Discovery winch combinations

[chris.hunt22]

Lookin to get a winch later on in the year but I personally think winch bumpers look c&*p on a Disco (just my opinion all you clubbers with them )  I have seen some discos with the winch mounted neatly away behind the lower bumper where the big hole is, where do you get these mounts from and what sort of cash are they??  Also - do you need an extra battery/split charging system to fit a winch, would be looking at a 12000 lb model, what price is all this lot on top of a winch?

[wing nut]

this is mine   the hole is covered by the number plate ..just awaiting a nice winch :)

[muddyjames]

I personally think winch bumpers look c&*p on a Disco (just my opinion all you clubbers with them )  

Cant agree more. I was looking at trying to find the end caps on my bumper onto a winch bumper if it came to it.

I have seen some discos with the winch mounted neatly away behind the lower bumper where the big hole is, where do you get these mounts from and what sort of cash are they??  

I saw them recently on the Bearmach web site. I did send an email about price but didnt get an answer. My only concern about them is that you cant see how the cable is spooling onto the drum, mud getting in and being a pig to clean and how you opperate the lever from drive to neutral for quick spooling out and also with an auto is the auto box oil cooler pipes in the way?. I wil watch this thread with a keen eye. :D It is also less visable to thieves as well and more pedestrian friendly.

[narked]

Seen them in the Bearmach catalogue too. Not found anywhere yet that stocks them, so might call into one of the Bearmach stockists in South Wales next time I'm down that way. Was in Abergavenny yesterday, but it was too late in the day for me to pop over to one of the places.

Still, need to actually get a winch as well, so no point me getting one yet ;)

[Bulli]

sorry guys but looks arent everything

agree more. I was looking at trying to find the end caps on my bumper onto a winch bumper if it came to it.


then dont bother with a winch.unless you want one purely for show(which there isnt anything wrong with). I cant see the point in spending good money on something you dont need...and im right you know i am. If you buy a low slung one...or even worse one that you keep your bumper ends with you arent going into the situations that call for a winch. A winch needs to be as high as possible or you wont be able to get the cable out...hence no point having the thing in the first place...

each to there own but if thats what you wanna use yout disco for ...spend the money on polish instead.

[narked]

Depends how extreme you plan for your winch-inducing scenarios to be, surely. I can easily see how you could get yourself stuck, with a standard bumper and low winch, and still be able to pull yourself out with that winch (or certainly a lot more effectively than a bottle of polish would... :P ). Drive within the limits of your vehicle and rescue gear, and don't expect miracles of it.

[Bulli]

yes i know that it may help but really think hard...a misused winch WILL kill...no ifs or buts they can maim and kill.

In case you hadnt noticed winches will only pull you forward, or as i prefer to call it onto more trouble!! so when you get stuck you inevitably make the situation worse before you escape. You need a decent ground anchor etc etc... its not fit and forget .

stick to polishing

[narked]

Disagree. For example where I live, during cold weather the access track ices over on one particularly steep section. After several days of hard frost, there's no way you're driving up it, but with a winch you could pull yourself up there no problem.

Not every possible situation where you're stuck ends up with going forward being worse than going back.

And a winch can kill whether it's in a low slung position or not. And if I wanted a winch for the "look at me I've got a winch" look, surely I'd be mounting it on a proper high level bumper, not hiding it away, and I have yet to take a bottle of polish anywhere near my Disco :P

[chris.hunt22]

Its always me that starts the bickering!! :lol:   I'm not after one for show, we work on MOD stuff a lot and fire engines, their winches are sometimes mid mounted, you can't even see the winch on some of them, just the end of the wire with a hook running through a fairlead, they look a lot neater than having a huge winch stuck to the bumper, I think a winch on a Defender or series looks 'cool' but my opinion is that they just look a bit daft on a Disco, it will only get used once in a blue moon anyway, its like having a gun under the bed, you are probably never gonna use it but its nice to know its there :lol:

[Bulli]

Hidden winch = winch you cant get to if anything isnt working. Lovely idea but impractical. The only reason i want a winch is to use ir. So strangely i have a winch mounted where i can access everyhting on it, as believe it or not winches do stop working..

so this one path that gets a bit of frost on it....how hard can it be? Firstly what are you goign to attach it to?? You need some form of anchor..or a better equipped vehicle to drive up first.

we were out and i drove up one route with up to 5 ft drifts with little problem, didnt need a winch but it is nice to know its there and working.Icy tracks are more dangerous onthe way down so perhaps they are best left unscaled!
i just dont get this obsession with hiding something that need regular maintainence, its just storing up trouble for later.

[Budgie]

Well, like it or not, I've got one of these and it serves me well:



Only the occasional problem with it digging in because of the overhang, the winch is easy to see for spooling the rope back on, 4 bolts and the winch is removed from the bumper for stripping after a soaking in mud (maintenance is something you HAVE to think about if you want the winch to last any length of time!!) and I didn't have to move the large intercooler or cut the grill to shreds to operate the freespool lever.

The bumper is from David Bowyer, includes towing eyes and Hi-Lift jacking points and would look really really silly with a pair of standard end caps fitted!  :P

[Bulli]

yes but budgie its so aestetically unpleasing!!

Looks just how a winch bumper shoiuld!

[chris.hunt22]

I can see peoples points of view, I can feel a fabricating challenge coming on....watch this space, as for my other questions (i know c&*k all about winches), what do people think about powering one??

[Bulli]

for occasional us 1 big batteyr is ok. problem is when you really need it you dont want it to let you down.

[Budgie]

yes but budgie its so aestetically unpleasing!!

Looks just how a winch bumper shoiuld!

What, you mean that 'used' look, covered in fly splats and rust?  :lol:

[Budgie]

I run two Numax CXV24MF batteries on mine with a split charge.
OK, so they're not gell batteries only sealed, but I got two for the price of one Optima and they suit what I use them for.
I have the split charge as the spare (winch) battery also powers the spots, roof lights, inverter and a rear power socket for running a cooler box. So I wanted something that would run that lot but left the main vehicle battery to start the vehicle in the morning.  

[Littledan]

nice bumper u got there wing nut nice and tight!
:D

[suggs]

[chiboy]

Hi can you tell me what make and how much for the bumper you just fitted  it,s just the type i,m looking for and were did you get it cheers alex

[suggs]

Devon 4x4 do one very similar to wingnuts

http://www.devon4x4.com/shop.php?mode=productview&product=201

[denviks]

heres mine.......just slapped on the front.... :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  makes it easy to clean ect.... i just run 2 batts in parralel for now,. its ok for occasional use... will do me until i get around to fitting a split charge system  

[Littledan]

i do liek the look of your motor well nice :)

dan

[denviks]

thanks bud      taking iits time to get there though ....its in LRM this month  

[Littledan]

awesome will have a look out for that!!!

dan

[way2deep]

i have a defender winch bumper on my disco,it sits on top of the chassis rails and set well back so when entering rtv trials my orignal bumper gets bolted over the top of it and it sits where it originally should be  :D

[Range Rover Blues]

Personally I wouldn't want to leave best part of £500 hung on the front of my trucj wherever I go, not to mention the extra weight that it could do without.  Mine is removable (though it could do with a stronger mount) so it will fit both ends.

[Bulli]

RRB if you get a decent solution to that please let me know. i would prefer not to spend another grand on a second winch set up. THB though i havent seen a decent demountable system other than the warn one tand then you need received hitches both ends! (which give crap approach and departure angles)

[hobbit]

Mine is bolted up in the chassis, completely hidden, I presume this is the type of thing you are looking at, the winch (Superwinch Husky) is housed in a steel box basically, the servos are upp in the wing top under the bonnet, it was rigged up to a second battery, but it was dead when I got the beast, and the guy just ran a jump lead onto the main battery to use the winch

I'll dropa couple of pics on later on

[chris.hunt22]

I knew someone would have one, look forward to the pics :D

[Range Rover Blues]

RRB if you get a decent solution to that please let me know. i would prefer not to spend another grand on a second winch set up. THB though i havent seen a decent demountable system other than the warn one tand then you need received hitches both ends! (which give crap approach and departure angles)

I could design it no problems, it's getting it made. I simply havn't the time again this year