Thread: Winch Cradle Ideas????

Hey all,

I have a 10,000lb Warn Winch sitting on the shed floor for the past while now, and I'm trying to figure out a way to mount it on the front of my Defender. The main drawback is that I have an alloy bumper and bushbar, and don't particularly want to (translation: don't have the cash to) simply swap it out for a winch compatible bar.



Being an alloy bar, I can't simply weld up a cradle for the winch. And yes, before anyone points it out, I'm aware that there's a slot cut in the alloy bar for a winch It's a rough cut, obviously done aftermarket by someone trying to make a winch fit at home, but (a) I wouldn't trust the alloy bar to take the strain, and (b) it would want to be a pretty small winch to fit in that location, so I don't think it's a viable option. I'm thinking that my only real option is to make up a cradle that goes under/through the alloy bar and attaches to the chassis rails. I also have a steering guard, which may or may not limit my attachment options to the rails.





Has anybody done this before, or even tried it? Even if you haven't, I'm open to all ideas, and hopefully with a bit of help I can figure something out?

Originally Posted by mike_ie

I wish I had the option of mounting mine between the chassis rails. Unfortunately the winch that I have is a Warn M10000 - a broken one that I reconditioned, and is a fraction too wide to sit between the rails. My options are either changing out the winch, or mounting the winch on a cradle, forward of the bumper....

I know it's not a Deffie but that is what I had to do to fit my PTO set up. It is lower than I would have preferred too, but ... well... You are starting with more ground clearance than me anyway.



Let me see if I can explain this, please excuse my crappy drawing. I can't be bothered with doing a CAD type thing and this kind of evolved



The winch cradle/extensions from the chassis rails are bolted using existing holes for springs, etc. and with 15mm high tensile bolts. There are four anchor points on each side, 8 in all. The steel is mostly 10mm steel.

The winch is bolted to a 10mm steel rectangular box that is bolted to the cradle/extensions with two 15mm high tensile bolts on each side (4 in all). The winch itself is bolted to the rectangle box with 8 15mm stainless steel bolts, 4 on the front and 4 on the back (they came with it so I used them).



I cut the bumper to fit it all in.

Alan