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Garry, I use my front mounted winch to winch backwards without any problems just make sure you dont loop the cable around anything underneath and with the proper use of a couple of snatch blocks I can winch in any direction I wish. Preferrable to have a fairlead with rollers though, Regards Frank.Quote:
Originally Posted by garrycol
This old chestnut again:)
There is no right and wrong, so here's my thoughts!
If you spend most of your time doing a lot of single vehicle travel, at the back is normally best - pull yourself out and find another way around, rather than pulling yourself further into the poo.
If you often have others around, front is often best because then you can often make your way to where you want to go.
Having said all that, the type of vehicle you have is also a big factor. A 101 or 130 isnt too bad to get a rear mounted winch fixed in. A 110 and 90 is significantly harder, and a Disco / RR... well... good luck!
I do however know of a few 90's and 110's that have some excellent rear cross member modifications that allow for a Warn 9.5XP mounted in the rear cross member, with only the fairing as a protrusion.
So thereby lies my preference... One at each end:D:D
Jon
Contrary to many of the posters here, I have had a 4:1 ratio of front:rear winching/recovery.
Front winching.
1. Went down a slippery, greasy hill in SF in the sunshine coast hinterland. Realised that going further wasn't a good idea in weather conditions. Turned vehicle around and no chance of driving back up hill - which was the only way out - needed to winch up.
2. Gearbox locked up when driving up a steep hill. Best way to recover vehicle was winch it down the hill. So winch on the front winching the vehicle down safely with the t-case in neutral.
3. Dave S on here was driving through a river crossing and one side of the vehicle slipped off into deep water with a soft bottom and lost traction. Front or rear winching would have been possible, but front was the direction he needed to go anyway.
4. Bellied out on log while driving over. Needed to winch forwards. Winching backwards would have been no use, as no way to turn around or drive out the way I came in.
Rear winching:
Drove out onto lake dissapointment while doing the CSR. Sank up to axles. No point winching forward into worse mud. No rear winch and nothing to attach winch to, so 2-vehicle snatch after digging car out.
Jon has it in a nutshell, front and rear if you travel alone all the time, front if your with other/friends.
Really, if you do a lot of extreme stuff, then front and rear would be the best option, but if your touring, how many touring 4WDs do you see with two winches, why put yourself in a position that would require two winches, your on holidays, why spoil it, avoid the extreme stuff and enjoy the journey.
99.99% of the time a front winch will be fine and as Frank said, winching backwards with a front mounted winch can be done without a problem.
Baz.
Last time I blew a head gasket I winched my Disco backwards onto the car trailer with my front mounted winch. No harder than winching forward unless you are bottomed out, then you have a piece of rope tied to your front and rear bumpers before you go into a precarious bog hole so as you can pull the cable back. Then again I would either go around or go back, regards Frank.
My 101 I can get the cable swapped around quickly front or rear in as little as 10 minutes, as the tools and gear for the winch is handy on the outside of the vehicle and I carry the 15/16 spanner for dropping the fairhead pulley quickly. The reason why my winch cable is normally at the rear is in NSW it is illegal to have the 101s large fairhead sticking out in front of the vehicle.
In fact the bull bar on my 101 was fitted for rego to cover the front pintle.
I found the winching I do is about 50/50 , but most is rearwards as that is where the cable normally is.
Winching from the rear with a PTO winch requires good coms via UHF or a person standing near the drivers door.
Most non PTO rearward winching people dont realise this and they need on the spot training to get them to help.
When I was going though the Abercombie by myself with the 101 towing a 1.5 tonne trailer I swapped the cable to the front as a just in case I didnt make it up the steep climbs.
Garry , I seem to remember being stuck in a fish bowl at stockton and you winched me out.
If no one else was there it would have been a front winch out job for me.( and digging in the spare tyre)
I remember early in my 101 owner ship without lockers I had trouble at the lower part of the steps at Yalwal and that was a front winch out job to get out as I entered the area driving down hill.
All my other winching has been rearwards , mostly to help other people or the move fallen trees over tracks on the farm.
I find if I need to winch a tree or other vehicle at the front , the 101 can be turned around and just winch from the rear.
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...13/08/1060.jpg
Not me by the way standing near the cable.
a few more than Im going to admit to. (3 questions - fail on poor route selection so no I didnt need to go there and there was no room to turn in one case and the same deal from trusting a packet leader who in hindsight shouldnt have been packet leading for the same reasons a few more times, but at least I had a winch and no trailer those times.)Quote:
Originally Posted by LowRanger
that said and ignoring the "going up difficult slippery rocky hills basically means you havent paid attention to the 3 questions" thing.
Its a 101 the PTO winch is center mounted and you can run it out front or rear. Its better to set it up for rearwards winching for a few reasons
1. with it out the rear the winch lead is less likely to be damaged from driving into something,
2. If you're in the mud or bogged you will usually have driven in and going out backwards is typically easier than going out forwards.
3. if your pulling something into position to tow it your generally going to tow it from the rear of the vehicle
4. if your pulling something onto a trailer the trailers at the back......
5. (this ones a bit iffy depending on configuration) theres more between you and the winching when winching from the rear if something snaps.
Thanks for all the comments. While I used the 101 as an example of how you can winch from either end if necessary It was not the vehicle I was thinking off. I can switch the cable around in that if needed.
I was actually thinking of my RRS but did not want to bias the information by saying so upfront. As I said my assisted recoveries in the 101 were to the rear and I have only been stuck in the RRS once and that had to be snatched out from the rear.
I have a spare electric winch that I was going to put in a portable tray and was intending to carry in the 101 (I have the room) and could be put in the tow bar to pull from the rear but then I bought the RRS and have been considering winch options for it. I could put the electric winch in the front but that is a very expensive option and I was thinking that maybe if winching from the rear was preferred I could put the winch on the portable tray and into the Mitch Hitch receiver and carry it there on those trips where winching or getting stuck might be an issue.
Having a winch in the front will definitely help if I must move forward in a particular situation but that would be rare. The winch on the rear might be an eyesore but it is only temporary and the main issue is getting power to it.
As suggested, a hand winch is another alternative but I am getting a bit too old and am too unfit - beside the need to buy a defibrillator for use when I have finished hand winching by negate the cost benefit.
Cheers
Garry