Rollover Winch

Introduction:  

I want to design a system to flip a Jeep back over. For years people have had “hijacks' ' which are designed to be placed under a bumper or jacking point and lift up a vehicle. Its design is good for picking up a stabilized item, but a Jeep that has been flipped over isn’t necessarily stable. The fire departments use stabilization kits for vehicles in accidents, but these are simply designed to keep a vehicle from moving. These are not designed to “lift up” the weight of a vehicle. 

Research shows that Jeeps tend to flip when they encounter about a 26 degree slant. A Winch Hinge is a series of pulleys that attach to the undercarriage of a Jeep to route the winch under the Jeep and out the side.  (The Jeep would need to already have a winch installed.) A total of 4 pulleys would need to be installed. This would allow the owner to flip the Jeep upright regardless of which side it fell on.

Objectives:

The object of this design is to be able to flip a Jeep back onto its wheels if it flips over. It needs to work in sandy areas, rocky areas, wet areas, rain, snow, as well as hot and cold weather. It needs to be strong enough to support 5,000 pounds. 

The design needs to be inexpensive, simple to use, and doesn’t restrict or take away ground clearance of the Jeep. Any given day you can find several websites which attract thousands of Rock Crawlers. Most large events have plenty of safety personnel and people to help when you flip over, but what about those people that go out alone or in small groups. I do not condone going out alone, but I’m sure many people do. 

• Jeep owners notoriously like to do things that they shouldn’t

• They need to be able to flip the vehicle up with a person or two

• The ground is not necessarily going to be flat so it needs to be versatile

• It needs to attach to the strongest part of the vehicle to ensure it can handle the weight

Design Strategy:

The curb weight of a stock 2022 Jeep Wrangler is 4,167 pounds. The length is approximately 189 inches, with a width of 74 inches. 

Rock crawlers generally weigh about 4,000 pounds. So overall the stock Jeep and a rock crawler are similar in weight.Rock crawlers typically have a heavy duty suspension and wider axles making them a bit more stable, but the average person may not have one of these. 

On a Jeep with a winch already installed, my strategy is to have a pulley on the center front of the vehicle which will pull the winch cable away from the vehicle front bumper so that it will not rub on the vehicle. From there the cable from the winch would travel backwards towards the center area of the underside of the vehicle, and depending on which side the Jeep is laying on, the cable would go around a pulley and go to either the right side of the left side of the vehicle. Once it goes to either the left or the right, it would need to attach to a study object and the lowest point possible. The center of gravity needs to be kept at a minimum. The pulleys need to be stainless steel so they won’t rust. 

• The item cannot weigh a lot or take up too much room

• It must be strong enough to withstand 1.5 times the weight of the vehicle. 

• I can use a remote control car as the model for the Jeep

Plan of Action:

Functionality (how it works) Aesthetics (appearance) cost(estimated money spent on prototype) and safety(construction and testing ) are considered. Consider F.A.C.S

Functionality:

It will use an already existing winch which is installed on the Jeep to flip the Jeep back over. This will require a sturdy anchor point such as a tree, a rock, or another vehicle. 

Aesthetics:

Needs to operate smoothly, and be small and light. 

Cost:

This should not cost any more than $150. The pulleys would be no more than $20.00 each and the mounting bolts to attach it to the frame should still stay well under the total of $150.00.

Safety:

In order to test this, I will need a large flat area with a stable object such as a tree or pole to secure the end of the winch to. The winch will need to be operated slowly so that I can make sure the pulleys are spinning properly and not binding. I also need to test this to see how much it might bounce once it lands back upright. If I discover it bounces too much, I may need to make adjustments to my design. I must keep the lowest center of gravity possible. 

Verification:

In order to verify if my design is a good design is to test it numerous times on numerous different types of inclines and various types of situations. I will start out testing it on level ground. It should also be tested on rocky areas. It is impossible to account for every different type of geography, but by testing it in several different types of areas it will help prove to my audience that this is a safe, inexpensive, and reliable way to flip their Jeep back upright. Each test will be conducted at least 10 times on each different type of terrain. It would also be a good idea to test it in an area where the securing point is NOT a point that has a low center of gravity. I need to know if the design would work in this type of situation. 

Cost and Schedule:

9/12/23 - Brainstorming design

9/21/23 - Criteria, Constraints, and research

10/6/23 - Design proposal

11/3/23 - Construction, Testing, Redesigning and testing

11/16/23 - Presentation

Bibliography:

“2022 Jeep Wrangler Specs & Features.” Edmunds, www.edmunds.com/jeep/wrangler/2022/features-specs/. Accessed 19 Sept. 2023.

“How Much Do Rock Crawlers Weigh?” 4x4 Crawlers, 23 Sept. 2021, 4x4crawlers.com/how-much-do-rock-crawlers-weigh/. Accessed 19 Sept. 2023.

6 Key Steps to Take If Your Car Flips over | Geyers Towing. 23 Jan. 2020, geyerstowing.com/what-to-do-if-your-car-flips-over/. Accessed 09 Sept. 2023.

Https://Www.jlwranglerforums.com/Forum/Threads/Generally-At-What-Angle-Will-Jeep-Roll-Over.79064/. 11 Sept. 2021. Accessed 10 Sept. 2023.

Holderith, Peter. “Rock Crawler Flips, Catches Fire Instantly after Attempting Moab Obstacle in Reverse.” The Drive, 3 Aug. 2021, www.thedrive.com/news/41754/rock-crawler-flips-catches-fire-instantly-after-attempting-moab-obstacle-in-reverse. Accessed 20 Sept. 2023.

Lorelli, Matt. “Explained: How Jeeps Can Climb near 90-Degree Rock Walls.” Unofficial Networks, 18 July 2022, unofficialnetworks.com/2022/07/18/jeeps-climb-rock-walls/. Accessed 25 Sept. 2023.

“Real Life Extreme Crawling.” Www.youtube.com, youtu.be/dxUYM42PkN4?si=olSYrIkwmEM-gMYS. Accessed 21 Sept. 2023.

“Watch Jeep Wrangler 392 Nearly Flip on Sketchy Slope at Moab.” Motor1.com, www.motor1.com/news/663144/jeep-wrangler-392-almost-flips-moab/. Accessed 20 Sept. 2023.