Venom Winches

[D_B]

Originally Posted by Russ Chastain

Thanks very much, I hope so too. It'll be another two days before it gets here - and it will be my first winch install. I'm pretty mechanically inclined, so I think I ought to do okay.

Not too hard if you have some mechanical abitlity.

[Russ Chastain]

Well, I got the winch this afternoon (4/19/2011), and tore right into it.

Again, it's a Venom 4500X package, includes both kinds of fairleads, both cable and synthetic lines, snatch block, mounting plate & replacement grille for my 2006 500 4x4 Ranger, corded remote, handlebar switch, wiring, hardware, rubber line stopper, and hook. Oh, and a cheesy "hand saver" strap to put on the hook.

Link to item:
4500lb NEW UTV ATV WINCH POLARIS RANGER 02-08 4500 LB | eBay

The first thing I noted was that the mounting plate was made in USA! And possibly the replacement grille, too. One bummer: the replacement grille has a matte finish, which will clash with the gloss black on the rest of the Ranger - and even with the new mounting plate, which is finished very nicely to match the factory gloss black. What were they thinking?

Also - although the illustration for the auction shows a winch with synthetic line on it, the winch comes spooled with cable, and the synthetic line is in a separate plastic bag. So I put the winch on freespool sitting on the Ranger tailgate and peeled off the cable before I got too far into the install, since I needed to mount the fairlead before mounting the winch, and I didn't want to drag the steel cable through the aluminum hawse fairlead.

The cable wasn't attached by the little screw on the side of the spool that you may have seen before. It was run through a hole in the spool and doubled back into the hole, with a ball bearing in the loop to keep it from pulling through. I slipped the blue synthetic line through there, tied a knot with a bit of a tail, and fed the tail back into the hole.

Also - the directions for the mounting plate are SO much better than those in the Venom booklet. The Venom booklet pretty much just says "mount the winch" and outlines installation in very general terms, for an ATV. The mounting plate paper gives specific directions for removing the bumper and installing the mounting plate and winch, and even illustrates suggested locations for mounting the "handlebar" switch and the contactor - even though those items aren't provided by the mount manufacturer.

The included hardware wasn't the greatest, and nowhere is there a list or illustration showing you what to put where. I only had 3 of the longest bolts with 13mm (1/2") heads, and 5 of the next-shortest size, so I used the 3 long ones and one shorty to mount the winch to the mounting plate.

You do need the Venom booklet, but not much. Once you decide on switch and contactor locations and get the winch mounted, you have to feel your way along. For instance, I just had to guess that the long skinny bolts were for mounting the "handlebar" switch sideways. Turns out, they were the right size and thread count to replace the bolts in the switch so I could do just that.

After I mounted the winch, I put the bumper back onto the machine and started looking at wiring. I decided to put the plug for the remote in a central location, so I could run the winch from either side of the machine. Never know what conditions will be when you get stuck, right? There was a round blank spot just left of the ignition switch, so that's where that went.

I put the "handlebar" switch on the dash, not far right of the steering wheel. I'll get some pics tomorrow (later today by now, I guess) in the daylight.

Wiring went okay, but had to be careful since the terminals on the ends of the heavy cables are soft as goose crap, and bend very easily. Don't want to let them bend too much or they will definitely break. I had a LOT of extra wire, especially for the remote plug and the "handlebar" switch. I bundled it and tied it off; no good reason to cut it.

I finally got it all wired up and ready to go, but the remote switch worked backwards (in was out). I thought it was going to, because where it hooked to the contactor, it was black on green and vice versa - but once I plugged the "handlebar" switch leads into those leads, those were right. So I just removed the 3 screws holding the remote together and reversed the black and green leads, and all is well.

I put hand tension on the blue synthetic line while I reeled it in using the remote. Finally got that all spooled, and decided to call it a night. Then I looked at my hands and noted that the blue color of the El Cheapo synthetic line had come off on my hands! Wow, didn't expect that.

So - it works, and the install is almost complete. I'll count on finishing it up and getting some pics on Friday, and chances are I'll just HAVE to hook it to something and winch it up a slight hill. Why not - I'm supposed to spool the line under tension, right? ;-)

[Russ Chastain]

Here are the photos of the Venom winch install.

1. shows the plug for the remote, just to the left of the ignition switch - and the rocker switch, which is just to the right of the steering column, towards the top of the dash. That's close to where the mount plate instructions suggested, and it seems like a good place.

2. shows the winch installed. The replacement grille has a matte black wrinkle finish, which matches nothing on the machine. The "hand saver" strap has VENOM WINCH printed on the other side, but I'm not one to provide free advertising - and it's printed crooked so it looks like hell.

3. shows the wire routing & contactor placement (just in front of the battery box). This is where the mount plate instructions suggested, and I decided it's a good spot. I attached the wires before I bolted it down, and I turned it so the terminals are on the back side. That helps keep the terminals out of harm's way and prevents inadvertent shorting when I'm working under the hood.

Just to the left of the top of the battery box, there are two orange/white wires screwed to a terminal. Those wires go to the 12v accessory plug. I traced them to that terminal and confirmed with a tester that they have switch-activated juice, so that's where I attached the red wires for the rocker switch and remote.

4. shows the hood propped open with the removable storage "bucket" in place.

5. is just an overall view of the machine.

[h2otoo]

Great write up and nice looking install. Now give it a good workout

What is that storage "bucket"? Is that stock? Storage is good.

Bob

[Russ Chastain]

Thanks, I need to give it a workout.

The storage bucket thing is a plastic thing that was stock on this year and model. You can see where it sits in the photo. It has one pin on each side, that go into grommets (similar to the ones that the seat pins go into, but smaller). You can see one of the grommets in the pic of the wiring - it is just to the right of the radiator cap, and a little above it in the photo.

The center of the "bucket" is a little lower than the rest, and sticks down into the hole above the radiator a little bit.

I keep a slow charger in there, and now I'll probably keep some other stuff in there like a sling & shackle, tow strap, winch remote (unless I decide to keep that in the glove box), etc. It's a great addition. My buddy's 2001 doesn't even have storage pockets in the dashboard, nor a glove box.

[OrangeMadness]

I'm hoping to close the deal on a 2011 Orange Madness tomorrow. Thinking really hard about whether to install a winch. I guess it is sorta like carrying a pistol. You don't need one at all till you need one really bad. (And when you do, nothing else will do.)

[Russ Chastain]

Yeah, that's why I went for it. I keep a comealong in my truck, but with the limited storage space in the Ranger, I knew I wouldn't carry one in it.

Part of me hopes I never need it. But I think it will come in handy from time to time, if I have to winch the machine onto the trailer if it won't run (there's no way I could push it onto my trailer), stretching fence wire, etc.

[OrangeMadness]

Makes sense to me, Russ.

[h2otoo]

Originally Posted by Russ Chastain

But I think it will come in handy from time to time, if I have to winch the machine onto the trailer if it won't run (there's no way I could push it onto my trailer), stretching fence wire, etc.

Changes in latitude, Changes in what the winch will do... I find the most use my winch gets (on the Wrangler, Ranger will get one eventually) is to skid logs for fire wood. Guess in Fla that is not a priority, heh?

Bob

[Russ Chastain]

Originally Posted by h2otoo

I find the most use my winch gets (on the Wrangler, Ranger will get one eventually) is to skid logs for fire wood. Guess in Fla that is not a priority, heh?

Bob

Not usually! We do get some cold weather but I'm generally too lazy to start a fire, or too worried about sparks from the chimney igniting dry leaves and pine needles on the roof and ground.

I do live in the country and need to move logs, dig and pull stumps, etc from time to time. But I never go out looking for firewood... I find I get all I need just by natural causes. ;-)