The Bush Winch

i struggle to see how they would be effective (reliable) without a diff lock

Hi Phil,

They actually came out and did a demo for our 4WD club on 25/2/07. I could not make the trip, but I did get plenty of feedback. While not wanting to knock a product, lets just say no-one raced out and bought one - perhaps a bit more development work required!!!


For more pics, just click on the pics for the 25/2/07 trip. trips page

Cheers

Captain

had some thing like it on my first 4wd a Austin champ many years a go
1) were realy dangerous
2) did not work well
3) ended up buying a winch

& at the price of a good winch hand or power these days why bother

For detailed instructions on making your own, check out the Overlander Magazine May 1981 page 56.. Shouldn't be too much trouble for someone half handy with a welder.

They are not new. Have been around since at least WW2 if not earlier.

Hello Phill

I developed the Bush Winch and therefore have a special interest in the comments and feedback you got to your initial query. I hope you don't mind but I though it might help if I make some additional comments to those already made. My comments are in no special order.
1. The Bush Winch negates the need for a diff lock because it firstly prevents differential action taking place and secondly when all traction is lost (diff lock or not) the wind-up action up on the winch drum will keep you moving anyway.
2. The Austin Champ used a capstan type winch, which required a second person (or the driver through the window) to keep rope friction on the drum and gather the winch line as the vehicle moved. Quite a different scenario to the Bush Winch.
3. I have been testing the Bush Winch in severe situations on the front and back axles of 100 Series Landcuisers for over 3 years with out any problems. The winch rope is by design "the weak link" but with 3200kg per rope or double this load when both ropes are used you are achieving considerable winching power.
4. Having the winch rope spool onto the winch drum and not come off on a long pull means setting up the anchors in line. This does take a bit of planning and experience. To assist and add even greater versatility we are about to make available a rope "guide" system which will overcome this issue. I once saw a Series 2 Landrover winching forward off pipes bolted to it's back wheel rims. The winch cable passed through a shackle welded to the side of its steel bullbar before going to the anchor. Crude but very effective. Nowadays not many vehicles have enough strength in the bullbars or front ends to do this. Our "guide" will use the same wheel nuts that are already in place for the the Bush Winch.
5. The Bush Winch can be used with winch ropes each attached independently from the winch to anchors (often adequate) but for long tough pulls it is better to have the winch rope joined into a single loop. Each end of the rope loop comes from the winches and the loop goes around the anchors (the rope must be able to slide around the anchors a bit). This stops any differential action in the axles, puts an equal and shared load on the ropes which helps keep the rope tensioned and spooling on.

The Bush Winch offers one alternative to many winching options. For me it's a simple effective system, very powerful, versatile and light weight and never breaks down. I carry a lot of winch rope (its light and I use the rope for everything around the camp) and always find a solution to getting out of a bog on my own because I can create lots of anchoring solutions.

Regards
Patrick Verbeek