Why a winch?

Why do so many people put winches in their bumper?
I heard it just adds weight and ends up needing rebuilt if you off-road through water.
Because I guess going through water can mess up the line and stuff, making you take it apart to clean, re-grease, and put back together.

Seems like a PITA. I mean with a snorkel and breathers, these trucks should be able to go through water over and over again no problem. Spending a bunch of Saturdays rebuilding the winch does not sound good.

Matt's Off Road Recovery is a professional. Meaning somebody who knows recovery and off-roading enough that he actually gets paid by people to do it for a living.
And he uses a mobile winch with carry handles. So you keep it in the trunk driving to the destination, then take it out to attach and connect battery leans.
Why is it then, that amateur forum people who spend their own personal thousands on mods, prefer to mount the heavy part more permanently into a bumper?
Is it to show off and act cool in a parking lot next to a taller Jeep that probably has solid front axle and off roads better?

 

I'd imagine its utility (his use) vs. General offroading. You mention water crossings, well I'd sure hate to be stuck in a deep water crossing then have to open the door, get out, set up the winch cradle, pop the hood and wire it up, all the while your truck is now completely flooded. That's assuming you didnt prep it before going in. Even if you did, I'd feel better about having securely attached wires vs clamp ons. I also imagine sometimes the difference in approach angle can make a difference. Additionally, I would guess bumper mounting is more "planted" for lack of a better word as opposed to using a front hitch when it comes to winching at odd angles. These are just guesses though, I dont even have a winch. My youtube watching (including Matt) outweighs my own adventures by a pretty good amount.

 

Moab Motorsports has their recovery truck set up with like 8 winches all of which are "permanently" mounted. His recovery is on trails far more technical than Winder ever gets. There is pluses and minuses for having one permanently mounted and removeable it's all up to your preference and what you will be using the truck most for and the scenarios you may find yourself. Like what Winder does is most "stuck" moments on the trail can be handled without a winch that comes with experience though. Your recovery gear and methods evolve as you end up in different situations.

 

I don't have one and never have, but if you on tough trails in remote places by yourself, it can sometimes be the only way to get yourself unstuck. Of course most winches are sold to people who have no chance of ever needing one, just like lots of the mods people do.

Even solo on trails you probably won't ever need it but the one time you do......well, it's cheaper than a bill from someone like Matt.

 

I have a winch in a cradle that can be mounted front or rear... As long as you dont tell yourself "ahhh I wont need it this trip" its great

 

I think "Why a winch?" really depends on the person to person.

Why a winch, to some people absolutely yes to look the part and seem like they go hard when the hardest they go is 4" off the dirt road in the national forest camping site dirt road so they can get some instagram pictures.

Why I got a winch?

I got a bum leg and I don't like spending hours digging and slogging in mud anymore.

Flip a switch and pull myself out.

Also great for recovering others, the best way to recover is as slow as possible and winches are pretty slow.

Do they need maintenance? Sure but what doesn't on a truck?

It really depends I like to play hard and still learning how to read terrain and pick lines, gotten myself in enough pinches where a winch would have been a life saver.

Wire rope and synthetic have their own pluses and minuses, one of the nice things about synthetic line is it's safer and you can do some pretty weird pulls with it (like pulling yourself backwords with the line run under the truck) but it needs replacing more often as UV light can degrade it a bit.

If you have to ask and often wonder why people need a winch you're probably not one that needs one.

Mine was a great investment for me.

And so what if someone wants to put and extra 100lbs in their bumper and hard park. That's their own business I suppose ain't hurting anyone.

 

The ComeUp Seal gen2 9.5k winch you can submerge under water.

http://comeupusa.shptron.com/p/seal-gen2-9-5rsi-12v-winch

 

I rather have it and not need it then need it but not have it. i used to carry it around in the bed and put put it in my garage (mon-fri) then on the weekend I would put it in the bed .....let me tell you something that thing weighs a TON!!!! So when I got my fromt bumper I just permanently put it ther, I habe no regrets I dont even know its ther tbh and I have no regrets

 

Same reason all the 4x4 fanboys want a 4x4 too drive around town with,all show for about 80 percent of the drivers.

 

I think the biggest reason is because you think you might need it someday.

It seems like a good option for efficient self-recovery.

This feels like a late Friday thread.

 

There are plenty of winches these days that are well sealed and submersible; and even then, for those that weren’t, the first thing I would do with a new winch back in the day, is take it apart and die electric grease all the connections, then seal it all back up with RTV. I would often do a quick check to make sure the winch was still working before heading out for a trip, but very rarely would I have to take one back apart for maintenance.

And either way... if you're put off by a bit of extra maintenance work, then off-roading may not be the hobby for you.

A winch in an cradle is not a terrible idea; but there isn’t a ton of front bumper hitch options out there that make it practical for everyone. Not to mention, for me in the Midwest, usually when I’m stuck it’s in mud; and a situation where I’m strategically crawling out on to my hood to get my line out and connect the controller so I don’t have to wade through it... this isn’t fun as is, but it would be way, way, less fun if I had to dig a big heavy winch out of the back, attach it, run battery cables, then also pull line and what not. Also, for most self recovery scenarios, you’ll usually be trying to make forward progress, and aware of your recovery options before you enter an obstacle. If you’re not alone, then you’ve usually got someone who can get behind you for a backward pull if needed.

 

I thought people mounted winches in the front bumper so the could pull out other vehicles. I can't recall seeing any rear bumpers that allowed the winch to be permanently mounted. Or a side mounted hitch receiver so people could attach a winch from the side of their truck.

 

Vehicle snorkels aren't meant for water, they're meant to get your air intake up away from your wheel well so that the air is more clean and less dusty.

If you have a snorkel then you know there are holes in the box to let water drain out if water were to get into the snorkel from rain etc. That makes the snorkel less than water proof. Why? Because, like I said, they're not made for water.

 

I get paid to recover people every year during snow season, I contract out to the local tow companies and they pay me to go recover their customers not unlike matt(99% its snow as we don't have a trail system like Utah and matt does).
I also run Central Oregon Landcruisers and we do alot of snow wheeling, we run a mix of different types of runs, We will have open runs that anyone with decent tires and recovery points are welcome to join to closed limited runs that are just built rigs on big tires and experienced snow wheelers.
I have some experience with recovery but do not claim to be an expert and learn new things and new ways to both wheel and recover every year..

With that said..

I run all winter in the snow and see a decent amount of water crossings. In my experience my first choice is kinetic rope if the customer/member/random person has the attachment points im going to use that 100% of the time first. Second would be the winch its just slower, its a tool I would never be with out offroad and in the snow. I keep debating adding one out the rear because there are times its just a pain to move yourself backwards.. If we are talking SELF recoveries 100% winch its the BEST tool to have with you followed by a SHOVEL and a AIR DOWN TOOL... I cannot tell you how many times I have rolled up on someone stuck and I just aired them down and they drove out.. I run Winches with synthetic on everything and have never had to rebuild a winch for snow and water, though I did see a couple relay boxes fail because of water...

Recovery tools for solo off road running #1 Air down tool, #2 shovel, #3 winch.

Recovery tools for groups #1 Air down tool, #2 kinetic rope, #3 shovel, #4 winch

To recovery people same as group...

Notice high lift jack is not on that list...

 

Typically you only see this on very built crawlers, not usually something you see on a adventure type vehicle

 

So you don’t have to call Matt

 

Why a winch?

#1- Peace of mind while off roading especially when wheeling alone.

#2- Logging...I cut several fir trees down on a steep hillside on my property and used my winch to pull the logs up to the landing area where they could be bucked more easily. I've also used it to pull stumps and root balls out of the ground.. Worked like a charm.