Seems like a lot of work for a winch mount

[brushcutter]

So I got a couple of LEDs for Christmas, I had been wanting to do a lighting upgrade so that worked out great. I went for a Christmas Eve ride and while entering a creek after dark, got the back of the buggy hung up on a submerged stump which reminded me of a couple of things. First, when I built the bumper/winch mount I had no idea where the machine's waterline would be only to learn it was higher than I thought and the warn gets a frequent dunking. Second I need better lights. And third when winching, if the anchor point is to the side the line will stack up and make a mess which is only compounded if one must then reverse the winch. Time to relocate the winch. For some time I have been planning to build some custom bumpers for the Toyota 4 Runner I gave one of my sons. I long ago built a small brake set up for my shop press but it is too small for that project and also for the plate for the new winch mount/light bar. So I took some of my Christmas cash and went to Magnolia Steel. My question is do I now build a rigid mount, a receiver that would set down on the hitch ball, or a swivel which would allow the winch to self align?
What's the trouble mentioned in the title? Well since the small brake is only good for small projects, I decided to build the bigger one that I've been wanting to build. I spent 10 hours grinding the edge on the 3/4" bar. It is 4' 1/2" between uprights, that means I can now bend up to a full 4' piece of 1/8' plate. The last pic is the body mount plate I bent with it for the new winch mount/tree knocker/light bar. The new brake will need a 30 ton jack to go full capacity and a little top bracing to get there but I am more than happy with the outcome.
Sorry for the delay on the pics, my phone freaked completely out and wouldn't even think of uploading them. Had to import them into the pc to get them on. So what do you guys think, rigid, receiver or swivel?

[Noel Woods]

Keep it simple and go with a rigid mount. It already sounds like you've had to reinvent the wheel just to get to the point you are.

[bakedalaskan]

Keep it simple. Winches have been around for as long as I can remember and most are solid mounted. Yes; during a side pull the cable bunches up and you have to relax the cable and respool it to clear the drum for more pulling. I have had pivoting winches also bunch up on the side of the spool and to me it is more frustrating to have a winch that swivels side to side. That is because in your mind you want to have a nice tight wind up and it is frustrating trying to fight the physics involved while winching. With a fixed winch, you winch and fix as you go. With a swiveling winch, you try to fix as you go and still have to stop and readjust. Just a little bit of side tilt of the machine will cause a swiveling winch to pull to one side and bunch up.
After my 2 cents; you certainly have the skills to build any kind of winch mount you like. Keep us up to speed on your project. You may design something we all want. Good Luck!

[brushcutter]

Lololol! Too late guys, I'm well on the way to having it finished. Having a cuppa Joe while a couple of pieces cool. I've got pics and will post them up as soon as I finish. Should be a couple of hours.

[Noel Woods]

Mr. Goldberg desires the swivel mount assembly.

I know it will be sharp. Couldn't resist the analogy.

[brushcutter]

Lol Noel, I'm a little late on the pics, the daughter was doing schoolwork on the pc. I painted it for installation about 3:20, still have a few things to do to finish it up but I wanted a good few coats on the underside of the main attachment where it sets on the tub. There are more than 5 pics so I'll have to add the rest after the initial upload. Still to do: build bushing for the space between the pin hole and swivel bushing. Add support bars between the original bumper and the new mount. And mount the new LED pods, which btw were the reason for starting all this. bahahahahaha!

[brushcutter]

Here are the other few pics. Not a bad job to do, it actually went smoothly with no hiccups. I added grease fittings on the pin and bushing and it turns like butter. I'm pleased with the outcome but won't know how well it works until it's all finished. I have to go back to work tomorrow, working 4 ten hour days now so it may be a few days before I get to do much else. Oh, who am I kidding I'll be back on it tomorrow evening as soon as I can get in and down some coffee! Glad to go back in though, after 5 days of busting it welding most all day, I need some rest!

[brushcutter]

The finished winch mount and a couple new cubes

I spent a few hours putting the finishing touches on the new winch mount this weekend. Also added a bar for the new LED cubes the wife and kids got me for Christmas, WAY brighter than the round incandescent originals. While I was at it I cut and bent an aluminum plate for the bumper to keep limbs and brush out of the front of the float ring and winch mount. For some reason the right (in the last pic, facing the trackster) upper corner was a little longer than the left, which throws the whole thing off and makes it look all off kilter. I'll be grinding that down to get it back level.

[Mike]

I like it. The aluminum plates are a nice touch.

[Noel Woods]

Looks great man! You are right on point about the L.E.D. lights, it puts the old sealed beams to shame. I'm slowly but surely upgrading all my lights to L.E.D.s as the old ones go out. Much better light and nominal amp draw, not to mention you can get these in sharp looking mounts like on the Trackster. The small package is less likely to get taken out by tree limbs too.

[brushcutter]

Thanks Mike. I'm really liking the metal bending tools I've built and bought, makes bending out parts soo much easier. I just need to figure out how to unbend things when I get a little too wild on the handle, its amazing what one stroke too many can do.
Noel, I took the first evening ride with the new cubes Wednesday and wow, I didn't realize how dim the incandescent bulbs were, just turning off all the shop lights as a check doesn't do them justice either. They light up the world when powered up and it is a very white light, not the dingy yellow that had me checking to see if the old ones had slough scum covering them. The winch now rides high and stays dry, if it goes under now I'll be worrying about a lot of other things than a wet winch. Even though it's late for this deer season, I think I'll work on a roll bar sort of thing next. It's not so much for safety though, I have a couple of 10' single post ladder deer stands that will be moved, they aren't very heavy but they are cumbersome. I can swivel the winch backwards, run the cable over the "rollbar" then tie off the stand and carefully haul it to where I need it to go. I may have to thin out a few trees to straighten a few turns in the trails though. which reminds me, I need to post up a few pics of the clamp on chainsaw vice I built for holding the saw steady while sharpening and such. Maybe tomorrow. Thanks again guys.

[brushcutter]

Keep it simple. Winches have been around for as long as I can remember and most are solid mounted. Yes; during a side pull the cable bunches up and you have to relax the cable and respool it to clear the drum for more pulling. I have had pivoting winches also bunch up on the side of the spool and to me it is more frustrating to have a winch that swivels side to side. That is because in your mind you want to have a nice tight wind up and it is frustrating trying to fight the physics involved while winching. With a fixed winch, you winch and fix as you go. With a swiveling winch, you try to fix as you go and still have to stop and readjust. Just a little bit of side tilt of the machine will cause a swiveling winch to pull to one side and bunch up.
After my 2 cents; you certainly have the skills to build any kind of winch mount you like. Keep us up to speed on your project. You may design something we all want. Good Luck!

You are right about the cable still bunching up, your 2 cents ought to be valued at around 2fiddy , having a rigid mount makes it easier to get the cable to lay up against the previous wrap, because the swivel allows the winch to move as I try to guide the cable into position. The swivel did help when coming out of a swift water crossing because it allowed me to drive out of the water while being anchored to the side of the trail. I am thinking of adding another led pod to the top of the winch so it is always aimed at the end of the cable. Other things under consideration are drilling a couple of holes through the base to pin it in a fixed position, or unpin for swivel, attach a push/pull cable and camera mount for panning while running video, so I guess this could have its advantages. All in all on the 0 to 10 "absolutely must have" upgrade scale, so far this one gets about a 3.4. Not one of my best ideas, but not the absolute worst. I am liking the pod/camera mount thing though.