Member Since: 11 May 2009
Location: Surrey
Posts: 243
Talk to me about winches and anchors!
After a year or so without a D3 in my life I'm having serious withdrawal symptoms and will be looking around in the next few months for an older D3 which to use as a second vehicle. It'll be used as a shooting truck and will be offroad quite a lot, several times a week and often I'll be on my own and may be late at night. I've now been properly stuck a couple of times (once in my D3, once in a "lesser" japanese 4x4 ) - both times I was able to rely on mates to help out, but despite lots of digging and pulling with pickups etc, but times needed a tractor to get me out! There may be occasions where, late at night, I'd not be so lucky and wouldn't be able to summon a tractor!!
On both occasions the ground was open fields, wet, boggy etc and no trees around to winch from, so what I'm looking at is fitting a winch to a D3 for very basic, straight pulls off a ground anchor of some sort. I'm not looking at anything complex or winching at any steep angles etc, literally just to pull myself out if I get bogged down.
So:
- how much will it cost to install a winch?
- concealed or exposed?
- what type of ground anchor?
- any other advice?
If you are looking at recovery from being bogged up to the axles then the pull is going to be 2 x vehicle weight as a minimum for winch/ kit rating ie more strain than a straight pull up a 45 deg slope
Get an external winch mount, you really don't want to be taking the front bumper off to sort a tangled wind rope in the dark!!
As for ground anchors, I'd get three x 2" square steel pins about 4ft long. Heavy as hell, but very effective when linked together in a straight line with straps, oh you'll also need a sledge hammer to get then in!
Hope that helps!
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22nd Feb 2012 10:52 am
J
Member Since: 11 May 2009
Location: Surrey
Posts: 243
Cool - thanks.
So something like the Goldfish TDS 12000lb winch, a winch mount from RLD and I'm good to go?
22nd Feb 2012 12:09 pm
Dave T
Member Since: 03 Jul 2009
Location: Glasgow
Posts: 6910
I have the goldfish 9500 on a defender, great winch, remember to ask for show prices if you can't get to a show
We also tried out a friends ground anchor a few weeks ago, it was basically a length of steel with about 8 pins, each around 3 feet long that you hammered into the ground, that would hold anything. Very heavy, I think it was an ex MOD one will try and find details.
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22nd Feb 2012 12:40 pm
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J wrote:
Cool - thanks.
So something like the Goldfish TDS 12000lb winch, a winch mount from RLD and I'm good to go?
I've got the 12,000 TDS on mine, but with the STD Warn/LR External winch mount. I needed to elongate a couple of the mounting points to fit it in, but it was excellent at dragging me up a 50degree slope and then lowering down a defender on the same slope. No real brake heat on the drum, so dyneema rope was perfect.Bodsys Brake Bible
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22nd Feb 2012 1:50 pm
AAA.Happy.Disco1.Fan
Member Since: 04 Nov 2010
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Wow, Bodsy.
Is that THE 'Sky Bridge' in S France?
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22nd Feb 2012 1:53 pm
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it's the Milau viaduct, we stopped there en-route back from a week in the Pyrennees last year. Was worth the small detour as I'd never seen it before. Bodsys Brake Bible
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22nd Feb 2012 1:55 pm
z4cAtS
Member Since: 05 May 2011
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Obviously you would need an discount OEM sump guard when you get the winch (Remap, EGRs Blanked,Silicon I/C hose) from BAS, (Torque Convertor, Compressor, FL Wishbones, Alternator) by WD, Belts by Newbury4x4, Megaflush+extra cooler by GRGB, Diff+Transfer oils, ARB Bushes, Fuel filter, Fixed Towbar, Remote FBH.
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22nd Feb 2012 6:33 pm
Donald
Member Since: 15 May 2007
Location: Inverness
Posts: 188
You might consider Devon 4x4's ground anchor -2 parts, blade and shaft - I find it quicker to set and remove when solo. It also holds better in soft peat than a pin and plate or the three pins roped together type.
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22nd Feb 2012 6:38 pm
leeds
Member Since: 30 Aug 2010
Location: West Yorkshire
Posts: 4314
My first thought on reading the OP question was why go for a winch, why not have a rear axle ARB air locker fitted. A quick look on their website and a phone call and that possible solution is out of the window as there is not one currently available for a D3/4!
Driving into boggy areas at night time as a solo vehicle in our Defender at the first sign of lack of traction/ground strength the rear axle locker would be engaged and I would be considering alternative routes, including reversing back out onto solid ground.
Roof mounted lights are useful for helping to spot 'dodgy' ground.
Front mounted winches can actually get you deeper into the mire first before extracting the vehicle! Often the easiest way out could be extraction backwards onto the solid ground you have just left.
Consider a demountable winch, that way you have choice of direction.
Ground anchors?
Fixed blade anchors such as the X Eng ones are strong but bulky and mainly used by the comp boys
Devon 4x4 removeable blade ground anchor is a good anchor but the main stem of that anchor goes across the full width of a Defender
Foldable ground anchors exist such as the Pull Pal or the PRT will probably be easier to stow.
Brendan
Last edited by leeds on 23rd Feb 2012 1:29 pm. Edited 1 time in total
23rd Feb 2012 10:42 am
AAA.Happy.Disco1.Fan
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Hello Brendan
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) - both times I was able to rely on mates to help out, but despite lots of digging and pulling with pickups etc, but times needed a tractor to get me out! There may be occasions where, late at night, I'd not be so lucky and wouldn't be able to summon a tractor!!
