Outer Limits 4x4 Board

I've been fitting a rear winch to my Feroza.
Here are some of the install pictures.
What do you all think?

Paul.

nice and neat... top job

Looks great!! is it bolted to the sub frame or just have plates under the floor?

How much water runs in the back when you reverse back??

The winch in mounted to two 10mm thick L shaped brakets that are welded to the chassis. It is then spaced through the floor so that the vehicle body holds none of the load.

As for the water question, I'd imagine it will pour in.
I am going to make a over that clips to the fairlead with a door seal around it to keep the worst of the elements out.

Paul.

looks good... question? What if you need to open the back door when the winch cable is out?

It's certainly a full bore / no compromise solution. For those of us who fill the back up with camping gear etc the water issue and reduction in space would be a challenge.

What size battery leads have you run as voltage drop over that distance would be a issue with small cables.

I only use the car for pay and play days at off road sites around the UK, so I don't need much room for extra equipment.
There is more than enough room to carry al my recovery gear behind the winch in a large container, and I might fit a false floor above the wheelarch height to increase the load area if needed.

I have a second 120 amp battery behind the passsenger seat in an enclosure. I run a slit charge system with both winches running from the second battery so that the starting battery cannot be discharged whilst winching. As the batttery in in the centre of the car, the cable distance to each winch is similar. I use very thick multi strand 200 amp cable. It is about twice the size of what most of the UK winch challenge vehicles use, so it should be fine.

On the door opening front, I remove the rear window when offroad so that it doesn't get smashed, so if I need to get in the back I just lean over the tailgate.

I had a couple of other mounting options. These were:

1, Under boot floor. (Fuel tank was in the way, it would be difficult to move and a reduction in the tank size wasn't an option).

2, On rear bumper. (The best mod carried out so far was to remove the old quater bumpers to stop them dragging everywhere, so fitting the winch and compomising the departure angle again was never going to happen).

3, Removable on reciever hitch. (when your stuck and need a rear winch it is doubtful that you would be in a position to start fitting it to the rear of the truck and if left on we go back to the departure angle issue, and to carry it would mean it being mounted in the boot anyway).

4, In rear load area. (I decided on this option because it had the least compromises to off road ability. It didn't affect the vehicle range, didn't affect the departure angle, protected from tampering and theft, and looks OK).

Paul.

I think you've done well mate

I as envious as!

Seems you have covered all the options for your application.

And as a bizarre extra - did you consider mounting the winch under the floor in the middle of the vehicle and running the cable over the fuel tank to a rear mounted fairlead ? I have a spare smaller winch ( more a boat winch ) and it seemed to be an option for rear recovery - but never got around to actually doing it

Not as bizzare as you might think.
Our old Leyland Martian heavy recoevry truck had a centre mount winch.
The IBEX uses a centre mount winch that can winch from the front or rear.

I didn't like the idea of running the cable over the top of the fuel tank. Because of the very small amount of room, it would mean lowering the tank in order to fit a guide tube for the cable to run through. The job of lowering it is easy enough, but it drags everywhere as it is.

It is possible, and would mean the load area was more useable as the winch would poke up through the floor behind the front seats instead of the opening. Best of all, it would look trick.

Go on, pull your finger out, and get it fitted so that we can see the pictures.

Paul.

i was just getting ready to do the same thing but had not figured out the mount points.............until now thanks mac, always a step ahead of me

I wouldn't have said I was a step ahead, your the one with all the tube.

Work has just got some new toys for me to play with.





I guess a rollcage is next on the menu.

Mac.

your my hero

I did the easy bit - suggest a "interesting" mod. That's the advantage of a forum - you get to look back on others ideas... without actually having to do them. No critism of your job intended - just exploring possibilities.

I didn't think you were criticising my work mate.
The more opinions on a job the better, as it's how we make progress and develop ideas.

One of my customers read the thread and fancied the centre mount winch idea for his Zuk, so as a result of you input, I've now got more work. Cheers.

Even if you had been citicising my work, I wouldn't have minded that either, as I'm definately not perfect.

Mac.