Winches what's good

Dennis,

totally agree. The huge mass of the winch and requisite bar work add to the sprung vehicle mass, increasing fuel consumption and wear on suspension/drive line etc.

Like the hi-lift jack - best left at home!

Bob

G'day Adam,

I travelled 1000s of kms without winch but mostly we travel with others.
I have full recovery gear and a tirfor winch.
I have used the Tirfor 3 times but I couldn't tell you how many times I've used to snatch strap for me and others.

Just remember a winch is heavy. You'll be adding a lot of weight o the front of the vehicle.
We do a lot of long distance touring and reducing the load I'm carrying is more important than having an electric winch.
If you don't have a dual battery setup you'll need that too because they draw a heap of power when they're in use.

That's my opinion.

Steve

They do use a heap of power, I still run mine off the main battery without any problems.
I have the engine idle up to 1500rpm and only use the winch with the 30sec on then 30 second off rule.

Recently I have considered hydraulic winches as an alternative but I still reckon a winch isn't a necessity for our needs.

This info on winches article on this website has some good info.

Steve

I have had an ox hydraulic winch for many years virtually maintainance free works under water , have seen a number of electric winches not work when needed due to lack of maintainance , bad electrical contacts.etc
But needs the engine to run to operate.

I've had a Ironman 12000lb winch for 3 years. I was a bit hesitant at first with this brand, it was cheap compared to Warn but it has proven to be a very good winch. As already mentioned, you must have a winch serviced every months to keep it reliable. Like any motor, look after it and it will look after you.

I would also add that having a remote for the winch makes like easier and ensure you either buy a winch with a good quality 30m synthetic rope or replace the cable with rope asap and give it a clean every now and then.

Just following up my previous post, I meant to write "service winch every 12 months."

Mate none mentioned above and one that I purchased is the Smittybuilt. 10000lb and claimed to be fully sealed fully water proof. Your local ARB should now stock them. Very very big in America. Won't hurt to have a look at them. I'm vey happy with mine.

" when you travel on your own and get of the beaten track it's good to know that you have the gear to get our of trouble thanks again "

It depends on where that off the beaten track is. Len Beadell said in his DVD that looked back on his work in the desert that the first time he tried using a winch to get out of a bog, it ripped every mulga tree within reach right out of the ground by the roots and the car did not move. Finding a good anchor point in the Outback is often a major problem unless you like digging holes and burying your spare wheel.

It is not so bad in the mountains but there is still no guarantee that you will find something suitable when on your own. My wife and I do a lot of solo desert travel and don't take a winch. We occasionally take a hand winch on mountain tracks but so far we have only used it to move fallen trees. They are great for that and can save a lot of chopping.

We always make sure we don't get stuck by getting local advice on track conditions, weather etc. We get out and check any rough spots first and don't proceed unless we are sure we can get through. Solo recovery is not a lot of fun and not always successful.

I just had a quick read about the Smittybuilt winches it only states the solenoid is waterproof, the do look good though.

Joe.

Penchy - same as Mick O's link above.

Apologies, I didn't open that link.