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Then, I seem to have missed your point. Apologies.
I do think having a winch, or even a capable 4x4 will give some people a false sense of security and put them in situations beyond their ability, and that can lead to injury of themselves and people they are around.
I think Bronco will facilitate this, as it has broad appeal.
The most use of my winch I ever had was when we were out clearing deadfall from Naches Pass in WA. The forest service was appreciative that we were up there clearing the trail so they didn't have to. They had a lot more work than the few rangers up there could really accomplish. It was good being on good terms with them, too. Those guys were the best.
We use our winches quite a bit up here for the deadfall, blocking bypasses and other trail maintenance up here in the PNW. They are a very useful tool, not just for mediocre decisions and recoveries. And for the record, I'm trying out the HF Badlands winch to see how it holds up on my FJ40 trail rig, and so far, no complaints. I put it through its paces several times over Memorial weekend, and after initial hecklings from my buddies who have their higher dollar setups and were snapping lines. The HF winch did great, line speed was pretty good, and the features it has can't be beat for the price. My only little gripe is it only came with 80' of line, which took a little getting used to.
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I used to live in WA and spent most of my time out east of Greenwater. I loved the area up there but the taxes kept going up and the prices got so high I could no longer afford it... Going up around Stampede and Naches Passes and doing trail maintenance with friends was always a good time.
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I find it hard to believe that we have nine pages arguing whether people should have a winch or not, yet you would be hard pressed to find any responsible group of off-roaders going on a trip with it out at least somebody having one.
Back to the subject on hand I struggle with Ford's winch problem daily now. I have a deal dangling in front of my face for a Rubicon that has front sensors, front camera, turbos, it comes with a winch ready bumper.
I'm slowly making my way to the Bronco manual, and I'm in the section about all the sensors, and all I can think about is that there's no way that someone's going to be able to Mount a winch in a way that doesn't interfere with something in the way of technology.
Do I want to use a winch, hell no. But do I want to go out and explore without one, hell no. And since there is apparently no winch solutions at the moment, nor front bumper replacements that can provide a winch without breaking half of Ford's electronics... Damn right I'm concerned.
The only good news I've seen is that a lot of Ford's tech is in the rear view mirror mount. And I believe the part in the front bumper is the radar. Unfortunately seems like that's used for both adaptive cruise control as well as Ford sensing... The ladder comes in the mid (?) Package so unless you buy a bare bones Bronco, your screwed.
Back to the subject on hand I struggle with Ford's winch problem daily now. I have a deal dangling in front of my face for a Rubicon that has front sensors, front camera, turbos, it comes with a winch ready bumper.
I'm slowly making my way to the Bronco manual, and I'm in the section about all the sensors, and all I can think about is that there's no way that someone's going to be able to Mount a winch in a way that doesn't interfere with something in the way of technology.
Do I want to use a winch, hell no. But do I want to go out and explore without one, hell no. And since there is apparently no winch solutions at the moment, nor front bumper replacements that can provide a winch without breaking half of Ford's electronics... Damn right I'm concerned.
The only good news I've seen is that a lot of Ford's tech is in the rear view mirror mount. And I believe the part in the front bumper is the radar. Unfortunately seems like that's used for both adaptive cruise control as well as Ford sensing... The ladder comes in the mid (?) Package so unless you buy a bare bones Bronco, your screwed.
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I think the answer is a quick detach plate with a hitch mount that goes over the tow hooks on the stock steel bumper. At least that would be an answer for me...then I can winch front or back and keep the winch off until needed. I just don't know if there is enough of a market for someone to make them....
I have 1 person on this forum ignored. I realized
And I can guess that's the person who is doing all the arguing.
I suggest the rest of you do the same. It's quite refreshing.
And I can guess that's the person who is doing all the arguing.
I suggest the rest of you do the same. It's quite refreshing.
I do understand your struggle... I do struggle with the winch issue, too, but not enough to sway me to a Rubicon or any other off-road capable vehicle at this time. The last I checked, only JT's had an available front camera and the JL's just received this option in 2021. Yes, the front camera will not be obstructed if a winch is installed in the modular front bumper because of camera placement, but they still do not have 360 view or additional cameras mounted on the sides of the vehicle. I would have to double check on the latest modular front bumper, but I have not seen any with front forward sensors. They do have reverse sensors in rear bumper. Their available ACC is mounted near rearview mirror and has Stop/Go feature. It does not have any lane assistance. It just does not have any of the extra off-road tech and the PentaStar V6 needs more ponies and twist for me.
Not sure about every package across all versions, but Mid Package does not include front forward sensors, 360 cameras, or ACC on a Badlands.
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The answer I would like to see Ford implement on future models as it is waaay too late for it on MY21 or even 22 is binocular front cameras.
Instead of relocating the front-center located camera higher to see over a winch solution, replace it with 2 cameras. They can each be located to either side of the Bronco badging on the front grill. This would move them out of the way of a center mounted winch. It also adds the benefit of incorporating the newer camera technologies that exists in phones these days providing 3D style views. That would solve the winch issue and step up the technology game even further!
Instead of relocating the front-center located camera higher to see over a winch solution, replace it with 2 cameras. They can each be located to either side of the Bronco badging on the front grill. This would move them out of the way of a center mounted winch. It also adds the benefit of incorporating the newer camera technologies that exists in phones these days providing 3D style views. That would solve the winch issue and step up the technology game even further!
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There's a picture of that plate mounted hitch winch earlier in this thread. It looks pretty good and the idea of being able to winch from front or back sounds pretty good. But winches are heavy and they need power. I'm not saying that solution isn't good. It does have me thinking. But I think I need a permanent mount.
I am sure there will be some sweet new bumpers within a year that minimize the impact to the approach angle. The camera thing is going to have to be dealt with. But that's kind of a secondary issue to me.
My accessorizing approach is going to involve a lot of white, and a white bumper would really lock in the retro styling. I'm guessing that would have to be custom.
There's no big rush on any of this stuff. I'm just spinning my wheels because I don't have a car to wheel. I'm never going to make it.
In the meantime, here's an old video of some bizarre winching. I'm sure @Virtual-Chris would gripe about all the bad decisions that led up to this.
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Iāve been watching a lot of Mattās Off-road recovery videos on YouTube and between that and the commentary here, Iām starting to think a winch is essential kit. So Iām coming around. Thanks to those of you whoāve had the patience to deal with my posts.
My dad use to say to use 2WD to off-road and 4WD to get unstuck. But I guess the philosophy now isā¦ use 4WD to off-road and a winch to get unstuck
My dad use to say to use 2WD to off-road and 4WD to get unstuck. But I guess the philosophy now isā¦ use 4WD to off-road and a winch to get unstuck
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Feel free to join us on CO trails as we wheel the GC while waiting on our Bronco. Its seen fozens of moderate to difficult trails throughout CO, UT & AZ and has surprised me throughout our journeys and kept up with all the built wranglers & 4runners weāve joined on trails. This coming from a guy who has a built LJ wrangler for rock crawling & difficult trails w/ $25k in mods (thats just parts) on 37s, tummy tuck, upgraded suspension/steering/driveline, front/rear locker, high clearance fenders, axle swaps, body armor, under armor and the only thing still oem is the tub
If it isn't obvious yet, I'm also all about the jeeps.
Can you make a showcase for your LJ. I'd love to check it out. The LJ is why I think the wheelbase on the 2 Door Bronco is the all around perfect length for offroading.
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