phox_mulder

Installed my winch today.

Loads of fun.

Here's the winch unpacked and ready for installation.
After installing the solenoid pack, wiring it, and putting on the rubber boots.



Frosty non adult beverage included for size comparison.
Should have been an adult beverage, but friends don't let friends drink and install winches
This thing is huge, a lot bigger than I was expecting, weighed in (according to the shipping box) at 130 pounds.

Removed my Denver Offroad front winch bumper, as you need to have it out to put the winch in.



Decided to do as much as I could in the garage, as it was threatening rain all day.

Warn must have changed the bolt size recently, as the predrilled holes in the DOR weren't big enough.
They were slightly smaller than 3/8's, the biggest drill bit I had.
Made a run to Home Depot to get a 7/16's bit.
Bike was trapped in the garage by the bumper,
so I had to take the truck, and got a lot of funny looks with the naked front end and all.



Wrestled with the winch to get the holes lined up, finally got all the bolts in.



Here you see the battery cables.



I had run out to a guy from works house to borrow his engine hoist,
as I knew I wouldn't be able to lift the bumper with the winch installed in it.
Did this earlier this morning, before removing the bumper.



When I first installed the bumper, I was able to lift the relatively light 130 pounds,
but with the winch also weighing 130 lbs, I didn't think I could do it.
Scotty wouldn't have broken a sweat, but as he is all jetlagged, I figured I'd better not ask him.

Another view, the rope is to keep it from spinning in the breeze.



Oops, too many pictures,

To be continued:

phox

phox_mulder

Continued:


After getting the bumper tightened back down I notice the severe lack of clearance between the winch and (I think) the AC condenser.



Here's the power cables attached.
I used the driver side battery, as the cables didn't quite make it to the passenger side.



Yes, my battery is filthy, along with the rest of the engine compartment.

Here she is, all installed, ready for attaching to a Ford or Chevy in distress.
I backed into the garage as much as I could,
to keep the engine hoist out of the rain which started coming down right after I snapped this pic.




I also ordered a winch accessory kit.
Got it from E-Winches.com.
Instead of the prepackaged kits like most places sell, they let you mix and match, upgrade or downgrade, add stuff, delete stuff, etc.

I got a tree trunk protector strap (38,000 lb breaking strength),

"Choker Chain", 14ft of 3/8 inch chain.
Not quite sure what you use this for though, even though I got the bigger chain, it doesn't seem it would hold that much.
You wouldn't want to wrap it around a tree, that's what the protecter is for.
Maybe for clearing debris type stuff?

Reciever shackle bracket with 3/4" shackle.

24,000lb ****** block.

Another 3/4" shackle (can't have enough of these, I now have 6 total)

Leather gloves,

and a large bag to hold it all.

Most prepackaged kits include all the above and a tow strap or two,
but I already have a huge one, so I didn't need one.
Glad I found this place before I got a prepackaged one.

Winch instructions say to "stretch" the line by pulling at least 500 lbs before you actually need to use it.
I'll have to find a dark parking lot with a nice big cement light post support.
Truck in neutral should be 500 lbs.

It's raining right now, pretty monsoonish.
I'm hoping to go out and test everything for real tomorrow, there should be plenty of mud about.

I need to save up for a "pull pal", just in case there aren't any trees around.
They go for around $500 bucks for the 14,000 lb version.

Oh, winch was about $990, accessory kit was about $240.
(saved about $150-$200 building my own, even more since I added and upgraded)


phox

joefarmer

Looks good Phox! Perfect for a Saturday job!

Did I miss the fuse that goes between the battery and winch? Is there a fuse inside the winch? I can see bad things happening if those cables to the winch got pinched and shorted some how.

brandon.

Commatoze

Nice, phox. I want one! Don't know what I'll do with it, but I want one! Hey, just mounting the roller fairlead.......too bogus?

nevrenufhp

I was thinking of putting a wrecker 20000 pound winch in the bed since I cant go 'wheelin where my friends go with Jeeps & Toyotas. At least I'd be the tractor to pull them out .

phox_mulder

You know, I'm not sure.

Instructions didn't say anything about a fuse.

I'll have to look over the exploded view of the solenoid pack and see if there is a fuse in there.


phox

phox_mulder

You could get the fairlead and just attach a hook to it.

Empty fairleads are a dead giveaway as a "poser"

I got a ticket for no front license plate about 2 weeks ago,
so I temporarily attached the plate over the hole.

Now I need to find somewhere else to attach it,
if I use the fairlead holes it either sticks above or hangs below the bumper.

I guess I'll have to pick a side, and drill some more holes.


phox

phox_mulder

I've had my truck on a couple of "jeep" trails.

Had to fold in both mirrors to fit between the trees,
and got a coupe of nice scratches on top of the cab, full length of the cab.


phox