Isuzu Trooper Owners Club UK™

[bob d]

Can anyone give me advice on how to mount a winch to the front of my Bighorne.... Thanks

[Google]

[leehorspool]

And at the same time give me some info on winch bumper and winch for mk1 lwb trooper.
Thanx
_________________
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[jonkem]

Personally: I decided against buying a winch bumper as they seem to stick out quite a long way which helps you to dig the front end in (I've seen a few Monterey's stuck this way). Mind you that means you might need to use the winch more But I can weld & have power tools so it's easy for me to say "build your own".

I have made a tubular front on my early Frontera which has a virtually identical chassis to the Trooper. This keeps the winch inside the line of the original bumper.
I'm currently working on my MK1 Trooper and it seems even easier to sneak the winch in after removing the original bumper, then cutting the front body crossmember & re-welding it upside down. That leaves enough room for a Husky, which is a pretty big winch.

Electrically: I've gone for 2 AGM batteries using a 3.1 loom for the split charge set-up but didn't bother with any of that on the Fronty, just used 1 AGM battery and a bigger alternator. It's never missed a beat except when I nose dived into a river bank and broke the kill switch!

Financially: Unless you're going to use the winch quite a bit, consider instead always going out with at least 1 other car and have good recovery kits & at least 1 Hi-Lift between you.
_________________
1994 KZJ70 Cruiser (currently filling the garage and causing some head scratching)
1988 MKI 3.1td Hybrid Van (Ex Bobtail)
1991 SWB Fronty 2.8td Hybrid
2000 Astra Estate (work)
2006 VXR Astra
MK1 SR Nova

[snowjunkie]

Following on, does anybody know of anyone who builds bespoke winch bars for Troopers? I've had dialogue with Frog Island 4x4 who very helpfully told me the following:

"Thanks for you enquiry regarding your Isuzu. I can supply you with an ARB winch bumper bull bar for your vehicle with is cabable of accepting a 9000LBS Warn Winch. The cost of the bumper is £543.00 + VAT and the winch is £650.00 + VAT. [] I would need to special order the bumper in from Australia and this would take approx 3 months to arrive. The winches are always in stock. Please let me know if there is anthing else i can do."

"There is only 1 style of Bumper for the Izusu which is the ARB Deluxe winch bumper bull bar, not the Sahara. Sahara bars are a relitivly recent product and are generally only for vehicles from 1998 on. Most ARB bumper including the Izusu bumper are designed with the Warn xd9000/9.5xp winches in mind. 9000LBS is roughly 4tonnes."

Not sure if the cost of bespoke kit would be more or less than this.

jonkem therefore has a point:
"Financially: Unless you're going to use the winch quite a bit, consider instead always going out with at least 1 other car and have good recovery kits & at least 1 Hi-Lift between you."

£1,200 plus VAT is enough to make me rethink if I need a winch at all! I had to tow a trailer through a bog this weekend up in the Highlands and, predictably, came to a halt. The guy who pulled me out had a winch but chose to simply use a long strap and his towbar. So I'm with jonkem; get some mates and go out in pairs or a group.

[jonkem]

It's also much quicker & safer to use some decent ropes/straps

Even though the winch they quoted can possibly be bought cheaper, it still adds up. You may well struggle to find someone to custom make a bumper because it takes a while especially if you want it to look like an ARB. Tubular is easier but you will end up looking like a hardcore offroader
_________________
1994 KZJ70 Cruiser (currently filling the garage and causing some head scratching)
1988 MKI 3.1td Hybrid Van (Ex Bobtail)
1991 SWB Fronty 2.8td Hybrid
2000 Astra Estate (work)
2006 VXR Astra
MK1 SR Nova