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Winch for pay and play days


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Before every one sez buy a warn 8274 thingy (I can't afford 1) so I want a winch/ bumper for pay and play day that isn't going to brake the bank but on the other hand go bang the first time I use it.

It for my defender 90 v8

Many thanks del

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Get a Tds from Goodwinch and a bumper from FirstFour - assumong you're going to buy new.

The Goodwinch Tds's are waterproof and exceptionally reliable. They are more expensive than the cheapo winches on eBay - but there is a good reason for that! The only thing worse than not having a winch - is having one that lets you down when you need it most!

I like the FirstFour bumpers - they are well made with good quality welding. Again not the cheapest, but for the same reason. You really don't want it coming apart when you are pulling hard with the winch. From that point of view, the cheap ebay winches and winch bumpers are a good match to one another as the winch will never pull hard enough to break the bumper!

Tds's do come up on eBay occasionally. I'd have no hesitation buying one of these as Goodwinch keeps a full inventory of spares. Obviously it's a gamble as some of the bits plus the winch could cost more than a new winch. It's an option though.

I (personally) wouldn't buy a used bumper unless I knew it's history - as it's just too dangerous if it breaks!

Si

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I would echo Si's thoughts, I had a TDS and never had any problems with it. Don't forget to budget for a wiring kit of appropriate size for the power of the winch and use high tensile bolts. Although more expensive using synthetic rope is well worth the money, once you've seen a steel cable fail you'll never want to go near one again. Synthetic just fails to the floor when it breaks, is light and easy to splice. If you can't stretch to the above it might be worth considering a hand winch, but unless its for very occasional use I'm sure you'll soon get tired of one.

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shouldn't really need one for pay & play days, the site operator should have duty of care for anyone on site & it should be marshalled to unstick any vehicles.

Not sure that's true!

The marshals are there to make sure you drive safely and stick to the rules of the site, not to provide a recovery service unless it serves the purpose of safety.

They will generally get involved in recovering stranded vehicles at the end of the event - but only so the site can close and in some cases will assist throughout the day too.

I really hate it when some cocky child thinks it's his god given right to have you recover him from somewhere he should not have gone in the first place. Worse still when, after the recovery, he drives straight back in and demands that recover him again.

I think it's wise to assume that the marshals may help - but you cannot guarantee it and they are under no obligation to do so. Having your own winch at least means if you do get stuck you don't risk staying stuck until the end of the day. Play days provide an ideal place to learn to winch safely & effectively. If it does go wrong, there will be someone who can advise or assist.

Si

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I'd go for a Tirfor!

It works wholly independently of the engine/battery, and doesn't add extra understeer-inducing weight ahead of the front-wheels for the 99.9% of your driving where a winch isn't in use.

[Also, knowing you're going to sweat like a mule using the Tirfor will make you rather more circumspect about entering situations where you're likely to become stuck].

Personally I've never been an enthusiast for winches at the front either - they will often pull you further into an already bad situation. Winching from behind at least means you're getting out the way you came in. A Tirfor works either way.

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