This might be a little silly but does the mount hang low enough, and does it have enough room so the tire doesn't hit it when mounting it on the hitch?
I have a question for those who have a badlands winch hitch mounting kit, a 12,000lb winch and big tires on their TJs.
- Thread starter nightcrawler
- Start date
Hitch is in the center and I doubt it would make any contact with tires... front or rear.
It would hit everything else... completely change your approach or departure angles.
It's why we mount them on top of or inside front bumpers.
Now...if you used Anderson connectors for the power...and removed the winch every time then much less of an issue.
I have a 3500 lbs ATV winch with 1/4" synthetic cable. I've occasionally used it on the back of my Jeep with a recovery ring. The winch plate it welded to a receiver since I couldn't find anything as small as I wanted.
-Mac
It would hit everything else... completely change your approach or departure angles.
It's why we mount them on top of or inside front bumpers.
Now...if you used Anderson connectors for the power...and removed the winch every time then much less of an issue.
I have a 3500 lbs ATV winch with 1/4" synthetic cable. I've occasionally used it on the back of my Jeep with a recovery ring. The winch plate it welded to a receiver since I couldn't find anything as small as I wanted.
-Mac
Lol I should've been more specific that's on me, I meant "would it hit the spare?" But now I think I'm going to go with your Anderson connection system suggestion, thats right up my alley, thank you!
Hitch mounted winches on front or rear are generally not a good idea. Much better to mount on the front bumper. There is a reason most/all do that.
Could be wrong. D
Could be wrong. D
Good point about the approach/departure angles — a hitch-mounted 12k winch would definitely be hanging pretty low. On a TJ with bigger tires you’d probably clear the rubber fine, but you’d end up plowing dirt and rocks with the mount.Hitch is in the center and I doubt it would make any contact with tires... front or rear.
It would hit everything else... completely change your approach or departure angles.
It's why we mount them on top of or inside front bumpers.
Now...if you used Anderson connectors for the power...and removed the winch every time then much less of an issue.
I have a 3500 lbs ATV winch with 1/4" synthetic cable. I've occasionally used it on the back of my Jeep with a recovery ring. The winch plate it welded to a receiver since I couldn't find anything as small as I wanted.
-Mac
I’ve seen a couple guys run them with quick disconnects like you mentioned (Anderson plugs), and as long as you only slap it on when needed, it works. For regular use though, bumper or in-bumper mounts are just way more practical.
bond...vagabond
New Member
I learned winch safety from real loggers while i was logging logs, in oregon where all the pretty winches grow. I was taught to never winch from a tow hitch, they arent designed for the kinda side loads you can get, and if its a big hitch, its on a big heavy truck, they dont make 12k hitches for suzuki samurais, hah. In normal application, since ideal tongue weight is like 10-15% of trailer weight, the only side loads its designed for are the slight tail wagging the dog that a trailer does. If you do a panic move when towing, things frequently break.
Now, that being said, ive used hitch mounted wimches before, but i mentally de-rate them, and only do straight pulls. Just make sure you know the loads can double or quadruple the rig weight if its sunk in sticky mud up to the axles or windows. It can be convenient to throw a winch on front or back ok narrow trails like what we had out in colorado, or the cascades in oregon, with a big dropoff, nice to not try to turn around to winch your buddy.
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