NY2LA
SILVER Star
Hi, folks. After getting stuck twice this year in the NJ Pine Barrens and needing to get towed out in reverse, I finally decided to add a rear winch to my ride. This turned into one of those jobs that seemed basic and was supposed to be done in an afternoon but took two weeks due to various annoying gotchas. So, I figured I'd share my setup in case anyone finds it helpful in any way. I will split this into a couple of posts, as I'm still finalizing my setup at the battery side.
This is a PORTABLE SETUP. After considering various options, I decided the best approach for my own usage would be simply to have a secure and convenient place to store the winch on trips I wanted to bring it with me, allowing me to quickly transfer it to the factory hitch receiver for usage. A good place for a hundred pound hunk of steel, I decided, would not be anywhere inside the vehicle or anywhere too high up or loosely attached.
A permanent install would have been a huge job, requiring the spare tire to be relocated, and would have literally weighed me down on a lot of trips where I didn't need the second winch. My requirements were mainly that I could easily transfer the winch to my factory rear hitch receiver and quickly connect power without having to get too risky with several hundred amps.
Basically, what I did for storage and transport purposes was to make a hole in the Dissent vertical accessory carrier that I'm using and have a hitch receiver welded to the swingarm so that it would be accessible through the hole.
MOUNTING FOR STORAGE AND TRANSPORT ONLY:
The welder added a tongue beneath the protruding portion for extra strength.
Below you can see the winch mounted. It hangs about 10 inches above the vehicle hitch receiver and is tucked in close to rear bumper. Again, to be clear, this is the TRANSPORT POSITION, NOT THE OPERATING POSITION.
Yes, I went with a lower end winch. It's a second winch for periodic usage, and I don't want to hang a red carpet for thieves off the back of the truck. Plus, it's the winch the second tow company was using, and it worked just fine.
The winch hangs rigidly with help from a Harbor Freight hitch tightener.
To use the winch I need to loosen the hitch tightener and transfer the winch to the vehicle hitch receiver. This takes about 3 minutes and is a short haul.
The vehicle hitch receiver has an extender on it that allows me to open and close the swingarms when the winch is partially insert into it. The extender is a Blue Ox rated to 10,000 pounds, same as the winch tray. To stay within rating, I need to use a simply pulley system, which is my routine method anyway.
To keep the extender nice and tight, I'm using a tightener made by a shop in Australia specifically for our hitch receiver. I can't find the name right now, but it's out there on Google somewhere.
This is a PORTABLE SETUP. After considering various options, I decided the best approach for my own usage would be simply to have a secure and convenient place to store the winch on trips I wanted to bring it with me, allowing me to quickly transfer it to the factory hitch receiver for usage. A good place for a hundred pound hunk of steel, I decided, would not be anywhere inside the vehicle or anywhere too high up or loosely attached.
A permanent install would have been a huge job, requiring the spare tire to be relocated, and would have literally weighed me down on a lot of trips where I didn't need the second winch. My requirements were mainly that I could easily transfer the winch to my factory rear hitch receiver and quickly connect power without having to get too risky with several hundred amps.
Basically, what I did for storage and transport purposes was to make a hole in the Dissent vertical accessory carrier that I'm using and have a hitch receiver welded to the swingarm so that it would be accessible through the hole.
MOUNTING FOR STORAGE AND TRANSPORT ONLY:
The welder added a tongue beneath the protruding portion for extra strength.
Below you can see the winch mounted. It hangs about 10 inches above the vehicle hitch receiver and is tucked in close to rear bumper. Again, to be clear, this is the TRANSPORT POSITION, NOT THE OPERATING POSITION.
Yes, I went with a lower end winch. It's a second winch for periodic usage, and I don't want to hang a red carpet for thieves off the back of the truck. Plus, it's the winch the second tow company was using, and it worked just fine.
The winch hangs rigidly with help from a Harbor Freight hitch tightener.
To use the winch I need to loosen the hitch tightener and transfer the winch to the vehicle hitch receiver. This takes about 3 minutes and is a short haul.
The vehicle hitch receiver has an extender on it that allows me to open and close the swingarms when the winch is partially insert into it. The extender is a Blue Ox rated to 10,000 pounds, same as the winch tray. To stay within rating, I need to use a simply pulley system, which is my routine method anyway.
To keep the extender nice and tight, I'm using a tightener made by a shop in Australia specifically for our hitch receiver. I can't find the name right now, but it's out there on Google somewhere.
Last edited:
