Mounting of winches

Can anyone tell me if mounts for electric winches are the same between brands? i.e. can I mount a TJM winch in an ARB bar?

Winches can by physically different sizes, depending on the model. Similarly, the size of winch the bar will accommodate will depend on the type and model of bar.

Unfortunately, what you have described in brief is a can of worms.

^ yep, just wait because Krankin has a pic for that.

BUT - on the bright side - Ironman, Tigerz, Aldi (AutoXS) and several other brands would all have similar footprints, and the 4300Kg AutoXS winch that I got fit perfectly in my ARB-made Nissan-supplied steel bullbar designed for the Warne 9000lb and 12000lb winches.

All I had to do was obtain longer bolts as the supplied bolts were designed for 3mm supports and no fairlead (despite the winch coming with its own fairlead). I had to get 5mm longer bolts for the bottom, and 10mm longer bolts for the top, so that it could be mounted - and don't forget, these are special high tensile bolts too. The Nissan/ARB bullbar has 6mm laminated plate to mount the winch to, and the fairlead adds a further 3mm to that.

Hey Tony,

Careful with what winches you decide can fit in what bars.....for example, I would be VERY surprised if a Warn 12,000lb winch would fit inside your bar, or my ARB bar for the D40. The 9.5XP that I fitted is a rather snug fit, and it's only 58cm wide according to specs, the 12K Warn is 63.5cm wide. As they say, size matters... Having fitted it myself, you'll have to take my word for it when I say it was a tight fit.

It's not just whether the thing will physically fit inside the bar, but how it fits with regard to alignment of the winch spool and the mounting of the fairlead etc.

I fit an ALDI special to my mates Ranger, into an ARB Sahara bar, had the same issue as Tony, needing us to buy longer bolts. Think we also needed to drill a couple of holes in the fairlead too, can't remember.
I'm getting a Sahara bar on my nav in next week or so, no winch yet, suppose i'll do some research when it comes time to put one in

I also had to drill additional holes in the fairlead of my Warn when fitting it to the ARB Deluxe bar of my D40 - however it was all covered in the detailed winch fitting instructions that came with the bar.

True enough Anthony, care is absolutely essential when mounting something that can pull twice the weight of your vehicle. I was given the choice of the two winches pre-purchase, and was told then that both versions of Warn winch would fit the bullbar I had chosen.

On Warn's website for the 12000lb winch, they describe the mounting hole pattern and winch size. Both have a square mounting hole pattern 254mm across and 114.3mm high. The difference between the winch is in the braking drum, motor power and gearbox ratio.

It would seem that the bigger differences that really matter will be in material quality, assembly care and after-sales support.

Hey Tony,

The mounting patters are the same for sure, but the physical size differences make it impossible to fit some winches between the mounts (the bar mounts etc).

Interestingly, ARB told me that the 9.5XP was physically the largest winch that would fit inside one of their bars.

I'm sure that Nissan knew what they were talking about when they offered you the choice of the larger winch Excuse the sarcasm

my reasoning behind the question was that I am going to buy an ARB deluxe bar for my D22. But the warn winches are pretty pricey. The TJM winches are about half the price, and TJM is a pretty reputable supplier, so I figure they can't be too bad. Still tossing up whether I actually need a winch, have never come accross a situation where I could have used one yet.

simonk8 said:

my reasoning behind the question was that I am going to buy an ARB deluxe bar for my D22. But the warn winches are pretty pricey. The TJM winches are about half the price, and TJM is a pretty reputable supplier, so I figure they can't be too bad. Still tossing up whether I actually need a winch, have never come accross a situation where I could have used one yet.

Click to expand...

Simon,

Honestly, they are a complex, expensive piece of gear that require regular maintenance. They are heavy, hamper your fuel economy and vehicle handling....there are lots of reasons NOT to own one. On the other hand, a hand winch is a great piece of kit and is something perhaps you should consider in the meantime.

Why do I own a power winch? I regularly go 4wding on my own and need the self-recovery ability that a winch can provide.

I've been 4wding for over 20 years now and have needed to use my own winch only a handful of times to recover my own vehicle.

The key to a reliable winch is maintenance. I cannot stress that highly enough. The winch has to come out of the bar annually and be stripped and inspected if you want it to be reliable - if you want it to work when you need it to. Too often people want the winch to work in an emergency, then when the plug in the controller, nothing happens....because they haven't touched the thing for the last 5 years.

The other thing with winches is spare parts. A cheap winch may seem like a good idea a the time, but if you can't purchase seals, bearings, gears etc in 5 years time, then it might not seem like such a cheap purchase... It's one of the reasons why brands like Warn, SuperWinch, and to a lesser extent in Australia, Ramsey have stood the test of time.

While I will never win the debate of an expensive winch over a cheap one for those who choose to go down that path, I have never had a Warn fail me when the going gets tough. But in my 20 something years of 4wding, I have seen quite a number of the cheaper winches fail with shot bearings, burnt out motors etc when pushed hard. All of a sudden, a 50 thousand dollar plus 4wd is stranded all for the sake of a couple of thousand dollars worth of recovery gear. And that is just the price of the winch....when you add up all the money you spend on extension straps, shackles, all the other bits and pieces, the winch is only PART of the price.

And interestingly, people seem to be perfectly happy to spend additional money on "brand name" equipment with straps etc, but not on winches...seems a little bit of a conundrum to me, but anyway.

Entirely up to you of course, but there is my argument in favour of quality recovery equipment. When you want it to work, you want it to WORK.

Cheers anthony.

In your opinion, can a hand winch perform the same function as a an electric winch, perhaps a bit slower and harder work? ie will a hand winch pull as hard as an electric one? I do see the advantage of a hand winch in that you can pull from front and rear and would also be useful for pulling out trees and stumps from around my property where I just can't get to with a vehicle. But, a disadvantage is that you can't really drive the vehicle and winch at the same time.

You cant (or shouldn't) drive and use an electric winch at the same time due to the risk of shock loading the cable.

A hand winch is a great piece of equipment and is, in my humble opinion, much more useful than an electric winch for most recreational 4wders.

Anyone know if a Warn 9500XP will fit in a D22 Nissan bullbar ?

Thinking of buying one.

Dave.