Foers winch system (mid mount)

[Myopic]

hi all! has anyone seen or heard of this setup? I read about this months ago and wondered how it might fare set up in a duece. Basically I'm with the last poster on the winch mod thread below who has a rear mounted winch. Lacking a factory winch , a rear facing winch just makes more sense to me. A reciever winch sounds like a good compromise for a light truck or suv, but I don't know how much work it would be to move it from front to rear or vise/versa. Whilst mired of course.

Mr Foers, in a land rover I think, mounted a winch inboard between yhe frame rails. Facing backwards, the line goes to a snatch block held in the rear bumper with a large pin. From there, the line returns and goes into a flared pipe ultimately exiting at the front of the vehicle. Front pulls would be single line pull, rear would be 2-1 with snatch block pulled and attached to anchor point. So, one winch with the capability of pulling from front and/or rear.
I'd like to get some input on this system to see if it's viable on a duece. I don't see any reason why it woulnt work. Probably have to stick with wire rope so it would spool corectly and be large enough of course.

Here's a link that shows what this setup is capable of.



Foers 4WD Winch

 

[jesusgatos]

Posted a similar question a while ago, and someone suggested pretty much what you're talking about, with links and some diagrams, but I can't find the thread. Anybody got a link?

 

[Myopic]

Link works fine, if it was a snake...

Right under where I wrote " here's a link ect."

or goggle it if you want- (foers winch)

 

[Myopic]

just read that again- Sorry, thought you didn't see the link.

 

[Derrickl112]

The LMTV's use a similar set up

 

[srodocker]

wonder if you could do that on a deuce like where the spare tire carrier is.

 

[Floridianson]

His cable is not going to last long running it through the hook like that without the proper end.

 

[Dodge man]

The biggest problem that I can see is that the winch mount and surrounding frame must all be capable of taking the maximum load that the winch can produce. AND if you run the winch cable trough a block and reverse it's direction then the entire frame from the block to the winch must be able to take the load. Essentially the winch will try to "crush" the frame between itself and the block so the frame must be able to resist that. Most frames are designed to support a vertical load (the weight of the bed and body) and are not designed to resist longitudinal compression. To reverse the pulling direction, you'd be much better off to avoid using a block to reverse the line direction and, instead, get under the vehicle and pull the line from the top of the winch drum instead of the bottom (or vice versa). That way you would entirely avoid compressing the frame and you'd also gain ~30 feet of line since it would no longer be running back and forth under the vehicle.

Also the frame around the front and rear fairleads must be strong enough to resist the sideloads generated by pulls that are off-center. For example if you're trying to unstick the vehicle and it weighs 10,000 pound and the line is anchored 30 degress to one side then you're going to have an approximately 3,000 pound side load on the fairlead assembly and it's mounts. The further off center the line is then the greater the side load on the fairlead will be. If your line were to go 90 degress to the vehicle then the fairlead will have to carry the entire pulling tension generated by the winch. Not only do you have to worry about tearing the fairlead out of it's mounts but also you could twist the frame. For example, it your vehicle is if stuck at the rear wheels and you route the line out the front fairlead and off to one side then that side load will try to "bend" your vehicle between the fairlead and the rear axles. You have to consider if your frame, axles, rear springs, etc, etc can withstand that stress.

For light pulls you'll probably never have a problem but we all know how well some people can get their MVs stuck and it takes a lot to unstick them. I've seen more than one person shatter the front winch on a deuce while trying to pull it free! For those kinds of pulls, you definitely need a frame, springs, suspension, winch and fairlead mounts, etc that are designed and built for those loads and not just a block and fairleads tacked onto the vehicle frame..

 

[tcody]

Center mounted winches with front and rear fairleads are pretty common in european trucks ie MAN. The twist here is that it looks like he is using a double line pull front and rear via a snatch block to keep from having to rethread the cable along the frame. Usually in the MAN you just pull the cable which ever direction you want and make a single line pull. Having the winch mounted in the center makes sense, you just have too fabricate the pulleys to get the cable to go along the frame in both directions. I am not too sure how a tube would work - generally if you are needing a winch you are in the mud and I would think a long tube would get full of it. I would just have an open pulley sustem that is easy to clean/hose off. You will probably need one to change direction and a couple of guide pulleys to keep it off the frame and other components.

 

[jesusgatos]

Just stumbled across another discussion about this mid-mount winch system.