Winch on the Y61 - has anyone done it?

[Alphin Aloor]

Hey everyone! 😊

I've been thinking about adding a winch to my Y61 Patrol and wanted to get some insights and advice from the community.

1. Installation Tips: Any tips or tricks for installing a winch on a Y61 Patrol? How did you do it? Did you mod your bumper/bash plate?

2. Electrical Power Requirements: I’ve heard that winches can significantly drain the vehicle's electrical system. What should I be aware of regarding power requirements and battery upgrades?

3. Power-to-weight: Despite its reputation, the stock Y61 is slow! How did your winch installation affect performance?

4. Usage and Maintenance: How often do you use your winch, and what maintenance routines do you follow to ensure it stays in top condition?

5. Lessons Learned: For those who have already installed a winch, what are some lessons you learned the hard way that could save the rest of us some headaches?

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts and experiences! Thanks in advance for the help! 

Cheers!

[Frederic]

Hey @Alphin Aloor! Some good questions raised and I’ll just provide my two cents based on my experience owning a winch for 4 years and having owned a Patrol but never installed the winch on it. I kept the winch on my small Pajero and later onto the Trooper.

First question for yourself should be: are you planning on doing regular recoveries of others ? And are you currently comfortable recovering others with a kinetic rope? 90% of recoveries can be done with a rope, and it’s only in a small amount of scenarios that a winch comes in handy. I have used my winch perhaps 15 times in 4 years, and it was a lifesaver a few times, but the main reason I got it was for being able to do recoveries in remote or challenging areas like Liwa. As a drive lead there’s always a bit of apprehension when leading in this terrain that something could go wrong and having the winch always gave me that extra bit of reassurance. 
 
If you plan to install it on the Patrol, take note it will slow you down further a bit during climbs, and the nose of the car will bottom out a bit faster on typical dune bashing drives on stock shocks. If you focus more on overlanding, then this is less of an issue. 
 

Have a look at the OEM winch install setup which some Super Safari models have. This would keep the bumper intact and hide the winch properly.  If you want to buy a winch and get custom brackets made, I can of course recommend Warn or TJM winches with synthetic rope. Better to avoid steel rope as this again adds weight.

There is little to no maintenance on a winch, but a couple of times per year it’s good to completely roll out the rope, inspect it for any damages, and then roll it back up. 
 

The Patrol has a big size battery already which can easily power a winch when needed, so that’s a plus.

All in all i got the winch installed from a personal perspective as a drive lead / marshal. Would it buy it again ? Maybe not. I got a great deal as mine was second hand and only 3 weeks old. The guy sold it as he installed a steel bumper and winch and then realized the extra weight in front completely changed the dune bashing experience for him, so he decided to remove it again. 

 

 

 

 

[Gaurav]

I agree with Fredy, perhaps my numbers will shake your decision even more.

Four times in seven years, in real do-or-die situations, where the winch added the real value, and that too three times for others and one time for myself in some extreme recovery.

Don't install a winch unless you intend to lead or go solo with one or two cars on a private drives in remote places. On regular club drives, you will always have plenty of support expertise & experience to recover over 99% of scenarios with rope. So, adding a winch will only significantly reduce your climb capabilities, irrespective of whether you use steel or synthetic rope.

[Gaurav]

Winches are more helpful for overlanding area that has big tree or rock to use as anchor for yourself, for sand, shovel and self recovery technique are supreme. In sand no sand anchor work unlike advertise or marketing videos shows.

I have gone to the extent of burying sand anchor for 2 hours to self recover and in end used shovel to get the car out with blip blip technique because sand anchor was only digging trench and not able to move stuck car. That guy ordered that from US and booked recovery champion course to learn how to use it.