Winch fairlead

Zachary Hoyt · Feb 14, 2012

I have got the winch ready to be reassembled the other way up once I get the angle iron welded to the frame in the new location. I am thinking about a roller fairlead for the winch, it seems that it would want one and I found that I can get one on eBay for about $40 with free shipping that is rated for a 9500-12000 lb winch. I am wondering if a cheap fairlead is likely to work for occasional use or if I should look for a higher quality one. Another question I have is how far from the the outside of the drum the fairlead should be mounted. Looks from what I have seen in pictures like they are sometimes quite close and sometimes a foot or two away. Any advice will be much appreciated.
Zach

sixtyninegmc · Feb 14, 2012

Cheap rollers get chewed up pretty quickly if you put any side load on them at all. You also lose a lot of pull pulling at an angle, my braden is on the front of my dodge truck, factory mount, and it has no fairlead except for rounded inner ends of the bumper. I find that you are generally better off to use a snatch-block tied to an anchor (stump, tree, another vehicle, big rock) to redirect the angle of pull. Granted, I usually use mine as a utility winch, not a self-recovery winch. Buddy of mine with an electric winch and roller fairlead on his ford is perfectly happy with it, for the few times he has used it.

ohiojim · Feb 14, 2012

fairleads are ment to keep the cable from climbing off the drum when pitched to the side ,..they can be mounted any distance but the closer the better,..keeps you more compact

Zachary Hoyt · Feb 14, 2012

Thank you very much for your help. Does the cable on your
truck run through a hole in the bumper? Could I just mount a
piece of channel or flat steel on the winch and make a smooth
hot dog shaped hole in it to accomplish the same thing? The
largest metal drill I have is a 15/16" and my cable is 1/2", so I
could drill a hole at each end and cut out and round with the
grinder in between them. I am intending to use this to pull
things to the tractor, not to move the tractor, so I can point the
back of the tractor in the direction of the cable run pretty easily,
I just didn't know if something was required to keep the cable
sort of lined up with the drum as it comes in. Thank you very
much.
Zach

Tony in Mass. · Feb 14, 2012

So... TELL US !!! Did the leak stop while it was the other way round? Gosh it looked like your bolt holes were... interchangable? I was hoping it would just be a bit lower and shaft to the left. If you are going to pull logs out of the woods, I would try a roller guide yeah...
I was thinking today- was that winch off a light/phone company truck?

Zachary Hoyt · Feb 14, 2012

Actually the leak stopped as soon as the winch stopped turning. I have now turned it right way up and drained the oil down to the level plug. I couldn't just flip it because that would have put the PTO shaft running right through the leg of the frame, which didn't look to me like a satisfactory outcome. I have cut the old welds and removed the piece of angle iron and flipped it over and once I can get it welded it will indeed be sort of a mirror image like you describe, with the shaft running to the left instead of the right. I need to learn to weld, I have the stuff but not the skills. The winch was off an army truck according to the guy I bought it from, but the truck had already been scrapped so I do not know for sure. I got it for $150 almost two years ago and have been wasting time ever since, but now I hope to have it working soon.
Zach

sixtyninegmc · Feb 14, 2012

You should be able to see the opening in thebumper in this pic. The fairlead has to be as wide as the drum on the winch, or it will bunch the cable in the middle of the drum. I would build a guide out of heavywall pipe, probably 1 1/2", does not have to be fancy. It would be a good first project to teach yourself how to weld. Try to keep it as close to the winch as you can, then you get a wider angle available before you rub on the guide. Under load the cable goes where it wants to, a fairlead will not make it spool back on any neater.

Winch fairlead

Zachary Hoyt

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sixtyninegmc

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ohiojim

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Zachary Hoyt

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Tony in Mass.

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Zachary Hoyt

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sixtyninegmc

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