Installing an Electric Winch

[Snowcat Operations]

I would like to build something on the front of my machine to mount a winch on. I like the photo showing the bottom part of the front bracket.

 

[oscarinn]

Re: England's REME Museum's Military Snow Trac

When I installed the winch I welded a 2" profile pipe on the front bumper with supports and also on the rear end of the SnowTrac that makes it possible for me to use the winch on both ends I also connected a 50 square mm. cable from the battery to both ends then I installed two alternators on the VW engine one 65A and the other 55A I have two battery's 65 Ah each the are split up by a breaker so that I have the ignition and starter motor on Bat#1 and everything else is on Bat#2

Bjorn

 

[Snowcat Operations]

Would you mind showing some pictures of your dual alternator setup? My brother and I have been discussing a dual setup but chucked the idea after a while. We decided on a Bosch 75 amp alternator with 3 yellow top Optimas. Before we wanted to have one battery for starting only and the other two for everything else. Now we would just have all three hooked up and charged by the single Bosch alternator. If you could show me how you have your set up then I would run two Bosch 75 amp alternators. I am also interested in how you accomplished the dual winch hook ups. I was kinda thinking something on the line of what the military used. I believe it sounds like you may have done something like that as well. What size winch did you end up using? I have been looking at Warns rock crawler series which is rated at 9,000 lbs (4000 Kgs)but weighs in at just 54 Lbs.(24Kgs) Way over kill but sure beats those useless 2000 lbs atv winches. Thanks for any help!

 

[Tommo]

Hi there, Have you considered useing the same method of winch mounting that the British forces used on there Snow trac and still use to this day on the BV 202' and 206's (The 206's are still in service). The winch is mounted to a small 4" (Approx) round tube projection that is welded to a plate that is mounted to the Snow trac strong points.

The beauty of this is, that you dont have to have the winch permanatly fixed to the front and can put it in the back under cover and out of sight of possible thieves which is a good idea, considering the world we live in to day that has lost it's ways some what

The winch is just put straight onto its mount and the electrical cable just plugs into the socket and your away!! Awsome eh Well it works for the whole of the British forces an y rate.
I do remember seeing the thread about the British Artic Camouflage Snow trac showing the winch mount and the one for sale in the UK put on by Bob S.

 

[Snowcat Operations]

Tommo,
Yes I was thinking on the same lines as that. I may use a 2"x2" square monut instead of the round type. That way I could swap it to my vehicles as well if ever needed. (Towing receiver)

I was also interested in your dual alternator set up. Could you maybe post some pics of that? How reliable has it been for you? Are the belts wearing fine? Thanks again.

 

[Tommo]

Snow Ops, Yes i to agree with your 2x2 box sect, it's a very good idea if you intend to go 'Dual usage', i use the same type of install on my Land Rover 90 Defender with a fixed 8,000lbs dead-pull on the front and a 6,000lbs on the back that attaches to the fixed towing bracket plate via a removable plate attached to the winch, so it just slots into place and can be removed in seconds and stowed away etc.

The set up (Dual alternaters) Oscarinn has done sounds good and i to would like to know how he is getting along with this set up?

 

[mlang2005]

Are you sure a vw has enough power to turn two alternators @ 75amps each? you had better put a turbo as well. lol.

 

[Lyndon]

Winches on Snow Cats are somewhat unnecessary. See "Winches on Snow Cats" in this same category. But If you have to have one what seems to work best is to have at least 2 batteries. A winch pulls from a minimum of 100 to 850 Amps. The alternator or generator on most vehicles just can't deliver this much. Having delt with this on a dozen machines I've found that Dual Batteries is the way to go. 2 alternators still won't be enough to run even a small winch continuously. With the old small diameter 12Volt generator that came as standard equipment on ST4's it is possible to burn out the generator. they were only rated at 320 to 360 watts, which equates to about 30 Amps. Also: Do not tap the Winch directly off the starter stud. this is a sure fire way to burn up your Alternator/Generator. Run a seperate heavy cable from a battery dedicated to the Winch. The #6 To be continued:

 

[Lyndon]

(got interupted by one of my bosses)Oh yeah... back to #6 or #8 wire frome the generator/alternator keeps from overloading the unit due to voltage drop. There usually is no fuse or circuit breaker to protect the generator/alternator from being overloaded. When installing Dual Batteries it is important to get matching batteries. If the specific gravity of the acid is just slightly different one battery will try to charge the other and they will eventually discharge each other. This can be prevented by having a fairly long lead between the batteries or some type of isolator such as a relay or Diode. The best bet is a Dual Battery switch, also discussed at length elsewhere in this Forum. For Dual Generators/Alternators run seperate charge wires from each Generator/Alternator to the batterie(s) and don't oversize the wire.

 

[pixie]

I guess Snow-Tracs don't have any hydraulics ?

Fortunately, my Imp does and I got to skip all the electrical hassles. I put AmSteel blue line on it . Works great.

 

[Melensdad]

I guess Snow-Tracs don't have any hydraulics ?

Fortunately, my Imp does and I got to skip all the electrical hassles. I put AmSteel blue line on it . Works great.

Pixie,
The Snow Master was available with hydraulics, it was designed as a workhorse version for heavier duty work, trail grooming etc. It is a bit longer and wider due to larger tracks.

The Stow Trac is really designed more for transport of people, supplies or equipment. The vast majority of the Snow Tracs were equipped with 7 passenger cabins.

 

[pixie]

Have any of you considered installing a power steering pump to run a hydraulic winch rather than go the electric route and install a second alternator ?

Power steering pump is what powers winches in trucks.