You could, but I'm hoping it would be cheaper to have ONE winch instead of 2. Also, thats an extra 100 lbs on my rig that I wont need 99% of the time!

 

Details are his problem. I gave him an idea, he can run with it. LOL

 

I had this same thought. But I just looked under the frame, and it is really curvy. There really isn't a straight shot to the back. The passenger side has the fuel take in the back, and the drivers side has the differential in the front....

Hmmm... There has got to be a way to do it!

 

How about a hand winch?
ht tp://www.extremeoutback.com/index.cgi?cart_id=2378540.7280&pid=49

If that cable snaps when you're trying to pull it backwards...

By the time you have your five snatch blocks, pulleys and gawd knows what else to make it work, you're definitely not saving any weight over this Tuff Pull winch.

 

My thought on it is that you would create a pivot or hinge point right at the tires. What i mean is that all that pulling stress being directed backwards and downwards would cause the vehicle to want to flip over forwards. You end up as a turtle on its back.

I figure that's why the military ones are midmounted because it gets rid of that problem.

Just thinking this out loud but when i needed to flip a jeep sideways once that was basically what i did.

Then again, I went to vote today (being canadian) and maybe I just left my commonsense at the booth.

 

I went with something similar, but a little more flexible and light-weight -- the Maasdam WS-2. The idea wasn't really to haul the Jeep out backwards, but to 'assist' the rear end etc. on slippery surfaces (where the rear end can slip and slide) and tight trails. The 2 Ton rating should be enough for this, and since it uses a nylon strap, it can retract up to 6'. Maasdam also has some cable (instead of strap) pullers than can do 3-4 Tons (Maasdam 8000SB) and 12-6', but are a lot heavier than the WS-2; 36 lbs vs 8 1/2 lbs for the WS-2.

js.

 

That is kinda pricy.... You can buy a cheap winch for the same price that will pull more than only 3,500 lbs.

As for the cable snapping, I was thinking about using a synthetic line, so I don't think it would cause the same problems that a cable line would. But I could be wrong....

 

That would definitely work. I might look into that 8000SB. Its only $130 on Amazon and it would be a great tool to have until I can actually afford to purchase a winch in the first place!

But I still want to find a way to use my (future) expensive winch backwards....

 

Maybe you could attach some pulleys to the side of the frame rail following the fuel line, and then run a winch line extention and find a way to attach it to each end.

 

The essential issue is that any front mounted winch is going to require that the cable be routed as such that great stress is put on the corners of the jeep. To the point that it could bend your frame (then you only drive in circles!)

I really think that mid-mount is key here. That will give you your forward mount point, like on the corner of the frame horn. Mount 4 or 6 pulleys along the frame rail.... I think it would work if properly thought out and engineered. I took a peek under mine and I don't think there's room to mount a winch. Maybe on an Unlimited or with lotsa lift there's more space to work with down there.

Sounds easier to just use a highlift for those rare occasions that you need to haul yourself out back the way you came. So what, you gotta do it 2ft at a time? It's better than being SOL. Oh, and DON'T WHEEL ALONE! Your buddy being able to snatch you out of some trouble is good insurance.