Quote:
Originally Posted by Oilbrnr
Wonder how it would do now with the camper in the back?  |
Yeah, that is a good question now that the truck weighs 7,500 lbs before gear and supplies are loaded. Fortunately, we haven’t been any positions in the last few years where a winch was needed. When the occasion arises I use the stronger rear winch as much as possible. More times than not you need help getting out of a jamb than further into one so a winch on the back is very handy. With growing up around tow trucks, using a rear mounted winch feels natural to me.
The snafu on Tin Cup pass in the picture above was an exception where going backwards was not an option. Another reason I don’t use it much is because I am scared to break it. Parts are hard to come by. Someday the K10 might get a bigger winch up front and the Sidewinder will end up on the Suburban. I thought about putting it on my dad’s K20 but I am pondering parting that truck as it is too far gone to try to resurrect. The axles in that truck would be great for the Suburban project.
That all said, when my Sidewinder was on my dad’s buddy’s ’78 K20 when I was a kid I saw it pull my dad’s ’78 K20 tow truck out of some hairy stuff up in the mountains. With snatch blocks and taking plenty of cool off breaks, the Sidewinder will probably do alright. It is not a strong winch but it is better than no winch.
Actually, come to think of it the last time I had to use a winch was when Zoomad75 barber poled the rear shaft on his K5 up in the mountains on a fishing trip a year or two ago. He had to drive home in front wheel drive that day
The rear winch was handy that day too. I added a wireless remote to the rear winch before we left on the desert trip this year, which makes it much easier to use, as the cable would not reach the cab
Just hooked up before the cable weight was tossed over the line.
