my girlfreind bought me a winch bumper for my birthday it showed up a little earlier so i went ahold and installed it and it looks sick(i post a pic later) but i do want a winch. i dont do any extereme wheeling. but there has been a few times i've gotton stuck in the woods when out snow wheeling or hunting in remote parts. and id probly use it more for pulling out people out of ditches or mud holes

last time i weighed in at the Sled pulls last year i came in at 6530lbs

would a 8000 lbs which work good or would something like a 9500 or 10k be more wise to get?

 

Rule of thumb is 1.5X vehicle weight. So a 10,000 lbs winch.

 

And get a good ****** block.

 

My buddy's built standard cab (nv4500, atlas 4sp, 1 tons, 40" Toyo MTs, beadlocks) comes in at ~6500. He has a smitty built 10K. It is barely enough.

I'm a quad cab and also moving to that size and I opted for a 12K.

****** blocks do help and good to have regardless, but they are not the end all saving tool.

 

that kinda what i was figured is id eed around 10k to 12k

and now i know warn and rasmey are some good name brands but they also come with a bigger price tag

ive seen these ones of ebay such as bulldog, superwinch,smittybuilt and csi there alot chep but they still carry 2-3 year warrenty. for a person like my self who would use a winch probly less than 5 or 6 times a year would you anyone here sugguest useig one of the cheper name brands or has anyone everyone ran one or knew people who have owned one?

because i can afford to drop 400 on one right now but it take me a couple weeks to be able to drop 600-800 on a name brand warm or ramsey or etc...

 

I've seen the cheap ones work and the cheap ones fail. Honestly, if you want it more to pull other people out and be the hero, go with a cheaper one (If it fails they are the one still out of luck!). But if you are going to rely on it more for yourself go with a warn or similar. What good is a warranty if it fails when you are stuck by yourself in the middle of nowhere. You might save 500 bucks on the initial purchase, but the hassle of walking back to civilization, finding someone to get you unstuck, taking the winch off, remembering where the receipt is, mounting the replacement has to be worth something. Just something to think about.

 

Yes, please look at how your situation is more likely to be. Relative idea on winching/month combined with capability of your group.

In general...only fullsizes should be pulling fullsizes. Not to say the smaller Jeeps and such can't winch out a fullsize as it's all dependent on the situation. Not having enough cable out (too short) decreases pulling capacity. ****** blocking must be done safely!! It can turn into a flying missile. I've seen it.

If you are regularly going out and solo, then yes a higher end name brand bears much more weight from the standpoint of reliability.


For me, I went the Harbor Freight Badlands 12K winch. I wheel roughly 2x/month. I never go alone. I have CB and now HAM comms. HF works like Costco...problem with it, take it back. $300 winch has now been used a total of 8 times in the last year. No complaints here, however, I don't like cable. Mainly b/c my family comes along on occasion and I want them to be educated and be able to help with the line. So....I just received my Master Pull Synthetic Rope. I'm not the only that has to carry the line now.

later....the HF will move to the rear...and more noteworthy put on the front.


Consider the real circumstances for yourself to decide.

 

I know in my plans for my offroader I will be putting a good name brand 12k on the front bumper.. I will also be putting a cheaper removable one on the rear... Like others have said it all depends on how often your out there and if your alone or have other vehicles... being alone alot I wouldnt cheap out.

 

i dont go wheeling i'm usally the person that gets called to help pull out my dumb freinds but not that i got a nice off road bumper with a winch mount id like to put one for when i need it... cause i figure it'll be nicer to have one and not need it and it'll look kinda cool. the most wheeling i do is in the snow and i think i've went up in the hills maybe 2 times in 2012 and so far my truck hasnt left pavement at all this year... but i think i'm gonna look around and try and find a warn 12k for a reasonable price