Rednroll

Awhile back I picked up a HF Badlands 2.5K winch open box item for $35 during one of their tent sales. The regular price is $78, but you can often find a coupon for it for $50. I figured for $35, what the heck I'll find a use for it. Took it home, tried it out to make sure everything was there and was working and it all checked out.

I finally got around to figuring out a use for it. I already have a 12K winch mounted on the front in my AEV front bumper but was thinking having a smaller winch in the back could add some conveniences.

My intended uses are the following which I think this winch should be able to handle.
1. Hunting: Pulling a downed deer out of a field. They can get heavy and I'm not getting any younger.
2. Camping: Dragging large logs for camp fires.
3. Yard Work: Pulling brush and bushes
4. Winter: Pulling cars out of 12in+ snow/ice that often get stuck on the roads in my neighborhood before the road crew plows the roads.

Of course most of this could be done with my front winch, but having something smaller for these smaller tasks seemed easier to manage, and less effort to wind it up and put it away.

Here's my shopping list and of course I was trying to keep this as inexpensive as possible.
1. HF Badlands 2.5K winch with wireless remote, 3/16in 50 ft steel cable, and roller fair lead= $35
https://www.harborfreight.com/2500-l...rol-61840.html

2. HF Badlands 50ft 3/16in synthetic rope, hook and fairlead= $20 (w/ 20% off coupon)
https://www.harborfreight.com/atvutv...kit-63139.html

3. 2in 3500lb rated, universal hitch receiver winch mount w/ hitch pin= $25
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

4. ATV Winch mount plate (More on this later)= $5
https://www.harborfreight.com/atvuti...ate-62445.html

5. 6 AWG 20ft Red, 5ft Black power wires=$24
https://www.ebay.com/itm/6-GAUGE-AWG...72.m2749.l2649

6. 6-8AWG quick connect/disconnect connector= $10
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

7. 15ft of 3/8in Wire loom protective wrap=$3ea(x2)=$6
https://www.harborfreight.com/3-8-ei...rap-66987.html

8. 15in Tool Bag (to put the winch in for storage and be able to carry with one hand)= $7 (w/ HF coupon)
https://www.harborfreight.com/15-in-tool-bag-62348.html

9. Conduit pipe hanger (5pk)= $3
https://www.homedepot.com/p/1-ACC-St...6781/100161284


Total Cost= $135

I didn't want to be messing with the steel cable that came with the winch and decided to just get what they had at HF in regards to synthetic rope since it came with an aluminum fair lead which I would need anyways and for $20 total, I figured it's worth a try. Was thinking if the rope breaks, I could always get some 1/4 in better stuff when/if it comes that time to cross that bridge.

Rednroll

The easy part was mounting the winch and fair lead on the hitch receiver winch mount. However, I decided that I also wanted the control box and fuse also mounted on the hitch receiver so it was a complete assembly that could just be connected to power. I considered permanently mounting the control box and fuse to my JK but then considered I wanted this to be a portable winch setup where I could just connect the complete assembly to a battery. As well, this would likely prolong the life of the control box not having it constantly being exposed to the elements if permanently mounted on the outside of my JK.

Here's what I came up with.


For $5 I purchased the winch mount plate at HF, then drilled a couple holes in it, that aligned with two of the existing holes in the receiver winch mount and bolted them together. Essentially I used the winch mount plate as an add-on bracket to the hitch receiver, to mount the control box to it.

I needed something to hold the 50Amp fuse in place where I happened to have a conduit pipe holder mount laying around which was the perfect size to put the fuse in it and then tighten the clamp to hold the fuse in place and mount the holder to the winch plate. I additionally sprayed the pipe holder with some plasti-dip to add some insulation.

I ran 16ft of 6 AWG wire wrapped in wire loom from the fused side of my battery B+ through the inside of the passenger side frame rail and out the rail at the back of the rail behind the rear bumper. The Ground wire was a shorter run connected to the rear chassis cross member. I tied these B+ and GND wires into a quick connect connector and mounted the connector to the bottom side of the rear cross member near my trailer hitch.

From there it was just plug and play.




I tested it out by putting my JKU in Neutral and setting the parking brake and did this to wind the rope onto the winch with tension on the rope. I did a snatch block double pull setup and a single pull setup without the snatch block and the winch pulled my JKU with ease.

Snatch block pull setup








Single line pull setup


The total assembly is 15in x 13in. A tight fit, but it was able to fit inside the HF 15in tool bag


and be able to zip up the bag.

Rednroll

What I plan on doing next is take a pair of jumper cables and cutting one side of the jumper clamps off and and replace them with a matching quick connector. I'm thinking this will give me a couple additional options.
1. I can use it as a portable winch setup and easily connect to another vehicles battery or a portable battery.
2. I could have a rear jump start setup by plugging the cables into the rear quick connect connector.

Heater

This a great, innovative idea. I may have to duplicate it! Thanks for this.

Rednroll

Thanks. I figured for the amount spent, and not being overly bulky in weight and size, it seems like a pretty convenient setup with room to grow if needed.

Four Low

Great idea, and well executed ! Thanks for sharing, imagination is "Priceless"

Yator

Good info above, thanks! Here are my thoughts
Hitch mounts are a good option. With the usual front bumper, I would probably get a special winch. Some pros and cons of hitch-mount winches:

Pros:
Less weight when you leave it, especially nice on sand dunes.
Electric Q / C front and rear can be used with jumpers cables - jumpstart another vehicle from behind.
You can put the winch mounting the receiver on a trailer or other vehicle.
You can carry more staff on the front receiver, like a small generator or even deer if you hunter. Also, a great place to mount dune flag or towpoint
You can let someone else borrow it.

Cons:
Not as strong for side pulls.
Heavy to handle, and it should hold tight when worn inside.
Cost savings from simpler attachment can be eaten by HD wiring that needs to go to the back.
Power output from the rear may be short if it is not sufficiently protected.

For each installation option, there is a good option for example like these winches http://huntingfishingplus.com/best-deer-hoist/ Weigh which problem is more or less important for YOU.
There are a lot of cool videos on YouTube, here’s one of them. Good luck!!!

barongan

a very interesting thread, Great idea