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Wrecker Front Winch

deuceman51

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That is called a level winder and its purpose is to help try and wind the drum in a neat mannor and keep the wire rope from crossing over itself and getting into a tangled mess. Winch trucks without that often will only wind(when winching) on one side which is responsible for the top plates on the winches getting bent. It shouldn't fit on a deuce because the winches are different and I belive the spacing will be wrong, someone else might know for sure.
 

jwaller

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hate to steal your thread but is the level winder the same as a gipsy head?
nope. separate ends of the truck.


level winders ONLY came on 5T (and 10T and bigger rear drag line setups M911 and M123) trucks and only originally on the front of the 816 and other 5T wreckers.

they can be fitted to any 20k garwood 5T winch but are not the only part of the system required to make it work. You MUST also install a tensioner so that the cable doesnt jump off the pulley when you unload the winch line.

your winch drum brake must also be in proper order so that the drum doesn't unwind when the putting tension on the cable and then releasing.
 

zebedee

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Who quoted Csm Davis: "so whats a gipsy head?" it's the pogo stick, as called by some.
Only thing that I know of that is anything like a "pogo stick" - is often a term for the 'hosetenna' on a tractor....... and therefore nothing to do with a W/W truck!!!

Is a gipsy head anything to do with a capstan type winch??
 

zebedee

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Cool, thanks I thought it was maybe some way to run the cable over or under the truck to pull out the back.
There should be a way to do it, but you'll need a few pulley wheels, associated brackets, pig tails etc., to safely route the cable smoothly to a rear fairlead past all the undercarriage etc.

Current thread on Mack wreckers has the fairlead on the front bumper - winch is way at the back (well, it's not right behind the front bumper anyway). Also a Land Rover 101 FFW(w/w) has a midships winch that pays out either end.
 

jesusgatos

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Can someone tell me what this pulley/trolley setup is, what does it do and will it fit on an M35
Not a bolt-on, but it's been done and details are on this site somewhere. There are concerns about overloading the front axle, among other things.
There should be a way to do it, but you'll need a few pulley wheels, associated brackets, pig tails etc., to safely route the cable smoothly to a rear fairlead past all the undercarriage etc.

Current thread on Mack wreckers has the fairlead on the front bumper - winch is way at the back (well, it's not right behind the front bumper anyway). Also a Land Rover 101 FFW(w/w) has a midships winch that pays out either end.
I've been thinking about center-mounting winches on my deuce and our 5-tons and it doesn't seem like it would be too complicated. Run the cable to the rear and around a pulley, then back to the front. Front pull would be single-line and rear pull would be double-line. Concerned about drag and the difficulties paying out cable though. Might not be manageable.
 

jesusgatos

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Just try paying out cable off of a rear M936 winch without bird nesting it and you'll forget all about your midship winch idea.
Actually just bought an M936A2, but it's not running so haven't had a chance to mess with it yet. Figured that a level-wind / auto-tensioner setup would be an essential part of that plan, and would obviously result in that much more additional drag. Was looking at the HET's, how they have those smaller winches to pay-out the main winch line. That might be an option. At a certain point, probably more trouble than it's worth, but there are some upsides to a single center-mounted winch too.
 
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