new winch selection and install

[bhoult]

After about a year of looking into winches, I narrowed my search down to offerings from Moto Alliance and Superwinch. I had several constraints to consider when selecting a winch. The custom bumper I have was configured to have a foot forward mount and the transmission cooler on the truck impedes the depth in the foot forward mounting, limiting it to about 9 inches in “height”. In summary the constraints were as follows:

– about 20” overall width
– allow fair lead mounting in the same width as the foot mounting without interfering with the drum supports (due to existing mount holes)
– less than 9 inches tall (or deep, mounted foot forward)

Moto Alliance was responsive and I liked their rope equipped winches, but I was concerned that the drum and brake design wouldn't be appropriate to synthetic winch line use. After doing further research and exchanging email with Superwinch Experts (.com), I decided to give the Tiger Shark 9500 SR a try. The SR was released a couple of months ago, and has been designed to use synthetic rope. Unlike a lot of the other entry level priced synthetic rope equipped offerings, Superwinch took pains to to make sure that the Tiger Shark SR was ready for synthetic rope. They spec’d a welded steel drum to replace the cast unit on the cable equipped Tiger Shark, and they moved the brake outside of the drum to reduce the heat that the rope is exposed to.

I confirmed with Superwinch that the TS 9500 SR could be clocked 90 degrees for foot forward mounting. They confirmed with a caveat that the winch could be clocked – the caveat being that the solenoid would need a remote mount setup since the solenoid is connected to the motor via buss bars. Superwinch Experts recommended the remote mount kit that was originally developed for the EP9000. I thought it was a bit expensive, but I thought I would order it and return it if it turned out to be hokey.
https://sites.google.com/site/houltfile ... ects=0&d=1

Before the winch arrived, I replaced my lead acid battery with an AGM charging/cycling battery from Deka. I chose the Intimidator model in Group 34. The Intimidator has 775 CCA at 0 deg F, and can be mounted in any position. I mounted it in the correct position of course :) .
https://sites.google.com/site/houltfile ... ects=0&d=1

The winch arrived within the quoted time and was well packed with the solenoid remote mount and cover I ordered with it. Superwinch Experts did a fantastic job of packing. This is great since they provide shipping “free” as part of the price ($499 US). The first task I had was to remove the solenoid housing and clock the gearbox for foot forward mounting. When I had the gearbox removed I noted the quality of the planetary gear set as well as the sealing around the drum support where the gearbox bolts on. The drive shaft was easy to re-seat and the winch was easy to put back together. I liked that the synthetic rope was packed separately from the drum, so trial installation was easier. I found that I needed ½” spacers to accommodate the fair lead bolts and to clear the motor from the inside of the bumper. Even though the TS 9500 SR is only 20.8” wide, the motor is relatively long, meaning I had to move the winch back in the frame. I used some grade 8 spacers and replaced the M10 1.75 x 130 mounting bolts with M10 1.75 x 145 bolts in 8.8. I still felt the motor interfered with the bumper a bit, so I deployed Mr Angle Grinder to grind a small area back about .05” to be safe.
https://sites.google.com/site/houltfile ... ects=0&d=1

Once the winch was mechanically attached, I went about mounting the divorced solenoid housing. I made a mounting flange out of some aluminum diamond plate I had. It mounted to the top of the bumper and allowed the solenoid to hover over the motor. The remote kit from Superwinch is of the highest quality, and the $49.99 price saved me two hours in installation time. Well worth it.
https://sites.google.com/site/houltfile ... ects=0&d=1

Once the wiring was complete, I connected the battery and tested it all out. The TS 9500 SR fired up beautifully and I decided to load the rope on. I didn't use the ginormous hook that comes with the winch opting for a ¾” shackle instead. I wound the rope on by hand at first, then took the truck over to a spot where I could winch the truck over level ground in neutral. The winch worked quietly and I love the Dyneema rope. I can tell that even with 80 ft of ⅜” rope having an extension for using a snatch block will be nice. It’s not a speed demon, but I think it will be welcome once the snow falls and I start sliding off of the NF roads.
https://sites.google.com/site/houltfile ... ects=0&d=1
https://sites.google.com/site/houltfile ... ects=0&d=1

[Bill E.]

Nice write-up Bryan but I can't see your photos, which I'm sure are excellent. Can you re-post them please?

[bhoult]

Thanks Bill - do you see the Img links, or is it just blank? I'm linking them from a site I control, and I've shared them as public. Worst case, I can upload them, but it's nice having them spread in line with the text (at least for me since I can see the photos).

[red90]

https://sites.google.com/site/houltfile ... us_bar.JPG
https://sites.google.com/site/houltfile ... attery.JPG
https://sites.google.com/site/houltfile ... talled.JPG
https://sites.google.com/site/houltfile ... nstall.JPG
https://sites.google.com/site/houltfile ... h_wind.JPG
https://sites.google.com/site/houltfile ... r_lead.JPG

[bhoult]

Thanks Red90!