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Casper's winchbuild

casperfromholland

Forum Member
Joined
Sep 5, 2011
Messages
267
Location
Amsterdam Holland
Car Year
1999
Car Model
forester sf
Transmission
manual 5speed 4.44 end h/l 1.59
I admit... Not exacly stole Dedmans wich idea's but it gave me some insperation.

I mounted a 6500lbs Max kraft (a german brand) winch on a home made winch bumper. Does it works? I don't know yet.. The day that i went to an offroad event the reverse gear died after driving 50 meters off-road. I found out that the idea of mounting a winch in the rear isn't so stupid afterall. A big lifted Mercedes G towed me away, rearwards...

They say that 1 pic say more then 1000 words, So here are some pics.
With special thanks to Dedman :cool:




the first idea, i already opened the front

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winchplate with the studs

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Bending the bumper using the weight of the car

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Test fitting, I welded the bumper on the winchplate

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I also welded 2 extra L shaped profiles so that I could mount a skidplate and welded a 6 mm thick sheet metal on the bottom just before the front crossmember for some extra protection.

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On the testday, with the dead reverse gear.:neutral:

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With grill, I want to make the lower bolds black. But it is freezing rightnow in my garage so that is something for the spring.

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Love it. It's a pity I have airbags and that that type of bullbar would be illegal on my car here.
 
^ Not only illegal because of the airbags here ...

Fails the ADRs and the NSW bullbar regs at almost every turn!

I used to have an even worse one on my '68 Landcruiser!! Made out of a straight piece of 4x2" structural box section, with two long "horns" made from 2x2" at the ends. They faced forwards ...

This is why we now have (mostly) sensible laws prohibiting exactly what I had on my LC ... :iconwink: :cool:.
 
Thats a bit harsh RB! It may not pass here for a few things but overall isn't much different from what you see on many 4WDs.

Nice job CFH :monkeydance:
 
Nice work! It looks very familiar on many counts yet some subtle differences in the design. Out of interest why did you mount the angle with the vertical section outwards?
Looks good. Im interested to know how the 6000lbs goes, 4500lbs was not enough and 9000lbs is really more than needed.
How much cable do you get on the 6000lbs winch drum? Also at a later date you may want to change to synthetic rope to reduce the weight up front as even king springs struggle a bit with the added weight.


Fails the ADRs and the NSW bullbar regs at almost every turn!

Not that is really relevant as Casper is not in Aus but all in all I though it wasn't to bad except for, the protruding roller fairlead, cheque plate at the bottom could do with the leading edge smoothed, bottom of the number plate sticking out is not ideal and the winch engagement lever is not so good sticking up like that. Apart from that the edges are not sharp although maybe could be a tad more rounded, nothing else protrudes forwards of the profile and all in all I personally, as a pedestrian would much rather be hit by that than any 4WD with a bullbar no matter how ADR approved or otherwise it was. Just saying
 
Nice build Casper !

Does the engine get enough fresh air ? Because you might need to make some holes in the front plate for better engine cooling…yeah, I know, its winter now !
 
Nice work! It looks very familiar on many counts yet some subtle differences in the design. Out of interest why did you mount the angle with the vertical section outwards?

Very simple answer... it was easier to drill the holes from the outside.. :iconwink:.
there should be 29meters of cable on this drum. And heavy it is, the bumper is a bit too heavy. But hey i dont have to be afraid for parking damage up-front any more :lol:

@jf1sf5 this is only for the winter. The 4x4 events are so muddy now that this is preventing that the radiator gets clogged up. For the warmer periods i gonna use a plate with some openings in it.

My new gearbox isn't ready yet, so i did not have the opportunity to give it a try. For me is the big question if i need a second battery or not.
 
Very flash, Casper :cool: :biggrin:.

Can you use that Dyneema woven nylon winch rope to get the weight down a bit?
 
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The dyneema rope is the best, tons lighter, stronger and also less dangerous if god forbid it ever breaks. Also a lot nicer on the hands when spooling it, and can last a while if dried properly after a big trip.
 
That dynemaa rope wil get wet in the rain because my winch is not build in the bumper but on top of it. Isn't that gonna be a problem?

on facebook i follow 4wd tv. You see there pics of sometimes monstrous roobars on 4wd's. Or 4wd's that are lifted sky high. And most of them are carrying an aussie numberplates. Why are these mods allowd on 4x4 and apparently not on a fozzie?

here in Holland mods on cars are officially not allowed. But if you keep it sensible then nobody will make a problem.

after mounting my new gearbox & engine (i am still waiting for some parts) the next stop wil be building a sparetire carrier.
 
IF the rope gets wet in the rain it will dry out next time you drive, and also due to the composition("hydrophobic") of the dyneema it doesn't absorb much, if any. water.
But if it gets wet and you aren't going to drive it for a while, best practice is to spool it out(or at least as much of it that is damp) and air dry it. The big killer for the ropes is dirt and muck, so after a long day of mudding it's best to unspool, give it a brush down with soapy water, rinse and then dry.


I ask myself that question every day. Especially the body lift kits, they are illegal, and some of the time downright dangerous.
Some guys just get away with it because some cops don't understand/care, others just get a cop having a bad day and get defected(yellow sticker, basically means the car must get the defected items fixed and inspected before you can drive the car etc, you can drive it to the mechanic, inspection station etc, but that's about it.). Or if the cop thinks the vehicle is really bad, he gives it the red defect sticker, which means it cannot be driven full stop and needs to be towtrucked to the mechanic, inspected, then given the ok.
The cops nowadays are mostly after hoons and people with lowered vehicle, loud exhausts and illegal engine swaps/mods.


But it just pisses me off when I see a vehicle lifted 8", custom welded bar work, running a straight through exhaust with no cat or DPF, probably got a DIY turbo kit on it, dodgy mud tires with little tread which provide no grip in the wet, a younger driver(who may or may not be inexperienced, i'm not judging). All this adds up to a vehicle which is a complete weapon while 4x4. But on the road it is just a weapon to the driver and those around it. These vehicles should not be registered and should be trailed to the 4x4 tracks and can be more dangerous than these lowered vehicles on the road.

And then these big lifted, big tire vehicle go and tear up the trails so there is nothing left for casual 4wd'ers.


Above 50mm of lift is illegal in most states without engineering(basically a process where an engineer has to do some analysis and testing, then approve the vehicle, which means you get a nice shiny "mod plate" riveted in the door sill or firewall which approves it), and I know a lot of people that engineer their rigs to be 100% legal, while others just play on luck.


With the roobars, as long as they qualify under the ADR(Australia design regulation) rules they are fine, so the manufactures have learnt to push right against the limits. But again, you get the odd person with a DIY job, that just doesn't care.
Though I believe if the bar was fitted to the vehicle before the ADR rules came into place it's ok to keep it on.


With my vehicle one of the main goals was that everything on it is legal so I don't get issues with the cops, and make sure my insurance is OK with everything.
Lift kit below 2"
(though my subframe spacers are debatable, I know they are stronger than stock and have been well tested by primitive racing, I haven't found any hard rules on whether this is allowed or not, but they can't be seen, so that's me playing my luck. They don't lift the vehicle, aren't custom fabricated, and are stronger than OEM, and doesn't put any extra strain anywhere, I really just can't see the issue with them),
tires below a 7%(or 9 or whatever it is) increase in rolling diameter,
subaru OEM rims with OEM offset,
ADR approved bash plate,
ADR approved bullbar,
mufflers within noise spec,
LED lightbar is ADR approved because it is switched to high beams and has a blanking plate in the middle so qualifies as 2 separate lights(More on this below).
Soon better rotors and pads will be going on to help improve braking.

And due to the increased spring rate of my lifted springs, I could say the vehicle could be safer than stock when I'm done. Less body roll, a Bullbar, a bit louder so people hear me better, better brakes, tires that grip better on ice, it all adds up.


But it really is just hilarious when people get pulled over for silly stuff. I've heard stories of people with H6's before being pulled over, "hey mate have you changed the turbo or turned up the boost?", then the cop laughs when the guy tells him it's an N/A!

I've had 2 breath tests with cops sofar since I've had all the mods on, and had no issues with the vehicle, so I'm happy where I stand.


LED lightbar legality-
this is a rule that my wheel aligner told me about that cops were really cracking down on. Apparently you must have all lights in pairs on the vehicle(I think it's because of confusing a vehicle with a motorcycle, or a cop thinking a light is out or something) which makes the LED lightbar illegal, so the "blanking plate" makes it 2 serparate lights. Now most states have made amendments to this ADR rule because it's insane. But my state in all it's greatness, is a bit slow to catch on

EDIT: I need a thread for my ranting lol, I'll stop now.
 
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Yep, there's lots of illegally modified 4wds out there: big lifts, huge muddies, illegal winches, illegal lights, etc.

From what I've seen, as long as the mods arent dangerous or extreme you wont be bothered. Except for lights which seems to get some attention atm

They are changing the regulations so you can have lightbars. Used to be lights must be fitted in pairs, now you can have odd numbers. They must be mounted symmetrically, be below the level of the bonnet (not on the top of the bullbar hoop or roof) and be switched through the highbeam
 
Yeah most states have made temporary amendments in the ADR to allow people to have them while they are writing up/approving the new ADR. Though I haven't seen anything from the NSW RTA or RMS or whatever they are calling it.

I see a lot of people with lightbars ontop of the hoops or roof because they already have HID's fitted on the light mounts.
 
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Maybe intresting for you to know, does this work?

In one word, yes! It saved me several times. 6500lbs is strong enough to get you out a mudpit when your subie is totaly bogged. I don't use a second battery, until so far there was no need for that. In the summer I use a smaler bashplate so that more cool air can go to the radiator.

Would i do it different if i would do this again? Maybe a lighter bumper, that's a bit heavy. But together with the lifted king springs it works well.
 
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