The Bush winch

http://www.bushwinch.com.au/

Found this and thought it was worth sharing. Though it has its limits and drawbacks, I find it to be a solid alternative to a winch.
Driving a 2.7L 4x2, I'm looking to save weight where I can.

MaxTrax, a shovel or wood may get you out of a bog, but my vision for this winch would be pulling myself up a hill that I can't climb.
Any thoughts?

 

Very bush-like innovative. Major recovery drawback may be that full wheel access may not be available depending on the situation which may prevent use of the product. An additional plus would be it will eliminate open diff slip be applying loads to both wheels. Even with longer lugs I don't see it being compatible with all wheels. My wheels for example have massively deep lug holes that I doubt those would clear.

 

From what I recall, they're not any cheaper than a real winch from a budget brand like Engo.

the weight penalty isn't that significant for a winch with synthetic line in a winch tray, like US Offroad's. Another option is to get a front mounted receiver, and mount the winch on a hitch/plate. Then you don't need to carry it all the time. The drawback with these is winching too far at an angle can bent the receiver or hitch. They're not really made for that kind of side-loading.

 

Old school, been used almost since cars were around. Never seen one in actual use but I've seen at least one mounted on a Land Rover in a museum and I know another fellow that has one sitting with his collection of Land Rover stuff. Alibaba is showing them at $735-795 depending on number of lug nuts. I'll stick with my Warn.

 

So you just argued against your own statement about price.

SO they run the same price as a cheapish winch, but then you have to buy a mounting system and if you want to save weight, then a synthetic line. Easily doubling or tripling the cost.

Now, for me, I don't have the extra room to store something like that in my truck. I'll pay the extra for a winch.