so i bought a 10,000 lb winch to pull up a lot of stumps and brush. i also use it on my car trailor, which has been really handy. I have it on a mount that inserts into my rear receiver for stumps recovery etc. I got a free grade IV hitch that i cleaned up and painted flipped it upside down and mounted it to the front of my trailor, works great. as a temporary solution i got 20' of 4 gauge wire and attached it to my winch wires and then to a set of jumper cables that i attach to the battery when in use... i am looking to mount something more permanent, cleaner and more convenient. maybe some sort of quick connect out the back? maybe a direct connection to my battery? let me know what u guys think? thanks mike

 

Who is the manufacture and does it have a remote with it? There are several types of industrial disconnects you could use to "plug" in the winch and use it and disconnect when done. We use them all the time on out battery boxes and chargers for out forklifts at work.

 

yea just like weed said, there are industrial disconnects available that are heavy duty and solid as a rock. We had them replaced every once in awhile by a forklift maintenance company, might try and call your local shop and see if they could sell you a set

 

DON'T USE JUMPER CABLES WITH A WINCH! They are not thick enough and will generate heat. With prolonged use, at best you'll melt the cables, but more realistically, you'll fry solenoids.

I dunno who makes your winch, but Warn recommends 4 gauge only for runs under 6' for any of their vehicle size (6000 lbs +) winches and 2 gauge out to 24'.

Rolled 2 gauge is pretty affordable on either ebay or Amazon.com. For the quick connects, the Warn ones are about $60 a pop from them and their are some 100% clones of theirs from companies like Promark for about $35.



I opted for a set of twist lock quick connects from a local welding supply company. They are a little bigger and bulkier than the Warn type, but hold more secure and can be trimmed to work with anything from 6 gauge to 2/0 gauge. Also, a big plus was they were only $9.95 each set (two are needed, one set of the "+" wire and one for the "-" wire.






On the Jeep end, I just tuck these up behind the grill when not needed and reach up and pull them out like pictured when I slide the winch on:

 

I just got off the phone with Jones Welding and their 2 gauge is 1.67 a ft.

 

yes it has a remote it is a cheap harbor freight one

 

sorry i did not phrase that right, it is 4 gauge wire all the way to jumper cable clamps. that being said i did not think of the distance and that i would need to step it up to a larger wire. thanks for the tips on the connectors i like the ones you used. i really like the hitch setup you have on the jeep clean and functional! how did you go about that, i would like to do that with my truck. thanks guys mike

 

nice that is cheaper than i thought it would be! i have a welding supply house pretty close and go there to refill my welding bottle every once and a while. is jones welding local or online? thanks mike

 

sry for the multiple replys, thats my ADD. what do you guys recomend for routing the wire? I have seen clips to hold wires etc but i do not think i have seen anything that would be big enough for 2 gauge. also where is the best place to route them, my guess would be the frame. lay it out with string first? what kind of connectors would work best for the battery? thanks mike

 

I just used heavy duty zip ties.

Front hitch receiver is about $150. Winch carrier was $85, but I've seen them at Harbor Freight for $39.95. The cool thing about that is when the winch ain't on, anything you can weld a 2" square pipe to can be carried on the front.

I made a simple light bar for when I'm not carrying the winch: