best winch?

[MGordon]

I want to install a winch on my truck. Would appreciate suggestions / comments of various winches and mounting options. Has anyone used the mounting plate that plugs into the front receiver?

 

[Oxjockey]

What's going to be your intended use for the winch? Sometimes hydraulics are better, some times electrics. With all the PTO ports, there should be a pump you can use for a hyrdo...



Bryan

 

[MGordon]

Typical use would be to get others or myself out o relatively minor trouble, like sliding off the road in the mud or snow. I usually don’t take this truck into real tough terrain, its just to big. I never thouyght about hydraulic, I imagine that would be pretty expensive.

 

[BV]

Need more information

It all depends on how your going to use it.

If it is for self recovery or help someone else out of a bind then an electric would more than likely be fine but if you want something to pull all day you should look into a mechanical or hydraulic winch that will run off the PTO.



If you do a search using the words PTO and winch or Front mount receiver, you should come up with lots of info.



BTW - I have the front receiver hitch hoping to afford a PTO driven winch in the future. Tell then it works good to spot the trailer and hold the bike rack.

 

[stg2500]

Can anyone recomend a good winch to mount on the front of a 7000# GVW flat bed trailer? I would like to use it for loading and unloading vehicles. What capacity would I need? What are the best brands?

 

[RonaldLarson]

My experience

tells me that Ramsey is the choice. Most tow trucks use Ramsey's, and I had one on my old '77 CJ 7. Best mechanicals and best electrics. Great product!

Ron

 

[emarsh]

I have a ramsey electric on the front of my dedicated car hauling trailer. I also have a reciever (front & rear) type hydralic on my early Bronco, made by milemarker 12k # and I like it for that purpose. The electric is more convenient for car trailer type loading/unloading in my opinion. ED

 

[stg2500]

emarsh,



What is the capacity of the winch on your trailer?

 

[emarsh]

Well i just went out to look and now realize that it is a WARN Z3500, a 3500 rating. The FIRST winch I had was an inexpensive Ramsey, it was a light duty 2500, that only had power in & out. It did the job when we were racing, because my car, a 10 second 67 Mustang, always ran. I never had to winch it, if I ever did the little winch would have done the job. Now however, I have to pickup cars that don't run as a matter of profession, and much more often. The clutch disengage for towing out AND the extra line speed, and better remote contol of this model is more suitable for "professianal" work. It depends on the intended usage as was stated at the top of the thread. I also think that a Ramsey electric is better than the warn, but they are both compareable like ford & chevy.

Buy what you can afford, I consider my trailer (and winch) a lifetime investment, so I can easily justify a little nicer one at a bargain over the long haul. By the way, thats why I bought the Ram with a diesel, to compliment what I consider a professional package for towing and hauling cars.

 

[jimk]

wench

I have a 9k pierce wench in the frount of my 18 foot flat bed trailer. I have found that there is two types of electric motors for the wenches, one has ball bearing the other has a bushing on each end. I bought two wenches, with ball bearing motors when I was there, they were very cheap as they were warranty units that had been repaired and resold. The electric wench is a great item to have on a trailer. The second wench is for my wench truck as a second line for the truck. A lot easer than using the pto when on light loads by your self. Jim k

Originally posted by stg2500

Can anyone recomend a good winch to mount on the front of a 7000# GVW flat bed trailer? I would like to use it for loading and unloading vehicles. What capacity would I need? What are the best brands?

 

[MarkF]

I have a ramsey electric 8000 lb on the front of my CJ7 same winch as on many tow trucks, I have a warn 9000lb electric on the floor of my basement that I may put on my flat bed trailer. A lot of guys in the 4X4 club I belong to run the Warn model 8274. That is a kick a$$ winch, a little expensive but top notch. I like em all, stay clear of some of the import and cheasy ones out there.

M

 

[wcjp]

I'm running a Warn HS9500i on my Jeep. It's very fast and dependable. Nobody can argue with the Warn 8274. Fifty years with the same basic design. The problem for the Jeeps is they block lots of air sometimes causing a cooling problem. I've heard good things about the Ramsey's. Here in the PNW on the trails I've never seen one. Warn is the dominant player.



The problem with a receiver mounted winch is sidepulls. The hitch is only rated at a straight pull. The hitch is not designed for any side pulling motion. The rule of thumb for winch strength is 1. 5times the vehicle weight. Don't forget weight variable like people, dogs, big tires, fuel, water and tools.

 

[Dave MacArthur]

Many people have posted over time about PTO pumps/accessories and winches. I have been looking and talking to people but have yet to find a PTO winch of any kind for our trucks. Anyone know of a vendor or website that has specific info or actually builds one? I've seen lots of info about general theory etc but nothing specific. I would like to run a generator and a winch.



Thanks for any info,



Dave.

 

[hammersley]

One word - Milemarker

http://www.milemarker.com/



Check out the Press Pages on the left -





TDR Threads:



http://216.235.147.117/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=39021&highlight=milemarker



http://216.235.147.117/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=39071&highlight=milemarker



Sorry but if you want the Duramax version or a toy - buy an electric - if you want the Cummins version of a winch - buy the hydraulic milemarker.



And don't listen to folks who don't have one. Email the TDR members who actually have one on their rigs - they'll be honest with you..... Believe me I've seen the competition winching - no comparison. While you may not have to do this - if you winch a vehicle for say 100 ft - you will buy a new electric because it'll destroy itself! IT WON"T WINCH 100 ft '!!!!!Every 10 second interval you run an electric winch, is less powerful than the preceding 10 seconds. You're running a starter motor - how long can you grind a starter motore before it fails?????There isn't a person who has an electric that'll run for 2 minutes straight - With a hydraulic you keep winching till you run out of fuel! AND the cost is essentially the same! Your choice - buy 1 milemarker for life - or many others for stimulating the economy. HEY and I don't work for milemarker, nor do I have a dealership or connected in any manner.

 

[wcjp]

Milemarker's eat powersteering pumps. This was considered myth until David Freiburger of Peterson's 4wheel & Offroad went through a couple of them at a winch fest about three years ago at Surprise Canyon. The electric will not out pull a Milemarker. But, with an electric you can steer. Electrics also won't affect you driving home without P/S.

 

[Rotty]

Well, let me jump in here. I have the mile marker 10,500. It runs off the power steering pump. I have had it for 3 years and have used it for very little self recovery and very much logging and land clearing, pulling forklifts out of the dirt, etc. You can steer with it running but it is much more difficult. It will not overheat the PS pump and you have to have the engine running for it to work. I would recommend it whole heartly, I also do see applications for electrics.

The hydraulic winch will out pull the electric all day long. But if you are in a situation where you have stalled the engine and can't get it running, this is a problem. If you have a electric you will not have much winch time, because you are essentially running a starter, but you could do some self recovery.

Mile marker now has a 12,000 lbs version.

As always, remember safety. A steel cable stretched with 8-10k lbs on it is like a rubber band and when something breaks, things go flying. I know this because of experience! You still have to define what you are going to do with the winch and how you are going to use it. Then make your desion for which is best for you.

PS. They cost about the same when all is said and done.

On the larger winches you will need to upgrade the electrics/batteries in your trucK. The larger electric winches draw 200-400 amps. Absolutley do not skimp on power cables, 1 ga or better. Remember to factor in this cost when comparing prices.

The real question is if I had to do it all over again, I would still buy the milemarker winch!.





Note: I am not in any way associated with any winch manufacturer.

Now I will get off the pedistal.

 

[MGordon]

Thanks for the info and the links.



It seems that, because of the weight of the truck, I'll need a 12000 lb winch, and hope not to get stuck to bad with the camper on.



This does solve the mounting problem since the receiver mount is only good for 9000lbs.



Now I'll hve to do some research on the electric v. hydraulic issue.

 

[Oxjockey]

Originally posted by MGordon

Thanks for the info and the links.



It seems that, because of the weight of the truck, I'll need a 12000 lb winch, and hope not to get stuck to bad with the camper on.

Keep in mind, to double the power of the winch, you can use a snatch block to hook back onto your vehicle. This also cuts the speed in half, unfortunately, and MMs have never been known for speed.



Edit:

I have to go ahead and state that hydros and electrics have very different purposes. If you're going to be winching alot in the same day without very much self-recovery, then a hydro is for you. On the other hand, if you're doing mostly self recovery, very little logging, etc, then an electric is better in my book for the following reasons:

• No engine dependency - With a pair of Optimas, you should be able to winch quite a ways before having power issues
  
• No risk of ps pump failure - May or may not be an issue, but losing the PS pump would not be favorable
  
• Friction Braking - Stall the motor on a steep hill and the MM will not hold its position
  

I've used my electric to pull logs out of the woods, and sure, the battery needed a breather but for the other reasons alone, I went with an electric on my Jeep. I do not in anyway believe that an electric is a lesser class winch than a hydro, they have different pros and cons.



Bryan

 

[Dave MacArthur]

I sent an email to winchesplus.com and this is the email they sent back:



"Using a PTO pump to power the winch is an option. We dont sell it because it is too expensive and too difficult for most customers to install. Muncie makes a drive, and there is no problem to buy a pump and the rest of the components. You will also need a reservoir, filter and a pressure relief valve. Figure about $1000 in addition to the winch. With this system the winch can be much faster than with the powersteering pump. The powersteering pumps actually work quite well. There are high output pumps available and we have a bypass option so that during winching the steering does not rob power from the winch. The hydroboost only robs power from the winch if you apply the brakes. "



To me this means don't steer and don't use your brakes while winching. My thinking is, the hydraulic would be the way to go but by the time you get a pump to run it, it is twice as expensive. Does anyone here have a PTO pump on their truck? Does anyone know if there is a vendor that sells a complete kit? Also, should the Milemarker 12,000 really be $100 more than the Warn M12000?



Thanks,



Dave

 

[d90boy]

On my Rover I run a Warn 8274 and for that type vehicle I think it's the best winch out there. For a heavy vehicle like a Dodge I would buy a Superwinch Husky 10000. The Husky uses a worm and roller gear design which needs no brake mechanism, the brake is inherent to the design. They can be used the same in forward as reverse since you arent working against a brake in reverse. This is good when trying to lower yourself down something. The Husky series was used in the Camel Trophy events with great success. I've heard stories of one being used for several hours continuously with buckets of water being poured over it to keep it cool. You don't see many, probably because they're more expensive than the planetary winches. I've never seen people have good long term luck with planetary winches. The only drawback to the Husky 10000 is it's pretty slow.