A winch is a mitigation, not a fix
Context
The van carried a crew and equipment to shoot locations in rural Puerto Rico, including sites off maintained roads.
What happened
On one job it could not make it up a steep mountain road. Two wheel drive at that weight was the limit and there was no arguing with it on the day.
What I changed
I fitted a winch and recovery gear so that being stopped or stuck was recoverable without a second vehicle.
Result
The recovery gear reduced how often a bad road ended a shoot. It did not close the category. The permanent fix is four wheel drive and I would specify it if I built the van again. Calling the winch a solution would have been the mistake.
