Hitch mounted winch

[fordbroncowildtrak2023]

While cruising around looking at recovery gear options, I came across something I hadn't heard of before. A hitch mounted winch. What are the thoughts on this? Note, I have zero experience with any winch solution and am a noob to off roading in general.

Here is a link to the hitch mount that I stumbled across (winch not included).
https://www.harborfreight.com/12000-lb-winch-hitch-mount-57607.html

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[RustysBronco]

"Brought to you by the folks who invented the collapsing jack stand, we now offer you the hitch mounted winch!"

I don't see what could possibly go wrong.

 

[Grumpy]

Well I can tell you from experience of a off-road buddy of mine. We were out on the tank trails in Ft. Hood, TX a couple years back and he got mired in some deep mud. He pulled out his portable hitch mount winch for the first time. Everything was fine for about 30sec. After that the winch mounting plate started to bend and was severely distorted. The mounting bucket was not usable from that moment.

 

[fordbroncowildtrak2023]

Well I can tell you from experience of a off-road buddy of mine. We were out on the tank trails in Ft. Hood, TX a couple years back and he got mired in some deep mud. He pulled out his portable hitch mount winch for the first time. Everything was fine for about 30sec. After that the winch mounting plate started to bend and was severely distorted. The mounting bucket was not usable from that moment.

This is exactly the type of info I was hoping to see posted. Real world examples.

I was trying to figure out how this hitch mount would correlate with towing capacity. However, it seems in your buddy's case, it was the mount itself that couldn't handle the load.

 

[Bronco1971]

The concept of a hitch mounted portable winch isn't new. It used to be that some guys would have a Reese class 2 front and back with the winch on a cradle. It is very possible to make one that works. This isn't that. Our hitch is a class 3, and isn't a direct frame mount, and this cradle is flimsy looking with little bracing.

10 tons is a lot of force.

 

[Y2KFirehawk]

Hitch mounted winches are common on fire fighting apparatus. Would I use something like that in our factor hitch? Definitely not considering the low capacity.

 

[Mlarv]

I have a different experience with them. I have pulled stumps with them also got my Kubota BX23 out of a pretty good mud hole with it. I didn't have the bucket on so I could push myself out.


If the stump is too big I use a tree saver and a snatch block to lessen the load on the winch. The trick to any tool is to know it's limits and when it will need help.

 

[vzqhsg]

Well I can tell you from experience of a off-road buddy of mine. We were out on the tank trails in Ft. Hood, TX a couple years back and he got mired in some deep mud. He pulled out his portable hitch mount winch for the first time. Everything was fine for about 30sec. After that the winch mounting plate started to bend and was severely distorted. The mounting bucket was not usable from that moment.

But was the winch rated for the vehicle & situation. If the mud in TX is like the mud in AZ and other SW states he may have been under winched and over load. I don't have a link to the youtube.

 

[Grumpy]

Yes, the example I gave to OP was a HF product just as what OP attached in the post. HF is good for the everyday Joe to get just about anything at a lower cost. But sometimes lower costs is not the way to go when you are talking about vehicle recovery in far to reach remote areas. It is not the ideal place to test such an item. Those HF buckets or if you prefer cradles are not built to handle a fullsize vehicle in mired conditions, especially wet mud. In my opinion they are cheaply built, and lack reinforcement bracing or the welds are garbage.

So if you are new to off-roading, and you are trying to equip yourself with necessities that are required for this, then don't cut corners to save a few dollars. There is a lot of nonessential items that you can save a few dollars here and there. But not with recovery items, that is my theory of years of experience.

OP, you need to read reviews of items your interested in, ask questions on this forum as you are doing. A lot of knowledgeable off-road personalities are on here. Most are good at giving good advice, some not so. There are some items you just can't cut corners on.

One last thing OP, since you have stated out loud that you are new to this type of adventure, never go out in areas that can cause you to be stranded or broken down without a buddy system. I don't mean a buddy riding with you, I mean a second or third vehicle. And always let your family or a friend know where you are going just in case you do get stranded. Cell phones don't work everywhere in remote areas.

 

[Billy Goat]

I use the exact same setup only in a Warn cradle and a. 9000i same Anderson pole connectors and 2/0 cable, works perfectly snapped into my ranch hand bumper receiver front or back. That vehicle is a 2500 HD. That said, I would never use that set up on a Bronco without some serious reinforcement

 

[Greasyfingers429]

That ZXR12000 and the HFT hitch mount is what I have been using on my Bronco. Also used the heaviest gauge booster cables with Anderson connectors to power it, like Mlarv did.
I’ve dragged a boulder on the ground, pulled a broken 1,200 lb trailer out of the woods, but still hesitant to find out what the full 12,000 pounds of force will do to the Bronco OEM receiver hitch. I believe the mount is up to the job, within it’s intended use. Cable angles within 15 degrees from horizontal. 45 degrees from centerline. I am sure if you start pulling at extreme angles the torque will bend steel and break welds.
Now, we just need a front receiver to mount it to!

 

[Suke996]

A hitch is designed for NORTH/SOUTH load not EAST/WEST loads. If you stuck in a ditch and the nearest attachment point is as at an angle, you'll twist your hitch and anything it's connected to aka the frame.

Hitch mounted systems are designed for straight loads and staying under the hitch load limits. I'd use one in the sand where you can place a sand anchor at the perfect location for NORTH/SOUTH loads but keep in mind the Bronco would be dead weight and the hitch is rated at 3500 pounds and 4500 pounds for the Braptor.

 

[CalvinT]

Support vehicles for the Baja race have hitch mounted winches. They're not allowed to turn around on the course. All vehicles have to face the race direction of travel. So they're set up to use hitch mounts front and rear for their winch.

Saw a Ford van that was a support vehicle for the nostalgia race and got to talking to the guy.

Project Farm used one when he did his winch tests. The ones he bought online, Harbor Freight and one other, didn't hold up so he made his own, which did.

 

[NVCowboy]

I talked up a guy who I saw had one on the back of his F150. He said he kept it on the back of his truck because getting stuck was his signal that it was his time to back out and turn around.

A really good friend originally set up his hunting rig with a removable winch. It worked flawlessly until the time he left it on the floor of his garage and needed it. His winch is now permanently attached to his truck.

Haven’t seen any front receivers for Bronco at this point. I never really considered the problems associated with lateral force until the above post, but arguments against are starting to multiply.

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