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Jung1
Samba Member
Joined: July 22, 2023
Posts: 82
Location: British Columbia
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 Posted: Mon May 26, 2025 1:38 pm Post subject: Front hitch receiver |
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Scabbed together from what I had around:
Rosette welds through holes in the bumper support flange (which is super beefy when you drill through); a chunk of 1/4” wall square tube in the back, and the tabs in behind the bumper are 1/4” thick brackets I had cut off something else.
Seems very solid with winching, here stuck on the beach but at home I winched up a hill in my driveway and nothing flexes or moves. It is a bit hack to just weld it on but that’s how I roll.
I don’t want a heavy bumper and a permanently mounted winch so this receiver-mounted winch just gets stuck on for trips that may have some sketchiness. The winch has about 16 feet of welding cable, and I have the Anderson connector under the passenger seat- winch can mount front or rear, and I feed the cable through a window and plug it in.
Recent trip to a beach camping site I knew I’d need it. Rides nice up front; you notice the weight but it’s not bad, even with my worn out front shocks  We ran about 250km of rough industrial gravel roads on this trip. |
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DanHoug
Samba Member
Joined: December 05, 2016
Posts: 5669
Location: Bemidji, MN
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| Posted: Mon May 26, 2025 1:58 pm Post subject: Re: Front hitch receiver |
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i really like this!! nice mounting, great idea to tack it to the bumper too. even a cheapo HF 3500# $69 winch pulls like crazy. add in synthetic winch rope and it's a nice, light solution.
i put a front hitch on my Polaris Ranger and giggle every time i push a short tongued trailer around... so easy to maneuver.
_________________
-dan
60% of what you find on the internet is wrong, including this post.
'87 Westy & '89 Westy both 2.1 4spd
Past projects can be found at--
www.thefixitworkshop.com |
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Jung1
Samba Member
Joined: July 22, 2023
Posts: 82
Location: British Columbia
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| Posted: Mon May 26, 2025 2:14 pm Post subject: Re: Front hitch receiver |
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| DanHoug wrote: |
i really like this!! nice mounting, great idea to tack it to the bumper too. even a cheapo HF 3500# $69 winch pulls like crazy. add in synthetic winch rope and it's a nice, light solution.
i put a front hitch on my Polaris Ranger and giggle every time i push a short tongued trailer around... so easy to maneuver. |
Thanks. The theme of most of what I’ve done on this van is trying to use what I have lying around, and keeping it light and simple. I’d like a Badlands 5500lb UTV winch for this, but will likely stick with the old Warn since I use it on other vehicles as well. I do want to switch to synthetic line though! I think it would shed close to 20lbs if you include getting rid of the heavy roller fairlead and using an aluminum hawse fairlead with the rope. |
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DanHoug
Samba Member
Joined: December 05, 2016
Posts: 5669
Location: Bemidji, MN
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| Posted: Mon May 26, 2025 2:43 pm Post subject: Re: Front hitch receiver |
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just not getting your hands punctured alone is worth the cost to move to winch rope!!! so cool to pull the line into position, no gloves, and not bleed afterwards! it's so stupid strong but best of all doesn't store nearly the kinetic energy of wire rope and if it breaks, people don't die.
_________________
-dan
60% of what you find on the internet is wrong, including this post.
'87 Westy & '89 Westy both 2.1 4spd
Past projects can be found at--
www.thefixitworkshop.com |
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4Gears4Tires
Samba Member
Joined: October 08, 2018
Posts: 4140
Location: MD
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| Posted: Mon May 26, 2025 7:55 pm Post subject: Re: Front hitch receiver |
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That looks awesome. Something to store away in my mind for my Syncro. Mostly to carry another hitch mount bike rack.
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'87 Syncro Ferric Oxyhydroxide Superleggera Edition
'85 Westy Sciuridae Domus Edition |
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