Tow receiver winch mount -- should I?

I was on the trail today, got a bit stuck in the snow. It all worked out, but it would have made thing so much easier if I had a winch on the rear.

What are the disadvantages of using a winch on a tow receiver? If I do this I'll just mount my winch to the 2" tow hitch And move it from front to rear if/when needed.

 

The biggest issues are the crappy approach/departure angles and the comically large gauge wire you have to use to run winch power all the way to the rear.

That and having to lug around a winch and cradle. Those things are freakin heavy!

Also you know with a few snatch blocks you can rig up a front mounted winch to pull you out backwards. Another option to consider.

 

I wish there was a simple way to run a 24v boost converter. Even if I could find a way, 24v winches are $$$$.

 

Why not just try to find a 24v motor that will mount up to your existing winch? There's gotta be enough of a market out of australia and new zealand for common winches to have some aftermarket support.

Fwiw I'm rebuilding an 8274 that I'd prefer to cradle mount for use in the front or rear. Looking at getting a front hitch setup and a set of frame brackets to tie the front back into more of the frame.

 

I would still need a boost converter to flow a lot of current.

 

Ah, fair, without trying some crazy hacked together three battery setup (to keep 12v for the truck, somehow charge each battery in the pair for 24v in isolation from the other, and then be able to supply 24v)

 

I'm thinking of going this route myself. Two questions come to mind:

- Do I need to match my winch's power to my hitch's straight-line pull rating, or can I use a slightly overpowered winch and just avoid using the last wrap of winch line? I bought the Curt front tow bar, rated for 9,000lbs straight-line pull - and I'm not even sure what straight-line pull my rear hitch is rated for. I have a Zeak winch in my garage, rated to 10,000lb for the last wrap on the winch line. Should I just never go down to that last wrap on the winch, or should I try to get a weaker winch? I don't plan on using this for ultra-heavy-duty recoveries - just to drag myself out of snow if absolutely necessary, so I don't I'll ever need more than 9,000lb of force.
- If I were to put my winch on the front of the truck, set up a snatch block and route the line back to the front of the truck to double my pulling power, is the OR-specific recovery hook (NOT the tie-down ring) a good place to do so? I hope this might distribute the force off the front receiver, in case I someday need >9,000lb of pressure to pull myself out.

 

.

 

Good luck dragging that anchor from front to back. Those things weigh a ton.

 

Do you happen to have a set of 4 maxtrax? If not, I'd do that before spending a bunch of time and money figuring out a rear winch setup. Since having my winch, I've yet to need it with a full set of maxtrax. Use them a ton on other folks rigs, too. Used 'em 10x in a day before. Used 4 sets recently in combination with a 4500 lb winch on a sxs to get a Ram 3500 crew cab with a trailer with a jeep on 40s outta a snowy ditch. Winch pretty much just helped his street tires get traction on the boards.

 

Seeing this in action is pretty cool. Helped set up this demonstration a couple years ago at a car show. 3x blocks and winch extension and it can be done. We could only pull the rig 10 feet or so without an extension.

 

Sticking with synthetic line and an aluminum hawse sheds a bunch of weight compsred to the oem setup with 150' 5/16" steel cable. I'm mostly interested in doing it because 1- I already have an old beat up 8274, and 2- I saw a pretty detailed test/breakdown of power draw v. line speed of the 8274 compared to a bunch of newer winches, and the 8274 beats the pants off winches using the now-typical planetary gear train, with higher line speeds and lower power draw across the board. So given its going at the ass end of the truck, there will be some voltage drop even with 00 welding cable. Not trying to set myself on fire during a recovery, lol.

 

Oh by all means the 8274 beats the shit out of every winch out there to date I had one many moons ago. They just weigh a ton and wouldn’t want to have to man handle one by myself even without the 150’ of steel cable.

 

I have one and Love it!!

It is set up to be used on all my vehicles and my trailer .

I use 1/0 welding cable for the electric .

I don`t venture far from home so approach angles do not apply.

I don`t ever see an application needing to winch through an obstacle though off Road I could see the need at times.