? for you off road types who use a winch to get your self out of trouble

[ChuckinVa]

I bought a Northern Tool 9000 LB winch for my 2006 Chevrolet silverado PU. Now I need to mount it on the truck. I am thinking about a hidden hitch front mount  2" receiver with a receiver mount winch mount. I would like to know if anyone has fabricated something in lieu of this arrangement ? I like the quick disconnect ability of this although I haven't worked out the electrical yet. It would be great to have the ability to take it off the front quickly if I wanted to. does anyone have any suggestions ?
CHUCK

[MountainDon]

I built receivers into my custom front and rear bumpers. That works well. I have the solenoid pack mounted with the winch. The two power cables connect via a large size Anderson type connector. Warn sells them with their logo on them. Solarseller.com sells the Anderson in different sizes.  I also ran heavy cables through PVC conduit underneath to the rear with a power connector back there. I put a "empty" connector sealed with silicone back there to keep the connectors clean. Up front the end is pretty much protected in a corner when not connected. If you run one to the rear I think it is a good idea to have a disconnect at the battery for the rear positive lead, just in case something happens and that long cable gets scraped/shorted. .



http://solarseller.com/anderson_sb_quick_connect___disconnect_cable_connectors__accessories__stage_wiri.htm

scroll down for the high amperage ones

It is nice to be able to remove the winch easily. The Jeep won't fit in the space allocated to it with the winch in place.  

[Redoverfarm]

Chuck I have pondered some of the same thoughts for my winch.  With it permanently mounted you are restricted to how you can use it for various jobs.  I came to the conclusion that the best possible mount would be on a piece of 2" receiver tube.  That way I could mount the female receiver tube to the front of the truck, front of a trailer and use the male 2"w/winch to the rear receiver, front receiver or trailer receiver.  Quick disconnects to the front and rear of the truck.    The rear could also supply power to the trailer to winch lumber, logs, or equipment disabled.  With the truck and trailer coupled then the winch could be operated from the trailer front with a jumper from the rear or front connections.  Very few trailers are capable of mounting a high hitch on the railing so with the aid of a pully mounted center in the railing for the cable it could be mounted to the top of the tounge and still allow the cable to clear the railings and make a horizontal pull to hoist objects on the trailer.  Just a thought to try to get the most out of it's use.

[ChuckinVa]

Thanks Don, for the link and the silicone idea for the rear feed. I have gone through the literature and no where can I find what the amperage draw is on the motor. It is 6.6 Hp and it says the battery should be 650 CCA I'm wondering if the 50 amp connectors will be large enough or if I need to go to the next larger size? It looks like the conductor that came with it might be a number 6. I guess I will have to check and see if it is marked some where on the conductor.

[ChuckinVa]

Redover,
That is pretty much what I have in mind. Just trying to do it as economically as possible. I have found a good price on the front mounted hitch but the prices on the winch mount are not to my liking. I have a an idea that a piece of 2" tube and a piece of 6" X 10" 1/4" plate would be a lot less than $100.00 but I could be wrong. i want to mount a receiver on the top rail of my trailer so I can use the winch to skid logs up to the trailer and help load them. Plus I thought if I needed to load my tractor,like if it wasn't running, I could do that from the rail mount provided I shored it up with some additional steel.

[Redoverfarm]

Chuck I would use heavy 2" tube and probably 3/8" plate to bolt the winch to.  The 3/8" would be heavier and allow the weld to seat further.  As far as the railing mounts on the trailer most are not that great.  Thats why I thought about the top hitch area of the trailer tounge and the pully. 

[MountainDon]

I used the 175 amp version with 2 ga cables to the rear and 4 ga to the front. They are the same connectors as the ones Warn sells for their big winches. Warn also sells a special dust cap connector end.

Just as an interesting point: A big winch near stall can draw enough amps to melt the side connector battery straps used in auto batteries. For that reason Optima does not warrant their batteries if a winch is attached to the side terminals. Top terminal connections are beefier.



I made my own mount to slip in the receiver, using proper receiver stock and 3/8 channel. But then I had the metal laying about from other jobs so that was free except for some welding wire, gas and my time.

[ChuckinVa]

I think i will order the 175 amp connectors. I ordered the receiver hitch last night. Just need to decide what to do about the mount. I don't weld and it might cost just as much to get it fabricated as it does to buy it prefabbed. I do like the idea of the 3/8 plate having more surface area to weld too.
CHUCK

[peternap]

I just keep my winch in the trunk until I need her.

[glenn kangiser]

Good idea, Peter....

Be sure you don't count on the winch to get you out of trouble..... it may but, if you include it in your ways to get in trouble you will likely get into more trouble than it can get you out of.... don't ask me how I know....[ouch]


Edit:

Confusion:  Sassy was asking me which winch I meant...... Peter's or the topic.....


Clarification:

Both of them.....

[cmsilvay]

I just keep my winch in the trunk until I need her.

Thats not a winch thats a wench LOL

In my old truck i had a front and rear reciver and also had a reciver tube welded on my gooseneck plate to pull stuff on the trailer thats where the winch spent most of its time.

[Squirl]

I have my winch permanently mounted to the frame in the front.   The hitches for Wranglers weren't rated for anywhere near the winch rating.   I also just didn't trust that much weight to a hitch pin.  Also, I winch up slopes over 45 degrees.  The length that the hitch stood out from the connection seemed like it would be too much weight (tongue weight?) with that kind of leverage.  If I was only winching horizontally, I wouldn't worry so much. I carry a come along to get me out in the back, but I have never used it.  Take this with a grain of salt.  I am no expert.  I went off the advice of others on jeep forums.

[Squirl]

I just thought of another question.  If the winch is hitch mounted, doesn't that mean that the trailer is going to have to be disconnected to use the winch in the back?  If so, wouldn't it be just as easy to turn the vehicle around?  If you are just looking for a cheap mount, harbor freight sells a 2" hitch one for $60 and a universal plate for $25. Don't forget to always use Grade 8 bolts.

Edit.  Sorry, I did not read the post closely enough.  I see that you are going to mount a receiver to your trailer.  Again HF sells some cheap trailering components.  It's not worth it to fabricate.  You could mount to their trailer extension with step.  You also could easily bolt the 5000lb hitch upside down on a trailer if you are going with the hitch mount.  I picked it up in store for $18.  It works fine.  Worth $18.

[peternap]

I have a receiver in both front and back so the Wench can go either place. My brush guard fits in the front but is only held in place with one pin.
Doing that also allows me to move the winch to my tractor or ATV.

Like Squirl, I have a comealong in the truck and for a lot of things, prefer it to the winch.

[ChuckinVa]

Thanks for all of the ideas. I went to Harbor Freight's site and ordered the winch mount for the front hitch. for $59.00 as Squirl said I probably couldn't have something fabricated for that price and I don't weld . I wasn't sure the extended hitch with the step would hold up as a mount with out pulling the step off of the receiver so I elected to go with the unit that is actually designed for the use I have in mind. :-) The hitch came in today. Waiting on the connectors to arrive from Cali and now the winch mount and a locking pin to arrive. Hopefully I'll have everything by the weekend to get it installed. I just hope the credit card statement is delayed until I get everything installed !