Anyone ever run a rear winch?

[holyford86]

I've been considering installing a rear winch, I feel it would be nice for dragging things to the truck and self recovery while wheeling alone. I'm not talking about a receiver mounted unit, I'm talking about mounting it between the frame rails behind the bumper and setting it up so it doesn't protrude down or rearward to preserve departure angle. I already own an extra 12k unit that I'm not currently using so the cost would be minimal. Anyone have any experience with it? good idea or bad idea?

 

[Robertmangrum.rm]

I've seen a few rigs with them around here. Mostly truggy or full buggy builds. I could see the usefulness for self recovery. Been a few times. I thought it would be nice in deep mud holes to be able to pull backwards.

 

[Dantheman1540]

I winched an Amazon van out of a sandy road by my house a year or so ago and busted a front hub just because of how much load it put on my ttb front axle. Since then I’ve been considering this same thing. As well as self recovery of course since forward isn’t always the best option.

 

[Jim Oaks]

The Warn Winch on TRS-1 was in a receiver mount and used welding cable quick disconnects. I ran cable to the rear receiver so I could stick it in there and winch from the rear.

I like the idea. Especially if you have an extra winch.

One of my fears on the Trans America Trail was being alone and getting stuck. You may find that going forward is no longer a good plan and might need to pull yourself out. Or hell, what if you just slide nose first into a ditch? Having a way to pull to the rear would be great if you're alone.

 

[Curious Hound]

It's an awesome idea.

 

[Uncle Gump]

I'm setting up my Bronco II to winch front and rear with receivers. No room to stuff a winch in there.

But yeah... other then the additional weight and high current cable front to rear its a good plan if you ever need it.

I think I would shroud it well and skid plate it too.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

I liked the idea of a receiver mount winch until after I had one for a bit. For some situations it’s still a good idea because something like a Bronco II there’s a gas tank in the way of mounting a winch behind the rear bumper. But from now on, I’d like to spend the money and start solid mounting winches.

I have actually been kicking around ideas of turning my 92 Ranger into a serious off-road toy for awhile since it got smashed. SuperDuty axles and all. It’s going to take me a hot minute to get to building it because I have other projects that need handled first. But one of my thoughts was tucking a winch or two under the back of the bed and route through the bumper area. It would have to be armored so you don’t drop off a ledge or something and smash anything and you would need to try and protect it from road slop in the winter or it could be a frozen lump when you need it. I honestly haven’t worked out any details beyond that I think it’s entirely possible to do.

 

[superj]

people have them here in the town i live. they use them to pull stuff onto trailers and maybe pull out in the sand at the beach (we are a coastal city)

 

[holyford86]

I liked the idea of a receiver mount winch until after I had one for a bit. For some situations it’s still a good idea because something like a Bronco II there’s a gas tank in the way of mounting a winch behind the rear bumper. But from now on, I’d like to spend the money and start solid mounting winches.

I have actually been kicking around ideas of turning my 92 Ranger into a serious off-road toy for awhile since it got smashed. SuperDuty axles and all. It’s going to take me a hot minute to get to building it because I have other projects that need handled first. But one of my thoughts was tucking a winch or two under the back of the bed and route through the bumper area. It would have to be armored so you don’t drop off a ledge or something and smash anything and you would need to try and protect it from road slop in the winter or it could be a frozen lump when you need it. I honestly haven’t worked out any details beyond that I think it’s entirely possible to do.

Room behind the bumper isn't a super huge issue, its a long bed, so I could just remove the crossmember directly ahead of the bumper and mount it there, along with adding a bit of reinforcement to support the frame in that area. I have enough room to make it level with the bottom of the frame rails if I mount it with the mounting bolts towards the bumper. I'll also be adding a skid plate for it as well as a little roof to keep water off (it's a flatbed so the bed offers little cover) driving in winter is a non issue as the truck sits from the time the state salts the roads until after the snow melts. It's not the most capable wheeler but I like to be self sufficient and often wheel alone.

people have them here in the town i live. they use them to pull stuff onto trailers and maybe pull out in the sand at the beach (we are a coastal city)

That's been a big driver behind my thoughts as well, it's hard to use a reciever mount winch when a trailer is hooked up.

 

[bobbywalter]

yup. great for hoisting and a frame/gin pole stuff....

 

[bobbywalter]

hand winches work good too....

 

[holyford86]

yup. great for hoisting and a frame/gin pole stuff....

Stay out of my head sir I had this thought about an hour ago.

 

[bobbywalter]

i used to have a bed winch with a gin pole setup when i was running oil booms/bales for containment....i would run my big tires at like 4 psi and drag them around a well pad for containment to keep condensate and crude out of the river when things get flood happy in the spring... no pictures of that, it just stabbed/pinned onto my bed setup...but made it hella easy to deploy the oil soak booms. recovering them sucked but dragging them to containment is definitely better with a winch.

 

[bobbywalter]

Harbor Freight "Pickup Crane" hydraulic hoist

Has anyone installed anything like this bed mounted crane/hoist in their Ranger: https://www.harborfreight.com/12-ton-capacity-pickup-truck-crane-60732.html It seems it would definitely deform the bed if mounted with supplied hardware. I've read of multiple installations that use a thicker...

www.therangerstation.com

 

[holyford86]

i used to have a bed winch with a gin pole setup when i was running oil booms/bales for containment....i would run my big tires at like 4 psi and drag them around a well pad for containment to keep condensate and crude out of the river when things get flood happy in the spring... no pictures of that, it just stabbed/pinned onto my bed setup...but made it hella easy to deploy the oil soak booms. recovering them sucked but dragging them to containment is definitely better with a winch.

I'm kind of liking this idea, and considering I already have two vertical 2 inch recievers attached to my frame that pass through the bed, implementing this could be pretty easy, haha.