Hitch Mounted Winch

mrchips

Adventurer
Yes they can work,mostly only on straight line pulls,,, make sure you have a hitch that can handle the load of your winch and have it welded on, not bolted. The down side is if you need to pull at any angles the hitch is not built to withstand those forces.
You can also remove it and place it in the rear hitch for a reverse pull.
 

HenryJ

Expedition Leader
Love mine

Poser.JPG
fl16.JPG
fl18.JPG
fl20.JPG
 

WMDunkin

Adventurer
so what kind of angles can you get out of them? 45*? 20*? Also if the towin cap. is say 4500 should the winch not be more then that?
 

bfdiesel

Explorer
My "cradle" sits flush against my bumper (6"x4"x1/4" square tube) so I use it just like a permenantly mounted one, so 90*. How the hitch on the vehicle is installed will have more to do with how well it works and the angles you can pull at.
 

HenryJ

Expedition Leader
so what kind of angles can you get out of them? 45*? 20*? Also if the towin cap. is say 4500 should the winch not be more then that?
I would suggest you use as strong a receiver and cradle as possible to minimize the chance of damage to either.
There is no way to say what is the perfect pull and what the capabilities are for every situation. I would not be afraid to pull mine 90 degrees to the side if I needed to. Could that stress the frame? Sure. Weigh the risk vs benefit. Is a straighter pull a better choice? Yes.
This boulder needed to be cleared to open the road out.
boulder.JPG

A straight pull was not possible. Using a pulley and some distance we were able to pull it off the side and roll it down the valley safely.
boulder.JPG
boulder2.JPG
boulder3.JPG

Class III hitches can be rated to 10,000# (weight distributing) but may be as low as 3500#, Class V may be 18,000# . Keep in mind those ratings are deceptive. It is rated for highway use pulling a load attached to a ball. The hitch is rated for tongue weight much lower than the load. That is a no-brainer. The strength of the hitch is not for loads applied downward. Think about pulling a heavy load and the forces applied. Use that as consideration when rigging a pull. This applies to all mounts, receiver and frame mounted. A side pull can tweak the frame of a vehicle in either case.
If you are a hardcore mudbogger, or rock crawler, then a receiver mount winch is probably not for you. A frame mounted winch plate is less likely to harm the mount and has less leverage on a side pull.

Having the ability to pull through that snow drift, mud hole, or slip off the road has been priceless to me. Even used for a little yard work.
yardwork2.JPG

Not having to pack it every day on a daily driver is huge to me. It can sit in the garage out of the weather when not required. I carry a set of booster cables that use the same connector as my cradle mounted winch. That allows me to use the winch in the receiver of any vehicle. I also have a receiver mounted to the front of my car trailer. The winch can be used there to load a vehicle. I have probably used it there more than any use.
Lots of options. That works for me. Having the option to winch backward out has value to me as well. Sure I could rig a rear pull, but putting it in the rear receiver eliminates lots of work.
 

ert01

Adventurer
My bumpers are both made from 3/16 steel and I put receivers in them for my winch. For me, the up sides of having a removable winch far outweigh the negatives.

It is removable so there is less wear and tear on the winch from road and weather conditions.
It is lighter and doesn't stick out if I remove it for when using my jeep as a daily driver.
I can use it on my front or rear bumper as needed. I made an extension cord for it out of some welding cable and some quick disconnects.


Sent from my GT-P3113 using Tapatalk HD
 

WMDunkin

Adventurer
I would suggest you use as strong a receiver and cradle as possible to minimize the chance of damage to either.
There is no way to say what is the perfect pull and what the capabilities are for every situation. I would not be afraid to pull mine 90 degrees to the side if I needed to. Could that stress the frame? Sure. Weigh the risk vs benefit. Is a straighter pull a better choice? Yes.
This boulder needed to be cleared to open the road out.
boulder.JPG

A straight pull was not possible. Using a pulley and some distance we were able to pull it off the side and roll it down the valley safely.
boulder.JPG
boulder2.JPG
boulder3.JPG

Class III hitches can be rated to 10,000# (weight distributing) but may be as low as 3500#, Class V may be 18,000# . Keep in mind those ratings are deceptive. It is rated for highway use pulling a load attached to a ball. The hitch is rated for tongue weight much lower than the load. That is a no-brainer. The strength of the hitch is not for loads applied downward. Think about pulling a heavy load and the forces applied. Use that as consideration when rigging a pull. This applies to all mounts, receiver and frame mounted. A side pull can tweak the frame of a vehicle in either case.
If you are a hardcore mudbogger, or rock crawler, then a receiver mount winch is probably not for you. A frame mounted winch plate is less likely to harm the mount and has less leverage on a side pull.

Having the ability to pull through that snow drift, mud hole, or slip off the road has been priceless to me. Even used for a little yard work.
yardwork2.JPG

Not having to pack it every day on a daily driver is huge to me. It can sit in the garage out of the weather when not required. I carry a set of booster cables that use the same connector as my cradle mounted winch. That allows me to use the winch in the receiver of any vehicle. I also have a receiver mounted to the front of my car trailer. The winch can be used there to load a vehicle. I have probably used it there more than any use.
Lots of options. That works for me. Having the option to winch backward out has value to me as well. Sure I could rig a rear pull, but putting it in the rear receiver eliminates lots of work.

Thanks man that is very helpful. We are in the market for a new vehicle here shortly and one of the options doesn't really have aftermarket bumpers available. So a front and rear hitch is all that I would have to work with. It would be a 3-4 times a year use kind of thing as well.
 

buckshot500

Observer
I have a Smittybuilt XRC8 on a hitch plate. Both of my jeeps have front and rear CL III hitches.

I use 175amp Anderson connectors mounted near the hitch, so i can unplug the winch easily.
I ran 4 AWG to connect the plugs to the battery. On one jeep I ran both wires to the battery, on the other jeep I used the chassis as the ground with only a short length to connect the plugs.

I have made many pulls, but nothing really on more than a 45 degree side angle. If I were going to try a more severe angle, I'd want to keep a close eye on the hitch mounts.
I welded the front hitch on my wrangler, but my cherokee is just bolted. I plan to install some stiffener/ bumper plates and tie them into the new bumper i'm going to make.

Seems to be working well, and it's nice to leave the winch in the shed when it's not needed.
 

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