Winch Questions

[Bulletbill]

Just wanted to find out how all of you travel with your winch when not on the trail. Is a cover necessary? Should the hook be pulled tight into the fairlead or removed all together? Should there be tension on the drum?

Some background, I’m leaning on leaving my winch uncovered, leaving the hook off, and having the line spooled in without the hook on, thoughts?

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[Steph1]

I have my winch covered in the winter for protection againts salt and road grime. Considered leaving the cover on all year round, but found that although I have an excellent quality cover, it does hold humidity.

Sooo, no cover from late spring to automn.

I have a flat link pulled-in thight.

 

[Philly_]

That should be fine, but be sure you have everything you need with you to make the winch functional again. You never really know when it might come in handy.

Also, since you have synthetic line, I wouldn’t pull the hook tight to the fairlead unless it has some sort of bumper on it to keep from damaging it. Scratches in the fairlead’s finish can damage the line as it passes over those areas.

Personally, I use the Factor55 Flat Splicer, so I cannot easily pull it off when not in use, but it has rubber bumpers so I am able to pull it flat to the fairlead.

 

[DonH63]

No cover, as it is already covered by the OEM steel bumper, AEV hook isolator and hook pulled to that, Fishbone flip-up license plate holder in front.

Edit: Flip-up holder because the original plate mount had it hanging below the bumper, and I have destroyed too many plates hanging there so wanted it higher. The Tuffy holder I first bought would not clear the hook with the isolator so I got a Fishbone and it does.

 

[Jeep4Win]

Here’s how I did mine.

 

[Old Jeeper]

3 Warns. all with rope, leave them open year round. the bottom pic is the Warn Powerplant which is winch + OBA

 

[zouch]

winch doesn't get covered; it fits in too tightly in the Mopar Performance Off-road Bumper to be able to get a cover in there. but where i live/play it's not exposed to a lot of road grime like it might see if we spent more time in other parts of the world.

that said, since the fit is so snug, the (synthetic) line is barely visible and not exposed to a lot of sun.

a Fishbone license plate holder covers the Factor 55 Ultrahook (which is kept snug as it has it's own rubber landing pads to prevent scratches to the fairlead) and protects the little bit of line that's exposed on the hook from sun and other damage.

side note; were i to do it all again, i'd likely skip the hook entirely and just use a loop on the end and a fairlead that had a 'parking' post on it, and stick with entirely soft-tech.

 

[Bulletbill]

Appreciate all the insight. Have a hook isolator and cover for the winter months on order. Great pics from all of you.!

 

[Bulletbill]

Here’s how I did mine.

Where did you get the fairlead hook?

 

[Jeep4Win]

Where did you get the fairlead hook?

https://maximus-3.com/jl-bumper-accessories-/jl-winch-hook-anchor#/

 

[MichaelT333]

Just wanted to find out how all of you travel with your winch when not on the trail. Is a cover necessary? Should the hook be pulled tight into the fairlead or removed all together? Should there be tension on the drum?

Some background, I’m leaning on leaving my winch uncovered, leaving the hook off, and having the line spooled in without the hook on, thoughts?

I like the look of mine and I hate messing with the cover so I leave it uncovered all year round. It’s waterproof and I just gotta change the line on it out once every couple years. It’s like $100 once every 2 years to be enjoy the look and no hassle of messing with a cover. I’m fine paying that.

 

[Bulletbill]

I like the look of mine and I hate messing with the cover so I leave it uncovered all year round. It’s waterproof and I just gotta change the line on it out once every couple years. It’s like $100 once every 2 years to be enjoy the look and no hassle of messing with a cover. I’m fine paying that.

I do like the look of it uncovered. I plan on taking some mixed advice and covering it in the winter to protect it against road salt. I also bought this today:

Agency 6 Billet Winch Shackle - Lightweight Aluminum Winch Attachment for Synthetic Line - 19,000 Pound Load Limit - Made in The USA with US Certified Materials - Grey https://a.co/d/4zkes8M

A little less money than Factor55, still US manufactured, and it encloses the end if the end of cable to better protect it from the elements.

 

[rdfact]

Winch is covered and I use an old worn out soft shackle pulled tight to the knot. I swap out the worn soft shackle for a good one when I need to use the winch.

 

[Bulletbill]

Winch is covered and I use an old worn out soft shackle pulled tight to the knot. I swap out the worn soft shackle for a good one when I need to use the winch.

That’s a great idea to use the soft shackle!

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