Need some winch ideas

[riotwarrior]

This is a question I have pondered for many years. As a result I have come up with t his combination for my 8x8. I have a winch mounted to the front of the machine with a tow ring mounted below it, that is bolted through the hull and on frame extensions. I have a spare battery with Anderson connectors that hook up directly to the main battery. I have a second winch that has been bolted onto a frame that allows me to carry it around that is also equipped with a plug. All the ATVs in our camp have an Anderson plug with about 3 feet of cord. With this set up, I can run the main winch off the spare battery. I can run the spare winch off the main battery. I can carry the spare winch and battery into an inaccessible spot and use the winch. I can boost any machine in camp with an Anderson plug off the spare battery. I can boost any other machine if needed with my machine. The battery booster at home has a plug that takes a second to connect my batteries for charging. I also use the spare winch to pull a 26 foot boat onto a trailer. The spare winch gets year round use around the house. The spare winch does not sit out in the weather and is completely portable. I also have a 6 foot sling attached to the hitch assembly at the rear. In this way, I never have to get down and dirty to hook up. Anderson plugs are the type used on golf carts and fork lifts. They are a quick connect and heavy duty. This works for me.
Good Luck

This is a terrific idea and one that needs some pictures depicting it to fully provide the what to where fore and how is's LOL

I can appreciate that second battery and the Anderson connector idea. That connector is how my winch was originally setup from the folks I purchased it from on a portable mount to go onto a ball for towing or into a reciever either or was the idea they had. It had a long cable with connectors similar to jumper cables and anderson connector at the winch.

Now it's all setup permanent, however you have me re-thinking my rear winch option, as I've been set on the MOUNTED setup similar to the front but this may be a more well rounded idea....maybe I can mount to rear and have a quick connect mount and the Anderson connectors...Hmm..got me thinking!

Thanks for that I love to have ideas floating around...

[guyvapeur]

I will try and get some pictures for you on the portable winch idea. Princess Auto has portable winches but I think they are a little bit on the light side. If you can visualize a chainsaw in your hands, you see what the winch would look like. The frame is a C shaped welded piece. There is a fairlead to guide the cable. There is a clevis at the front to attach the cable when doubling up with a pulley. There is a clevis to the rear to hook up to any tree, ball hitch or what have you.
A picture is what I need to clearly demonstrate..... will try a.s.a.p.

[guyvapeur]

IMG_1286.jpg Photo by guyvapeur | Photobucket
So far this is the best I can do......
The bottom piece is 1.5 inch square tubing with a plate to receive the winch. It has a clevis on the front.
The vertical piece is a piece of 1.5. tubing. It has a receiver to hold a clevis to the rear to attach the winch to a solid object. You can actually put a rod through this pipe to anchor winch when there is nothing close to tie onto.
The top piece is a piece of .5 in. rod.... The controls for the winch are mounted on a piece of .75 in pipe and slide over this bar so that you can operate and control winch.
There is a piece of .5 in. inside diameter pipe welded at the bottom. This is used with a jack handle to help spool the cable evenly when pulling. It is also used to semi-permanently mount the winch to the boat trailer when hauling in the boat.

[tonyk72]

Cool...
Keep the ideas coming, I found this item from Superwinch...No word on the release date or pricing. I sent them an email to get more info.

Winch 2 Go - Superwinch's new all-in-one – Superwinch, LLC

[guyvapeur]

I had not seen this type of portable winch before I built the one I have. That was in 2010. My Mk1 version was given to a buddy to mount on his machine. I guess I saw the first one at Princess Auto about 3 years ago. The box idea is kind of neat. The possibility exists to have a standard winch encased on the machine in this very manner......because of the front opening for the cable it would not be weatherproof but it would keep out most of the crap that messes up winches.
I checked Google (Images) tonite for portable winches and it would appear that this device is now marketed and sold by all kinds of manufacturers.

[tonyk72]

Has anybody heard of the SuperATV winch? At $150 (sale ends tomorrow), it seems like a good deal on a 3500 with synthetic rope and wireless remote. No technical details on the site, but will call tomorrow to get the specs.
3500 lb. Synthetic Rope ATV Winch -With Wireless Remote : Winches : ATV Winches
I've seen several similar to the SuperATV winch like the Warrior (available at Home Depot):
Warrior C3500XT Winch.
I've also been looking at Viper and the Terra SuperWinch...Both in the $250 range with synthetic rope.

Whatever I end up getting, I like the toolbox idea and will try to make one on my own. I already grabbed a couple Anderson plugs from work salvaged from some battery back up units.

[tattooman]

Could you put up a picture of the anderson plug. Seems to be the way to go! Would like to check it out. Thanks

[guyvapeur]

Post 13 has a photobucket link...... the next photo shows the Anderson link..... also a 12 volt drill I converted for dedicated use around the argo... Too cheap to buy a new battery so I hook it up to my spare or main battery when in the bush

[tattooman]

Thank you for the info on the plug. Is this something that can be picked up at an electrical supply company? Looks heavy duty!

[guyvapeur]

I was lucky to get a number of plugs with harness at Princess Auto. I have seen them at an electrical supply house. I suspect anybody that is big in batteries would have them. They are heavy duty but I think anything less causes poor contacts when you really need it.