Tirfor Winch or Bumper Winch for Self Recovery

[Sunray-I40]

There may be a relevant thread somewhere so if so please refer me!

I want a tirfor winch for self recovery of my Defender 110 and sankey trailer. Which model should I go for?

Do I need pulling power of 800 kg or 1600kg? and do i look at the TU 8/16 models or the T508/516 models - I can't figure out the pros and cons of the TU v T5 series!

[Team Idris]

Tough choice as the 800kg is more the size you want to be physically carrying around and the 1600kg is more like the line pull you need?

So although my 1.5t brano has a heavy rope and is a lump in itself, it's more like the handy winch I need for general stuff. And it'll double to near 3t on a block, which is maybe where you want to be if really stuck?

Honestly, I'd go to a hire shop and see how you feel about the weight and compromise from there. (sounds awful, but at 42 I'd swap for one half the size )

[Sunray-I40]

I want to be able to self recover my 'new' defender 110 300tdi (with came with a winch bumper but no winch) and am considering what to buy.

It seems to me that in many situations it's better to come back out of what you drove into - in which case a front-mounted winch is n't much use. On that basis, a tirfor is a more useful thing to have. And I can't see an electric winch is going to be too reliable if you go wading accidentally!

Am I missing something? If it's an either or choice, is tirfor the way to go?

if there's an existing thread on this please refer me!

[Team Idris]

"It seems to me that in many situations it's better to come back out of what you drove into - in which case a front-mounted winch isn't much use."

Yes, that's a fair assesment. Unless its brush, which jams underneath like a one way brush thing.

A vehicle powered winch lets you winch and drive. But a hand winch pulls from any angle. Also the hand winch is slow, so it won't suffer from suction on the axels as badly.

You can have an electric winch on a hitch socket so it goes front or back if that helps?

Infact, that offers the 'remove it completely' option to reduce winch theft risk.

Anderson plugs transmit the power well and radio remote lets you operate it from anywhere.

[zardos]

Actually a lot of electric winches are pretty good in water as people who use them in competition frequently dunk their vehicles in water.

Check out http://www.dborc.co.uk/goodwinch/tds.htm as the lower end of waterproof winches (and http://www.dborc.co.uk/goodwinch/tds_submersible.htm)

You can also get demountable towball kits so as long as you have a mount front and rear you should be able to go both directions (the only drawback of the demountable kit is that they stick out a lot when mounted and depending on the terrain they could be difficult to attach, though they also mean the winch can be kept dry in the vehicle when accidentally wading)

[specialbikejames]

Unless you intend to participate in lots of 'maximum extreme offroading' then a Tirfor is the better solution every time.

They are alot lighter (as you don't need a bumper), more reliable (take spare shear pins) and allow lots more recovery options then a front mounted winch. Of course they are much more labour intensive to operate and set-up, but for occasional use they're great.

Having said that, I have an electric winch with remote freespool which is a good bit of kit and nice to own, but if I was honest with myself the cost of it is not really justified.

[nickwilliams]

jito7,

Have you ever actually used a Tirfor in anger? If not I'd strongly recommend that you hire or borrow one to try before you finally make your mind up.

Nick.

[Tanuki]

Question is, how often do you expect to self-recover?

If the answer is "a few times a month" then built-in winches make sense. If the answer is "once or twice a year" then a Tirfor is the logical option. It can also be used for a whole slew of other purposes.

Personally, I dislike the idea of permanently-installed winches; they add extra weight ahead of the front-axle, precisely the last place you want extra weight in a daily-driver (it promotes understeer, wallow and pitching).

As others have observed, a winch at the front is only of use if you intend to winch yourself further into the problem. . . ! !

[honitonhobbit]

Tirfor ratings are for load lifting not rolling load or pulling load. So get a Tirfor T15. They are small enough yet big enough. Get a pulley block as well and look at extensions and ground anchors

[dirtydiesel]

To add a counter argument to those above, I have front and rear winches on my daily driver.

And I have never actually used the front winch in the 5 months I had it fitted!

The rear winch I have had on for 3 years I use at least once a week.

It gets used for every thing you could imagine from moving trailers around to dragging a ton bag of shale into my back garden. And Its really useful for dragging things on to trailers as well.

I wouldn't be without the rear winch (mine is a superwinch ep9) it makes for a really useful tool with a few snatch blocks.

[Daan]

90 percent of the time, 'stuck' means you are on the verge of driving out, so the lighter Tirfor might be ok. However, one problem you have is that extracting a car is a 2 man operation. If you are alone, and you get stuck, you need one person to drive the car and one person to work the winch. If you are alone, you are into dragging a dead car with the tirfor, which is an awful lot harder. I suppose you could put it in 1 low and leave it running in tickover, and run into the car when it moves again, but I would never suggest that on a public forum....

Daan

[UdderlyOffroad]

This is really a thread about ' the right tool for the job', but I've just taken a gander at:

http://www.honeybros.com/index.php?app=ecom&ns=catshow&ref=TirforWinches

And uttered the Bolton war-cry ("Ow much?!").

For that kind of money, the usual suspects (Goodwinch or Ebay-special) could provide you with a winch and bumper, or even a towbar-mounted removable rear winch. And you'd still have enough change for a winching course.

As has been said, if you're on your own, Tirfors aren't much fun....

[headhunter]

I have a Brano 1.6 ton hand winch (very similar to Trifor) with cable unused, for sale £150 plus courier.

PM if interested.

John

[Tanuki]

But what use is your engine-driven winch when your battery's flat and you can't start the engine?

I've always considered winching as the last-resort.

[tacr2man]

Have you ever used a tirfor in anger ? once you have manually winched a vehicle out , you probably will make sure you dont get into that situation again !!!

[tuko]

Have you ever used a tirfor in anger ? once you have manually winched a vehicle out , you probably will make sure you dont get into that situation again !!!

Plus you'll be kicking yourself in the backside for not getting a winch in the first place!

[deep]

I carry a Tirfor (branded "Black Rat" but identical). Yes, it does get you out of trouble and yes, you can use it from different angles and for a variety of other uses (last use was to roll a large tree stump I was carving up). However, it's biggest advantage is that it stops me going too far or trying to hard when I am by myself. Thats' because, once you've sweated your car unstuck once, you will never want to repeat the experience! Nevertheless, it's there, it works and that's the main thing for me.

[Jamie_grieve]

I think Tirfors are wonderful things. Between a tirfor and a highlift you've covered most bases. You really need to spend some time using them though to become really familiar with them.

I've got both the TU 16 and TU 32 and would strongly suggest getting the 3.2 ton one, the little 800Kg one would be no use. They are bulky but are easily stored and the extra space a bigger one would make over a little one would be inconsequential with a 100 and Sankey. The best way to keep the cable is inside a fat rear motorcycle tyre. You can put this on your shoulder and carry it for miles unlike the spiky jaggy thing designed to wreck your interior and draw blood at every opportunity the give you with the winch new. Make sure you have a long extension as the tirfor ropes are heavy and seldom more than 25m which is too short. The new synthetic winch rope might not be good but get 11 or 13mm, not 8mm equivalent. You'd be surprised at the pull you can generate with one of these things.

You should be doing recovery with other people but if not you can attach a snatch strap to the vehicle (shock horror etc...) and get some pull on it depending on how much you tighten it then you can drive a bit and make the pull easier. I'd only consider a 3.2 with a 110. The bigger they are the easier they are to work.

They are also handy things for dragging things in tight spaces, shifting trees, pulling logs over rivers, making bridges and righting rolled over vehicles. Set up is a bit of a faff and they are very physical but they always work and they are the most versatile form of recovery there is

A buried spare wheel with wheel brace across the middle makes for a good but time consuming anchor.

Hope this is of some help.