Winch Legality ?

I'd be more worried about grounding it whilst offroading than breaking someones legs. It's mounted to low to be practical your departure angle is probablty down to less than 20 degrees. But I've never heard of any legal limit on the height of a winch. Oh and I'd Fit HD springs to the front. With that lump on the bumper, the front end is gonna sag like buggery. It looks like it's come off the back of a recovery truck. any idea what it's pulling capacity is??

How have you mounted that monstrosity?? I hope you haven't just bolted it straight to the bumper. If you have you'll rip the bumper off the 1st time you use it in anger. Also sticking out like that your gonna get pulled by the plod all the time. It needs to be pulled as far back as you can get it and should be over the bumper and mounted to a purpose built winch bumper. Your insurance company will crucify you if they see that.

the amount that the winch is protruding beyond the bumper will bring a fail come MOT time

could you not get a bigger one?

If it hasn't been ripped off by then

un plugging tanks?!

There's no way a standard bumper will take the stresses involved in winching a stuck landy out. you'll rip it straight off if you try it. If you decide to keep it I'd advise a proper winch bumper made to measure for the winch. with additional struts fastened to the chassis rails. In reality it's too big for the vehicle. and would probably be better fitted to a series landy as it could mounted between the chassis rails.

I'd sell it and buy one from ebay you can get a reasonable champion winch for less than £200 & a bumper to suit for less than £100.

Take it off dude! You are not going to get any angle of attack with that stuck out there.

You need a propper winch bumper before you start fitting a winch. If you dont want to get rid of it you may be able to fit it as a rear winch inside the back door. But certainly not where it is!

Not strictly true that you need a "winch bumper". I haven't got one on my 110. However I have got a feck off hefty mount made of 10mm steel plate which bolts to the chassis in the same way a winch bumper would. It's definitely true that bolting a winch directly to a standard bumper will end in tears.

squidward said:

Thanks for all your advice. It's been removed

Click to expand...

Now send it to me and I'll dispose of it for you.

Would have to agree, may be cheaper to do what has happened to mine. Cut away the bumper between chassis rails, have local engineering firm make up cradle for the winch, bolt this direct onto chassis rail thru the front bumber. Mines bolted down on the rails above the front jack points. Was fitted back 1985 (dont thing they had winch bumpers then!) supplied by the dealer in this fasion. Pulled an old S3 with flat tyres all round with no bother the other day. Your approach angle may be a problem though, mine doesnt stick out that far. It might just work if it was able to be mounted up right, but need to look at how the cable would run out (or not)

There is nothing that says you have to mount a winch on the front you know.
How about mounting it on the back?

if you could fabricate a rounded casing, i.e. take away the 90 degree angles you would have been legal with it, however, that did loose you a HELL of a lot on your approach angle.