I see the HF 2500lb winch all the time on sale. It's like $89. http://m.harborfreight.com/automotive-motorcycle/winches/2500-lb-atvutility-electric-winch-with-wireless-remote-control-61297.html
That one. Car weighs about 2400lbs without me in it. That winch is rated at 2500lbs. I don't plan on using it much, but my buddies lately have been paying me gas money to take them trail hunting and I want to get thee Celica out off-roading so I see this as a win/win. I just don't wanna get stuck. Where I live (PNW) it's either a constantly damp Pine forest with mud, or a high desert with silt like sand. My plan is to take out the center grill between the headlights of the Celica and mount it behind the grill.
Any reason this shouldn't be done? I would ask "should I go with a higher rated winch?" But I know the answer to that.
I can't help you other than to say adding a winch is a great idea....
That's Jon's Celica. He kind inspired me on this. Though he doesn't race his, it's just a recce car. But yes, since mine won't be running suspension that tall, nor tires that big, I definitely want a back up plan. I was thinking of mounting it to a beam welded in front of the radiator between the unibody.
Ideally you should install receivers front and rear with the appropriate power supply, then mount the winch to a drop hitch so you can pull yourself fore/aft.
A bigger winch won't really be necessary so long as you don't want to winch over logs or bury yourself to the frame before resorting to the winch.
I'm thinking I'd put it in the rear. Your application sounds more like "oops I shouldn't have tried that" than "oh my god hell or high water I'm getting through this"
On the rear. You should make the car able to get out of trouble faster than it got into it.
In this case you should also check out synthetic winch rope. It will double your winch investment but drop the weight by half.
if you are worried about that winch being able to move your car.. put a block with a hook on the cable. Run the cable out, hook the block to whatever you want to attach it to.. and run it back to your car and attach firmly. Should give you a lot more capability at the expense of speed
I'm jealous of your actual grille-having abilities. On the '90 we ran on the rally there was nowhere to even put a lightbar.
Rule-of-thumb for winches is at least 1.5x vehicle weight. Running a snatch block like Mad Machine said would help but it limits your reach by half. I'd be nervous to run a winch with a borderline capacity. The 5000 lb one is only $70 more and should cover your needs well.
thatsnowinnebago wrote:
Rule-of-thumb for winches is at least 1.5x vehicle weight. Running a snatch block like Mad Machine said would help but it limits your reach by half. I'd be nervous to run a winch with a borderline capacity. The 5000 lb one is only $70 more and should cover your needs well.
i agree with this, more is always better when it comes to winches and besides the extra cost there is really no down side.
also if you mount it behind the grill make sure to keep an eye on coolant temps as it could block a good amount of air flow to the radiator in that location.
Knock-off/china winch pulling at or over max rated capacity.
I hope you'll keep a spare in the hatch.
I've spent the last 5 years working for companies that build winches and hoists
Oh this should be good.
Ideally it will be set up to pull straight off the frame horns. Watch temps blocking that much of the rad.
One of my ideas was to make it a detachable winch so it sits in the hatch for 99% of the time and only gets mounted when I need it. I do like the idea of mounting it in the back. The Celica is rwd and I haven't modified steering angle at all, so am prone to lose a drift. But that's where I was thinking of making a mount on front and back so I can make the winch more universal.
Also, good call on the uprated winch. Thanks guys. Any other tips are appreciated. I'm a winch noob so if anyone knows a good article that explains usage and maintenance, that would be good too.
I saw a winch cradle on a tow bar on sale at HF this week. Fits a 2" receiver hitch, I think. Grab it while you're picking up your winch and have mounts front and rear. You can't pre-plan how you'll get stuck.
I second the synthetic cable idea. I just put one on my boat trailer winch to replace the flat strap that was always folding up. It will dead lift 6800 lbs (3x my boat + trailer, lol) , it's 50', and I got it on Amazon for like $25 with the forged safety hook already spliced in. I saw in the same flyer that HF is selling them now too.
Go info here:
http://expeditionportal.com/winching-without-the-worry/
Add a snatch block, tree saver and a couple shackles to your list.
ultraclyde wrote:
I second the synthetic cable idea.
I'll only say OK because you are talking about a very limited usage scenario.
IIRC, our company doesn't put synthetic rope on anything above an ATV winch.
I like the idea of using 2" hitch mounts for the winch. You could mount one to the frame horns and have the receiver sit right behind your license plate. Make it hinged (or better, mount the plate to a 2" square tube and insert it into the receiver) and when you need it.. move or remove the front plate, mount the winch, and away you go
z31maniac wrote:
ultraclyde wrote:
I second the synthetic cable idea.
I'll only say OK because you are talking about a very limited usage scenario.
IIRC, our company doesn't put synthetic rope on anything above an ATV winch.
I have synthetic rope on my 12k lb one. Its great. Not abrasion resistant at all however.
In reply to java230:
Winching 101
That was an awesome read...
Trackmouse wrote:
One of my ideas was to make it a detachable winch so it sits in the hatch for 99% of the time and only gets mounted when I need it. I do like the idea of mounting it in the back. The Celica is rwd and I haven't modified steering angle at all, so am prone to lose a drift. But that's where I was thinking of making a mount on front and back so I can make the winch more universal.
Also, good call on the uprated winch. Thanks guys. Any other tips are appreciated. I'm a winch noob so if anyone knows a good article that explains usage and maintenance, that would be good too.
Nice bonus of this option is that jump starting your car or anyone else's is super easy. You'd already have a very convinent plug for the leads. And you get to keep the winch weight as centered as possible when you aren't using it.
Real talk: I love the idea of having a winch on a car. So much.
In reply to thatsnowinnebago:
Kinda makes me want to tackle a backroad with reckless abandon.
Mount it solidly in the hatch too.
That's a ~40lb missle flying around the car if you ever crash.
