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Mon Jan 26, 2009 7:14 pm

So...who out there has a winch installed on their Baja? Anyone have pictures or recommendation of brands?

I've always thought it would be good to have one if I get stuck in the mud many miles from home.

Mon Jan 26, 2009 7:21 pm

I have a supper winch it is anly a 1200lb but it can poll more than I can push, :D

Mon Jan 26, 2009 7:47 pm

Im probably going to put one on mine. Not sure weather to put in on the front or back though...

Mon Jan 26, 2009 8:04 pm

Oktr6r's got one.

And this one belongs to 2gr8dgs.

Mon Jan 26, 2009 8:28 pm

Get at least a 3500#, my 2000# with a pulley to double the pulling capacity isn't always enough. I'm hoping to upgrade to about a 5000# at some point.

Mon Jan 26, 2009 8:44 pm

I use the heck out of my winch. Its a 4,000 lb warn. made (I think) for the side by side atv's. I modified a common double tube bumper. It's held up pretty well. drags my baja easily. get the best you can afford.

Mon Jan 26, 2009 8:47 pm

I wish I'd have picked up something like that. I found out after I bought mine that a winch should be rated at least 2x the weight of the vehicle.

Mon Jan 26, 2009 9:09 pm

I got a 3000lb one on ebay for $100 delivered, but haven't had the chance to mount it yet. I want to mount it under the hood, but I'd like it to be able to pull myself backwards if I drive into a ditch.

Mon Jan 26, 2009 9:22 pm

Receiver hitch on the front and rear, mount the winch so that you can move it from the front to rear as needed.

Mon Jan 26, 2009 9:37 pm

oktr6r wrote: Receiver hitch on the front and rear, mount the winch so that you can move it from the front to rear as needed.

That seems to be the way to go unless you had wheel winches. Need two for a non locked diff.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=135zkGk2fak
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JY4cKc4FKSM&NR=1
Videos are somewhat entertaining.

Marvin

Mon Jan 26, 2009 9:59 pm

GA_Boy wrote: oktr6r wrote: Receiver hitch on the front and rear, mount the winch so that you can move it from the front to rear as needed.

That seems to be the way to go unless you had wheel winches. Need two for a non locked diff.

Videos are somewhat entertaining.

Marvin

Fixed the links to make them show here...

Mon Jan 26, 2009 10:58 pm

Yes we tried a 2000 at the 07 Baja 1000, got the car stuck in the river crossing at the calumahe wash and snapped the cable in half. Had it under the hood attached to the front of the cage (we ran a fuel cell at that race so there was room for it there) Bad A$$ idea though we should have gotten the bigger model, had to wait about an hour for someone to come by and pull us out!

Tue Jan 27, 2009 12:27 am

harbor freight winches arent bad, have a 10k one on our jeep. has pulled a superduty on 37s out of water and mud up to the door handles.

Tue Jan 27, 2009 11:09 am

With winches the bigger the better, for two reasons, first just because your car is less than 2000 pounds, doesn't mean that its only going to need that much force to pull it out when stuck.

Second isn't it great to have a little baja bug, and have to winch out some really big off road truck that got in a little over his head.

Also when you have a winch you'll find a lot of other uses for it around the house other than getting your baja unstuck. My dad bought one for his Jeep a year or two ago. I don't think he's used it to unstick his Jeep yet, but its done stump pulling, and plenty of moving really big objects around the yard.

Tue Jan 27, 2009 11:13 am

Yeah, they are handy. I built a new storage building, and needed to move the old one about 20'. I connected a chain to the wooden skid the building was on and winched it to where I needed it. Didn't bother unloading it either...

Tue Jan 27, 2009 1:53 pm

So any of you also use a bag or some other kind of protection for them?

Tue Jan 27, 2009 2:22 pm

Mine sits just like in the picture posted by SpenceSuper11 earlier in this thread. No problems because of it. None of the 4x4's I go off-roading with use covers either.

Wed Jan 28, 2009 4:22 pm

I bought a cable puller, like a hand winch that ratchets as you crank it. I guess I haven't been trying hard enough to get stuck because I haven't used it yet. Mine says it's rated for 5,000 lbs. I figured it is pretty cheap and light, and it might save my ass someday. I know it's not a real winch, but better than nothing. Anyone have any experience with these?

Wed Jan 28, 2009 4:57 pm

I carry one of these in my Baja. In my previous car I used it to pull myself off of some railroad tracks up in the Cajon Pass (don't even ask!). Worked fine. I just pounded in a large metal stake in the ground and ratchet myself out. Got a nice upper body workout as a bonus. I would be concerned that a 5K+ winch would make the front end pretty heavy. Don't they weigh over 100lbs?

http://www.cvfsupplycompany.com/4tonhanpowpu.html

Wed Jan 28, 2009 5:52 pm

DesertBob wrote: I would be concerned that a 5K+ winch would make the front end pretty heavy. Don't they weigh over 100lbs?

More weight up front would suit me just fine, but could be a problem for those running high speed or sand.