electric or hand winch

What about the Port A Winch? Is that any good?

Funny thing I have just been asked to review a new hand winch caled the "mud Mauler" I have never seen these before tho apparently they have been around for about a year. Very small in size all fitting into a small bag and comes with a ground anchor, works with a chain similar to a block and tackle yet is gear driven. I will be testing it tomorrow in a variety of applications, will let you know howit performs.
Cheers Rob
Cairns Offroad Training & Tours
www.4wdtraining.com
4wdtraining@cairns.net.au
www.cedarparkresort.com.au

Sean,

Getting out of a bog in a black soil plain is bloody hard no matter what you've got. Friends of ours had to abandon their troopy to a plain out of Darwin for 8 weeks until it dried up enough for them to recover it.

:o) Melissa

I would like to see any electric winch get you out of that situation without overheating or flattenining its batteries. I have a hydraulic winch fitted to my truck but still carry my tirfor every where. A hand winch is much more versatile than an electric winch and when set up properly with a snatch block is not really so difficult to use. Part of my training involves demonstrating using a hand winch to free a 4x4 bogged to the axles in sand, every one does it including quite small women. You also have the cost, maintenance and weight difference to consider against the amount of times you will actually use it. Learn how to use your hand winch properly and you will be amazed how often it will get you out of trouble and because it is hard work it will also make you a more careful driver.Cheers Rob
Cairns Offroad Training & Tours
www.4wdtraining.com
4wdtraining@cairns.net.au
www.cedarparkresort.com.au

Melissa

just to give you an idea of how tricky black soil plains are - I will describe how we got boddged.

I had a friend walking out front checking the ground. This guy is a surveyor and has been all over the NT in the past 40 years and new the area. We has extensive off road experience. We had al;so been on teh same track 2 weeks prior but did not take it for granted.

All looked OK. I could not see the track because the grass was too long adn so was following directions. The wheels broke through suddenly. I immediately stopped and then gently tried to reverse but too late.

Both back wheels down to the axle and one front wheel in. We dug down to the back wheels and below the tyre, the ground was so soft that the shovel could be pushed easily into the ground until the handle disapeared. If both front wheels were down then maybe we would have been there until we could organise a tow out.

The hard crust, about 200mm thick was the only thing stopping the car going down. The hand winch would not budge car in reverse so we went forward and plouged the car through the mud until we were finally able to lift both front wheels up - (2 on the winch and 1 on the throttle) then we got bogged twice more getting to high ground.

Sean

Hi Sean,

Yep, when we lived in Darwin we saw that sort of thing happen occasionally (though not as bad as you describe). We were poking around the Mandorah peninsular one day, spear grass was up to 2 metres high, track very difficult to follow due to poor visibility...Our travelling companions were in front, the track was stony and compacted red dirt. Next thing, they were screaming over the UHF for us to stop. They had unwittingly driven onto a black soil plain and were bogged to the door sills within a few metres. We managed to get them out with a lot of trouble.

Funny thing about that incident was that the black soil plain started without warning. There were no telltale signs, no change in the landscape and we were on a slight rise. I stood about 1.5 metres off to the side of their car at one point and I was on the hard stuff.

Very tricky stuff!

:o) Melissa

Yes, from Brawn. I don't have a winch yet, and I'm not willing to spend $1500 for a winch, and then another $1000 for a suitable bull bar to take it, on my 1986 FJ60 which I only paid $6000 for and will not be keeping for more than a couple of years anyway (I bought the FJ60 as my first 4WD and it's great to learn on without worrying about scratching the paint, which already has many Scratches Of Honour accumulated from treks in the state forests of the north coast of NSW).

So I figure the best thing is something like a Port A Winch, meaning I have a winch I can use now, and when I do upgrade to an 80-series or whatever in a couple of years' time and have a fitted winch on that, I still have the Port A Winch as an emergency spare, or for situations where I want to go backwards/sideways. I can store it on the roof racks.. compromise. But as I understand it, the price from the website is $495, which is cheap... or is there a sneaking suspicion that's a typo and that there should be a "1" in front of that?

Get a second hand bar for $400 I did!

And then $1000 on a second hand Warn 10,000 winch, lots cheaper.....

I think the $495 is for the frame set up. The winch is extra approx $1400