Winches..110 or 12V ???

Harleybullet,
I remember when you got the winch bumper a few years ago in a mass buy.
There are basically two kinds of 4 hole winch attachment patterns. One is for the consumer winch with a not-so-wide fairlead and tall, narrow drum. This is what most people on here have. Then there is the commercial winch carrier. Much more rare. Sturdier with a wider 4-hole pattern with a wider mouth at the fairlead (rollers). It helps keep the amount of winds fewer and hence more pulling power. I bought one of these by mistake from Warn and it still languishes out behind the shed.
Alex made his own for his 17,500 pound capy winch. This one is not going to fall off and adds the least amount of weight to the front as there is no winch bumper. D-ring holes, yes. Powder coated: yes. This is the narrow drum design.




Attached to frame rails sturdily. Warn uses a wide drum on their high capacity commercial winches. So, measure the holes, if any, in your winch bumper and make an accurate card stock template for comparing to winches that are in the running. One last thing. The commonly held belief with off-roaders is the winch capacity should be at least 1.5 times the weight of the vehicle. For me, @10K pounds, a 15K pound winch is enough. Yet another thing. Some winches attach the 4 holes to the front plate, some to the base plate. The front plate attachment is the sturdiest.
I've seen some 18,600 pound capacity Chinese winches of late and if you can put up with the snails pace speed, it should be enough overage to tackle anything you might pull against.
jefe

Steve_in_29 wrote:
Also I believe the hydraulics have a tendency to let cable out before the brake catches once the pull is stopped. Which is why the Jeep Club that used to hold Panamint Valley Days wouldn't let a vehicle running a hydro winch participate on the Surprise Canyon run.

I don't think there is a brake. If the solenoids are closed no fluid moves and the hydraulics just hold same as a hydraulic leveling system.

Instructions do warn that if the engine is off and you use the control it will allow the drum to turn.

This is MM specific. There could be others that operate differently.

Harleybullet wrote:
I do have a Buckstop bumper with a compartment below the top and hatch for the winch to be hidden .. now I would have to find out what size would fit. Dave

The Warn 16.5K fits mine. I don't know about on a Dodge but for my Ford the winch had to be installed in the bumper before it was mounted to the truck. Makes for a heavy lift (300+lbs) to get the bumper remounted. It also sagged my front end noticeably, which the F550 coils took care of.

Can you post an example of a 110V winch that you are considering?

I'm aware that Warn makes a 110V handheld winch but it is very limited in capacity and not suitable for all-weather use, outdoor storage, or mounting on a truck. Makes a good replacement for a come-along, though.

I do have a Buckstop bumper with a compartment below the top and hatch for the winch to be hidden .. now I would have to find out what size would fit. Dave

I wouldn't depend on a harbor freight winch mount. Being an experienced structural welder/fabricator, I have on no doubt I can put a winch on a self fabricated receiver mount and it be completely safe for pulls in any direction, at whatever weight is needed. Not everyone can do that. It is possible though. If extreme 4-bying is what you do, then seek out those who can build what you need, and have confidence that when you need it most, it will do what you want it to do. That kinda thing don't come from a discount store.

jefe 4x4 wrote:
DJ is correct. However, all winches are not created equal. Over my lifetime I've owned eight winches on different weight 4-bys. This short history may be illustrative:
1. 1966 FJ-40 factory PTO winch. It was rated at only 2200 pounds. I kept breaking shear pins until I drilled the shear pin hole to accept 1/4 inch drill rod which brought the rating up to maybe 10K pounds. Then it worked fine. It would not work if the engine was not running, as in underwater. It did have the 3 speeds of the trans and hi/low t. case gears to work with, which helped when you wanted a faster line speed.
2. Warn 6000 winch. Way under rated and pulled great, with a rather fast line speed.
3. Warn 8000 winch. I really think this was just an up rated 6K. Fast line speed. I used this one over 300 times. Eventually wore out the tiny bronze spur get that drove the bull gear. I also pulled the front bumper right off when using a snatch block in 4 feet of wet snow.
4. Warn 8274 winch. Hands down the best winch Warn ever produced. This one had hundreds of extractions when I was a hard core jeeper. THE fastest line speed in the industry. 150 feet of cable. Just a great winch. 125 pounds. The only woe is that it stood high and blocked some of the air getting past the radiator.
5. Warn 3000. It was portable (fore to aft) and could do the job with a snatch block if terribly slowly on a vehicle weighing less than 3500 pounds.
6. Warn 15000 winch. It's on my TC and has done the job for me over and over again. 150 pounds. 90 feet of 1/2 inch line. Not portable.
The cautionary tale is: If using it without the camper on, the truck must be dead maned. Otherwise, even with all wheels locked up, the wincher will just be dragged toward the winchee.
7. China freight 9000 pound winch #1. It bearing housing on one side broke on the first pull.
8. China freight 12000 pound winch #2. Fried after a few times. Very short duty cycle.
The thing to know is the higher the rating the slower the line speed.
Another thing is: Is your truck frame strong enough that a very high capacity winch will not pull it apart?
How about the winch carrier? I think some folks are living on the edge with flimsy carriers attached to the front or rear of the truck.

How long ago was your Harbor Freight winch experience? From what I have seen their newer Badlands winches have been getting good reviews from users.

I agree with you about the people relying on the hitch carrier mounted winches. They MIGHT work ok for a straight ahead pull BUT they are not designed to handle the loading of a side pull at all. Especially at the weights us Truck Camper guys are hauling around. Plus none of those slide in winch mounts are rated for the weight of even a straight ahead pull on our vehicles.

I have a Warn 16.5K in a Buckstop bumper on my truck. For anyone considering even a winch let alone a winch/bumper keep in mind the extra weight they add. On my truck I swapped in F550 front coils and ended up sitting 1/2" taller then stock even after the 100+extra pounds of weight (new winch & bumper minus stock bumper) out there.

smkettner wrote:
Milemarker is unstoppable and will run continuous. Never overheat or run your battery low.
If your engine runs it runs. Upside down, dead under water is not so good.

http://milemarker.com/product_type/hydraulic-winch/

The with truck running is a KEY part. I have had to do pulls where the vehicle wasn't running. Though I admit the more modern fuel injected vehicles are much less likely to be in that position but it is still something to consider.

Also I believe the hydraulics have a tendency to let cable out before the brake catches once the pull is stopped. Which is why the Jeep Club that used to hold Panamint Valley Days wouldn't let a vehicle running a hydro winch participate on the Surprise Canyon run.

DJ is correct. However, all winches are not created equal. Over my lifetime I've owned eight winches on different weight 4-bys. This short history may be illustrative:
1. 1966 FJ-40 factory PTO winch. It was rated at only 2200 pounds. I kept breaking shear pins until I drilled the shear pin hole to accept 1/4 inch drill rod which brought the rating up to maybe 10K pounds. Then it worked fine. It would not work if the engine was not running, as in underwater. It did have the 3 speeds of the trans and hi/low t. case gears to work with, which helped when you wanted a faster line speed.
2. Warn 6000 winch. Way under rated and pulled great, with a rather fast line speed.
3. Warn 8000 winch. I really think this was just an up rated 6K. Fast line speed. I used this one over 300 times. Eventually wore out the tiny bronze spur get that drove the bull gear. I also pulled the front bumper right off when using a snatch block in 4 feet of wet snow.
4. Warn 8274 winch. Hands down the best winch Warn ever produced. This one had hundreds of extractions when I was a hard core jeeper. THE fastest line speed in the industry. 150 feet of cable. Just a great winch. 125 pounds. The only woe is that it stood high and blocked some of the air getting past the radiator.
5. Warn 3000. It was portable (fore to aft) and could do the job with a snatch block if terribly slowly on a vehicle weighing less than 3500 pounds.
6. Warn 15000 winch. It's on my TC and has done the job for me over and over again. 150 pounds. 90 feet of 1/2 inch line. Not portable.
The cautionary tale is: If using it without the camper on, the truck must be dead maned. Otherwise, even with all wheels locked up, the wincher will just be dragged toward the winchee.
7. China freight 9000 pound winch #1. It bearing housing on one side broke on the first pull.
8. China freight 12000 pound winch #2. Fried after a few times. Very short duty cycle.
The thing to know is the higher the rating the slower the line speed.
Another thing is: Is your truck frame strong enough that a very high capacity winch will not pull it apart?
How about the winch carrier? I think some folks are living on the edge with flimsy carriers attached to the front or rear of the truck.

Harleybullet wrote:
I use the truck (for getting into trouble) with my camper on it Dave

Then go big or stay home!!! :B

16.500# Warn with snatch block to double the pull. Actually double line does not magically increase the power of the winch to 33,000# it reduces a 10,000# TC to a 5,000# TC. So you could actually "get by" with a smaller winch and a couple snatch blocks. ;)