Hitch Mount Winch Experience?

[lifeisgoodsteve]

Hi All,

Does anyone use now or have used a hitch mounted winch?

If so, on what truck and how's your experience been?

Thanks,

Steve

 

[MTTW]

Hi All,

Does anyone use now or have used a hitch mounted winch?

If so, on what truck and how's your experience been?

Thanks,

Steve

I have one that I keep in the truck in hunting season. I have used it to pull the back end of my 2004 Chevy 1500 back up on the road. It worked good. I made a hook to insert into the 2 inch male end of the winch mount so I can chain it to the front tow hooks if needed. It was originally on the front of a Jeep I had. When I sold the Jeep I kept the winch and bought a cradle for it. I also bought a synthetic winch line to save weight. It is still fairly heavy.

I run it with a long set of jumper cables so it will work on any truck, and can also be used to load a vehicle on a car trailer. I have had a couple of winches on the front and found that I wished it was on the back most often. Being able to hook it to the truck with a chain will let it pivot so it doesn't stack the line on one side of the drum which I have found to be a problem when winching off to the side. The hook pictured slides inside the stinger on the winch cradle, making the winch useable anywhere. No need for a receiver.

I built a plywood box for the winch. The stinger on the cradle sticks out a hole in the box.

 

[SFC B]

I have a Warn VR10000 that I have run on all three of my hunting vehicles. The only one that it was hard mounted on was the Jeep YJ. On Big Blue (91 F350) I used a Warn under bumper receiver that bolted straight to original holes in the frame. On Doug (92 Dodge W150) I had to fab my own receiver bumper using 2in square tube and a receiver from HF. In both cases the winch travels in a cradle and I use/used the quick connect plugs. I keep the winch in the cradle in my garage when not hunting and it travels in the bed of the truck until I get to the trail head. I am very happy with the functionality. I have also been toying with the idea of installing the extra long lead all the way to the rear to be able to move the winch from front to rear instantly.

 

[lifeisgoodsteve]

Sweet, thanks guys for confirming it works fine without issues. Love the idea of the flexibility so will look into getting the portable one.

Thanks,

Steve

 

[jryoung]

I highly recommend running a wire to the rear, having the flexibility of front and back is awesome.....especially when you really need it.

 

[LuketheDog]

I just found a new one on the middle of the road yesterday, if you lost one in Colorado let me know! Otherwise I've been toying with trying one of these out for a while but don't want to bolt a receiver on the front, the chains to tow hooks idea is great, thanks @MTTW

 

[lifeisgoodsteve]

I highly recommend running a wire to the rear, having the flexibility of front and back is awesome.....especially when you really need it.

View attachment 166142

Wow, what's the story behind this time? Did you slide off the road?

 

[matt0550]

I highly recommend running a wire to the rear, having the flexibility of front and back is awesome.....especially when you really need it.

EXACTLY! I've been utilizing this setup for 20 plus years and it has paid off in spades at times. 2 gauge connectors at the grill and the rear bumper really saves time and the truth of the matter is that I've backed out (via winch) of more spots than I've pulled through to keep going. If the trail gets so bad that you have to employ your winch, you have to wonder how much better it will get going forward - sometimes its worth the stretch to pull through, other times, not so much. To the OP, I'd go ahead and do it - I've never regretted having it with me and it only gets used once in a blue moon - but when it does, its worth its weight in pure solid gold magic

 

[buck137]

I've always have had my winches mounted up front, but have thought about the receiver mounts, the only issue I'd worry about, is winching sideways, how much will those hitch mounts take before twisting or breaking. I know I've dragged a couple of my trucks sideways to get turned around and would worry about the receiver breaking and really leaving me stranded.

 

[dan.kirkpatrick]

recievers are pretty tough,,ive pulled a 30,000 lb weight sled with mine at the pulls,even though they are 5000 rated,,it tweaked but did not break off,,and that was a 500 hp 460 ford back in the day

 

[buck137]

recievers are pretty tough,,ive pulled a 30,000 lb weight sled with mine at the pulls,even though they are 5000 rated,,it tweaked but did not break off,,and that was a 500 hp 460 ford back in the day

That's a straight pull, I'm talking about pulling sideways, my old truck had a groove in the front bumper on the corner cause I had to pull it sideways to get it turned around and the only tree to hook to, was kind of behind the front bumper on the drivers side, and the cable was rubbing on the bumper as I was dragging it around, my concern with a receiver mounted winch, would be the square tube twisting and breaking, now a straight pull, or a somewhat diagonal pull, no concern.

 

[dan.kirkpatrick]

ive dragged many of my trucks sideways using the reciever hitch w no problems,,weight of the truck stuck in mud is nothing compared to a weight sled,you should be o k within reason

 

[dan.kirkpatrick]

my current reciever mount 9000 lb warn winch has done fine,even with the doubler pully on it,,either end of the truck