I have a question about your build. I saw the 74 came with a PTO winch which was replaced with a 24v winch. Aside from the dimensions of the front bumper, is there any functional reason why you didn't keep the PTO winch? I would think that retaining a mechanical winch would be preferable for an expedition rig. Could the front bumper just be redesigned while keeping the PTO winch?
The PTO winches are a fantastic tool, but they don't have the rating that of a modern electric winch, they are heavy and as you've noted they stick out quite far. Without making pretty drastic changes to the setup, there isn't much room to save. Could we have modified the stock PTO system? Absolutely BUT the PTO winch setups are worth a fair amount on the used market and that complete setup is now residing on another 70 Series, every PTO setup we pull off finds a pretty immediate home.
One could make some pretty compelling arguments both ways about electric versus PTO however for the type of uses this rig was intended for and my travel style in general, the electric makes more sense. I've had to winch with a disabled vehicle (i.e. motor not running) which is not an option with the PTO.
One of our other recent 70 Series did have a redesigned front end that worked out quite nicely with the PTO
Other than that, not much has changed around here on the 70 Series front for me personally. I've had my
100 Series out of service for some upgrades and service and so I've been daily-driving the 1986 BJ74 affectionately known as Righty (
detail thread here). Things have been busy on a personal and work front so we haven't made any decisions on our next build project just yet.
Here is Righty, all bone stock