A winch only pulls one way: straight toward itself. Bolt one to the front and it drags you out of whatever's ahead. Bolt a second one to the back and it does the same job behind you, no three-point turn required. Two winches, two directions covered: that's exactly what's sitting on Rick's tracked Hummer, the Green Dragon, a Warrior winch on each end.
The Green Dragon is the star of this one. Rick straps tracks onto a 600 horsepower Hummer and points it up Bill Williams Mountain, straight into about 20 inches of snow, just to see what it can do. Somewhere in that shakedown, he drops the line this whole post is built around.
- The Green Dragon runs a Warrior winch front and rear, the same Gladiator line you can buy at Murphy's.
- A winch can't push, and it can't reach behind itself. Which end you need just depends on which way the load's sitting.
- On this same outing, Rick's front winch quits mid-job. The rear one finishes it.
- A second winch won't replace a snatch block, and it won't turn a 10,000 lb winch into a 20,000 lb one. It solves direction, not capacity.
- Two winches means twice the wiring and twice the chances to get an install wrong, something this same fleet finds out the hard way on a different truck, same day.
- Size each end off your own truck's GVWR. Build toward the matching pair one winch at a time if that's what the budget wants.
1. What "front and rear" means on the Green Dragon
Rick builds the Green Dragon by bolting tracks onto a 600 HP Hummer, then points it up Bill Williams Mountain to see how it handles about 20 inches of snow. Fire it up and, in his words, "she purrs like a kitten." Twenty inches of snow under a 600 horsepower tracked Hummer is a wild place to start a video, and that's before he even gets to the winches.
"The Green Dragon's also got Warrior winches front and rear. She's ready to go."Wrecker Rick, prepping the Green Dragon, "I Put Tracks On My 600 HP Hummer To Save A Stranded Family In Snow"
That's not a spec sheet flex. It's stout. It's the Warrior Gladiator line, same one Murphy's sells, bolted to both ends on purpose, and the reason is simple: a winch mounted up front can only pull the truck toward whatever's ahead of it. Mount a second one out back and now it pulls toward whatever's behind it too. Nobody has to back a 600 horsepower tracked Hummer down a snowy mountain just to point the right way first.
2. A winch only pulls one way
A winch spools cable or rope onto a drum. That's all it does. No push, no reach-around. Whatever direction the motor's pointed is the only direction that winch does anything. Picture it: the stuck vehicle's behind you, the anchor point's behind you, the whole hazard you're trying to get clear of is behind you. A front-mounted winch just sits there, dead weight, until somebody turns the whole rig around.
Sounds obvious written out like that. It's a lot less obvious at night. In the snow. On a mountain road. That's exactly when it decides to matter.
3. When the front winch isn't the one that works
This isn't a theory Murphy's is trying to sell you. Watch what actually happens on this same outing: later in that snowy run, Rick's spinning a stuck vehicle around in the middle of a mountain road, working it around to face downhill instead of backward.
"I'm going to use my back winch though, cuz my front winch isn't working. I just got to get turned around."Wrecker Rick, mid-recovery, same episode
The front winch isn't cooperating that day. The rear one finishes the job. Gear fails, and you don't get to pick which piece.
4. What a second winch doesn't fix
Two winches solve direction. That's all they solve. They don't touch capacity, and they don't touch angle. Load's heavier than either winch's rated line pull? Bolting a second winch onto the other end doesn't help you one bit, because you can only rig to one end at a time. You still need a snatch block for that job, doubling whichever single winch is actually facing the load.
It doesn't let you skip the math, either. Common rule of thumb: GVWR times 1.5 for minimum pulling capacity. Pull your own number off the door sticker and multiply it, for the front winch and the rear one both. Two undersized winches aren't twice as good. They're just two ways to let yourself down instead of one.
5. Twice the plumbing to keep right
Two winches is also twice the wiring, twice the drum line, twice the places an install can go sideways. This same fleet learns that the hard way, on a different truck, same day, during a shakedown run on a rig they call the Cummer.
"It overheats. The front winch line was too short. The rear winch line was on backwards, so when you pulled on it, it just cut the winch line."Wrecker Rick, shaking down the Cummer, same episode
A front line cut too short. A rear line spooled on backwards. That's exactly the kind of mistake that doesn't show up until you're under load, on the truck you actually need working. Buying two winches is the easy part. Wiring, spooling, and testing both before you ever need either one, that's the real work.
6. Sizing and building the pair
Start with the GVWR times 1.5 math, then buy for the heavier end of what your truck's actually going to ask a winch to do. Most half-ton trucks and SUVs land on the smaller of these two. Anything heavier, or carrying a winch bumper's extra weight, points at the larger one. Need both right now? Nobody says you have to buy both on the same day. One winch now is fine. There's no rule that says the second one can't wait.
12-volt electric, synthetic rope, 10,000 lb rated line pull. Armortek 7075 aviation-grade aluminum fairlead and hook. The Warrior Gladiator winch Rick runs, the same line Murphy's stocks, in the size that covers most half-ton trucks and SUVs on the GVWR × 1.5 math above.
10,000 lb rated line pull, 12v electric, synthetic rope. The size to run front and rear on most half-ton trucks and SUVs.
12,500 lb rated line pull, same Armortek-equipped build. Where the GVWR × 1.5 math lands on a heavier 3/4-ton truck or a winch bumper's extra weight.
7. Safety: respect both loaded lines
Run a winch on both ends and you've doubled the number of loaded lines somebody has to respect, not just the directions you can pull. None of what's below is house opinion.
A winch line under load is not a garden hose. Offroad-ed.com's own vehicle recovery safety course doesn't soften that: both a winch and a recovery strap involve what it calls deadly force, and either one "can result in serious injury or death if not done correctly."[1]
- Anchor to something rated for the load, front or back. Natural anchors include trees, stumps, and rocks. Never the hitch ball: it isn't built for a recovery pull and becomes, in the course's own words, "a deadly missile" if it snaps off under load.[2]
- Never hook a winch line to suspension or steering components on either vehicle. Use a rated recovery point instead.[2]
- Stand clear at 1.5 to 2 times the length of whichever cable is under load. A 20-foot line means 30 to 40 feet of real distance, on both ends of the truck.[3]
- Drape a heavy blanket, jacket, or chain over a line before it comes under tension. Don't approach it or the fairlead while it's pulling, and slack the line before you move the dampener.[3]
- Inspect both lines before every pull, not just the one you expect to use. The one you didn't plan on needing is exactly the one this whole article is about.
Sources: [1] offroad-ed.com: Using a Winch or a Recovery Strap · [2] offroad-ed.com: Selecting Attachment Points · [3] offroad-ed.com: Taking Precautions When Using a Winch
Sources
- Offroad-ed.com (Kalkomey Enterprises, a state-delegated ORV safety education provider), "Using a Winch or a Recovery Strap." "You can pull a stuck vehicle back onto stable ground using either a winch or a snatch strap (recovery strap). Both methods involve deadly force but can be safe if you follow the correct procedures. However, either method can result in serious injury or death if not done correctly." offroad-ed.com/michigan/studyGuide/Using-a-Winch-or-a-Recovery-Strap
- Offroad-ed.com, "Selecting Attachment Points." "Select an anchor point that will let you pull in a straight line and will be strong enough to hold while you are winching. Natural anchors include trees, stumps, and rocks."; "NEVER use the ball hitch on your vehicle as an anchor point. Hitches are not strong enough to withstand the force placed on them from pulling out a stuck vehicle and become deadly missiles when they break off." offroad-ed.com/michigan/studyGuide/Selecting-Attachment-Points
- Offroad-ed.com, "Taking Precautions When Using a Winch." "While winching, stand clear. A safe distance is 1½ to 2 times the length of the cable you are using."; "You may use a heavy blanket ... to absorb energy if the cable breaks or snaps loose. While the cable is being pulled, do not approach or move the blanket ... If you must move or remove the blanket, slack the tension on the cable first." offroad-ed.com/michigan/studyGuide/Taking-Precautions-When-Using-a-Winch
FAQ
A winch only pulls in a straight line toward itself. If the anchor point, the hazard, or the vehicle you're helping is behind the truck, a front-only winch can't reach it without you turning the truck around first.
No. What matters is that each one is sized to what it will actually be asked to pull, using your own truck's GVWR math for each end rather than matching sizes for the sake of it.
A common rule of thumb is GVWR times 1.5 for minimum pulling capacity. Find your truck's gross vehicle weight rating on the driver's door sticker and multiply it, for each end you're fitting.
No. A winch only spools cable or rope onto its own drum, which is exactly why the direction it's mounted in decides what it can do for you.
It's Rick's tracked Hummer, built by fitting tracks to a 600 horsepower Hummer for deep-snow recovery work.
Yes. Warrior Winches is Murphy's winch sponsor, and the Gladiator V2 line Murphy's stocks is Warrior's own product line.
At least 1.5 to 2 times the length of the cable, per offroad-ed.com's winching safety course. A 20-foot line means 30 to 40 feet of real clearance, on whichever end is under tension.