Alternate / portable winch alternative

Afternoon Boo,
Used them on Hagglunds in Antarctica and they work well. Benefit of being able to be pulled backwards is a bonus. The winch was stored in a box on the rear cab roof. PITA to get down and back up.

The winch cradle had a SHS which fitted into a receiver on the vehicle. Pretty much like a tow bar setup.

I haven't seen a similar setup on any bull bar in Aus though. Maybe a call to the manufacturer could steer you in the right direction.

Cheers

Mate, I carry one of these and used it once so far -

Bogout

Easy to use and works on any wheel forwards or backwards. It doesn't even take up as much room as a snatch strap and weighs less. It's not as convenient as a normal winch but my use is total emergency last resort for me traveling solo and it got me out easy the one time I've had to use it.. It sure beats hand winching....that's for dumb kids. All you have to do is pick the wheel that doesn't have traction, attach it and tie the other end onto something solid.

If you are concerned about the weight of the winch the first thing to do is get rid of the wire cable ........ on most winches with a wire cable half or more of the weight, is the cable its self ......... going for a good quality synthetic winch rope will at least halve the weight of the winch.

Also if you are concerned with weight up front ...... do something about the batteries ...... either get them out from under the bonnet, move them further back in the engine bay ..... put them ?????? or look at one of the newer much lighter lithium technologies.

Another thing is to look at a lighter material than steel for your bullbar ........ ya have to be able to make a decent bullbar out of aluminium ....... but does anybody? ...... there are some guys who custom build out of chrome molly ..... with increased strength and reduced weight.

cheers

Yes, I have a portable (hydraulic) winch on my Iveco Daily that I can use both front and back. It fits into a standard hitch receiver, and can be carried where desired. I carry it normally on the front as in my case it is lighter than my back. It is covered by a padded cover so that it does not have sharp edges, etc that will endanger pedestrians, etc. It protrudes less than 1.5 m and so meets the heavy truck requirements.

G'day Bb,
Quite a few years ago we owned a dealership for the Polaris brand of off road vehicles. One of the options they came with was what they referred to as a multi mount winch system that enabled what you are planning to do.
Worked well and being mostly 3000 lb (1500 kg?) capacity winches, that although they came standard with steel wire rope weren't a problem to move from front to rear. I liked the idea, but same as you, I guess, as the years roll by, the thought of carrying such a winch in the capacity required to move a fully loaded 4WD , bogged to it's belly over mud, sand or up a fair incline made the idea a little less appealing.
Bantam has suggested one alternative, that of using fabric (Dyneema?) rope in place of steel. Definitely a considerable weight saving but those ropes do have some disadvantages when being dragged over sharp rocks or through mud or sand. Having said that, a lot of people do seem to use them quite satisfactorly.
Another alternative I am considering, is having the rope wound around a cable drum for storage and only run out to your anchor point and connected to the winch drum as required. I mean to perform a winching exercise you do have to run your winch line out anyway.
The other idea I have been considering is having the winch, when in the receiver, located vertically rather than horizontally. How many times do you find that rock or tree conveniently located directly in front of your vehicle. When winching at an angle the rope whether steel or fabric will usually bunch at one end of the winch drum. Particularly with steel, this can damage your rope if you are using close to maximum line pull.
Cheers
Pop

For those who suggest the cradle, why does it have to be mounted in the receivers front or rear. There are craddles available for winches that have lugs on them for attaching straps between vehicle and winch cradle.
This would eliminate any bunching of cable on the drum and any requirement to have a receiver on the front. All you would need is rated recovery points.
Regards
Angus.

My 16.5Ti Warn is on a DIY cradle that can be mounted in the front or rear hitches or remote with a power extension cord and a couple of Dynema ropes.
It weighs 70kg though, but it is a big winch.

Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 motorhome