Note: Pre-buy supporter pricing at over 20% off final retail price available until the 1st commercial batch is delivered in late May 2023. If you are purchasing at this sale price, your order will ship early June.
This new hawse fairlead adds some very important features to the well established theory of using a smooth light aluminum hawse to guide synthetic lines on modern winches.
Constructed from CNC machined 6061-T6 aluminum, the HOSS ( Harsh Operation Synthetic Safe ) fairlead provides one of the industries largest 3/4" radius on the front side to help further extend the life of your synthetic winch line. This 3/4" radius is even larger than most rollers on the market while packaging in a much more compact space. A conservative thickness limits exposure which helps prevent damage on the trail. There is also a 1/4" companion radius on the outer front edge for when you need to use the winch past 90 degrees, such as pulling on something under the vehicle for a trail repair or to help get a stubborn boulder out from under the chassis. In order to get the large front radius the mounting hardware has been changed to a 7/16 flush mounted socket head bolt. This style of mounting hardware gives you almost a full inch more 'slot' width to help your line spool on the drum more evenly.
The real innovation of the HOSS happens on back side however. After many years of using synthetic winch lines on roller or hawse fairleads, I began to notice a trend. A large percentage of damage to winch lines was not being caused by a hawse vs roller as many think, but by a poor interface between the hawse and the bumper mounting surface structure. All the existing products on the market did little to manage the transition from the hawse through the face of the bumper onto the winch drum. With a large variation in the opening size on bumpers, compounded by the trend to keep increasing the vertical height of the opening in hawse and roller units, this left a sharp exposed steel edge to the winch line. These steel edges are often laser cut at the factory and have the 'perfect' raw edge profile to damage, and subsequently fail, synthetic winch lines. This phenomenon is much more apparent when the line has bunched on the drum like when pulling at a high fleet angle. The unique design of the HOSS address this issue by providing a 1/4" deep step on the back side that is designed to protrude into the bumper mounting face slot to completely cover up that dangerous steel edge further protecting your expensive synthetic winch line.
It doesn't stop there though, the exclusive rear step on the HOSS also locks the unit into the mounting surface of the bumper when installed correctly. The mounting hardware of the HOSS no longer has to take the high angular side loads, nor does the long upper and lower beams have to be totally self supporting the full loads at steep angles.
Note: Yes, the slot in the winch mount does have to be of a specific size to work to it's full potential. The HOSS is designed around a 1.5" x 8.5" (plus clearance) slot with full radius corners. There will be some bumpers on the market that are smaller or larger than this, and that will be something we have to overcome as this detail hopefully becomes a standard in bumper design going forward. Every HOSS will include a 1/16" thick stainless steel trimming template to help you mark and trim the winch mount opening before mounting your HOSS to the bumper with the included hardware. That 1/16" shim can also be used during mounting to slightly change the length of the rear step to better match 3/16" steel used in many bumpers and winch mounts for that perfectly flush rear surface.
Details-
Material - 6061-T6 Aluminum
Size - Overall dimensions are 2.75" tall by 11.75" wide and 1.0" thick. The slot opening is 0.75" tall by generous 7.75" wide.
Finish- The HOSS is provided in a clear Type III Hard Anodized Finish as they are intended to live full time out in the elements, typically on the front of a vehicle. The clear version of this finish will show the least amount of change if the HOSS has to be touched due to some trail damage. Clear anodizing is basically a controlled accelerated accumulation of the natural aluminum oxide that forms on the surface of aluminum over time.
Hardware- The included standard hardware kit is for generic mounting on up to a 1/4" thick surface with 7/16-14 x 1.25" long, Socket Head, zinc coated, cap screws and a 'thin' grade 8 nylon locking nut to save space if the winch is mounted tight. Since the mounting hardware is 7/16" diameter the HOSS is also compatible with foot forward mounts on many winches like the Warn 8274, some industrial winches, and the old Belleview case winches including those sold by Warn through the 1960s and early 1970s. ( Longer hardware for foot forward mounting not included
Shipping - USPS Priority Flat Rate shipping included