Defender 90 winch

I am looking at putting a winch on my 1994 defender 90. I dont need one to pull me up a cliff face but enough power when needed. The winches i have looked at are all in lbs not kilos. What size winch would people recomend.

Just roughly half the quoted LBs rating for KGs rating, ie 9000lbs = 4500kgs ish.
You want something in the range of 9000lbs to 13000kgs.

Make sure you really need one as they are a lot of dead weight to haul around.

Thats a leading question ....
Your car wieghs 2.25ton (4500lb) so a winch rated @ 4500lb should lift your car .. however .. the rating is only when the drum is empty, as the cable winds on the capability drops..
(Roughly) if half the rope is on the drum the capability is halved (so 2250lb) if 3/4 of the rope is on the drum then it's on 1/4 (so 1125lb).

The reccomendation is to rate the winch at twice the vehicle wieght so (I would suggest) a 9,000 to 11,000lb rated winch.

Next consideration is the length and type of rope.
Standard winch drum/ rope (length) is 30m (100'), you can also get larger drums to accommodate 50m.
Rope comes in two varieties, Wire or Dyneema.
Wire rope is heavy, 7x heavier than Dyneema.

I prefer Dynema for a number of reasons the main one is that when it frays, stray wire strands are sharp so thick gloves are a neccesity and if/when it snaps it flies back where Dynema just flops.
You need to keep Dynema clean though, so after a muddy pull you need to wash it in a bucket of water when you get home.
Dyneema is more expensive than wire....
Wire needs a roller, Dyneema uses a hawse.

Thirdly what type of winch, Hydraulic or Electric.
I fancy a hydraulic but bought an electric as they are (overall) much less expensive.
The power cable needs to be rated correctly, pulling around 10,000lb you will draw circa 400 Amps.
You need a good battery too and a healthy alternator.
And a cut off switch.
And a strong winch bumper/tray well attached to the chassis (don't use stainless steel bolts).

lynall said:

<snip>
You want something in the range of 9000lbs to 13000kgs..

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That's a biggie

tempest said:

I am looking at putting a winch on my 1994 defender 90. I dont need one to pull me up a cliff face but enough power when needed. The winches i have looked at are all in lbs not kilos. What size winch would people recomend.

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None. Unless you need it for work, or are aiming to compete in winch challenge or similar events.

Indeed. That is the question .... why do you want a winch ?

Turboman said:

None. Unless you need it for work, or are aiming to compete in winch challenge or similar events.

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+1 - utter folly unless you need one.

I understand comments but i have just got a field in the middle of nowhere. Its not a case in need a winch but its a just incase i need to get out of a difficult position and would not like to leave my 90 by itself ( it wouldnt be there intact for long) . I would like something that would get me out of trouble if needed.

I would also suggest as was touched on above the price of fitting correctly is more expensive than the winch itself. When fitting mine I spent as much on making high amp rated cables (welding cable), isolator solenoid, albeit solenoid, etc. as I did on the second hand huskey I fitted. And that is before you get a bumper for it. The winch itself is only Part of the picture. And overall is only about half the cost of done properly.

tempest said:

I understand comments but i have just got a field in the middle of nowhere. Its not a case in need a winch but its a just incase i need to get out of a difficult position and would not like to leave my 90 by itself ( it wouldnt be there intact for long) . I would like something that would get me out of trouble if needed.

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If you can drive it, there is no reason for a 90 to get stuck. And if it did, there are plenty of ways to get it out without a winch.
For example, putting stuff under the wheels, jacking it up and putting stones under the wheel that has sunk, using a hi-lift jack as a winch, short pulls and chocks after each pull.
A winch won't help you anyway unless there happens to be a substantial anchor, such as a tree, more or less in the direction you want to pull the vehicle in.

I was farming for 32 years, and have had many Land Rovers, I hardly ever got stuck, and never had a winch at all.

If you do want to get a winch, a Tirfor winch in the back of the motor will pull you out just as well as an electric one, it can be attached in many places on the vehicle, to pull in different directions, and puts no load on your battery and alternator at all.

Turboman said:

If you can drive it, there is no reason for a 90 to get stuck. And if it did, there are plenty of ways to get it out without a winch.
For example, putting stuff under the wheels, jacking it up and putting stones under the wheel that has sunk, using a hi-lift jack as a winch, short pulls and chocks after each pull.
A winch won't help you anyway unless there happens to be a substantial anchor, such as a tree, more or less in the direction you want to pull the vehicle in.

I was farming for 32 years, and have had many Land Rovers, I hardly ever got stuck, and never had a winch at all.

If you do want to get a winch, a Tirfor winch in the back of the motor will pull you out just as well as an electric one, it can be attached in many places on the vehicle, to pull in different directions, and puts no load on your battery and alternator at all.

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+1 on a tifor
A front winch can pull you further towards the problem

plus a tirfor gets rid of that rage when your stuck

Hicap phill said:

+1 on a tifor
A front winch can pull you further towards the problem

plus a tirfor gets rid of that rage when your stuck

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Pretty useful for all kinds of other farming jobs as well.

And with a drum of wire rope and a couple of multiplier blocks on the Tirfor you can exert a pull that will pull a tractor out of a swamp!

Don't ask how I know that!

As @Turboman says, tirfors are the nuts, not cheap though new, used might be the way to go.

Cheap elec winch is just under 300 quid, but they do tend to come with all the wiring/controllers etc, then you need something to mount it on, then of course some dcik will try and nick it.

Just checked a few on marketplace for under a 100.

I’ve got a winch and winch bumper in my garage. Don’t underestimate the weight, especially with wire rope. You’ll likely have to fit stronger springs, especially if yours are original. Theft is also an issue. They look hard as nails but if you don’t need one, I’d be going down the tirfor route. Other than carrying it in the back with a selection of strops and shackles, there is nothing to worry about.

I've got one.
I use it often.
I also have a high-lift, which has got me up a thawing bank (it was nice and frozen on the way down), it took hours, 12" at at a time.... the winch was fitted shortly after.

I've never used to get un-stuck myself but have pulled others out of a hoile on several occasions.
I also use it for collecting firewood, rolling trees over and pulling out Lylandi hedges and tree stumps..

The winch and bumper has added approx 60kgs to the front of the Fokker.
I have Terrafirma medium springs on the front with lights on the rear.
55m of 11mm Dyneema on the winch and a bag full of strops, shackles and snatch-blocks in the back.
I can pull myself, forwards, backwards, sideways and generate about 16Ton of pull.
My winch would pull me up a cliff, but i'd be nervous about the chassis and the bolts holding the winch on.



Total cost was about £1400

miktdish said:

Total cost was about £1400

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That was slightly more expensive than mine, I think it came in at about £1000 all in, but yours looks shiny and new whereas mine was a well used second hand and only cost £300 for the winch. That total price includes a full service of the winch, and fitting HD front springs as originally it had a wire rope (has since been upgraded to synthetic).

Something else that has not been touched on yet is if OP does decide to go down the winch route rather than the other suggested is you then have to make the decision on what winch you want. Most winches are a planetary gear setup and a drum brake, others like my huskey are a worm drive setup. IMO the only advantages of planetary over worm drive is line speed and cost (cheap). Unless you are competing the slower the winch the better as it give you more control for either recovery or work moving things about. The worm drive also means there is no brake to overheat if you are lowering something (winching out).

miktdish said:

Total cost was about £1400

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I would expect a whole car for that!

Mobile phone to call a mate [ or wife with tractor ] to pull you out. But as with Turboman in 50 years of farming not got stuck too many times and with most of them a high lift and some rocks got me out. Most times you only have to move the truck a couple of feet for it to then drive free.

tottot said:

Mobile phone to call a mate to pull you out.

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Or cross a farmer's palm with silver!