Mobile electric winch

Good question :-) I have wondered about that myself !

Wasn't the Brawn elec winch marketed as a winch from anywhere winch??

Cheers Kev

A loose winch connected by a chain...what happens when a weak link breaks...

In a mounted winch, the cable etc become the missile, in a free/loose winch, it may become the missile.

If you have ever done any amount of winching 3+ton vehicles, add the "stuck" factor....last thing you want is 30 odd kilos of free winch being launched.

Warn do one, and it wouldn't be much more dangerous than a normal winch I reckon, normal rules apply.

Have a look here

Warn used to do a 5000Lb portable winch about 20 years ago.

It is mounted in a steel box with plastic top and has a receiver inside which can be attached and used and provision for 2 D shackles for use with a chain or bridle. I have a cable with anderson plug to the back and the short cable also has an anderson plug and connections for the battery.

I have one and have rescued a few stucks with it. It is still in perfect condition as it doen't hang off the front of the car. I am planning to get a second hand towbar and put on the front.

Now you can get a receiver cradle for use with any 9000lb winch. I saw one advertised in Australian 4WD Action a few months ago.

Regards Philip A

Warn make 3 models with carry handles that can be fitted into the 2" tow bar reciever hitches & connected via Anderson type plugs. LINK
Brawn used to make the Port-a-winch which was great in theory but the fact they don't sell them any more may just be because they were not very practical. Difficult & time consuming to setup, they were hard to lay the cable on straight and would have suffered from severe line loss with the extended cables & connectors. Weighing 30kg they would be heavy to lift into position & pack away, then you'd have to secure the sucker. Check pages 7 & 8 of this PDF for photo's on how they were set up.
Cheers Craig..............

G`day Wilko,
Note you asked about electric winch but a petrol powered winch comes in several sizes and could possibly be used in wider applications, i.e. remote from 12 volt power etc.
Probably not a lot of difference in weight as an electric.

Regards

Scrubby.

Hi Wilko

Yeah thought about rigging up something similar myself. The only factor that makes me have 2nd thoughts is the weight factor. The portable model that Warn make comes in at 47kg. Now that's not too bad in good conditions, two reasonable size blokes could handle that. But how many times do you get bogged in good conditions. Imagine trying to get that into place and hooked up while bogged up to your diff housings in mud or on a slippery hillside. If I could come up with a skid or trolley to manouver it onto the front or rear in less than ideal conditions I would give it a go.

Cheers Pop

I own a Brawn Port a Winch. Not sure if Brawn are still around - did a quick google but couldn't find them. Will have a better look around tomorrow for you.

Anyway, I have had it for about 6 years and think it is fantastic. I have used it 4 times including once at the rear of the car.

I have set up an large Anderson Plug at both the front and rear of the car. At the rear of the car the winch attaches (bolts) into the Hayman Reese. At the front of the car I have 2 rated recovery points on the car which I connect 2 3 metre tree trunk protectors which are then shackled to the winch. It is as solid as a rock.

I used it once to winch up a very steep hill which I should never have gone down. Worked a treat.

I have recently upgraded the cable to synthetic rope, which has taken some of the weight out of it. Either way it's a one person lift (about 30kg)

At the time the main reason I purchased a port a winch was so I could keep the winch even after upgrading to a newer model of 4wd. Not that this has been an issue as currently I have no intention of upgrading as the newer vehicles are getting softer and too electronic, but thats another issue not for here.

Geoff

Something to put your winch in but you need a square tube type towbar on the front and rear.

Garry

I reckon it would be quite simple to make something up and would be really practical set up too....good idea!

Cheers

This is my Warn 16.5TI (16,500lb) winch.
Theoretically I can put the OKA back on its wheels if it falls over with this.
The 2 ropes attaching the winch to the vehicle are 12.5T winch ropes.
It normally rides in a Hayman style hitch at the front.

Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 Motorhome.

Hi,
re petrol powered winch - I have seen some where on the web a British rescue team using a winch powered by a chain saw, minus the blade and cutting teeth.
The chain (sans teeth) was used to drive the winch mechanism which turned the spool etc.

Messy to set up, but good for long hauls.

cheers