450C and Electric Winch

[Farmboy]

Finally finished prepping our new 450C.
New filters, fluids, some hoses, packing, frame pins, etc.
A little paint.
Our shop mechanic fashioned a frame for a 6,000 LB electric winch to do some light log pulling.

[K LeClair]

Nice clean job on that winch!
I love to see fabbed equipment that is clean and presentable. (unlike my 1010 winch)That 450 is sweeeeet.

[Tigerhaze]

Ditto on the winch!

I would be interested in hearing from you in the future on how well that winch works for you in the field. I have a 2010 loader that has a backhoe attachment so I wouldn't want to install a winch permanently but it would be nice to mount an electric winch on a removable bracket for log pulling, like you say.

[Lavoy]

Tigerhaze,
With a hoe crawler, you have mounts that are plenty strong enough for a winch. Plus, you have ample hyd capacity if you wanted to put a hyd winch on it. Sometimes you can find some new surplus hyd winched for less money than a 12 volt.
Lavoy

[Tigerhaze]

Hi Lavoy-

I guess my concern about a hydraulic winch is mounting and hydraulic control. Most of the factory winches look like they bolt in place on the frame and would not be easy to remove to use the backhoe. Ideally it would be nice to have a bracket for it similar to the counterbalance weight bracket that could slip into the mounting hooks and pin holes so it could be removed and attached quickly.

Also, can I set it up to have quick disconnect hydraulics that can attach where the backhoe hoses attach? Would I need to put in a diverter valve like you have to for the 4in1 bucket? I don't know much at all about hydraulic systems and am probably showing it.

[Tigerhaze]

Hi Farmboy- do you still log on here? I was wondering how well the electric winch is working for you.

I'd like to know because over the holidays I broke down and purchased a Champion 10,000 lb electric winch- I got a pretty good deal. The neat thing is that it has a Speedhitch adapter that allows it to be attached to any 2" receiver. This will work best for my mutliple winch uses on the farm (trucks, tractors, etc).

I do have a question- as stated before my 2010 has the backhoe brackets and I would like to fashion something to it to mount the winch. Since this winch has the receiver mount, I'm thinking the ideal mount would incorporate a frame hitch receiver for easy removal. I have seen other frame hitches modified with pins for use on a 3-point tractor hitch so I could probably make something similar to fit the backhoe pin and hook attachment setup.

My only concern is that I have used the brackets in the past to pull a load (only when necessary) and that without something rigid between the two sides of the brackets the brackets can flex- I'm worried about distorting the brackets or weakening them. How concerned should I be about this issue?