The Buggy Winch

 There we were on the Sleeping Princess trail. It was my first trip with my up- graded winch. I had just been using a 3000lb winch and was just given an 8000lb Ramsey for free, I had to put in on. After a week of pondering the look I bit the bullet and installed it. The Laughlin run was to be its acceptance trip and see how my fellow buggies liked or disliked it. Was it over kill? We were soon going to find out. The “Sleeping Princess” trail is a class 7 jeep trail and we were ascending steadily up hill. The terrain was increasing with difficulty on every turn of the road. My co-pilot and I just rounded the bend to find Dennis stalled mid span on the worst slope of the ride. Dennis was not able to reverse safely with out rolling due to the steepness and rocks of the trail. The decision was made to get above Dennis and lower him with the my winch to a safer spot .The gods of traction and horsepower were with me as I accelerated up and around Dennis I was able to reposition “Gadget” on a small rock bluff above him. Ken T was already on top and got behind “Gadget” with the “Blue& White” and I anchored my strap to him. We were set. We hooked up to Dennis and with every wind of the 100’cable we got him down. Phew! My smaller winch would of never stood a chance. The 100’cable length was a big plus from my 50’ I had. This was to be a major help for what was about to come.

          It turned out that Dennis had a carburetor problem and could not accelerate up hill. We now had to get him out of where we were. So we Got “Gadget” up and around again, secured back into position and started again. but this time up hill.  The larger winch pulled Dennis up with out a strain. My smaller winch would not of had the length or power to even attempt this. This new upgrade was the star of the day.

So if you’re thinking of installing a winch on your buggy, here are some ideas to think about.

THE WEIGHT OF THE BUGGY

The first consideration is how much winch will you need? For starters get your buggy weighed. Load up all the typical gear and essentials normally taken on an off road trip. Include yourself. If you take an ice chest loaded with refreshments include that too!  Don’t guess about your buggies weight. Spend a few dollars and get an accurate picture of how much mass you will need to move with a winch.

The general rule of thumb for picking the minimum size for a winch is to get one with a rating at least double the weight of your vehicle the reason for this is safety. If you put undersized winch on your vehicle and take it past its limits the chance of breaking the cable increases sharply. A broken cable under load is a very dangerous situation and needs to be considered with every pull of the winch. Over kill is not a bad thought when picking your equipment in this situation.

This tactic doubles the leverage but also uses twice as much cable. Loss of cable length is usually not an issue in flat terrain where short pulls are fairly normal but is a different situation in the hills where you’ll need all the cable you have.

Since most buggies weigh 1300-1600 lbs., a 3000 lb. winch should be the minimum size you select. I ran a 3000 lb winch with a pulley for years on my buggy named Gadget, and that light duty winch got me out of nearly every flat work situation.  A 2500 lb or smaller winch is too small for use with a fiberglass buggy and should not be considered for safety reasons.

Self-Recovery winches are the next step up in winch size. This category of winch will work very well in all off road applications for buggies. They range from 5000-15000 lb. single cable strength, and cable diameters are between 5/16-7/16 inch. Cable lengths are generally 80-150 feet.  These winches weigh between 50 and 100 lbs., but the additional weight can be an asset if one is trying to keep the buggy front end down. If you are planning to get into rocky areas, canyons, and steep climbs a Self Recovery unit can get you or your friends out of almost any trouble. You will be able to run their cables full length and not have to use a pulley in most situations. The bigger cable diameter and length, combined with the additional spooling power, is a must in mountainous and rocky situations where you have the potential to use every bit of cable.

When I upgraded from a 3000 lb. to the 8000 lb. winch I have now I spent a lot of time trying to visualize the bigger winch on “Gadget,” wondering if such a big contraption would look out of place? Once I removed the old winch and set the new one in place I stood back and said, “Oh yeah.”

MOUNTING THE WINCH

When looking for a mounting spot the first consideration is space. I recommend you find or make a bumper that will provide enough space to fit the winch either behind or on top of the bumper. You will then need to either buy and modify a pre-manufactured mounting plate to fit, or weld your own ¼ inch plate in the mounting position you have selected. I prefer the factory mounting plates because they have the mounting holes for the fairlead and winch already drilled.  All you have to work out is proper placement.  Once the plate is mounted don’t forget to run a couple of support bars from the back of the plate back to the frame this to support the bracket from twisting etc. You need to make sure this is a SOLID and SECURE mount. Good welding with grade 8 bolts.

Another option is to make the winch removable so that you have the option of when and where you want to mount your winch. Ken T. built his winch so it slides into a receiver system. He installed both a front and a rear receiver and one can use the winch on either end of the buggy, a nice feature if you need to back out of difficult terrain.

Once your winch is mounted you will need to hook it up to battery power. When running a small ATV winch (>3000 lb) a good single battery should work fine since most of the pulls will be short. The larger Recovery winches often need to support long sustained pulls and a second backup battery with a selector switch is a good idea. On one of our trips I had to make sure the engine did not stall while doing a long pull because of a charge system malfunction. This could have been a big problem if another buggy could not get close enough on a narrow trail to give me an occasional jump. Make sure the cables from your winch to the battery are large enough to handle the amperage draw of your winch. Since the buggy battery is in the rear and the winch is in the front one can figure on running six to eight feet of power cable.

The last and final part of the installation is to make sure you have sufficient locations in the front and rear of your buggy so you can attach security lines and tow straps. Anchor your buggy before attempting to pull another buggy out of trouble. Trees, rocks, and even other buggies may be used for anchors. Even if your buggy does not have a winch provide some area where a winch or tow strap can be attached in case you need to help anchor the winch buggy, or to attach the cable in case your buggy gets stuck.

ITEMS TO CARRY

Ø      Tow strap- One at a minimum; carrying two is better. You’ll need these as anchor straps or to extend your winch cable reach

Ø      Gloves- a must when handling cable

Ø      Pulley- doubles your winch strength and also can be tied to an anchor to direct your cable angle

Ø      First Aid kit

SAFETY

Safety= One Winch = One Captain.

When under pressure people do crazy things with good intentions. Go slow and pay attention to everyone in the vicinity. A cable can snap with out warning and fingers can get caught in a winch.  PAY ATTENTION!  Have a safe trip.

Gene C

#729 GADGET