Belly/hull-mounted winch?

[youngmanchego]

I'm not sure if I had the most insanely detailed dream or saw a post about this a while back. There was a Kiwi on here who installed a winch under, about mid-ship, on his cruiser. I have searched high and low for this thread. Google, the search function, all of it. I can't find this dang thread. Does anyone know who did this or what I am talking about?

 

[charliemeyer007]

No clue. Seems like a good way to high center on nearly anything, on the other hand I guess a winch could be a skid plate.

 

[jim land]

It has been done, look like a good way to get a messy cable on the winch drum , also a pain to get to the selector

 

[jim land]

Central winch mounting.

I've searched and seen this mentioned here a few times but nothing definite. I have been watching some of the build videos for the offroad challenge trucks, mostly rainforest and Aussie builds and noticed a common thing with a good many. A central winch mounted in the middle of the chassis...

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[Paul_A]

I would be more inclined to mount a winch front and rear. A rear mounted one could tuck up inside the rear cross member if the exhaust and a spare fuel tank isn't in the way. A mid-mount winch will have the tires, springs and steering linkage getting in the cable run between the winch and a hitch point.

 

[Sky King]

A previous owner did this to mine, portable and hitch mounted it can quickly be swapped from front to back. Possibly a better solution than center mounting. ??

 

[Living in the Past]

Mid mount which way would the fairhead be to go in any direction? To avoid tires or bumper getting to an anchor point would need a pivot point at the front or back depending on which way your pulling from.

 

[charliemeyer007]

A hydraulic one on the front and an electric one on the back is my plan. I like those synthetic ropes and those pully rings. The 4 wheeler is getting a receiver hitch mount with a battery so I can take it off or move it to the front or back.

 

[sogncab]

If I were to do it again... I'd design my rear bumper to have a fairlead in it to mount a winch in the back under the floor.
Then bolt down a winch in the front.

The problem is your beating the crap out of that back one constantly being washed with engine heat, proximity to exhaust, and exposure to dust and wet.

But, you've got a ton of options with two winches if things go awry.

I still haven't purchased a winch for the 40. I put a receiver tube in the front bumper to mount it on a removable plate. My camping trailer has receiver tubes on all four corners too. Seemed like an easy thing to add with no real downside.