BackGateYota92

Has anyone ever mounted a winch by using the back hitch? i dont have enough money to get a winch bumper and this seems like it would be cheaper and easier. thanks for the help

iamsuperbleeder

seen it done plenty of times, since there's actually winch mounts out there you can buy that slide directly into the receiver

some actually prefer to do this, since the winch would be removable, that way you can take it off and store it safely indoors and out of the weather, and prolong the life of it and the cable on it

it's also handy if you weld in a receiver mount on the front, because then you can winch from the front or rear

BackGateYota92

thanks. my dad friend who owns a fab shop might build me one but how will i run all the wires and will i need a more powerfull batery? im new to winches

iamsuperbleeder

ew, yeah, that might be the harder part, lol


check a truck stop or something; I know I've seen some heavy duty high current battery disconnecting leads that you could probably run to the front and back, so that'll make the connecting and disconnecting a breeze


they look like this:





you could put a female end at the front and rear, and a male end on the winch, that way you could plug it in at either end

BackGateYota92

ok thanks for the help bleeder. me and my friends went mudding last night and every one got stuck. so now im spending my locker money on a winch. lol

Plumbrbob

with a locker you'll find yourself to be the one who doesnt get stuck...but I'd get a winch first......I dont see why a guy couldnt just get a cheap universal flatbed winch plate and weld a female receiver stock on to it with some mild gusseting...remember to drill the hole for the pin...and a front reciever would be good too...about the battery you need to connect the winch power wires to the top posts not the sides that is a biggie

BackGateYota92

ok thanks. has anyone ever used the smittybilt 8000 or 10000 pound winch? i want a warn but if i get the smiitybilt i might still have enough for a rear lockright

fireman1559

i myslef have seen that warn and milemarker are pretty good my aunt has a 15000 pound winch on the front of her f350 4x4 dually and that thing will pull the truck across concret. someone even hit the front end of her truck and that thing is still doing good. and me and a friend were in the green truck in my sig pic and we got the rear diff stuck and two jeeps and a warn winch later we were out. we were kinda shocked that a heep pulled us out with about an hour of pulling with the winch

spindleshanks

Hitch mount winches are a convenient idea, but Bill Burke explains in this article why they're actually a bad idea (note the 13th and 14th paragraphs regarding winch mounting and hitch ratings):
http://www.bb4wa.com/articles/Accessories-winch.html

BackGateYota92

wow that was a good read but the hitch idea might be my only option at the moment because i dont have enough for a winch bumper.

CappyKD

The hitch ones work but you can't do side pulls without risk of it bending into the bumper. I was interested in this style in the past and opted not to after I talked to someone who has seen more than one bent into the bumper from a pull that was not straight...

spindleshanks

I bet a hitch could be reinforced to give the side-to-side strength necessary. And for all practical purposes, a hitch mount setup works. Bill Burke does some extreme recovery (that's what he's famous for) so I can see why he's skeptical about hitch mount setups, with the demands he puts on his vehicles.

BackGateYota92

well all i really do is mudding nothing extreme but i think the hitch mount will work. but how would i reinforce it?

TSmith0909

whats the best brand for winch bumpers? just wiondering?

dropzone

iTrader: (6)

check out the fab folder.
I used this for my front bumper, about midway down the page:
http://trail-gear.com/toy-bumper.html
Front Bumper Winch Mount, $129, 120021-1-K


that is a very subjective question, a lot of it comes down to budget.
I loved the ARB bumper I had on my '05 Taco.
http://www.badlandbumpers.com/
trail-gear, marlin crawler, wab-fab, 4xinnovations, addicted off road are some of the quality ones off the top of my head.

TSmith0909

Thanks, ill take a lok at those. But hat would be suggested for a brush guard/winch mount system instead of a bumper?

BackGateYota92

thanks for all the help guys. ive decided on the smittybilt 10k winch. has any one ever used one of these and how do you lik it? and one thing im still confused on is how to wire it all the way to the back hitch

spindleshanks

Lol! mudding probably results in the most demanding winch situations of all...when your truck is sucked down into the mud you have to break the suction AND overcome the weight of the vehicle. Plus, you have to get out and slog through the mud to install your hitch mounted winch!
I guess I don't really do much mudding in Colorado, so it's just a guess.

I'm sure you'll be happy with the smittybuilt. I have no personal experience with that setup.

BackGateYota92

ha ya you have a point but anything has got to be better than what we did yeserday. we pulled every truck out using a 30 ton chain pull strapped to a tree pulling wit our hands. this is wat got me decided on a winch

BackGateYota92

ok i just bought the smittybilt 8k winch. im so stoked after reading about the stuff on the rear hitch mount i think im goona mount it there as a temporary option. but im wondering is there a winch mount for the front that i could use with the stock bumper? thanks again guys for all the help guys