Metal thickness for winch cradel?

[Brian1]

I am building myself my own "multi-mount" winch cradel for the front of my Explorer. I already have made and installed a heavy duty gusseted front reciever hitch. Now I am going to make a winch cradel for my Warn 8,000# winch. It is the classic model which stands up-right and bolts foward, not down. I have the design which is basically like an L with 2 triangles on the outside suppourting the upright plate that the winch will bolt to. This whole thing will be welded to the insert for the hitch and gusseted on the back of the bottom plate. My question is what thickness of steel to use for the front plate, base plate, and the 2 triangles that will all be welded together?

thanks

 

[RobbieJ]

Hey Brian For mine I used 1/4" plale. The guys at southwest 4x4 said that it would be more then enough. Le tme know how it goes. RobbieJ

 

[Kampy]

Brian, I used 1/4 when I made my mount but it's bolted to the frame on both sides and it still flexes a little when the winch really torques. I think 3/8 would be the best but I wouldn't want to lug it around to put it in place so I guess I would try 5/16 and see how that works. Hope that helps.

 

[Brian1]

If I make it I will use 3/8" plate because I have one in my backyard. I may not make it after all because it is the upright winch and with my brushguard, it would stick out about 2 feet from the front bumper killing my approach angle.

 

[Tyson]

Brian, I just received, for my birthday, a Warn multi-mount system for my old M8000 winch. When I go home, I can measure the metal thickness and let you know.

As for approach angles, I believe whenever you mount a winch not directly in front of the grill, or on top of the bumper, it will stick out a lot, ruining approach angles. I think that's the price you pay for flexibility.....

Tyson

 

[Brian1]

Wow, seeing this thread come back up was unexpected! Tyson, that would be great if you could measure the thickness. The thing is though if I made it, the front of the winch would be 2 feet from the front of my bumper because of my brushguard and the design of the winch. This would make my approach angle like 15 degrees which is really bad. The only time I would use it would be in mud but still what if there was a gully or rut in the mud, the winch would dig itself into the ground. I am thinking of trading it for a different winch, one that bolts down not forward.

 

[RFR2212]

I've got some trouble understanding this...Your winch would actually be sitting on metal two feet from the bumper? The angle would suck, but even with 3/8ths metal....That far out it seems like it would be weak...Maybe I'm just thinkin about it the wrong way.
Thanks, Pete

 

[Brian1]

Pete, my winch looks like this but older.
Dead Link Removed
Yes, there would be alot of stress on certain components and like I have said, it would stick out too far. For these 2 reasons I have decided not to make a cradel for this winch. I thought it would work but about 2 weekes ago I test fitted the winch to the front and found this out. I am not going to buy a new one but maybe I will be able to trade it for a different one.

 

[Tyson]

Brian, FYI, metal thickness is 1/4". Looks like you have an excuse for a new winch.

 

[RFR2212]

Brian.....Is that the only way you can mount it with it that far out? if it can be closer(you said ya didn't want it to interfere with your pre runner bar) if you want to get a new one...I may be interested in the old one depending on the condition and price
Pete

 

[Brian1]

Yea, that is the only way I can mount it. The black control box/motor will hit the bottom bar of my brush guard. It would work fine for the back but, I think I would use it more in the front, which I can't. I am going to hold onto the winch for my J**p. You can't get any better than 150 ft of cable and a fast retrieval speed.

What I mean by old is that it was discontinued in the 70's and Warn went with the newer design which is what the pic is of. My winch operates by a push/pull cable like a choke on a lawnmower works. Even the brake and clutch works by the push/pull cable.