Jw if anyone has mounted their winch on the top rack of their quad n figured out some sort of pulley system or something to have the fair lead running down below to keep the winch pulling the front end up still

 

Not sure your racks will be strong enough for the pull of a winch... It really needs to be lower to maintain a straighter line of pull as that will put less stress on your frame.

 

So you're wanting to use the winch to lift the quad up? I think that you can still do that in the normal position. A buddy of mine did that with the warn winch on his Grizzly. He just hooked to a tree branch and it would pull the front end up so he could clean the underside of the machine after a ride.

 

Your rack will never hold up. Winch needs a connecting point to the frame.

 

My problem with winches has always been the cable being messed up from reeling in a jumbled mess. I drove me batty!

I solved that problem by mounting my winch on the back rack, lefthand side and the cable runs to a hole mounted on the front of the front rack (also lefthand side). The cable reels in perfectly every time.

I beefed the rack mounting points with some gussets and stronger bolts. 4 years, no problems, nothing is bent.

I'm using a 5000lb winch, not for the pulling power, but the speed and size of drum for 100ft of cable. As long as I'm not trying to pull a bus, I don't expect to have problems.

So yeah, it can be done

I've also known guys to mount winches on the front rack. Nothing bent. They didn't get crazy trying to bend anything though. You have to use your head a bit.

 

Never had a issue with my rope wincing back and making a mess.
I grantee the last time I was stuck if the winch was mounted to the rack I would have ripped it right off. OlNY way would have been rebuilding and welding it to the frame. Broken winch rope rated at 5000+ lbs breaking strength. Broken strap rated at the same. The other quad could barley move me with a ****** block increasing my pull strength.

I would like to see a pick of your setup. I just can't picture this

 

LOL! I can't picture you breaking all that stuff!

But yeah, if you generate 5000lbs of force, which is needed to break a 5000lb rope, then you're going to bend and break stuff. I can't imagine a position I would be in to be in need of such force. Usually I just need a good nudge to get me out of a hole or over an obstacle.

I'll see if I can find some pics.

 

The winch is at the back and reels in nice n pretty. I also have a 2000lb winch at the back that reels in a wadded mess, but I don't care about it. It's just for pulling logs or pulling me a few feet backwards.



Front view



Look at the mess the cable on the back winch is! Sometimes the cable gets stuck in between the drum and the winch case. But it's only 50ft of cable and cheap to replace.



The load supporting tubes I welded in to beef the rack.



And in case anyone is wondering about the chainsaw





Big wingnut holds it on.



Best winch on earth!

 

I'll have to check out those pics when I'm on my computer and not my phone.
Getting stuck that bad is what happens when your riding on top of 2 feet of snow and fall through. Going down hill fell through the snow all the snow underneath was a wet mess. Had to spin the quad around to get it facing back uphill. No trees close by pretty much the worst situation iv been in for a stuck..lol

 

Oh I see. Well, sadly, no danger of that kind of snow where I am. So you were winching uphill and plowing 2 feet of wet snow at the same time? I can see where that would take some force! Sounds like a cold day in hell

My biggest fear would be falling down a cliff and having to winch it back to the top while going around trees and rocks. But even then the quad only weighs 900lbs, so it should be ok.

If I were to pull with all 5000lbs it can do, I would expect something to break. Before that would happen, I would use a ****** block. I carry extra pulleys and cable in my ammo boxes.

I've always been, like, 2 feet short of reaching the closest tree, so that's why I have 100ft of cable now... and carry extra 25-50ft lengths coiled up.

Instead of deploying all 100ft of cable from the winch just to pull myself 5 ft, I can use a section that can be easily coiled up like an extension cord. It saves time and battery juice.