Winch recomendations

[reb78]

The new place that we have bought has some fairly steep slopes. For a while now, I have been thinking that for some things around the place a winch might be handy - like dragging large tree limbs up slopes etc.

What winches do you guys have and what would you recommend. I guess the top of my budget would be £750, but always very happy to spend less!

[FridgeFreezer]

For continued work like that I'd vote something hydraulic (or PTO), H14W can be picked up with the PTO + bumper etc. for under £500.

[western]

As above if you intend very long winch sessions, otherwise a strong & reliable Husky 8500lb electric would do fine, worked mine quite hard in the past without any problems, you can find a good 2nd hand unit for £300 to 400, both mine were 400 each a few years ago.

will have to come & see you soon. 

[Retroanaconda]

Hydraulic every day for that sort of work. You can also use the PTO for running other things like log splitters etc.

[reb78]

Thanks folks. Now, the issue with the need for the pto to be involved on my 110 is that an overdrive sits there. Are there any other effective ways of running the hydraulics?

 

Keep the suggestions coming. 

[steve b]

With the 200Tdi you could run crank driven fairly easily , if you decide Hydraulic I have a spare Warn large drum and a spare milemarker .

As you can probably tell my vote is Hydraulic too , endless plug in tools/equipment to play with too 

cheers

Steve b  

[FridgeFreezer]

Crank driven - be it belt, chain, or shaft.

[Arjan]

We use the Husky a lot of the times for timber moving but, ideally, hydraulic is better.

Although bottom PTO's  were made for the Series Transfer Boxes, I'm not sure they were made for the LT77...

However, several options can be had for the engine mounted ones.

Prices wise - neither PTO or hydraulic is cheap...

[mickeyw]

I have a surplus H14, cable, bumper and hydraulic drive motor, should you be that way inclined. You'd need to source the hydraulic system to drive it though.

As others have said, pumps can be mounted on the front of the engine. There are kits available to mount a pump, either where an air con pump might go, or even direct crank driven.

[Escape]

Another vote for hydraulic. An easy place to mount the pump is the bracket for the AC compressor. Driven by a chain (on my Defender) or by the drive belt (on my Range Rover), with an electromagnetic clutch (like the compressor) for easy (dis)engaging on the fly. Not the cheapest setup though...

[Cynic-al]

I used to lend my range rover with a tds electric winch to a friend to clear up fallen trees in the winter, the downside was always the battery capacity, ok I only had one battery but if your working all day your going to run out of oomph eventually unless you cut 1 tree down, drag it, tidy it up then go onto the second and don't turn the engine off at any point.

So I would agree the PTO or hydraulic is the best. You say you can't fit the PTO in (which seems quite common as second hand kits) so it's hydraulic but I think it would be difficult on your budget. You need a pump with pulley, belt, clutch and bracket, a tank, heat exchanger, valve block with pressure relief, hoses then the winch and bumper itself. Unless your going to start pinching stuff off old plant etc I think it could be a bit of an ask. I have seen people use power steering pumps which seem to do the job just slowly so I guess that and an AC compressor clutch would sort that part. The valve block you could pinch off a forklift or tractor or mini digger although they'll probably be a bit tired. Maybe a winch from a recovery truck or something?

I also used to find if the tree was in a ditch or something you needed something to anchor the car to otherwise you just dragged yourself so I would add in recovery points at the back.

Or buy a small tractor with a loader or something?

 

It managed to pull that tree out of a ditch though, one end first then the other, if you only need to pull the odd thing a 12v electric is the cheapest and easiest.

Edited March 27, 2018 by Cynic-al

[landroversforever]

First Four do a bolt-on hydraulic pump, but not sure which engines it fits. 

[reb78]

4 hours ago, landroversforever said:

First Four do a bolt-on hydraulic pump, but not sure which engines it fits. 

I dont suppose you have a link? I have looked but can only find hydraulic winch parts on their site. 

[reb78]

Some good info here. Thanks. So hydraulic appears the way to go, but perhaps not on my current budget!

I do plan to buy a small tractor in time, so maybe i would be better pursuing that sooner?

I am still keen to develop ideas for a winch system for the 110 though, but this may be something i develop more over time! 

 

Steve, Mickey, if you have parts that you dont need I'd be happy to discuss with you so i can start building up the bits. 

[daveturnbull]

Bit late to the party, but I've had both a H14 (PTO driven) an a Husky. I know the Husky is quite highly thought of, but the H14 would knock it's socks off. That thing was an awesome piece of kit, none of that 'slow down under load' rubbish to worry about, it just pulled and pulled. I recall using it on one occasion to rescue a discovery bogged in soft sand, where a hydraulic mile marked had failed to drag it out.

[miketomcat]

Doesn't suit you due to the overdrive but I have a fairey 525 pro driven on 45 and an ep9 in the ibex. The fairey is aweome but slow and will pull all day (I use it for boat movements at work). The ep9 (had one on the to cat as well) is much more useable because it's quicker and you don't need to be in the cab. However you need a twin battery set up and to be conscious of heat build up.

Mike

[FridgeFreezer]

A lot of PTO winches crop up without the entire PTO etc. but my H14W setup came complete with tank, controls, pipes, everything for £500, so it IS doable.

[reb78]

So the setup in the second pic on this page would get me the hydraulics and drive: http://www.red-winches.com/products/200tdi-toothed-belt-crank-pulley/59/  ?? Anyone used this company or their setup?

then to add the winch etc.

[landroversforever]

3 hours ago, reb78 said:

I dont suppose you have a link? I have looked but can only find hydraulic winch parts on their site. 

Doesn't seem to appear on their site now. Might be worth giving them a ring. I seem to remember it being a BMW power steering pump.

As above, Red Winch are also worth a shot as they do hydraulic bits.

[Cynic-al]

If your not using it for steering I would want a clutch on the pump otherwise your just sending the oil around in a circle constantly which is just wasting fuel / draining power. OK not a lot but I'd still rather turn it off.

You need a tank, filter, valve block which returns to tank when in centre and a pressure relief valve, an oil cooler and the pipework. You can get a manual valve, run cables etc which I have seen on utilities land rovers, levers on the bonnet etc, or electric valves with buttons. If it's the right manual valve you will get some speed control which is a nice. There was someone doing kits on ebay with a made to measure tank, from memory it was about £800 + the winch of your choice, not sure if they're still listed?

[Arjan]

Give Peter Lamb a call - FirstFour - and explain your needs. He's a good man.

[Daan]

The milemarker winch used the existing PAS pump. It is slow that way, but I have seen people using it. For occasional use should work ok.

Another option would be to go to a 1.2 transfer box so you can loose the overdrive. Will go a treat on ebay!

PTO's rule , but you know that already.

Daan

[honitonhobbit]

Been pulling timber around for a very long time now. Still run big clearance ops. Most contractors don't use Hydraulic or pto on little vehicles like Land Rovers. No point. Firstly hydraulic is for big timber, most of which is heavier than a 110/130; secondly it's blessed expensive and a pita to fit, needs moremaintenace and the parts are expensive. A decent, well made winch like the TDS 12k will work all day pulling small stuff (up to 18"), is very efficient in it's current draw, easy to maintain and easy to fix and the parts are cheap. Even our plant trailers run electric winches... Even a Winchmax 13k is good for all day working logs; slow and steady

[Lewis]

I'm with the Hobbit ^^^^

For less than £150 you'll get a half decent secondhand electric winch from Facebook or eBay. Less than 50quid more will get it fitted and running. Even a new budget winch will be fine and likely cost less than £400 fitted

I had a bulk of cheapo champion winches and was punting them at £25each in the end just to shift them. There are plenty of electric winches out there

Save your budget for the tractor you need and make do with electric until then

[BogMonster]

I have a Milemarker with a pump where the AC slot is on my 300Tdi Defender. It's slow but much more powerful than anything electric that I've ever used. I have had it on three different vehicles since I got it in 2004, and it has never missed a beat. I've only stalled it due to overload once, and that was with a lot of rope still on the drum. I love it - smooth, silent and will shift almost anything. Nothing has ever broken and apart from painting the mount a couple of times, maintenance input has been zero. I've also previously owned an 8274 and a Husky.

All that said, I bought an electric winch (TDS9.5) for the new Puma simply because the MM is no longer available from UK suppliers, it was very expensive (£1800 all in), it was more work to fit and for a quick pull out of a ditch it is both overkill and relatively slow. The problem with all electric winches is that it is a 'what comes out must go in' equation with the battery and alternator, which with a standard setup is likely to mean a relatively low duty cycle for all-day work. Whether that is a problem depends on what you are doing and how you are doing it - lots of short pulls with re-rigging time probably not an issue, hauling heavy stuff hundreds of metres up steep slopes then it might well be. Bear in mind that the winch challenge boys often spend a fortune on batteries and alternators to beef up the "what goes in" bit.