Electric or hydraulic?

[GBMUD]

I want to put a winch on the 110. I have been looking at electric winches (a second hand Husky, but that is rather heavy) or a new TDS. The reason being that I want to be able to recover the 110 or another vehicle if I have to off a green lane or similar situation. I project that the winch will be used very infrequently but will be more there for peace of mind than actual use. This means that it has to be 100% reliable. I plan to run wire rope, simply as it will be used so infrequently and so the benefits of a nylon rope may not be felt relative to it's cost.

It occurred to me recently that a hydraulic winch may be the solution to reliability when not used for prolonged periods. In their favour they are 100% waterproof when sitting on the front of the car and so should work first time when needed?

Speed is not an issue really but reliability is everything. Anyone got any constructive comments about the benefits/weaknesses of the two types in the application I need? There has been a lot of discussion about the best winch for a competition truck but how about for my application?

Cheers

Chris

[white90]

A husky all day long!

they are proven on 1000s of recovery trucks

and the heavy tag is a bad one they weigh very similar to a 8274

Hydraulic will be an issue as the ZF74 upgrade on a TD5 like the 300tdi is an issue as the Power steering pump runs anti clockwise

the ZF74 clockwise.

My Husky has been faultless for nearly 10years so far and as strong as anything albeit a bit slow

[ciderman]

the TDS winches that David Bowyer sell look to be a good quality product for the money ,The Goldfish range he does are tested in their own little jackuzi for water tightness

[JST]

for your use and ease of keeping the winch between changing vehicles i would go for electric. TDS for value for £££ gets my vote. with whatever you buy electric wise if you spool it out and back in every once in a while you wont have any problems either (once every 6mths?)

wire is a wise choice i feel too.

TDS havent been around long enough to see what they are like after time but they are the first (?) waterproofed winch so there should be less problems with that than anything.

Husky is excellent as well though, mine always works (touching wood) and works well (not that it gets a hell of alot of use nowdays) doesn't Tim have a spare Husky kicking about still?

maybe you could get a deal on TDS's if you got two, one for the rear as well? having said that if you went hydraulic at least everything would be there for the rear setup already!

i am also speaking from having experience with hyraulic winches but having never fitted or owned one.

[flatback90]

husky gets my vote too! mine is about to go onto its third vehicle since 2002

[Mo Murphy]

Chris, definitely an electric winch - for ease of installation and ease of maintenance.

Mo

[Guest diesel_jim]

Husky or 8274 every time.

and, asthetically, as your 110 is fairly "factory" looking, then a plain winch bumper with one of said winches in, will look "good"

[q-rover]

Electric winch on a removeable tray with a 2" receiver hitch front and back.

Can use it front or rear

Out of sight for pikey's

Keeps it clean and serviceable, instead of slowly turning to rust.

A mate of mine has this on his 90 and it works well.

[will_warne]

I'd be another to vote for a husky. Sealing of the gearbox is excellent - only the drum bushes would benefit from being greased occasionally. They may not be the fastest thing in the world but mine never let me down. Given the infrequent use I'd make sure you put a breather on the motor to stop condensation building up inside it.

I wouldn't use an 8274 because of the sealing issues.

I can see your reasoning behind hydraulic but I thought sealing wasn't that great on the MM????

[JST]

Electric winch on a removeable tray with a 2" receiver hitch front and back.

Can use it front or rear

Out of sight for pikey's

Keeps it clean and serviceable, instead of slowly turning to rust.

A mate of mine has this on his 90 and it works well.

demountable - now theres an idea especially as i have a frogs island demountable cradle with 2" receiver plus the front defender mounting and a rear dixon bate mounting for one just needs a set of anderson (?) connectors

[GBMUD]

So what does a Husky, a TDS and a Milemarker weigh?

I have rejected Husky until now based on weight but are they all that heavy? I have been offered a Husky at a good price.

I assume that I could run a MM on my existing pump, albeit slowly?

Based on what I have seen TDS is my preference, based on performance, price and size but I remain open to persuesion. Demountable is a good idea...

Chris

[dollythelw]

leccy winch - demountable, easily the most sensible option IMHO Chris

yes you could run a MM of a steering pump, the ZF route would make it more bearable speadwise though, you could also use drybreak hydro connectors and have the whole thing demountable but for the amount of use you're proposing it might work out a fair few pennies/pull?

Will, it doesnt matter if hydros run underwater, that bit I do know

[Michele]

I pulled my Husky on/off the Cube around 4/5 times recently and I started feeling slightly tired in the end

but it's not "that" heavy,I guess less than 50 Kilos...

Husky and a plastic cover to keep it dry in those rainy days and there you go!

[Bull Bar Cowboy]

So what does a Husky, a TDS and a Milemarker weigh?

I assume that I could run a MM on my existing pump, albeit slowly?

Based on what I have seen TDS is my preference, based on performance, price and size but I remain open to persuesion. Demountable is a good idea...

Chris

The MM would be slower than slow on your existing pump ............... go off and make six cups of tea and come back next week slow........

In your position I would go for the TDS form David Bowyer............. they have been reworked to make them pretty much water proof and they are a damned good piece of kit for the money............................

I wouldn't bother with demountable .............. you still have to carry the winch and demount plate with you anyway.

Ian

[Guest diesel_jim]

I pulled my Husky on/off the Cube around 4/5 times recently and I started feeling slightly tired in the end

but it's not "that" heavy,I guess less than 50 Kilos...

just looking through a .pdf users manual i've got here, 47.2kg (104lb) with 150' of 5/16^s cable and a 1.9hp motor.

[ciderman]

electric wise if you spool it out and back in every once in a while you wont have any problems either (once every 6mths?)

Speaking from experience there James

I just wish Walfy was around

[BogMonster]

Despite having a Milemarker I would say an electric for what you want to use it for.

The Milemarker is 100% reliable in my experience even if not used for a long time, and I have mine on my third vehicle now

It is also very light - I can pick up the winch and the Bikini mount with one hand - never weighed it though I would guess maybe 30kg? However it would cost probably nigh on twice what a TDS would cost which is lots of £ per pull.

[Countax]

Going back to JST's point about running electric winches every 6mths, i used mine last week for the first time since the July 20th floods last year when it got soaked and i found it almost siezed. Any suggestions on how to lubricate up a Warn M8000 winch would be very welcome.

Nigel

[SteveG]

Demountable are good until you need to use them. You need to be sure that you can get access to mount it when you need it. At least you have the option of mounting it front or rear though.

[q-rover]

AHHH, but you mount it at the start of the trail, not when your bogged down in peat.

[JST]

Speaking from experience there James

I just wish Walfy was around

mine have always worked, they just need the spiders clearing out thats all. to be fair the husky gets a fair bit of use on DRDs etc but the 8274 has probably only been used 10 times this year prior to entering my ONLY event this year - and then the motor gave up on that as you know!

anyway Walfy is back had a PM from him already

[JST]

back OT - a demountable winch with wire (mine was an XD900i) i found bloody heavy moving between front and rear winches better with synthetic line but still heavy

[Milemarker Type S]

Chris - I am a die hard hydraulic fan... but... even I have to admit that for your application my money would be on the new TDS from David Bowyer- for a basic MM hydraulic package with ZF74 pump you are looking at £999 +vat the TDS is a bit over a third of this... You may find a 2nd hand MM package but they don't come up too often...even when they do they tend to hold their value...as does the husky...

I have seen the TDS worked very hard and work very well. The sealing on it is a big step up from that found, or indeed not found, on most other electric winches (Hydraulic will work properly underwater with no dramas...)

A Husky would require a larger and more specific mounting and is bloody heavy- Not what you really want hanging off the front of your truck all the time for the sheer hell of it- TDS weighs less and fits any lowline winch mount. MM weighs even less and also fits pretty much all lowline winch mounts- you would lose out slightly on fuel economy with a MM as well, as even when the winch is not in use the pump would be pushing fluid round the system all the time that the engine is running.

My only slight reservation at the moment would be that the TDS is unproven in the longer term- but having had a good look at them they appear to be very well specified and manufactured- so should not be a problem.

[JST]

my money would be on the new TDS from David Bowyer- for a basic MM hydraulic package with ZF74 pump you are looking at £999 +vat the TDS is a bit over a third of this...

or even less than a third 9.5ti here for £300

On Devon4x4

[GBMUD]

Well, from all the suggestions and advice I have received, it seems like the TDS is the way to go. It is as waterproof as the Husky but smaller and lighter and, best of all it is cheaper than a MM! I had not realised that a MM setup would be so costly, there is no way I am having £1000 riding round on the front of the LR for occasional use and depreciating all the way!

I have a question about winch motors... I guess it applies to all winch motors equally, but how waterproof is a winch motor as standard? I avoid driving through deep water whenever I can but there are times when one cannot avoid it and I obviously drive in the rain. Is water likely to get into the motor and cause potential damage due to the winch not being used for a prolonged period? ...I am thinking stuck and rusty brush holders really. Should I consider silicone sealing the motor and, as Will suggests, fitting a breather pipe? Any thoughts, suggestions?

Should I go for 9500lbs or 12000lbs? There does not seem a lot in the cost, anyone know how the winches differ?

Thanks for all the suggestions and opinions so far.

Chris