Removable winch back and front

[Robert OB 33/48]

Hello you all,

Well at the OB whatsapp group in europe there was this question and vid that I would like to discuss.
It is about a front winch that is removable. It can be used in the rear as well.

So, the follwoing are my pro's and con's about this. Maybe I forget something, maybe it is my point of view that is wrong. But it is a topic that now an then arrises.
Here we go;

Pro’s	Con’s
1, It is posible to use it both sides of the Rig	1, It weighs around 40kg and you need to handle it during recovery and in bad conditions.
2, You can leave it home if not needed. Less weight in/on the Rig	2, Ohw you left it at home, damned you just need it.
3, Nobody can mess around with it, it isn’t connected and visible	3, your approach and depart angles are goners
4, with some work you could make it even winch directly in an angle, like with a joint.	4, it probarly (not sure) is less sturdy
5, it doesn’t get so dirty and stays in better health for a longer time	5, You have to store it in your car, which means or behind all other stuff, so you have to take all out to access it, or in fromt of everything so other stuff is less easy to reach.

So, what are your thoughts about it?

 

[El-Dracho]

Hello Robert,

You have already captured and written down many points.

I think such solutions always look smart at first glance, because one object (here the winch) can be used for two things (winching forward and backward). However, this solution also has disadvantages, which outweigh them for me.

First of all, the advantages I see are that the winch is not always exposed to the weather and dirt and less weight on the front when not in use. The disadvantages I see are similar to those you have already listed.

What I would like to add is the following. It is often said that recovering a stuck vehicle to the rear is an option. For example, if further obstacles are to be expected to the front. In practice, however, it often turns out that it is much easier to recover a vehicle to the front in the direction of travel than to the rear. Well, this is simply due to the, let's call it "anatomy" of a vehicle. Many things on the underbody of many vehicles are designed to slide forward over an obstacle (examples: Underbody guards, differentials, differential guards, transmission guard plates). But the other way around, they usually form an obstacle and tend to have a blocking effect.

I am curious about further contributions and experiences on this topic.

Cheers, Björn

 

[bgenlvtex]

Not sure what size conductor you will need for 500a @12 feet ,but it's going to be big particularly through a push connector.

You will be highly likely to bend the hitch insert on anything other than a direct in line pull.

I would (did) mount a winch correctly on the front and plan to go forward.

 

[smritte]

You will be highly likely to bend the hitch insert on anything other than a direct in line pull.

I have seen this ^^^^^^^^^^
The guys I have known that ran a removeable winch normally stored it due to approach angle issues. Now that your stuck, you drag it out, hope your not in deep mud, hook it up and hope again you can get a straight pull.

 

[MaximusRadimus]

Not sure what size conductor you will need for 500a @12 feet ,but it's going to be big particularly through a push connector.

You will be highly likely to bend the hitch insert on anything other than a direct in line pull.

I would (did) mount a winch correctly on the front and plan to go forward.

I'm currently in the process of doing this exact setup on a '14 2500Hd. You'd probably would want to do 0 or 00 (preferred) line for the long run.