UTV Winch?

[Mudfarmer]

I had no problems pulling out my Kubota B2710 stuck on a slick hillside where it had slid sideways between two trees. I used my 8000# Harbor Freight winch (about $350) chained to the bucket since I had to pull it forward. No problem pulling uphill with the cable doubled back from a snatch block anchored to a tree. I usually mount that winch to a two-inch receiver I have mounted on a three-point drawbar. I use alligator clamps to the battery. perfectly satisfactory for the occasion "hesitation" and occasional log pulling.

 

[SonomaCountyGentleman]

You can easily multiply your winching power by rigging multiple snatch blocks into the winch cable to give you 2X, 3X or 4X the pulling power from whatever winch you have. With a 3500 lb winch you can realistically achieve 10,000 pounds of pull or more. However if you have any hope of recovering machinery that is heavier than your UTV you will need to find a way to anchor it so that you don’t pull the UTV closer to the stuck vehicle.

 

[Threepoint]

Discussion of tools on TBN ultimately leads to Harbor Freight as the go to source. On the other hand I don't see professionals in the field using Harbor Freight tools. You would think pros that have to replace tools often because daily use wears them out would wise up and stop paying 3 and 4 times what they would at HF.

I sure would have agreed with you ten years ago. HF has upped their game though. I do see pro techs using their tools around here these days.

 

[droy]

The other thing to always keep in mind is the inherent strength of what you mount any winch too, especially the frame strength of any ATV or UTV Their frames aren't all that substantial in the first place so mounting a large winch and getting it in a dead pull situation, you could rip the frame apart or at least tweak it and that could be way more costly to repair than your winch cost.

Beat me to it. Years ago a good friend with an immaculate 1978 Bronco found out he had waaay more winch than that Bronco had frame. We hunted a lot in the swamps of the Atchafalaya Basin. Quite often winches were our best friend, & this guy was no stranger to the game. Only good tree was at a slight angle to the stuck vehicle & end result was bent winch bumper, brackets & both frame rails.
I got an ugly lesson on the same subject when I used my Yamaha four wheelers winch to free my wooden ladder stand from under a downed tree.

 

[John_Mc]

Rural King sells their brand of UTV winches that are pretty well priced. 3500# is around $169 and 5500# is around $199.

I am considering buying one to rig up to the front or back of my GC2400.... Looks like the GC2400 is around 1400# dry weight. I have a fairly steep hill that can get slick. I would like to have the winch to help get the tractor up it, if needed.

IF I'm understanding your question, You are just needing a bit of help getting up a slick hill, not trying to pull yourself out of a situation where you are deeply mired in mud. If that's the case, you might want to consider a decent set of chains, rather than a winch. There are some good threads here on TBN comparing the pros and cons of different chain styles that may be of interest.

4-link V-bar/studded ladder style chains gut me up my icy driveway in the winter.
Pros: Relatively inexpensive, easy to mount, provide good forward traction
Cons: (1) the ride was a little rough (but bearable) on asphalt or hard ground when moving at higher speeds (I have filled rear tires. Ride would probably be better with just air in the tires, but I needed the extra weight for traction.) Lateral traction was not so good, so operation on side hills or on very uneven terrain in my woods was a problems. The "grip...slip...grip...slip" tendency of a four-link ladder style chain can damage pavement, especially for studded/v-bar chains. Going to a 2-link ladder style would improve this significantly, and would improve traction in general over the 4-link style.

DuoGrip chains: I got some studded DuoGrip chains to address the problem of poor lateral traction when working in the woods. The ladder style just was not cutting it. Pros: Forward traction was as good as the ladder style. Lateral traction was much improved. Worked well in the woods on sidehills and uneven terrain. Cons: they had a really rough ride when operating on hard surfaces. If I was going much faster than walking speed, it felt as tough I was going to shake myself and the tractor to death. I'm not sure if they make these in a size to fit your tire.

"Euro style" chains: Since I needed to drive my tractor sometimes several miles over pavement or hard-packed dirt roads and wanted to be able to travel at faster than walking speed. Pros: smooth ride, excellent traction both forward and lateral. I have not had trouble with the studs damaging paved areas - probably because the tration is good enough and continuous, so you don't spin tires easily. Cons: expensive, may not be available in a size to fit your tires?

Another style to consider (which i have not tried myself) would be two link ladder-tyle chains made with square chain. The square provides more "bite" than the traditional round (non-studded) chain, but is far less likely to damage pavement. THese are made in a size to fir your rear tires.

 

[Rod in Forfar]

A timber winch driven by the tractor's PTO is a different animal than the topic of the discussion, but a unit matched to your tractor will do an outstanding job at pulling whatever you want to move or tighten. The frame with the coarse mesh and the rear blade are integral to the unit, doubling as a safety cage for the operator and a bulldozer blade for rolling logs around and anchoring the tractor for the pull. I bought my mid-sized Fransgard privately about fifteen years ago for $2800 CDN and I have never regretted the purchase. It seems to be a long-life implement, so I have devoted an old Massey Ferguson 35 (Perkins) to running it.

 

[kpsp50]

Be careful hooking the winch to the 3 pt it is not built to be used in that way of pulling that is why there is a tow bar on the bottom of the tractor it is stronger

 

[5030]

My Taco Wagon ( Ram 2500 Power Wagon ) comes, standard, with a WARN 12K electric winch. I wish I could show, via picture, how much heavier the wiring is in the engine compartment because of this winch. I got the Taco Wagon, new, in 2019 and have yet to need the winch. If I were to do SERIOUS 4 wheeling - a double fluke boat anchor would be stashed away on the pickup. There seldom seems to be a good anchor point when you really need one. A boat anchor was standard equipment when four wheeling in Alaska. The scrawny birch and spruce trees were NEVER good anchor points.
View attachment 760966

Not to initiate a pizzing match with you but the frame ears on Dodge and RAM pickup trucks are inherently weak. One reason they suffer from 'death wobble' as the stock mounted steering box loosens up. There is an aftermarket fix but the issue should not be there in the first place and it has to to with the frame ears out front and the lack of proper support. You get that in a hard double line dead pull, you could very well 'screw the pooch'. I'd be very careful winching from the front, like I said with a double line (snatch block) pull... and I think I'd add some kind of 'Bull Bar' to the front, as that wimpy bumper and plastic fascia isn't going to take much without breaking.

 

[Xfaxman]

Nice wench .

 

[Golden Rocket]

Thought this would be the best place for this question. Rural King sells their brand of UTV winches that are pretty well priced. 3500# is around $169 and 5500# is around $199. I had a 3500# on my sportsman that drug as big a log as I am ever going to drag and easily pulled that atv out of anything.

I am considering buying one to rig up to the front or back of my GC2400. I know both winches will pull logs easily for me, but has anyone used a winch like this to pull a sub compact tractor out of a situation? Looks like the GC2400 is around 1400# dry weight. I have a fairly step hill that can get slick. I would like to have the winch to help get the tractor up it, if needed.

I know that math adds up but I am sure there are things I am missing or I am not experienced with. The only real winching I have done is with the one on my ATV.

Your winch should be rated double to what your typical load would be - ie, if pulling your tractor is expected to be the heaviest load, take double the weight of your tractor for your winch rating. This is to ensure you have the margin of coverage if mired - other than this approach, you will need snatch blocks and a lot of cable to make 2 to 1 or higher pulls.

 

[Jonsdeere]

Aside from having a short duty cycle, many relatively inexpensive winches have very slow retrieval speeds which make them frustrating to deal with. I have a Warn 9500 ti on my Jeep that will pull the Jeep with all four wheels locked up. As others have mentioned, the quality of the battery makes a huge difference in winch performance.

 

[charles todd]

Rigging a tractor with a winch sounds comical. I've been around farming,ranching and construction over 70 years and never saw anyone rig a tractor with a winch.

I have thought about mounting a 8k-12k winch on the front of my P7010C. Battery is right up front.

Have had a few times I have got in a bind and it would have recovered itself. Can also use it for recovering other things too.

CT

 

[jigs_n_fixtures]

Anybody ever watch a movie called “The Gods Must Be Crazy”?

There is a scene in it where the guy gets the Land Rover stuck in the river. He wades ashore with the line from the PTO winch, and gets it hooked over a large tree limb about twenty feet in the air, gets the Land Rover unstuck. His lady passenger goes into the bush to relieve herself, and gets stuck on a “wait a minute bush”, and starts screaming. So, he charges off to see what’s going on, and leaves the rover idling with the winch still engaged. By the time he gets her unstuck, and back to the rig, it is hanging in the tree, with the winch all the way in, and the motor stalled.

 

[bcp]

Bruce

 

[MarblemountLane]

That was a hilarious scene. I used to laugh at the old Koenig PTO winch commercial showing a 4x4 winching itself out of deep water. The one place I do not want a PTO winch is where I may have the engine flooded out.

A word about winch ratings: a 10,000 lb. rated electric winch will pull 10,000 lbs. just before it stalls (or melts down), if it has one wrap of line on the drum, the battery feeding it is perfect, the cables are big and have no losses, and the stars align correctly. A 10,000 lb. PTO winch is rated to pull 10,000 lbs. but with a V8 engine driving it, the only real limit is when something breaks. My Badland 12,000 lb. winch is marked in the manual and on the winch: 1st layer of wire rope = 12,000 lb. 2nd layer = 9,550 lb. 3rd layer = 8,000 lb. I don’t think it has that many wraps, but the winch is also marked 4th layer = 6,800 and 5th later = 6,000 lb.

Had the opportunity to salvage some logs a couple days ago. Wished for my ex-Navy 1966 International 1300 4x4 with Ramsey 10,000 lb. PTO winch. But that truck has been down for a few years. I have a receiver mount 10,000 lb. harbor Freight “Road Shock” that I bought around 2013, when the Ramsey REP8000 was stolen off my car trailer. I also have the fresh “Badlands” 12,000 but did not try to use that. The newer winch has only 65 feet of line. The Road Shock has 100’ and we needed it. Give that some thought. The old Warn 8000 and 8274 winches carried 150’ of 5/16 (I gather the new and extremely expensive 8274’s hold 125’ of 3/8 line). My Ramsey PTO came with 150’ of 3/8, and when I broke that yarding logs I bought 165’ of new 3/8 line. Many of today’s winches keep cost, size, and weight down by carrying only 65’ of line. Take a hard look at your likely uses.

We did OK, salvaging five 33 ft. saw logs left from a truck accident, after cutting them into 16-1/2’ logs, dragging sideways a bit with a carefully placed snatch block (not one of the toys they sell in 4x4 stores, a real Young 6” block from logging days), then winching uphill to near the trailer where I could get them with the tractor and load them onto the 16’ trailer with tongs on the bucket.

Making a rear fairlead bracket so I could use my “loading winch” to winch off the back of the car trailer was fun. We did give the winch a few breaks to cool down. The first group 27 deep cycle battery got tired before we were done, but I had another.

I have a three point boom pole for the Massey Ferguson 204 (County Line brand from Tractor Supply), and I set that up with a little old 3,500 lb. Powerwinch VR192, a block at the end and a fall block so I can double the 7/32” line. Not ideal; those boxy little Powerwinches where intended primarily for loading boats onto trailers, and they have no power out. But I had the winch. So far, this “world’s smallest logging skidder” has worked fine for harvesting firewood.

Consider your application. Consider your budget. Get what you can, then know its limitations and don’t exceed them.

BTW some PTO’s actually ARE reversible, but that’s pretty much accidental in the case of the MF Work Bulls with Massey’s ReversOmatic ahead of the transmission.

 

[Username Taken]

Years ago, when I used to play in the mud with my poor old Bronco, I had a 12k Warn Winch with the brush guard, etc on it. It would pull like a bear but I couldn't keep the tires from dragging. Especially when I was hooked to a 4k lb Swamp Buggy stuck in 4 feet of mud.

So I started carrying a boat anchor with me. Complete with about 6 feet of heavy chain and at least 50 feet of line like you'd have on a boat. It was a 22lb Danforth, IIRC. But they've gotten stupid pricey because -- Well, they can. You can find them cheap online and if you use your winch often, I recommend having that anchor to tie off of your rear (or front, depending where your winch is.

The anchor will grab and let you pull whatever. When I was done, I'd run over the anchor to break it loose. Didn't always work so I sacrificed a few anchors to the mud gods. Cheaper than finding a front loader to pull you out. Not a front-end-loader, I mean a Front Loader.

 

[coast40]

Discussion of tools on TBN ultimately leads to Harbor Freight as the go to source. On the other hand I don't see professionals in the field using Harbor Freight tools. You would think pros that have to replace tools often because daily use wears them out would wise up and stop paying 3 and 4 times what they would at HF.

I was surprised to see HF winches in Matt's Off Road Recovery videos on Youtube.

 

[walhondingMF]

Just something quick to bring this thread back up...
So Rural King switched winch brands and the old ones were on sale. Picked up a 3500# X Factor for $75, so even if it gets ruined, it was cheap.
I have it mounted to a receiver on a plate I bought from amazon. All the wiring complete except 1 thing. The switch has a 3rd red wire that is labeled "key" which I am assuming is to run to the key switch somehow so the winch only works when the key is on. I would prefer to just have it run "hot" all the time so I do not need the switch on. Do I simply need to just NOT hook this wire up to anything or does it need to be spliced into the "hot" power wire for the winch?

 

[koshari]

I would suspect it needs power, just try it, can only be one of the 2 scenarios you mentioned.

 

[WranglerX]

I would suspect it needs power, just try it, can only be one of the 2 scenarios you mentioned.

Ditto.....