Portable Lewis winch

[rideglobally]

does anyone have experience with a Lewis Winch http://www.lewiswinch.com i like the idea of a portable winch so i do not have to carry it around when i am in town. Plus the benefit of having a chainsaw, http://www.husqvarna.com/my/products/professional-chainsaws/365/ challenge is that my rig is an 8000 pound gorilla, i am thinking of using a snatch block, two of them if i have to. it is a pricey alternative but i think worth exploring. i search the forum but did not find anything on it

 

[Stumpalump]

Ever been off road at night, in the rain or stuck on a precariousness hillside? Just the thought of hauling out and rigging that contraption would only make me get stupid by hitting things harder instead of winching. I think that thing is meant for job sites and loggers not overlanding.

 

[HillbillyfromAL]

That looks quite interesting it would certainly be faster than a hand winch. Although I would think it would need to mounted in a receiver to keep from twisting up on it's self. I wouldn't use that in place of a vehicle mounted winch. I always found that the hitch winches weren't worth the hassle other than for utility work. This would be an excellent alternative to a hand winch though.

 

[Surfy]

I think such a solution is much better than any builtin winch.

There are Portable Winches arround, with a weight of 11kg, who are capable to handle a 5to.

My Warn 9.5 XP & Frontbar are arround 80kg - and i cant winch to the rear. Probably you have to use a snatch block more often with a chainsaw based solution - but yes - you have too a chainsaw.

When i had to rebuilt my setup - i would go with a portable winch.

Here i had loved to be able to winch to the rear:

I dont know, that this passage is so deep there. It was not visible. To winch to the front was not a good idea, because there are much deeper areas, a buddy told me.
Good to spent the day not alone, right?

We will cross africa alone - and i would be happy if i had such a portable, in my rear.

But we will be a bit over the legal weight, together with 85l Water and 180l additional fuel and all stuff - and there is no free space for a Lewis or capable Handwinch, who are able to handle 3.5to.

We have shovels, Maxtrax, Winch, ground anchor - and hope that this will be enough

If you dont have allready a winch and have an overlanding using purpose - go with a portable! For more hardcore stuff, you should consider a builtin winch, and a portable ;-)

Surfy

 

[rideglobally]

i appreciate very much all your comments, i have taken my rig to the tip of Baja, going back there again in Dec and many parts of the US and Canada. yes i need to do more. but i have never needed a winch. and if i did need one what if i needed to winch backward or sideways a front mounted winch will not do me much good. also i just don't want to be carrying around a winch when driving around town. so i am exploring a portable winch option. i would like to know if anyone out there is using a Lewis Winch or any experience with a portable winch. thanks

 

[Surfy]

I still think, that you dont really need a winch for normal overlanding stuff. Thats someone for that guys, who like to play a bit more. Or say it otherwise: when you have a winch - you will play more and harder, because you know that you should be able to get out.

When you talk about to visit africa - this may change:

Here is an actual shot from africa - where the raintime has just started:

When we are there in two months - it will be a challenge i guess - and what looks like an equippement overkill looks fast as really poor. :drool:

But let us wait - if some here has experience with this portable winches.

Surfy

 

[HillbillyfromAL]

FWIW with enough cable/rope and snatch blocks a front mounted winch can pull you to either side as well as forward. I've used a high lift as winch but only because none of us had a winch at the time. If you really needed to be pulled backwards, or over to the side it would work fine. It's not going to pull you over an obstacle though.
The draw back to receiver hitch types are you may not be able to get it in there when you need it. Then it's just useless until someone else comes along. If you really think a rear winch is necessary then I'd suggest a small one mounted for the rear. With a portable winch anchor you wouldn't need much cable. Once you get a winch you'll be asking yourself why you never bought one before. Even though you'll probably use it more on getting other people out

 

[rideglobally]

Surfy

thanks, if i see mud like this i am not going there i will find a different route or camp out till it tries. i am really trying to figure out recovery equipment system. here is the option i am thinking now based on the responds i got so far. ARB lockers front and rear, pricey but i will probably be spending near that if i got a winch, hopefully i will get lucky and get a used cheap one. i will carry a hand crank winch or my high lift jack when i get stuck. what do you think?

 

[Alaska Mike]

To be honest, I consider a winch more useful than lockers. Lockers can get you into more trouble, while a winch can get you out of trouble.

A winch like a Tirfor is an alternative to a vehicle-mounted winch, although longer or repeated extractions would be difficult. Still, it's a proven design that doesn't take up much room, while still providing a large amount of functionality.

 

[BurbanAZ]

yea definitely a cool idea, plus sounds faster than hand winching. Id still rather just have a winch on the front or of you want something removable the winch on a carrier. Wouldnt the man pulling power depend on the condition and output of the saw?

 

[Surfy]

Normally i would say, a winch will be the bigger help than lockers. And when you play hard - yes a winch will be better.

For travelling and when you avoid the hard stuff like you described - there may lockers be more helpful, because you only need a "bit" of help. Without lockers you can also get stuck on a wet meadow. And together with a handwinch or Highlift, you looks pretty prepared.

Surfy

 

[Antichrist]

To be honest, I consider a winch more useful than lockers. Lockers can get you into more trouble, while a winch can get you out of trouble.

Yup. Also for simplicity's sake.

As for the OP, I've been lusting after a Lewis winch since the early 80's, just never felt the drive to get one, since they aren't cheap. I missed to some great ebay deals though 5 or 10 years ago.

 

[dr350jja]

winch capacity

In looking at the Lewis Winch web site, it seems that it has a 4,000 lbs capacity, up to 8,000 lbs when used with a snatch block. So I would think it would require using the snatch block if you're trying to recover a 4x4 vehicle.:truck:

 

[jscusmcvet]

I have had one of these for about 10 years.

http://www.wyeth-scott.com/

Granted since I have a vehicle mounted winch I do not use it as often as I used to but there are times when it has really helped. Especially around the property when working on down trees,etc... I can pull them into position to where using the vehicle mounted winch makes sense. Just had it out the other day to pull my little diesel tractor out of a jam in the woods. Could I have gone in there with the jeep and used the superwinch? Yes, but this was so easy, just grab the puller and hook it up. I am going to fab up a mount to carry it with me on the tractor.

It is a simple, incredibly robust and well built device. I used it often before being able to afford my first winch in terms of vehicle recovery. It comes with a snatch block built in which gives you about 6000# I think.

Still, I would recommend a vehicle mounted winch as a final solution every time. I have had warn and now have a superwinch and all have been flawless in operation. Just getting ready to move to synthetic line, to give that a shot.

Good luck.

John