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Winches....advice needed


Se7enUp

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I'm thinking of getting a winch sometime later in the year.

I've quite a bit of necessary work to do before I can start buying "toys" but a winch is definately on the "wish list".

Can anyone give me some advice of what make/model/power would suit my needs.

I have a Ninety and aim to mainly green lane with a few play days thrown in.

I mainly need something that would be OK for self recovery.

I'm not really interested in having a "super-dooper" set up.

I'm not going to be doing any competition stuff, I just want something that will give me a chance of getting out of the **** if I get stuck on a lane.

Also - money is the biggest factor as from what I can see, a winch bumber and a winch seems to be around £500+++

I'm really going to be shopping on a budget if I decide to get one.

Also is there any way to mount a (front) winch without having to fit a dedicated winch bumper.

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winch cradles do exist. the original LR winch fitting for discos is a cradle that fits around the stock bumper. ive seen descret mounts sold where the winch fits back inside the outline of the car. could do that yourself with a bit plate of steel & a welder, if (unlike me) you can weld. trouble with them is you cant see the winch as well a lot of the time so its hard to tell if its spooling correctly.

i also like winch bumpers for protection, i can drive my truck into a cliff & keep pushing. all that happens is the car slides sideways, try that on a stock bumper.

Ive got a Tmax EW-11000 winch on my disco. they seem to have got a slating off a lot of people but mines been great for me. its quite low current drain for the power at 410Amps off a 5.5hp motor. its slow but ive never stalled it yet. been times i expected to need to double line it from watching other similar size winches in action but its always pulled on a single line. one of the solinoids needed a tap to get it working again once & now & then you need to thump the motor (i think its got dirt inside jamming the brushes) but that happens to any winch. one day when i have chance i'll rebuild it & seal it up properly. i have winched/rerigged/winched/etc for over an hour in deep mud in the past without the motor getting too warm to touch. unlike a lot of the more expensive winches ive seen in use which get so hot your just waiting for them to die on you. i think thats a combination of the hp & the high gearing so it never overloads in normal use. came with 11mm wire rope too, larger than a lot of warns etc so they must expect it to produce good power.

ok the finish isnt excellent & the chrome freewheel lever is rusting, but i can live with that for a cheap reliable winch.

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Hiya,

Funnily enough I wrote a series of articles for the club mag on the pros and cons of winching, and had more than a few e-mail agreeing with me (and saying ta)

PM me you e-mail and I'll ping it over if you wnat.

FWIW I would suggest you buy something decent secondhand, they do come up, you'll never regret buying quality, and you'll always get your money back if you ever wnat to sell it

For what you are after I would say a decent condition S/H Warn 8274 gives you evrything you will prob want for a long time to come, and they are massively "UpGradeable" for more power later failing that a Husky is greatly overlooked by many, but is a brillinat bit of kit

PG winches would be a good starting place, ask for Phil

Nige

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I now use a Superwinch EP9 and am very happy with it. Nice and powerfull, fast, low power draw and a very good price

One way to mount a winch not in a bumper, is to use a winch tray, mounted above the chassis, similar to what Noni has on his landy. I'm sure he'll be along soon to tell you more.

post-7-1166963838_thumb.jpg

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The EP9 is the best VFM winch on the market and is the dogs dangley bits

But for what you are doing there is a new winch out in the New Year, a Bowyered T-max 9.5 OUTBACK. Stronger clutch/freespool with a better design, better waterproofing, better solenoids. Not quick but massively powerful - this winch is sold as a 9.5/10/11/12 K pulling ability depending which country sells it and where they get the stickers made. DB has rated it at a 'Comfortable' 9.5K. IIRC it will retail at about 275 ex VAT. Okay it's not quick but it wees all over the Champion and is far better made than the AEW/GEW/Britpart family in standar T-max form. The Outback is the Southern Hemisphere version which comes highly rated and as we all know anything that has been sorted by DB is always good.

The new commercial version of the EP9 is out in the new year as well. All parts can be bought seperately to up grade your existing winch (gues what I am going to do?)

The Husky is a great winch - one of the very best, but it is bl**dy expensive, heavy and slow and the EP9 is just as reliable, stronger in the pull and has just as effective a braking ability; oh and it weighs about half as much and draws far less power at max pull/ The Husky is an old design and like the 8274, it is simple outclassed in this modern age of winches unless 'Overhauled' to the max.

The other option is go hydraulic. Forget the MileMarker, go for a Superwinch H8 with a PTO pump and tank - loverly!

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  • 10 months later...
The new commercial version of the EP9 is out in the new year as well. All parts can be bought seperately to up grade your existing winch (gues what I am going to do?)

Have you any infomation on the new commercial version? I assume its a David Bowyer rework?

Would this solve the water ingress issues with the EP9?

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