Ground anchor?

[kygreg]

Can someone recommend the right kind of ground anchor for different types of ground? Sand, rock, or just dirt. I'm making a winch to attach to the front of my car and there are not always trees. Thanks.

 

[Moxadox]

Are you wanting to winch your vehicle out?

The Dire Wolfess

 

[johnny b]

What do you mean by "MAKING" a winch?
I hope you mean 'mounting' a winch.

How will this be attached to the front of a 'car'?

Winches are rated by how much they can pull, but this is directly related to how strong the mount is.

Winching a stuck vehicle can be quite dangerous...if the cable breaks it can whip around and cut a person in two!

I hope you're an experienced fabricator, so we don't have to worry.
Here's the first result from googling:
https://www.pullpal.com/

Here are images of many others:
https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=off+road+winch+anchors&qpvt=off+road+winch+anchors&FORM=IGRE

Edit....just looked at your other threads so I assume this is for a Prius?

Bad idea...get one of these instead:
https://www.wyeth-scott.com/

 

[Bud Smiley]

I recommend looking at the Pull Pal (and whatever knockoff versions might exist now). That's a good option for most terrain types.

 

[kygreg]

What do you mean by "MAKING" a winch?
I hope you mean 'mounting' a winch.

 Thank you, I should have been more specific. I already own a 3000 lb winch that plugs into a cigarette outlet, had it for other purposes. I intend to attach it to the front tow point of the car to get out of sand or mud or whatever. It has 25' of cable with a handheld controller.

 

[kygreg]

Oh and the mount is not permanent, only attach when needed.

 

[bullfrog]

I've made a homemade version of the pull pal and can tell you the angles and construction of the shovel part are critical. There is also an Austrailian that has one that looks to take down to a smaller size and has a handle to guide it. Hard rock or soils require drilling holes at an angle away from the pull and using 4 pieces of 1" rebar 24" long to "stitch" a piece of heavy chain to attach the wench to. Remember to always lay a jacket with some rocks in the pockets over the mid point of the the wench cable to keep the cable fom whipping back should everything go wrong.

 

[highdesertranger]

a 3,000 lb winch with a ciggy plug? that doesn't seem right. my 1,500 lb superwinch pulls 25 amps with no load and can pull up to 150 amps on full 1,500 lb load. highdesertranger

 

[Dingfelder]

I find most of this thread frightening.

 

[kygreg]

a 3,000 lb winch with a ciggy plug?  that doesn't seem right.  my 1,500 lb superwinch pulls 25 amps with no load and can pull up to 150 amps on full 1,500 lb load.  highdesertranger

Here's the one I have, it's 2,000 lb, (my mistake) 18 amp. 12 volt that I added the cigarette plug to. In the past I used it to hoist a kayak up to the ceiling of my garage to get it out of the way, then I could lower it to the top of my truck.

http://images.harborfreight.com/manuals/92000-92999/92860.pdf

 

[bullfrog]

I would suggest you make up a short adapter plug to 15 amp fuse (what ever amp fuse you ciggy plug is) to jumper cable ends and try using your winch before chancing your vehicle's wiring harness. Your winch if it works using that low an amperage it will be super slow to a point of being unusable I would bet. Most likely it will get hot so be careful and do this at your own risk. I just saw your last post. I have used these and they do get hot if run for extended periods. Not really good to use with most vehicles as they were intended for light weights. You will probably burn something up. I have modified mine to use with an ATV but have gone through more than one, I would recommend a good hand winch over this one.

 

[kygreg]

I would suggest you make up a short adapter plug to 15 amp fuse (what ever amp fuse you ciggy plug is) to jumper cable ends and try using your winch before chancing your vehicle's wiring harness.  Your winch if it works using that low an amperage it will be super slow to a point of being unusable I would bet.  Most likely it will get hot so be careful and do this at your own risk.

I'm not changing anything on the car. The winch already has a 12 volt plug. This is a Prius, I only need to get it free of some sand or low spot, I have no intention of going 4 wheeling, it's just for an emergency, seeing as I already had the winch. The car has a screw-in tow hook on the front, I'm going to fabricated a bracket for the winch that screws in there. The winch will be stored in the trunk. 

Zero cost except for a ground anchor, if I could find someone with first hand experience who might advise me. This is the type I see on Amazon, but there are many different types and Google gives me 42,000,000 million suggestions, but no first hand experience. 

https://smile.amazon.com/MTB-Painte...qid=1537618081&sr=8-20&keywords=ground+anchor

 

[SheepDog]

You’ve received some good advice! Taking that advice is on you! What you’re thinking about doing ranges from unworkable to foolish depending on final form!

Something that size could be easily handled with a come along type manually operated winch which would be what I recommend. Powering up yours with a cig plug is asking for trouble at a time when you’re already in trouble!

SD

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

First off, the ground anchor you linked to is for tying down stuff like tarps.  A 36" stake with a 3" auger it would have a pull strength of <2000 lbs so you would need a minimum of 2, preferably 3.  And they are good for that strength in solid ground only, not sand, and good luck getting it set in rocky ground.

This is an expample of what you need for a winch anchor:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005VHNB5...-XkUn7l3-Eqk8u6vg&slotNum=2&tag=roundforge-20

Second, a cigar plug is going to get real hot at 15 amps (their maximum rated current) if it doesn't blow the fuse first, and I've seen them melt.  I looked at a number of 3000 lb winches and they all pull in the neighborhood of 150 amps @ 3000 lbs pull.  Your kayak probably weighs about 40 lbs so a cigar plug could handle the small current.

Third (should be first), winching is serious business, you can get hurt/killed if something goes wrong and/or seriously damage you vehicle.  You need to understand pull angles, you need to understand how to pick an anchor or set a ground anchor so it doesn't fail.  My only suggestion here is to find a competent 4 wheeler who will teach you how to winch.

Fourth, where are you going to store all this stuff in a Prius?  How often are you planning on needing this?  IMHO you will be better off with a shovel (which you would need anyway to dig out the winch anchor) and traction mats:

https://www.amazon.com/Maxtrax-MKII-MKIIs/dp/B00HYCVSW6?tag=askcomdelta-20

Just my 2¢

 

[Weight]

I worked in military vehicle recovery. Bury the spare works even in sand. The trick is to have the spare as far from the vehicle as possible, giving a low angle of resistance to pull. Multiple stakes driven in the ground can work. Many points of anchorage. Needs to be driven into solid ground, not sand or mud. We also used a tarp spread out and covered with sand, with many cables/ropes back to winch. It is necessary to relive some restriction at the vehicle by digging away some shtuf.
The winch is yours to figure out the means of power and frame attachment. Maybe get a Ford with the tow hooks in the front.

 

[highdesertranger]

couple of points.

accord to the link to the manual you posted the 19amp draw is with no-load. no-load means operating the winch with nothing connected to the cable. which IMO is still to much for a ciggy plug. at full 2,000 lb pull it is a 110amp draw. way over what is safe for a ciggy plug on both ends of the connector. understand we are only trying to help but plugging a vehicle recovery winch into a ciggy plug is a recipe for disaster.

that winch doesn't even come with a fairlead which means you can only pull at a 90° angle to the drum which is not practical for vehicle recovery. better think about adding a fairlead. it's funny to because in the instruction it says to stay away from the fairlead while operating, haha what fairlead.

the ground anchor that Spiff posted is the one you want. that is a true winch ground anchor.

come to the RTR look up Low Tech or me and ask questions about winching. it not just as easy as hook the cable to point A and pull the vehicle out. one mistake here and it's a matter of life and death. listen to experience. highdesertranger

 

[Moxadox]

If you're overlanding with a vehicle that is built for the highway, you're asking for trouble.

My former Chevy van taught me this when I fell into volcanic quicksand on a perfectly innocent looking forest road north of Mt. Humphreys (Flagstaff). Boom, fell in up to the axles. Managed to rock out of it, but left all kinds of pieces of the bumpers (which nowadays are made of plastic) and various other things were left behind. I felt grateful that I got out...had to replace all 4 tires and a bunch of trim so I could trade it for my next vehicle, which was 4x4, high clearance.....as my dear daddy used to say, "Use the right tool for the job."

The Dire Wolfess

 

[LivGolden]

If you're overlanding with a vehicle that is built for the highway, you're asking for trouble.  

My former Chevy van taught me this when I fell into volcanic quicksand on a perfectly innocent looking forest road north of Mt. Humphreys (Flagstaff).  Boom, fell in up to the axles.  Managed to rock out of it, but left all kinds of pieces of the bumpers (which nowadays are made of plastic) and various other things were left behind.  I felt grateful that I got out...had to replace all 4 tires and a bunch of trim so I could trade it for my next vehicle, which was 4x4, high clearance.....as my dear daddy used to say, "Use the right tool for the job."

The Dire Wolfess

I did the same thing at Tincup Pass in Colorado. The only thing that survived was the engine. My next vehicle be a 4x4.

 

[johnny b]

You've posted the manual for your winch...I suggest looking at page 5.
The chart shows the 2000 lb. rating is only on 'layer 1' of the spool, the first 6 ft. of cable.
Below that chart is this:

"Note: If a winch is to be used to pull a
vehicle, it should optimally be rated to a
single line pull at least twice the vehicle’s
weight."

Since a Prius weighs 3000 lbs, accordingly you need at least a 6000 lb winch. 
(if that 3000 lbs is stuck in the sand, then more than that is needed to overcome the initial 'over the hump' of the sunken tires)

Also on page 5 is the chart showing amperage draws.

I would rethink your plan.

 

[John61CT]

Never use ciggie ports for high amps.

Anderson is the way to go.

Even for 5A, the design is a dangerous abortion.

As to the physical mount stuff, get advice from experienced off roaders, pro welders etc.

These things can be fatal