Who needs a winch anyway...

Greybeard · Oct 23, 2024

I have purchased 2 different winches in the recent past. Both on Jeeps. Both looked great new but the sun took it's toll.

The dilemma: I honestly like the front of the BRaptor and I don't want to replace the bumper or carry around a winch that I have yet to use. This I am considering a portable hitch mount winch. What do you think?

pk9394 · Oct 24, 2024

I use hitch winch setup on my 2022 Outback wilderness because the car was too new at the time and no one making a winch plate. I only use it once to pull other subaru out on a trail. it did what is does. However I found this setup is not so convenience. there are many bumper mount winch plates on the market for the Braptor to work with the factory bumper. you dont have to replace the bumper at all. even the ford performance winch kit can install on the raptor. but you need additional hardware to relocate the front cam and parking sensors.

beside, check the clearance form the hitch and the spare. It may not have enough room for you to put a 10k winch + the winch cradle.

TurboS · Oct 24, 2024

I like the idea of a portable winch, however our Bronco Raptor hitches are rated at 4,500 lbs, sames as maximum for a Gladiator. As mentioned above it's unlikely to clear our spare tire. You could use a receiver extension but then that will reduce the hitches load rating if the pull is not close to parallel to the Raptor. Basically, the hitches aren't designed for recovery, that is why we have the recovery hoops on the rear.

Greybeard · Oct 24, 2024

I wish them made a large capacity in line winch. That'd solve all our problems.

Dewars · Oct 25, 2024

There was someone here or on 6G that installed the hidden winch on a Raptor. It required some mods but not too extensive. It does impact approach angle and it would sit in the mud if that's where you got stuck.

I ran a portable winch mount on a truck for a few years. It was off-road alot and that heavy winch and mount was a pain in the rear. Not to mention it took up alot of space in the bed- nevermind in the back of a smaller Bronco. It was difficult to get into the reciever depending on how/where you were stuck.

Hard to beat a correctly mounted winch.

Bschurr · Oct 26, 2024

There is a manual solution - Wyeth Power Puller

TurboS · Oct 26, 2024

Bschurr said:
There is a manual solution - Wyeth Power Puller

Good suggestion, I have one of these from a very long time ago, rated at 2k, used it numerous times to recover being stuck in the snow. Use to call them "come along". These newer models appear much nicer and pulls a maximum of 12k lbs. Light weight in comparison to electric power, attaches to our recovery points, smaller for easier enclosed storage, easily portable for multiple tasks.