Thread: hidden winch on D3/4 with standard bumper and NO roo-bar

Originally Posted by Turtle60

Interested in this answer too. Does one have to electrically wind it out? Really like this option over a bar simply to retain the look.

By pure fluke the dominator winch has a tiny knob for the clutch which is small enough to turn. For other winches, I think it’s likely the clutch will interfere with the main bumper cross member.

Aq

Originally Posted by Stiltz

There is a mechanic in Sydney that does this too and it is very clean. I saw his and I am tempted. Not sure what he is called here but he is from Cremorne Prestige

Greg Pearson

it is a very neat set up.

With mine I can push the clutch lever back with my fingers so I can free spool. It is a bit on a fiddle to pull it back to lock the clutch, but is doable. I always leave the winch locked. In any case there is not much difference with free spooling and electric wind out. Also the extra time gives you time to properly assess the situation and make careful decisions.

Originally Posted by dirvine

Pics as promised. I dont use a hook preferring to use shackles, hence the bolt through the eyelet

Do your front sensors still work? I know it says on the D44 site they need to be disabled, but surely if you go the discreet route and donthave a hook attached 24/7, it shouldnt matter? Or do the sensors themselves have to come out to enable fitment?

I'm considering this kit, will likely never need it, but if we're going solo, I dont want to be potentially stuck waiting days for someone to come down a dis-used track....

All the front sensors work. I also read that somewhere. With the Devon mount you remove a lot of the plastic square boxed webbing bracing behind the bumper bar. I did not quite follow that advice as I had read on another website if you did that then you had to remount the parking sensors. so I just cut out the "webbing where needed so that the brace front bar of the Devon unit would fit. It was a while ago I did this mod so I cannot remember the exact cut out but I do know the water bottle, air junction box etc all mounted on the new cross bar, and there was no need to remove any sensors, which all work. I am sure that with a small hook attached it would not send the sensors off. But I use a shackle bot rather than a hook to connect my cable to either another car or strap around a tree, so not worries there.

Nowhere near as much cutting of the webbing with the LR Direct mount when compared to the much more expensive option from Devon. My parking sensors are nowhere near where I had to cut & most of the webbing is still in tact. The up side of the Devon mount is that they have a much more substantial system to replace the bumper bar that gets removed in the process. This is what causes all the web cutting.

Not mentioned in any documentation I found, is the air scoop that hides behind the bumper. I had to remove this & was concerned about cooling, not only with the scoop removed but now with a winch mount covering the radiators. Now in the middle of a trip I feel (non scientifically) that the radiator runs 3 or 4 degrees higher at 100 km/h on the flat as indicated by GAP than it used to. Climbing the range outside Monto, the ambient was 28 deg & the radiator got to 108 deg & stayed there for the climb which is no different to before.

Originally Posted by dirvine

With mine I can push the clutch lever back with my fingers so I can free spool. It is a bit on a fiddle to pull it back to lock the clutch, but is doable. I always leave the winch locked. In any case there is not much difference with free spooling and electric wind out. Also the extra time gives you time to properly assess the situation and make careful decisions.

Depends where your brake is in that model winch.

Spooling out generates a lot of heat on some winches and will shorten the life of, weaken or destroy synthetic rope if that is what you run.

I had same concern and earlier this year I was towing a caravan up the Adelaide hills when the outside Temp was 48C!!. Car temp went off the gauge and then the car went into limp mode (air con off and gearbox locked in 3 or 4) and I just kept on going, with temp reducing. So I figured the vent box whilst it may have helped and the blocking of the wind by the winch was not as big a concern as I thought. If the car can handle that sort of extremes it can handle any high temp in my opinion!