Winching and Self-Recovery question (1 Viewer)

[SINCITY100]

Opinions would be appreciated by anyone who has had experience with both winches and/or the Slee rear bumper for the 100..(sorry if this post is redundant, but I would like ANY info on this subject !)

I was wondering if the rear receiver (on the Slee bumper) was strong enough to use as a winch/recovery point, and Christo made it clear that ( in its current design)..it is probably not a good idea...

BUT.... Is there any way (I have not seen a pic BEHIND the Slee bumper) to possibly reinforce the hitch mount to the frame and/or beef it up to use for winching? ...I want to get a Portable winch (I am having a VERY stout front receiver installed behind my front ARB bar), and I would really like to, if possible, use the rear mount as an anchor point also.

Any suggestions ?

The Idea of carrying a winch ONLY when I am out in areas where I might possibly need it, instead of constantly lugging the excess weight (100 lbs or more)around EVERYWHERE I go, is a more logical choice.

I think ( considering the fuel savings, performance increase AND reduced wear and tear on the vehicle) that it would be very beneficial to both myself and my 100.

If this sounds like a stupid idea, or.. better yet, you actually think it makes sense, Please give me some input ( this is my current project !)

 

[dclee]

Ahh, just a get a good ol' hand winch, or use the Hi-Lift. Us fat, lazy 100 owners gotta find some way to stay in shape anyway...

 

[Snook]

http://www.warn.com/truck/winches/src/xd9i_multimount.shtml

http://www.warn.com/truck/accessories/snatch_blocks_.shtml

You may considering use rear receiver AND recovery point (under the frame) - using snatch blocks system thus splitting 50/50.

If you're pulling 8000lbs, the receiver itself will be pulling 4000lbs.

But on the other hand, snatch block system give you a double pull power. 9000i winch can pull 18,000lbs with snatch block, adding more stress....

So you may want a smaller winch as a precaution measure if you're planning to using snatch block.

 

[Josh83]

One thing a lot of people don't consider when thinking about a multimount winch, is what are you going to do with it when you aren't pulling something with it? You would need a VERY secure way to strap down that weight in the back unless you wanted to leave it in one of your hitches and kill your approach or departure angle.

 

[NMuzj100]

Ahh, just a get a good ol' hand winch, or use the Hi-Lift. Us fat, lazy 100 owners gotta find some way to stay in shape anyway...

Search for "hand winch + cruiser =

Did anyone notice the cruiser ?

Purchase Link for the Winch

 

[NMuzj100]

Seriously this is what I was trying to find at Cool Cruisers ...

The "Load-N-Go Winch Chain Bar" - With this you just use the recovery points and have no need for the receivers.

These folks have a good collection of recovery gear on their site.

 

[calamaridog]

Multimount winches are great for ranch trucks and contractors and much less usefull for off roaders.

Josh83 is right about the approach and departure angles when using the mm winch.

Now I can think back to the situations in which I've seen winches used and they are off-camber, rocky, muddy, loose sand, steep, etc. and I can't imagine trying to pull that mm winch out of the back and mount it up. I just don't see that as being practical.

As far as "beefing" up the receiver on that Slee bumper, I would think the best person to do that would be Slee... If they don't want to then I'd say they have a good reason not to.

 

[Cruiser_Nerd]

The"Load-N-Go Winch Chain Bar" - With this you just use the recovery points and have no need for the receivers.

These folks have a good collection of recovery gear on their site.

I've been known to do downright stupid things with heavy equipment that could kill me in the blink of an eye................. That setup scares the hell out of me. I'd use that with one of those remote doodads...........from about 500' away.

 

[SINCITY100]

Thanks for all of the suggestions and comments !! (Oh, especially the pic of the L/C hand winch! )

I have been poking around on-line and have seen some very good (and REAL BAD) set-ups using this multi-mount method. My conclusion is, as long as you have (the equivalent of) a class 3 or better receiver mount (I am shooting for class 4), That this is a proven method for SAFE recovery. Considering the places I go, which are quite frequently alone or with only one non-winch equipped vehicle, I am really leaning towards this approach for recovery.

The way I look at it...The more options that you have available once you are ACTUALLY stuck, the better off you are to get UN-stuck.

I still remember a buddy of mine that inched into what appeared to be only several inches of water on the trail..Uh well, it was more like 2 1/2 feet of an interesting mix of mud and water, and his front end (and winch) was sunk deep enough that there was no way of accessing the cable or control box... Plenty of places to hook up to, but the winch was buried! If he had a multi/mount...there would not have been a problem..And yes, I had to drive over 150 miles to pull him out the next morning !

A great point was made about safely lugging the winch around when not in use, but I am working on a shelf that will hold it securely in the cargo area, yet make it fairly easy to access.

I dont plan on winching myself out of 4ft of mud or up a 65 degree hill, it will be mainly for light-duty recovery and assistance to get out of "situations", but I wont use this set-up unless I am satisfied that it is both safe AND practical..

 

[spressomon]

My strategy on this type of recovery is to use my HiLift. I guess in a perfect world unconstrained by space and $$$ a front, middle and rear PTO (ala MOG) would be the best for all extraction scenarios. The rest of us just have to be satisfied with safely reducing risk...not eliminating it as it pertains to self-recovery techniques and gear.

 

[sleeoffroad]

OK, here is my take on it. The receiver is welded to into the bumper, and on the back of it, there is a plate that bolts to the crossmember. (Picture attached).

I do believe that it is pretty strong, but to say that one can winch of it, I can not. Just now someone hooks a 16.5k lb winch to it and tripple line it and pulls the bumper right of the frame. Who's fault is that? Probably mine since I said you can winch of it.

That said, I am also not in favor of receiver winches.

1. They require an elaborate mounting system to make them as strong as a fixed mount winch when pulling sideways.

2. All your pulling is concentrated on one 5/8" receiver pin.

3. Storage of winch when not in use. Hard to do it safe inside the vehicle.

4. Electrical quick connects are not as good as proper connections.

5. Loss of approach and departure angle in most cases.

6. It is never installed when you need it.

I feel that it is important to you to have a winch on the rear of the vehicle, then install one behind the bumper in the rear and have it come through the bumper. If cost is an issue, I would rather have 2 x 8000lb winches, one on each end, than one big winch mounted in a cradle.

Normally you are with other people and pulling someone back is not a big deal. So you either have someone that is behind that can pull, or if you are the last one, then someone is in front of you.

If you are a solo kind of 4wheeler, see point about 2 winches.

Just ask Junk, at least that was one thing that he did right on his truck, except that the wiring sucked

 

[e9999]

there is another issue IMO and that is that if you have the winch on a 2" tube into the receiver, it is sticking out quite a bit. If you pull at all sideways, you now have a huge torque exerted on both the receiver tube and the mount. And these are not designed for that at all, they are just meant to handle axial and a small vertical force. Think about it, a class 3 is probably rated for around 500 lbs vertically. If you were to pull with a winch sideways you are basically doing the equivalent of perhaps several thousand lbs "sideways/vertically". Picture the long lever arm....

 

[ShottsUZJ100]

The only thing I can say about the Slee bumper is that it survived fine when I pulled a buried Tahoe out of a snow drift in the mountains. A 3/4 Chevy truck gave up just we drove by. I hooked the strap up to the Slee receiver and out it came. The Chevy owners were dumbfounded. So anyway, the bumper held!

The funny thing...The road was very icy and I yanked the guy out using just TRAC. I didn't want to lock if I didn't have to because I feared the lockers might slide me into the ditch. Sure was proud to have the Land Cruiser and not the Chevy(s).

 

[SINCITY100]

I do believe that it is pretty strong, but to say that one can winch of it, I can not. Just now someone hooks a 16.5k lb winch to it and tripple line it and pulls the bumper right of the frame. Who's fault is that? Probably mine since I said you can winch of it.

That said, I am also not in favor of receiver winches.

1. They require an elaborate mounting system to make them as strong as a fixed mount winch when pulling sideways.

2. All your pulling is concentrated on one 5/8" receiver pin.

3. Storage of winch when not in use. Hard to do it safe inside the vehicle.

4. Electrical quick connects are not as good as proper connections.

5. Loss of approach and departure angle in most cases.

6. It is never installed when you need it.

I feel that it is important to you to have a winch on the rear of the vehicle, then install one behind the bumper in the rear and have it come through the bumper. If cost is an issue, I would rather have 2 x 8000lb winches, one on each end, than one big winch mounted in a cradle.

If you are a solo kind of 4wheeler, see point about 2 winches.

Very good points, Indeed ! ( BTW Christo, I would never hold you to ANY winching claim, I know that it is not what your bumper was designed for), It does sounds like the Slee is up to the task for basic recovery situations though, (Impressive snow story Shotts !)

The "sideways" scenario is something that I prefer to avoid at all costs, even with a TRUE winch mount (I know, I know, "In a perfect world"...) The last thing I want is TWO winches on my rig, after all..The main reason I want to use a multi-mount is to avoid carrying the excess weight when "mildly" off-roading and for street use.

Hmmm....I wonder what type of recovery situations WARN (and others) have in mind when they market these fairly large 9500lb portable winch systems ? It makes me think that, if because they know they already have disclaimers in-place for use and safety, it`s the end-users "problem" if something real ugly happens!

I believe in Over-Kill when it comes to safety, and I still really want this M/M set-up to work...I will take ALL of your comments into consideration if I go through with it !! (Can you tell that I am hard-headed?)..lol

I can`t thank you guys enough for the input !!

 

[Chaldaean]

SINCITY100, it's been four years since your last reply. Did you end up getting a portable winch system? If so, how do you like it?