Unconventional Winching
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Elder User
Joined: Nov 2005
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Unconventional Winching
I am writing this at 6:00am and have been up since 8 am yesterday, so I'm a little tired.
With that said, I was doing some thinking, and lets say you have a 4x4 truck with a winch solidly mounted to the front. What if you get your truck stuck, and you have nothing to anchor to in front of you, but plenty of stuff behind you? Now, I am aware of the neat little tricks like burying your spare tire and using that, or using an overly expensive Pul-Pal (anchor). What I am getting at is devising something simple that would allow you to run your cable underneath your truck, or around the side, to pull yourself out. I recall seeing a HMMWV (humvee) with loops on the hubs to pass the cable through. Does anybody have any experience with this sort of thing? One thing that I thought of was having a smoothed out H shaped bracket in the center of your front axle and then running it out the back that way. A Jeep guy (read smart ***) I know suggested running the cable over the top... RRRIGHTT... So anyhow, lets hear what all of you self proclaimed geniuses can think of. Have some fun with it too, if you want too. Stories are definantly welcome.
With that said, I was doing some thinking, and lets say you have a 4x4 truck with a winch solidly mounted to the front. What if you get your truck stuck, and you have nothing to anchor to in front of you, but plenty of stuff behind you? Now, I am aware of the neat little tricks like burying your spare tire and using that, or using an overly expensive Pul-Pal (anchor). What I am getting at is devising something simple that would allow you to run your cable underneath your truck, or around the side, to pull yourself out. I recall seeing a HMMWV (humvee) with loops on the hubs to pass the cable through. Does anybody have any experience with this sort of thing? One thing that I thought of was having a smoothed out H shaped bracket in the center of your front axle and then running it out the back that way. A Jeep guy (read smart ***) I know suggested running the cable over the top... RRRIGHTT... So anyhow, lets hear what all of you self proclaimed geniuses can think of. Have some fun with it too, if you want too. Stories are definantly welcome.
i ain't rite
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 65,605
Likes: 5,629
From: Marlboro Mental Hospital.
the only thing wrong with running a front mount winch cable under the truck to pull yourself out backwards is getting the cable under it when it is sunk to the framerails in mud.
on my truck there is a clas III reciever front and back. the winch is mounted on a hitch plate, with quick connect cable ends. if i need the winch in the front it is there to use. if i need to pull backwards, i pull the pin, and put it in the rear reciever. the plus side to this setup is the 20 ft. 00 gauge welding wire jumper cables have the same quick connect on them. no need to get real close to anything to jump start. with plugs front and back, i can park up to 2 parking spaces away in any direction,(except dead rear) and still get to the dead battery.
on my truck there is a clas III reciever front and back. the winch is mounted on a hitch plate, with quick connect cable ends. if i need the winch in the front it is there to use. if i need to pull backwards, i pull the pin, and put it in the rear reciever. the plus side to this setup is the 20 ft. 00 gauge welding wire jumper cables have the same quick connect on them. no need to get real close to anything to jump start. with plugs front and back, i can park up to 2 parking spaces away in any direction,(except dead rear) and still get to the dead battery.
Post Fiend
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 11,945
Likes: 3
From: Spokane, WA
I second tjc's suggestion of a hitch mounted winch, unless of course you just want to buy 2 of them. 
Routing that cable would be a pain anyway but especially if you're stuck or worse yet in a situation where the truck isn't stable.
Routing that cable would be a pain anyway but especially if you're stuck or worse yet in a situation where the truck isn't stable.
Lead Driver
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 9,236
Likes: 12
From: Senoia, GA
i've seen someone mount a PTO winch in the middle of their truck and they had the cable setup to where they would run it thrugh a series of roller fairleads that were mounted b/t the body and frame. this allows no loss of ground clearance and the ability to run the cable up front or out back. it was pretty slick but requires a good bit of planning anf good engineering... ya know kind of like the engineering SnoBlower is accustomed to
-cutts-
-cutts-
Post Fiend
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 13,873
Likes: 3
From: Atlanta GA
My solution was to mount a winch in the front of the truck bed and have a piece of 2x lumber across the back of the bed as a cheap roller of sorts that would not damage the cable if the rear of the truck was above the pulling point. Also helps to keep minor things in the bed better.
I do not do extreme off roading so a rear mounted winch is more important because if I get stuck I usually want to go backwards and pick a different line. Plus, a front mount winch is practically useless in deep snow and ice unless you want to make a hill. Being able to snow plow the drifts with your bumper/axle and then winch out back into your tracks is the only way to make progress without a snow blower if you get stranded.
Plus, on my trucks I usually have a headache rack or screen so if the cable breaks the only thing that happens is I have a heart attack. I yanked a F-350 once with my front BII tow hooks and when the chain snapped and went flyng over my open hood, I was glad it was not a cable coming at me.
So, if I am getting someone unstuck, I want the cable behind me where I am protected by my screen. Plus, a hole in the W/S really stinks in a rain or snow storm. So, I prefer a rear winch over a front, though both are better :-)
I do not do extreme off roading so a rear mounted winch is more important because if I get stuck I usually want to go backwards and pick a different line. Plus, a front mount winch is practically useless in deep snow and ice unless you want to make a hill. Being able to snow plow the drifts with your bumper/axle and then winch out back into your tracks is the only way to make progress without a snow blower if you get stranded.
Plus, on my trucks I usually have a headache rack or screen so if the cable breaks the only thing that happens is I have a heart attack. I yanked a F-350 once with my front BII tow hooks and when the chain snapped and went flyng over my open hood, I was glad it was not a cable coming at me.
So, if I am getting someone unstuck, I want the cable behind me where I am protected by my screen. Plus, a hole in the W/S really stinks in a rain or snow storm. So, I prefer a rear winch over a front, though both are better :-)
Posting Guru
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 1,436
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From: South Dakota
What my buddies do around here is make custom bumpers out of 2x6 rectangular tubing with receivers 18" center on center so they can move winch front to back, etc. Then they usually leave the winch in the tool box of the pickup and put it wherever they need it, this way winch is always out of sight of criminals but is there if you need it.
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Elder User
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 575
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I am going to be using a Buckstop front bumper, so the winch will be out of sight. Also, I am going to be running a Mile Marker hydraulic winch so... they can steal it, but they are gonna have one helluva time doin' it. I had contemplated the "stuck to deep to run it underneath" factor, just must not have mentioned it.
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