Advocate III
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Electric Winch. Are they necessary for overlanding/touring?
- Thread starter Steve_ohhhhh
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Explorer I
Hey I recognize that scene! Was that the day we cleared the trail with winch and snatch block? It was not just that tree but a clump o’ trees. What a great time we had!
Advocate III
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hopefully you have a winch plus an extra 100' of rope, in your case a winch is obviously a neccessity
Advocate I
As I said before. Many people like cutting trees down. I do not. If you think for a moment that in my 24 days of holiday per year I look for a trail where there are some trees to be cut...you are mistaken. But that is me.
Some people like it. It is fine. Each to his own.
Also you have to remember, it always depends on the situation and location. You are in US, maybe huge fallen trees are big problem there, I don't know, I never been there. Where I have been there are not such a big deal. I did encounter some fallen trees a couple of times but I always found a way around them. Maybe I had a to take a 20 km detour. It is fine, I will take any day a 20 km detour of slow driving, admiring the nature while sipping a coffee in my AC cabin than sweeting my ass of with chainsaws and winches.
Water crossing -- well lets say you have a winch, snorkel, diff breathers - all the goodies. I would still try to avoid a big water crossing because they have a lot more effects on the vehicle. Some have a weak spot someplace(low alternator for example ) , all will suffer from silt getting in to the fins of the cooling radiators and so on..there is a big list with the effects of water on vehicles. Do enough of them and you are bound to have issues down the road. Might not be a problem for someone who can do mechanical work on his car , with an older vehicle where the parts are cheap, but that is not the case for all. Or imagine you do a big trip across many countries. It will not be easy to find replacement parts maybe, or good mechanics, some many days of waiting might be involved.
Like with anything else related to overlanding there is no 1 thing fits all solution.
Also there are many situations where a winch will not help. So if you think a winch will get you out of any spot think again. If you have a winch you still need all the other recovery gear. If I new that having a winch will solve all my problems and I would no longer have to carry a shovel, maxtrax boards, ropes, some kind of jacks, either Hi LIFt or one of those air jacks and so on, situation would be different.. But even if you have an winch, you still need to carry all the other crap as well..
I did get stuck a few times. Took some work to get ou, some shoveling, moving stones, using maxtrax, one time it took me 30 min to do 200m . Did not happen often enough to justify the cost, hassle and the extra weight of a winch for me. There might come a day where I will do a trip where a winch is must. When that day comes, I will get one.
So far I am doing fine.
Member III
I don't mean chopping down trees... the only trees that I or my groups have cut down were severely rotting and at risk of falling into a campsite and generally speaking, cutting down trees in the US is a huge no-no unless you have a permit or it's your own property. I'm talking trees that storms and erosion have knocked down that happen more often than you think on backcountry trails.
The main issue is that a winch maintains tension along its entire pull while a farm jack gives you 1.5m and you have to reset. When moving those trees, I don't really think we could safely reset without two jacks and a bunch of rigging to prevent the tree from rocking back. Could we do without? I guess, yeah, but the winch is still absolutely the right tool to have in a lot of fairly common situations. It's like saying a wrench can pound in a nail so why would you carry a hammer?
Influencer II
Do you run one? No.
Is it needed? No.
Or is it more an insurance policy. Yes.
Thoughts please....
Think twice before you run into an obstacle, familiarize with the area you're going. How's the weather? What is are your preferred type of trail.
For me a winch would be useless weight at the second worst possible position. I run stock bumpers because they are ok and I never needed more, I run 33" tires with a small lift and that got me were I wanted to go and never got close to need a winch.
Is it needed? No.
Or is it more an insurance policy. Yes.
Thoughts please....
Think twice before you run into an obstacle, familiarize with the area you're going. How's the weather? What is are your preferred type of trail.
For me a winch would be useless weight at the second worst possible position. I run stock bumpers because they are ok and I never needed more, I run 33" tires with a small lift and that got me were I wanted to go and never got close to need a winch.
Because, priorities! So, only do HALF of those broverlander mods. Leave plenty of room
Educator I
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Got one and used it once so far, better to have one and use it rarely than need one and not have one....Insurance.
Jim
Jim
Explorer I
The work shown in above videos was done on behalf of the governmental agency that manages this particular area. That was a very fun day; built camaraderie, cemented friendships, extremely educational (for me anyway) and we accomplished something. Good times!
So true!
Only true for some parts of the states; not so much in the deserts or mid states but certainly in the mountainous regions. Detours are not always an option for us; sometimes its go through or go back.
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after reading this thread, i'm thinking THIS is the way to go now....
Advocate I
We don’t run one, but we don‘t consider with the driving we’re currently doing that we need one. If we were going to get more off the beaten track, or into more remote and inhospitable places than we currently do, we would invest in one for the peace of mind of knowing we could self recover. I currently live in the south of France. When I lived in Australia I had a landcruiser troopy that I drove all over the outback. No winch. Survived. But I knew the terrain, I studiously avoided notorious trails, and I never encountered an obstacle that I couldn’t find a way around or through before I got snarled up in it. Were I to do it again, I would probably take a winch for peace of mind (that was 30 years ago, and i’m not as strong as I once was).
It’s worth noting that a lot of the feedback I‘ve read doesn’t actually answer your question. There is constant conflation between “overlanding” and “four wheel driving”. They can be mutually exclusive activities and should not be confused.
From @Michael (OB founder):
Overlanding is: "Vehicle Dependent Travel". Nothing else. We will not further define "overlanding".
I recommend watching this short video from Dan Grec who drove from Alaska to Argentina without a winch. That doesn‘t mean you don’t or won’t need one for your type of driving, but it’s worth taking feedback from someone who’s travelled extensively, in some of the more remote and inhospitable parts of the world. He notes in this video that when he was preparing for his three year expedition around Africa that he did install a winch, due to a number of factors he outlines, including different terrain, more technical trails, and more remote stretches of driving.
If I recall correctly, in one of Dan's later videos he shows how/why he did need the winch on a short excursion to find a campsite (off the Alaska Highway I think). Perhaps key is the ability to judge whether or not to take a particular track, with the decision influenced by possession of a winch (or not).
Good point about "overlanding" and "four wheel driving" - there's an overlap but, as noted, you can do either without entering the domain of the other.
Of all of the 4x4 vehicles we've owned (11) only 2 have had winches, including our current vehicle. I've used winches rarely, and in the current vehicle not once, however it's a contingency we want to have available (and we rather foolishly needed it and had left the control unit at home on one occasion recently when we decided to have a lunch break at a viewpoint we had used previously, half way home from the "coffee country" and found that access (and egress...) in the rainy season was far more difficult than at other times of the year!).
Good point about "overlanding" and "four wheel driving" - there's an overlap but, as noted, you can do either without entering the domain of the other.
Of all of the 4x4 vehicles we've owned (11) only 2 have had winches, including our current vehicle. I've used winches rarely, and in the current vehicle not once, however it's a contingency we want to have available (and we rather foolishly needed it and had left the control unit at home on one occasion recently when we decided to have a lunch break at a viewpoint we had used previously, half way home from the "coffee country" and found that access (and egress...) in the rainy season was far more difficult than at other times of the year!).
I have to have some way to get out. Right now it just isn't an electric winch. If I get a camper, and or start putting coolers and fridges in my back seat area, then I'll have to get a bumper mounted winch most likely.
As for the trees, they've fallen on my trail blocking my exit plenty of times. I carry a chainsaw now. Same reason I have use MT's on simple park roads. One good rainfall, and that road is gone.
As for the trees, they've fallen on my trail blocking my exit plenty of times. I carry a chainsaw now. Same reason I have use MT's on simple park roads. One good rainfall, and that road is gone.
Contributor II
I run the Smittybilt 12k Synthetic Winch on my Ram, and I have plans on adding a 9 to 10k for my CJ.
Now just setback, break out the popcorn and watch EFRT S5*EP24 - Stranded for 3 days in the Mountains.
Member III
So, have we settled on "if you are regularly dragging trees or '4wheeling,' you can probably easily justify a winch?"
Boostpowered
Rank VI
Member III
I think we've established Its not worth even arguing about anymore.
What do we care if someone wants to winch by hand or with the push of a button.
