Winch crushes Holden Rodeo

4X4 Australia goes myth-busting.

We’ve all heard the story of someone’s mate who had their 4x4 cut in two when some unscrupulous swine ran the winch cable back over the car, hooked it to the towbar and powered the winch to crush the roof. But has anyone ever seen it happen, or is it just one of those tales you hear around the campfire?

We enlisted the crew at Sherpa 4x4 to help us prove whether or not this was actually possible. Can a 12-volt winch crush a 4x4? Sherpa fitted one of its Steed 17,000lb 12-volt winches to the front of a sacrificial, old Rodeo and welded a custom mount to the back to set up the destruction.

The Sherpa Steed 17,000 is a far bigger winch than anyone would sanely fit to a Holden Rodeo, but we were going to put it to the test. With its genuine Albright solenoids, gearbox-mounted brake and heavy duty steel cable we knew the Steed would be up to the job.

*Originally published March 14, 2017