Where to put the winch on an SUV (sport utility vehicles)
Rear with forward rollers The winch is, without a doubt, the most useful accessory of all that we can use to guarantee the mobility of our SUV in extreme conditions, but in which position is it most effective?
Between the price of the winch, the installation and the homologation, the necessary investment can exceed 1,500 euros ... and the result is not always guaranteed, so you must carefully choose the winch model that best suits your needs and the of your SUV.
To do this, you must calculate a pulling power of at least one and a half times the maximum permissible technical mass (MTMA) that appears on your vehicle's file.
Do not forget that the rated pulling capacity of a winch refers to the first turn of the drum, that is, with the cable practically unwound.
As the cable forms several layers on the drum (up to four), the pulling capacity decreases considerably. A type 9000 winch (4,082 kg in the first turn of the drum) is reduced to 3,180 kg, with four layers of cable wound on the drum.
Once you have chosen the ideal model, the question is where to install it. Some will say in front, others, behind and a good number of users will favor the mobile installation.
At the moment of truth, its installation will depend fundamentally on the use to which you put your vehicle; Whether in competition, small routes or large crossings, you will find yourself facing different extreme situations that you must address with appropriate and specific solutions for each of them.
Analyzing the possibilities and choosing the most appropriate is the best guarantee to be able to successfully overcome all eventualities. Now, we have no choice but to recognize that three is better than one.
There will always be someone who thinks that why give up having a winch in front and another behind. Simply perform a portable installation. They are not lacking in reason, but it must be recognized that it is a valid option in specific situations for operational reasons and we will not necessarily save the bureaucratic part of the installation, since it is likely that we will have to legalize the supports for the winch.
Stuck in the middle of a quagmire, having to manipulate the thirty-odd kilos of a winch is not an easy task. It is also a good option for the most travelers, who use the services of the winch on very few occasions and, however, the weight placed in front of the vehicle conditions the work of the front suspension.
A portable winch installation requires a bracket or cradle with a shank and pin.
The installation for the portable winch requires female type brackets, where to insert the stem of the bracket or winch cradle.
In the world of extreme competition, all winches are few and the advantages of a double installation - front and rear - add a third one that allows to hold the vehicle in case of extreme lateral inclination or to recover an overturned vehicle. This situation can be solved by a correct position of the rear winch and guide points on the roll bar.
n It is also common in extreme tests to find vehicles with two winches, one front, one rear and a third of a mobile type to support the momentary action of the previous ones, or to use their possibilities as a side pull.
Rear with forward rollers
There are always those who go further and opt for a single high-power winch, preferably hydraulic, located at the rear and which, through a system of rollers and guides for the tow cable, allows its use in different pulling positions, including the contrary to the one corresponding to its installation. Another variable of the same system is the one used by the Foers Ibex -see All Terrain No. 80-, with a winch located in the center of the vehicle and a system of rollers that allows the cable to be thrown backwards or forwards.
In heavy use, the problem can be traced to the power supply. Under these working conditions we have no choice but to increase the energy storage capacity, replacing the battery with another with more amp / hour and even doubling it, in which case both must be the same and install them in parallel.
A good solution for intensive use, but outside the competition, is to install two batteries with different consumption circuits and alternate charging, where we will always give preference to the battery, which provides service to vehicle management, over the one that feeds auxiliary services.
To go through difficult terrain, with mud, snow or waterways, the most logical option is the front of the vehicle.
To be used as a support vehicle, to other off-road vehicles, to carry out security tasks in events or to travel alone, where the possibility of returning through the known section must always prevail, the subsequent installation is the most appropriate.
If you need any kind of winches visit Redroo Offroad
