I still stand by a tirfor even for solo use ,
you can pull from any angle , you can still snach block it if needed to change angles,
yes thay are hard work but time wouldnt matter if your were putting your motor back on its Michlin XSs after a roll , this would take some well funky snach block skills with a front mounted electric winch especialy on your own :helpsmilie:.
If you were stuck in the desert needing a anchour point you would find one time wouldnt matter .
Tirfors Cheap , never seem to brake unlike electric winches that are on the front of your auto in all conditions, very controled ,
Having said all that I have a Hydraulic PTO driven winch on my G :oops2:
but i would still carry a Tirfor .

If you go for a cheap electric winch look at the "come up " range well used and abused in the UK trail area .

Twodogs

Sounds like this might be a topic for a little meeting at the HUBB.:smartass:

Having said this I did NOT mean for some thieving bas***t to help himself to my Warn XD9000 from the front of my car...
:thumbdown:

sorry to hear that :(
Twodogs

Darrin the Superwinch EP series winches are very good value for money, I will probably get an EP9 myself, they also have a quite low current draw compared to some of the Warns and also have an external brake not an internal brake in the drum as most warns do which is better for running plasma rope instead of steel cable. depending on where you are going stell cable is more versitile and much more damage resistant than plasma, but if it is mainly for use in the desert sands plasma is a dream to use and also safer.

I don`t know where you get them but I think they must have been an option in Europe as it is the only place I have seen them. They are a winch mount that puts the winch behind your std bumper in the gap under the radiator, it hangs down a couple of inches under the std bumper but maintains much better clearance angles than most other bars which normally protrude quite a bit more than the std bumper, the other thing I like about these is that they are quite discrete and non bling looking. If I could find a picture of one I would post it here but have had no luck in finding one. I just whish I knew where I can buy one for myself.

This might also be a good budget option that would let you retain your std bumper.

DBORC:David Bowyer's Off Road Centre

Many thanks for all of the great info and offers - I will digest it over the weekend and no doubt have a few questions afterwards...

I had a come-up winch on my Defender and have yesterday had it mounted it on my work 105 L/C as I was lucky enough to acquire a TJM bullbar which was wrongly ordered... :-) I didn't put it on my own 78 as I rarely take it into extreme situations and to be frank I didn't want more weight hanging off the front. Like Col's recommended superwinch the come-up also has an external brake so the drum runs cooler if you are using plasma rope - plasma rope has a low heat tolerance, but otherwise is much nicer to use than steel rope. I have not done a lot of winching with a recovery winch but even that limited use has resulted in plenty small cuts... Gloves are essential! Obviously the whole topic demands care and respect, I stupidly left the electrical connections on my first installation to one of our auto electricians who ran the earth cable to the gearbox... With the result when I was playing with it for the first time god knows how many amps ran through my handbrake cable - melting it and setting fire to various rubber parts!!!

But these things do put a strain on your front suspension - after the TJM and winch was put on the cruiser there is a noticeable droop which I will now have to sort out with heavier springs. Great fun in the mud though, but I can't help thinking that really for expedition (as opposed to rainforest challenge type stuff/recreational off-roading) a tirfor type mechanical winch kind of makes more sense. However they (at least Tirfor and other good makes) are also not cheap. For my 78 I think I will try and acquire a used Tirfor type winch due to weight issues, as well as the costs of mounting bumper, suspension upgrade, maybe further electrical modifications...
Gil

Superwinch 8500
 

Superwinch have a new model out that looks suitable - the 8500 which is 'entry level' so might fit the bill:
LP8500 8,500 lbs 4x4 - Superwinch

Combined with the Dave Bowyer 'Bikini' option helpfully listed by Col that might do it - just need to measure if I can keep my A bar which I quite like:
http://www.roamingyak.org/temp/dbowyer.jpg

Else the likes of Safari Equip do a nice combined bumper, but can't seem to reply to emails:
http://www.safari-equip.co.uk/UserFi...der_bumper.jpg