It was too muddy to get back up to the pasture.

The RTV has the winch, the 4wheelers do not. I don't remember getting the 4wheelers stuck.

As for "why use a winch to pull a log, why not just use a rope or chain to drag it?" well you get more traction with a stationary vehicle winching a log than you do with 4 tires turning and slipping independently. You can also use a pulley in the middle of the winch line to pull the log up to the trail when you would not have enough room to drag it with the vehicle.

Be careful though, the typical 4wheeler/utility vehicle WARN winch isn't all that strong. I believe they have nylon gears which are not too strong. I hesitate to use it for dragging anything too heavy. For most log dragging, I have a HF 12,000# winch mounted on an old box blade for the tractor.

FatTire · Feb 7, 2016

I have a 3500 lb winch for our XUV620i. It mounts to the front hitch receiver, but I have to take that receiver off to mount the snowplow. (The plow has its own hydraulic lift -- does not use the winch). As a result, for the past 3 years I haven't even bothered to re-mount the hitch when snowplow season is over. The winch just hasn't proved to be that useful for me. With the locking rear diff, I just don't get stuck.

Xfaxman · Feb 7, 2016

GPintheMitten said:
For my Jeep Commander that I used to have, I welded up a cradle with a 2 inch insert. But you can also buy them. I made mine so that it had its own 2 inch receiver as well, so I could have it mounted and still hook up a trailer.

I also had a front 2 inch receiver custom fabbed for the the Jeep.

I bought some thick welding cable, red and black. I used Anderson heavy connectors like this

Amazon.com: Battery Quick Connector Kit 175A 2AWG Plug Connect Disconnect Winch Trailer Gray: Automotive

I installed an Anderson connector to my battery in the engine compartment, put one on the winch and made a long extension cable with an Anderson on each end that I could use to go from the front to the rear.

I still have everything but haven't put an Anderson connector on my new Ford Truck yet but it's on the list. Also on the list is to someday buy or fab a front receiver mount for the F150.