Rear winch advice needed

I am thinking of ordering the Red winch rear trailer hitch winch from the UK. Red winches are the Ineos factory integrated winch you would get from the dealer. Long story short, I don’t order the integrated winch, have a great from light bar set up and don’t want to muck with my front bumper. So Red winches has a new rear option you install whenever you need it. Seems like a good idea and I just leave it at home when I am driving to work or day to day.

Anyone have an opinion on this? It is a 5 week lead time for their new trailer hitch cradle for the ineos that also allows you to pep the rear doors with it on.

A handful of companies make hitch mounted cradles for winches (and nearly every winch uses the 10"x4.5" mounting footprint).

A rear winch, while great in theory, is rarely actually put into use. Of course, you'll see large expedition trucks running them (mostly for symmetry in appearance or a "just in case" because on a 17,000lb or larger vehicle another 120lbs for a winch and mounting isn't going to make a difference).

Unfortunately, a hitch mounted winch will decrease the departure angle (I would imagine notably so, but can't be sure without seeing/measuring it), which means that if you aren't careful while wheeling with it on, you risk damaging it. If the plan is to only put it on after you're stuck, that may work, but probably not so well if you're sunken into anything (water or mud), and only if backwards is the way you want to go. I understand that with some creativity and enough winch extensions, you can make backwards be forwards, but...

Is it better than no winch? Probably. Is it actually going to be useful? That really depends on your particular use case.

anand said:

A handful of companies make hitch mounted cradles for winches (and nearly every winch uses the 10"x4.5" mounting footprint).

A rear winch, while great in theory, is rarely actually put into use. Of course, you'll see large expedition trucks running them (mostly for symmetry in appearance or a "just in case" because on a 17,000lb or larger vehicle another 120lbs for a winch and mounting isn't going to make a difference).

Unfortunately, a hitch mounted winch will decrease the departure angle (I would imagine notably so, but can't be sure without seeing/measuring it), which means that if you aren't careful while wheeling with it on, you risk damaging it. If the plan is to only put it on after you're stuck, that may work, but probably not so well if you're sunken into anything (water or mud), and only if backwards is the way you want to go. I understand that with some creativity and enough winch extensions, you can make backwards be forwards, but...

Is it better than no winch? Probably. Is it actually going to be useful? That really depends on your particular use case.

Click to expand...

That is really a lot to think about. I think you are correct, but my big issue is the cost to fit a new front bumper mid section and a winch and redo my front spot lights Just just sure what to do that is cost effective.

SkiBum1 said:

I am thinking of ordering the Red winch rear trailer hitch winch from the UK. Red winches are the Ineos factory integrated winch you would get from the dealer. Long story short, I don’t order the integrated winch, have a great from light bar set up and don’t want to muck with my front bumper. So Red winches has a new rear option you install whenever you need it. Seems like a good idea and I just leave it at home when I am driving to work or day to day.

Anyone have an opinion on this? It is a 5 week lead time for their new trailer hitch cradle for the ineos that also allows you to pep the rear doors with it on.

Click to expand...

I have a winch sitting forlornly in its original packing for the past several years and I thought "at last!!" I'll get a cradle and mount it in the front and/ or rear tow hitch for "special occasions". The front tow plate option is out of the question on advice from Ineos. So I asked myself
"Have I ever been in a situation where I required a rear winch?... ".....
It can't easily be used if towing a trailer or caravan, it's probably around 60+lbs of "metal" (winch + cradle) to secure safely in the cabin, unless I decide to mount it semi-permanently on the tow hitch for the duration of the trip....
I'm not 40 something any more and the thought of physically lugging it around "just in case"...ain't gunna happen...
So in its box in the cupboard in my study it sits waiting to break free! The led light on the wireless remote was useful recently when the power was off for a couple hours!
Just my 2 cents worth..

IMO a cradle mount removable winch is great in theory, in practice no good unless you’re young and strong enough to cart around 30kg in the conditions where it would be needed
Steep and slippery conditions where you have to winch backwards are not going to good for setting up a removable winch

I have a warn battery operated winch. Bought it a long time ago when I really couldn't justify the expense of a winch (read money was tight).
I've used it so little. Almost never. Got a front winch which I've used more than I thought on my other off-road vehicle.

Just installed the GP factor hidden winch. Super happy with it. Hopefully I get to test it this weekend.

I've thought about this too.

- A receiver winch mount is around $150 US on Amazon.
- if you haven't got a winch, a basic 9500 is around $300 US, the solenoid box can be moved to reduce the height to clear the door
- if just for emergencies, no need for a second battery, just basic cables that can be connected to the battery via Anderson connectors.
- a simple cradle can be made to hold the winch in the boot area, ready to move to the receiver when needed

Upsides
- A heavy winch permanently bolted up front is not ideal, especially since the IG is no lightweight already.
- A lot cheaper than a dedicated solution (although those red winches are really high quality)
- Keeping the winch in boot won't affect departure angles
- For the time you need it, it will be a godsend.

Downsides

- heavy to move
- if you are stuck on muddy ground, it will be difficult to mount
- you can only do a straight line pull, so will need a couple of snatch blocks to make sure the pull is straight
- note the receiver is rated at 350kg nose weight, so straight line is in the vertical as well as the horizontal plane
- If no trees nearby, it's just a (heavy) paperweight

Weighing it all up, I don't think a rear receiver winch is a practical solution for self recovery. Maybe I will replace the front bumper with a proper steel one if I can justify the cost.

parb said:

I have a warn battery operated winch. Bought it a long time ago when I really couldn't justify the expense of a winch (read money was tight).
I've used it so little. Almost never. Got a front winch which I've used more than I thought on my other off-road vehicle.

Just installed the GP factor hidden winch. Super happy with it. Hopefully I get to test it this weekend.

Click to expand...

How difficult was the installation? It is still possible to use the Leitner front light bar on the bumper, if you know? Here is a photo of my front bumper and so wondering if I go this route if I have a light problem.

The install wasn't difficult. I have a writeup in the GP factor hidden winch thread on the vendor area of the forum. Figure 8-10 hours for 2 people.
I had the pre wired high output electricity option in my car so electricity to the winch was prewired.

The hidden winch kit reuses the factory center bumper cover as well as the center to corner plastic covers that you replace with the leitner light bar mount. Since the kit is compatible with the stock center bumper covers the leitner bar should work with the hidden kit. I dont know if the threading is the same, the GP factor kit comes with new bolts and it looks like the leitner does as well. That may be worth checking.

parb said:

The install wasn't difficult. I have a writeup in the GP factor hidden winch thread on the vendor area of the forum. Figure 8-10 hours for 2 people.

Click to expand...

8-10 hours?!

We knocked out my LFD winch mount/winch install in a little under 3 hrs including taking photos for the install instructions along the way

With 40 years of off road experience, I have never seen a serious off roader with a rear mount. As someone else mentioned, in theory it could be handy. But in practice, its inconvenient as hell and not very useful. In all my stupid stucks its hard to pin point a time it would have helped greatly. If its one you move front to back, then it means it has to be stored inside as a giant heavy thing to lug around or have launched as a projectile. Because, if you have seen one on the front hanging 2 feet out you realize you are not going wheeling with it mounted.

parb said:

The install wasn't difficult. I have a writeup in the GP factor hidden winch thread on the vendor area of the forum. Figure 8-10 hours for 2 people.
I had the pre wired high output electricity option in my car so electricity to the winch was prewired.

The hidden winch kit reuses the factory center bumper cover as well as the center to corner plastic covers that you replace with the leitner light bar mount. Since the kit is compatible with the stock center bumper covers the leitner bar should work with the hidden kit. I dont know if the threading is the same, the GP factor kit comes with new bolts and it looks like the leitner does as well. That may be worth checking.

Click to expand...

Fantastic! Thank you